(Mis)Givings in a Prairie City? Identity and Belonging of Filipina (Im)Migrants in Lethbridge, Alberta
Abstract
Migration is an experience of the self, a personal journey for those who leave their places of origin. The movement from one place to another carries with it material and subjective meanings. Mobility also implies change, transformation or seeming difference in its social interactions with another culture or a different social system. These changes undeniably affect one’s notion of identity and belonging. This chapter uses a feminist approach in examining selected personal case studies of Filipina immigrants in Lethbridge, a small city in southern Alberta. This chapter demonstrates how gender roles, labour migration and identity construction are interconnected. A concluding section deals with the prospect of whether these Filipina immigrants will stay or leave the city, emphasizing the best the city has to offer or not.
Notes
Location
Lethbridge, Alberta
Community organizations
NA
Key populations
Filipino immigrants and migrants
Key findings
Filipina immigrant and migrant women find spaces of belonging in Lethbridge through affordable housing and community connections as well as employment; they consider leaving Lethbridge for other opportunities in other cities in Alberta and Canada so don’t necessarily have a permanent attachment to Lethbridge
Integration timeline
At what point during the integration process the study was conducted?
Open-access – No
Key recommendations
None identified
Gaps identified
None identified