Social connections and trust among destitute, undocumented African migrants in Barcelona, Spain.
Citation
Bermúdez, K. (2014) Social connections and trust among destitute, undocumented African migrants
in Barcelona, Spain., no. 287.
Abstract
This PhD research is based on a 5 month-long participant observation with a total of
18 undocumented migrants of African origin that were residing at an emergency
accommodation in Barcelona, Spain between February and July 2010. Study
participants had arrived at this flat, managed by a migrant support association, after
their available social networks, on which they depended for shared accommodation
arrangements, disbanded under negative pressure caused by the 2008 global
economic crisis. They were consequently left without the possibility of relying on
familiar support to cope with the effects of the economic recession. In this adverse
economic context, it was, therefore, essentially important for them to rebuild their
relational support systems, to facilitate their exit from destitution. They could not
depend on public supports beyond room and board offered at the emergency
accommodation because of their undocumented status. However, in this new life
setting, study participants faced the challenge of having to consider relationship
opportunities with individuals at the flat or in the community who were previously
socially distant, as they did not belong to their tight-knit social networks. The fact
that study participants showed marked differences in social connectivity while facing
this challenge, stimulated research interest in understanding the reasons behind
these differences. The social-ecological paradigm of community psychology was
selected as an appropriate theoretical framework to approach this topic, as it draws
attention to the multilevel factors that could influence study participants' attitudes
towards social connection across ethnic boundaries. Application of participant
observation methodology as the core data collection strategy allowed use of
complementary methods of data collection as were deemed useful to answer the
research questions, like informal conversations with different study participants, a
weekly support group with all residents, weekend outings with all who wished to
participate and, finally, Focus Group Interviews on the topic of interpersonal trust.
The research found that undocumented migrants hold high expectations on trust in
their social relationships in response to perceived risk in the transnational context,
where they face continuous threats of arrest, detention, and deportation. For this
reason, they concentrate their social relationships on available undocumented
migrant social networks, which, because members usually belong to the same
country of origin, allow them to activate culturally-bound social mechanisms that
ensure satisfaction of their high trust expectations. When these networks are no
longer available, some undocumented migrants may experience difficulties to adjust
their trust expectations as necessary to form relationships with non-network
members. However, some display a fundamental willingness to cooperate with
others over and above usual trust considerations, which appears to constitute a key
personal asset to maintain social connection in crisis situations. This research
concludes by outlining the implications of this finding for psychosocial support
practice with undocumented migrants and members of other socially vulnerable
groups, like refugees and asylum seekers, who could benefit from heightened
cooperation to enhance social connectivity in critical situations.