| ID | 130387 |
| Title Proper | Yearning for faraway places |
| Other Title Information | the construction of migration desires among young and educated Bangladeshis in Dhaka |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Bal, Ellen |
| Publication | 2014. |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | These days, the imagined destinations of ever more people, particularly in the 'global South', are not where they were born but elsewhere. Using a case study of educated (lower) middle-class youth in Dhaka, this paper attempts to demonstrate that for many 'aspiring migrants', the yearning for leaving is a metaphor for disappointment and disengagement rather than the first step towards transnational migration. Economic growth, rapid urbanisation and the increasing investment in education infest the emerging urban (lower) middle-class youth with new 'modern' lifestyle desires that cannot be fulfilled in their home country and generate a sense of disengagement with Bangladesh. The paper focuses in particular on how the - culturally embedded - imaginations of foreign places link up to personal (re-)evaluations of local lives. Nearly all informants explained how local socio-economic, political and existential insecurities made them yearn for 'safe' places where their dreams could be fulfilled. |
| `In' analytical Note | Identities: Global Studies in Culture and Power Vol.21, No.3; June 2014: p.275-289 |
| Journal Source | Identities: Global Studies in Culture and Power Vol.21, No.3; June 2014: p.275-289 |
| Key Words | Bangladesh ; Migration ; Aspiring Migrants ; Global South ; Transnational Migration ; Economic Growth ; Socio-Economic Insecurity ; Political Insecurity ; Existential Insecurities |