In reading and thinking about this article, it always amazes me how ‘racial hierarchies’ continue to hold sway within some migrant populations. It’s obvious that what the author explores does not hold true for all Nikkei, be them Peruvian or Brazilian; but I wonder how long it takes for it to become ‘true’? Apparently, not long at all since the author mentions the racial hierarchy based on some level or ‘purity’ depending on the generation you belong to, combined, in this case with the hierarchy of nations that exists, even if these hierarchies are mostly based on stereotypes. It takes along time to get to know a neighbourhood, let alone a country, but I always find it interesting how assumptions of the ‘Other’, more often than not win the day.
I found the author’s finding on the self-segregation by Japanese-Brazilians and Peruvians to be interesting. It reminded me of my work on how Peruvians in Madrid separate themselves from other Peruvians because they maybe too indigenous, and do have enough Spanish blood in them.
The issue of becoming the ‘Other’ in a place where you think you ought to belong is a very prominent one. Even if by descent you may belong to an ethnic group, by growing up in a different area of the world, your cultural baggage is extremely different, even if you physically ‘look’ like one of them. This never ceases to amaze, when second generations go back to their parents’ homeland, a gap opens between what one perceived themselves to be (insert ethnicity or nationality) versus how these groups actually reside in a specific geography.
I found the article as a whole a good introduction Latin American migrations to Asia. It provided a shift in geographies, but also informed us on topics that do not seem to change much throughout different continents, which is the idea of the ‘Other’ and how they are not only perceived by majority populations, but also by other minority populations that supposedly have the same ethnic heritage.
We will continue next week on this subject with the case of Japanese-Brazilians in Japan.
Die
Am 18. January 2017 um 20:36 Uhr
In her article, Ayumi Takenaka presents the complex issue of identity construction among immigrants based in ethnicity as the main criterion. According to the author, the notion of ethnicity used in Japanese migration policies -determined on the basis of family ties and blood purity- conditioned the manner in which Brazilian and Peruvian immigrants of Japanese ascendance not only perceive themselves vis-à-vis ‘the Other’ Japanese, but also when confronted with other immigrants who might or might not share their Japanese heritage.
Honestly, I didn’t found the immigrant-stratification criterion constructed by the Japanese government so surprising since Japan is not the only country appealing to such policies -Germany, the USA, and other countries are also applying similar measures when classifying immigrants-; what I certainly found interesting was the degree of acceptance and interiorization among the migrants themselves to the extent that, in the case of the Peruvian community, being recognized as a “Nikkei-Nikkei” became a fundamental component for identity construction and differentiation from other Peruvians whose ancestry-legitimacy is not so clear.
Am 22. January 2017 um 19:48 Uhr
It’s interesting how ethnic identities are generated in the process of return migration. Especially the difference between Brazilians and Peruvians of Japanese descent is quite a complex issue. While Brazilians emphasize and are proud of ther “Brazilian-ness”, Peruvians of Japanese descent tried to distance themselves from Peru, or to put it differently, they stressed their Japanese descent.
I think one remark by a Peruvian of Japanese descent, Mari Shimabuku (p. 333) is quite telling when it comes to the importance of physiognomy in determining to which “group” you belong, even if people are actually mistaken: Shimabuku complains that she was always mistaken for Brazilian or Argentinean because of her “Japanese face”.
The author grants the reader an insight into the factors that determine the differences between Brazilian and Peruvian return migrants of Japanese descent, which then influenced their self-perception as well as the way they related to Latin America and Japan.
Am 22. January 2017 um 20:01 Uhr
I liked this article because it gives a good insight in the realities and life of return migrants.It is interesting how people who went through the same struggle and problems of living in a foreign country end in such hierarchical structures. Clearly this is because of the given social and political structures and the Japanese immigration policies, but still one should think they would stand more together within the migrant community because of the common history. I found that the examples the author mentioned of the Samba-dancing Brazilians with their national flag everywhere and on the opposite the Peruvians , who really try to fit in, were well picked.
Anyway, I would agree with Jesus, that it is not only in Japan the case. Even in Germany we have this discussion about classification of immigrants and how to deal with skilled and unskilled refugees and if there should be a privilege to the well-educated ones.
Am 23. January 2017 um 15:52 Uhr
I, too, found the article very interesting, as I hadn’t read much about the topic before and would have thought that having somewhat the same experience of (return) migration would make people prone to stick together, just as Lea said.
