Experience of Return Migration

Since the incorporation of the Caribbean into the European flow of trade in the sixteenth century, the region has experienced successive waves of immigration, emigration and circulation. All forms of migration have therefore been fundamental in the creation and maintenance of Caribbean societies. There is now a considerable amount of return migration to the Caribbean from North America and Europe. There has been very little work published on return migration that focuses on the Caribbean. This book brings together a range of in-depth case studies, concentrating on topics such as the socio-cultural adjustments that are faced by the transnational migrants. Young returning nationals are a particular focus and the book looks at the economic and social roles these return migrants fulfill. The book also develops theoretical constructs concerning how the transnational networks of these returnees help perpetuate mobility, and further the formation of extended multi-local networks linking the returnees with their European, North American and intra-Caribbean kin and families.'These essays on the new phenomenon of young foreign born "returnees" to the wider Caribbean will make a path breaking contribution to our understanding of migration and return. Theoretically innovative and attuned to the complexity and diversity of return migration and its impact on identities and societies, it is a treasure of insights and an important addition to the literature.' Professor Mary Chamberlain, Oxford Brookes University, UK 'This book opens up fascinating new perspectives on the return of first- and second-generation migrants to their Caribbean homelands. It is essential reading for scholars of migration, especially those interested in this migration-rich region of the world'. Professor Russell King, University of Sussex, UK 'This is an important collection focusing on a new trend in migration - the return migration of young people to the Caribbean. The analysis of the economic and social capital contributed to island life by these returnees throws a new light on transnationalism and on Caribbean development in the 21st century...an essential book for all those interested in the economies of the Caribbean.' Professor Janet Momsen, University of California, Davis, USA