Abstract.

Migrant networks, in the form of families, associational ties and social organizations, stretch across the globe, connecting cultures and bridging national boundaries. The effects of this global networking are vast. This book is the first to stand back and explore the impact. Families living outside of their original national boundaries have had, and continue to have, a profound influence over the flow of people, goods, money and information. More in-depth perspectives reveal how immigrants face troubling issues of cultural identity, economic change, political uncertainty and social welfare. From an examination of nineteenth-century transnational families emigrating from Europe, to the Ghanaian Pentecostal diaspora in Europe today, this book combines broadly based analysis with more unusual case studies to reveal the complexities that immigrants and refugees must contend with in their daily lives. What are the experiences of migrant Turkish women living in Germany? In what ways has religion been hybridized amongst West African Muslim migrants in Paris? What are the gender relations and transnational ties amongst Bosnian refugees? Never has such a topic been more relevant. Problems relating to immigrants' and refugees' situations in their adopted countries continue to grow. This book, wide-ranging in its geographical and thematic scope, is a highly important and timely addition to debates on transnational families, immigrants and refugees.

With huge funds at their disposal, the countries of West Asia attract skilled labor from other countries to work on construction sites, in factories, and in various labor-intensive activities. Men from the Indian state of Kerala are among those attracted to such opportunities. Yet, while studies exist which address the impact such migrations have on men, none have examined the impact on the women they leave behind. Focusing on ten such women, Gulati examines the various health, psychological, financial, and family issues that arise when men leave home. Written in a direct and accessible style, this ethnographic account is essential reading for all those involved in women's studies, migration studies, economics, sociology, and demography. "The book is written in a direct and simple language. While reading the profiles you fell as if the woman is talking to you directly and thus they create a better impact and empathy."