On Community: Sojourners and Settlers - Essay Example

On Community: Sojourners and Settlers The works "The Structure of 'Revealed' Preference: Race, Community and Female Labor Supply in the London Clothing Industry" by Naila Kabeer and "The Power of the Imagined Community: The Settlement of Undocumented Mexicans and Central Americans in the United States " by Leo R. Chavez are both portraits of what we all know as community. The first bring into the spotlight the Bengali immigrants in the British labor market, while Chavez considers the Mexican and Central American immigrants in America. What is apparent is that though the two authors focus on one topic-community-two opposing perspectives have surfaced to describe it. Taken together, these two articles highlight the differences between the immigrants in Britain and United States which can be directly attributed to the dissimilarity of their race and culture. While the Mexican and Central American immigrants became settlers who embraced the new culture in their new community, the Bengali's became sojourners who became attached to their homeland. In Chavez's article, he looks at the concept of "imagined community" using the undocumented Mexican and Central American immigrants to the United States as subjects. An imagined community as posited by Anderson is different from the typical community formed by individuals living in the same geographical region and sharing the same values, principles, ideologies, and culture. An imagined community, as the term implies, refers to a "virtual" community which exists only in the mind of the individuals forming it: "Members of modern nations cannot possibly know all their fellow members, and 'yet in the minds of each lives the image of their communion. It is imagined community because, regardless of the actual inequality and exploitation that may prevail in each, the nation is always conceived as a deep, horizontal comradeship'" (Chavez 219-220) Thus, what binds members in this specific community is the shared fundamental membership of the community. In the context of this imagined community, he then describes the type of community which was exemplified by the Mexican and Central American immigrants. To clarify further, he delineates between sojourners and settlers quoting the works of Park Siu. Accordingly, a sojourner is "the immigrant who maintains an orientation to the home country" (qtd. in Chavez 221), while the settler is the immigrant whose orientation has shifted from his places of origin to his new community. Chavez asserts that the immigrants under consideration can be classified as members of the imagined community. This fact is supported by the immigrants' retention of ties with their home families and their communities of origin. Thus, Mexican and Central American immigrants retain their membership to their "imagined communities" of origin though they stay in America. Chavez, however, stresses that the feeling of belongingness and membership is not only developed in a single community but could be felt for multiple communities. He then asserts that these immigrants experience a change in orientation brought about by their new experiences in the new community: "And while many Mexican immigrants retain their ties with their home families and communities, this does not necessarily undermine their experiences in their new communities, experiences that may isolate them from the larger society or lead to a change in their orientation from sojourners to settlers" (222). Chavez concluded that the Mexicans and Central American immigrants have "developed social linkages, cultural sentiment, and economic ties" which resulted to the establishment of their sense of belongingness to the United States. Notably, they began imagining themselves as a part of their new community though they do not necessarily possess a "profound sense of shared identity with the larger community" (222). Thus, they have irrefutably become settlers. The community described by Kabeer in her article is rather different from the one portrayed by Chavez. This article explains the impact of the community in the decision making process of Bengali immigrants to work in the London clothing industry. What surfaced in her discussion is the huge impact of their community of origin in their lives in Britain. Using Chavez's concept of the imagined community, it should be noted that the Bengali village in Britain is a "transnational community" where the immigrants are "living dislocated on the other side of a political border" (Chavez 220). Like the Mexicans and Central Americans considered in the first case, these Bengalis also have an orientation toward their home communities. However, what distinguishes the two immigrants examined is the level of orientation. In the case of Mexicans and Central Americans, their orientation to their community of origin is not as strong as it is within the Bengalis. As stated above, there is widespread shift from being sojourners to settlers in the first set of immigrants. Bengalis are more strongly oriented towards their former community, if not completely tied. In fact, the Bengali fully retained their culture and beliefs while in another geographical area. This is mirrored in the decision-making process within families. Kabeer noted that there is an "overarching presence of 'the community' as a factor in shaping the lives and choice of the Bangladeshi women and of their families" (303). Almost all the decisions undertaken by the Bengali are affected by their strong linkage to their community. Bengali women's home-working decision, socialization, activities, and others are always carried out because of their traditions. Thus, even if these immigrants are physically absent from their native land, they carry with them this "community" by showing its presence in all their actions. In contrast to Mexican and Central American immigrants, Bengali immigrants are not able to form a sense of belongingness in their new community. The discussion above shows the significant difference between the immigrant communities in the United States and Britain. Notably, these differences are a result of their orientations toward their new community. In the case of the Mexican and Central Americans, their development of sense of belongingness in their new community made them settlers while Bengalis retained their identity and culture and can be referred to a sojourners. It should be noted that the response of the immigrants considered to their new communities was largely affected by the culture and tradition they uphold. The distinct religion practiced by Bengalis seemed to hold their original orientation together undermining their experiences in the new community. Thus, what it can be concluded is that being a sojourner or settler largely rests on the strength of culture and tradition holding the immigrants and their original community together. Works Cited Chavez, Leo. "The Power of the Imagined Community: The Settlement of Undocumented Mexicans and Central Americans in the United States." Kabeer, Naila. "The Structure of 'Revealed' Preference: Race, Community, and Female Labour Supply in the London Clothing Industry." Read More