The author describes very well how return migrants have to negotiate their identity anew in the face of discrimination in their (ethnic) home country. It is only logical that they would choose the way most likely to make their situation there easier. This sets the focus on the host country and its political and social structures, in this case Japan, as the site of re-negotiating their identity. This, in my opinion, makes the different experiences of return migrants to different countries of origin very hard to compare. I don’t know much about Japan to be honest, but the importance of social hierarchy immediately comes to my mind. I imagine that the way one would re-negotiate their identity would be different in a country with lower social hierarchy. This fact makes it understandable that the author chooses to almost neglect the experiences the return migrants had faced in Peru or Brazil respectively. She only mentiones briefly that in both countries, and especially in Peru, Japanese immigrants were (sometimes) treated very poorly. I would say, however, that your experiences before return migration have high influencing potential on whether you do or do not choose to assume Peruvian or Brazilian (or really any country’s) identity aswell and should be incorporated into the investigation of re-negotiation of return migrants’ identity.
Am 23. January 2017 um 19:31 Uhr
The idea of hierarchy is present between both groups of migrants, the Brazilians and the Peruvians, but also inside each group (2nd generation, 3rd generation). This status is key to get access to some legal rights (the duration of a visa) but also to some social recognition. What is striking is that migrants themselves accept and reproduce this scheme by claiming or hiding their identity. With this article I saw that some social codes need to be respected to facilitate the integration of a migrant in its welcoming country: playing the “Other” or hiding its difference. Sometimes an identity is imposible to hide such as Ivana mentioned, returning migrants, after facing the rejection of their welcoming country face the rejection of their own country by listening to people’s reaction according to their “Japanese face”..
Am 4. February 2017 um 15:40 Uhr
The article gives an interesting overview about the similarities and differences of the return migration from Peru and Brazil to Japan highlighting the existing ethnic hierarchy of the returning migrants. Takenaka described these different ethnic hierarchy’s by using the different categories language and race. In both cases the Brazilian Japanese’s generally where higher situated in the ethnic hierarchy than Peruvian Japanese. For me it was surprising that there is such a huge difference of the return of Japanese descendent from different countries and that the Peruvians suffered a lot more discrimination. The citation on page 14 describes this pretty good: “According to several Peruvian and Brazilians observers, Peruvian were generally the first to be fired at times of recession”(p.14)
I agree with Felipe that the aspect about becoming a ‘the other’ in a place where you thing you ought to belong is a very frequent issue. Some friends of mine are second generation immigrants. By returned to their parents’ homeland they told me that they always felt more connected to their parents’ homelands but when they moved there they were treated more like Germans.
Am 9. February 2017 um 06:35 Uhr
I quite enjoyed the article as it highlights discontinuities in the coherence of ethnicity in terms of how it can be inherited or schooled in various contexts. I feel like research attesting to the fluidity of ethnic coherence is generally useful, given that ideas of common ethnicity (and indeed nationality) so often lead to toxic, when not outright destructive, ideologies. For many of the stakeholders in the research, from Japanese policy makers to the various immigrants who arrive from Peru and Brazil, the desire and, in many cases the pressure, to create a Community and an Other is evident. Though the article was relatively brief, I felt Takenaka did well to convey the complexity of dynamics leading to this phenomenon of racial hierarchy regarding South Americans.
As Jesus and Lea both mentioned, these tendencies are widespread. To name but one from experience, I remember that as one of the few foreigners living in a village in the Basque Country, much attention was paid to the specificity of my background whereas upon moving to southern Spain I was suddenly classified by ‘virtue’ of my pale complexion as another ‘guiri’, which given my borderline smug appraisal of my command of the Spanish language and cultural queues was somewhat of a shock. Usually, of course, the consequences of this order of ethnic classification are much less trivial.
Am 16. February 2017 um 19:23 Uhr
I found really interesting the important role of global hierarchy of nations, for instance Brazil that occupied a higher position in the global hierarchy then Peru and depending on that return migrants can be treated better or worse.
Continuing Michael’s argue, it also happened to me in Germany and right a few months ago in Chile. In Germany I wasn’t been asking a lot about my country and origin, but the opposite happened to me in Chile, where I really felt as a privileged “migrant” on the basis of my ethnicity (and the consequent really white skin), in opposite to other latinos.
Moreover, to me was really familiar the fact that some Japanese Brazilians adopt some brazilian traditions (dancing samba, wearing clothes with Brazilian flag etc) only when they’re far away from home(322). I think it’s also something spontenous that may happen to a lots of migrants or expats. I can recognise it also in my dayly life here in Berlin; I’ve never considered myself as a patriotic person, but here I always try to go to every Italian event (food, concerts etc.): it’s something that I do in an automatically way, without thinking about it, maybe bacause it’s an easy way in order to have a “home taste” from time to time.
Am 20. December 2023 um 10:44 Uhr
In your opinion, how can academic research and public discourse contribute to challenging and changing perceptions of the ‘Other’ within migrant populations, fostering a more inclusive and accepting societal environment? go check our journal in Telkom University