Multiple migrations, social networks and transnational ties: The case of Italian Bangladeshis in Europe

This is a Centre for Employment Relations Innovation and Change (CERIC) seminar taking place at Leeds University Business School on Wednesday 12 June 2019

Mohammad Morad, PhD Candidate

Department of Philosophy, Sociology, Education and Applied Psychology, (University of Padova, Italy)

Faculty, Department of Sociology, Shahjalal University of Science & Technology, (Sylhet, Bangladesh)

ABSTRACT

Increasingly, scholars argue that migration is no longer an one-way movement between a country of origin and destination as migrants move through and settle in several locations in their life trajectories. The scope of this research is to gain a better understanding of the drivers that influence multiple migration trajectories of Italian Bangladeshis in Europe. The empirical material for this study consists of 50 in-depth narrative interviews with Italian-Bangladeshis, in London, Bradford and North-East Italy - Bologna, Padova and Venice, being the first-generation migrants to Europe’s Bangladeshi diaspora. The study considers them multiple migrants given that they have migrated to three or more countries. In this regard, analysis indicated that several changes of country until arriving to  Italy were related to their migration failure, a means of achieving the socioeconomic success and legal status that they failed to attain in their first and subsequent destinations. With regard to their likelihood of onward migration from Italy, findings indicated that economic hardship is not the main reason. Rather, several socio-cultural drivers (e.g. better career prospects for the second generation, disappointment in everyday life; fear/uncertainty regarding their future in Italy due to the changing political anti-immigrant sentiment) pushed them to move to the UK. Moreover, the study explored the composition of social networks and transnational ties in facilitating their multiple migrations. It was shown that migrants’ transnational kinship ties with their non-migrant family members and relatives are an important motivation in selecting their first country of migration and taking decisions on migration.