Family stability within the
Caribbean population can be disturbed when they decide to migrate. Child- shifting
can also take place. This is when the family in the US decided to send their
child back to their home island, while they continue working in America. Or the
child can initially stay on the island while their parent(s) works abroad. After
a while, the child is usually able to join the family in America. This is very
common in places like Jamaica, Barbados, Haiti, and Trinidad. These kids who
spend their time between the US and the West Indies are usually called ‘barrel
children’. The name ‘barrel child’ comes from the fact that parents usually
send clothes, toys, and money back to their kids and the caregivers, in
barrels.
‘Barrel children’ can usually live
with grandparents while parents are gone. However, there are many kids that
live with older siblings or even strangers. There have been multiple
unfortunate cases where children are abused physically and verbally by their
caregivers, and no one is able to do anything. The caregiver believes that
he/she can do anything to the child no matter what the parent says since the
caregiver is doing a ‘favor’.
Child- shifting can be a
bittersweet process. On one hand, the parents are able to leave to make a
better life for the family. Parents work hard for the money, house, and education
for their kids so they do not have to grow up without opportunities to chase.
Then, when life is stable abroad, they can send for their kids. On the other
hand, children miss their parents. Children do not see their parents for months
or even years at a time. Plus, parents are leaving the kids at such a young age
that sometimes kids do not recognize their own mothers and fathers. They just
know that someone named mom/dad sends money, toys and clothes every once in a
while. The bonds between a child and their mother or father are sometimes
damaged and they can feel abandoned, depressed or experience low self-esteem.
Though child- shifting can have
unintended negative affects on the child, it is a common and almost traditional
way to live and work abroad. Parents do the best they can with the resources
they are given, and if this calls for them to leave for better opportunities,
it is something that has to be done.
This is such an interesting post. I always knew that this existed but I never knew the "name" for it. It saddens my heart to know that parents have to even go abroad to make enough money for their child(ren). Their living situation at home are forcing them to go abroad, which means the connection with the child becomes weakened. Even though, they may reconnect later, not having parents around when needed is difficult and can cause many problems. I think that this topic is very important and definitely needs to be discussed more because it is important. Children should be able to move with their parents or at least have some way of seeing their parents several times in a year.
ReplyDeleteChild-shifting can negatively impact both the parent(s) leaving and the child(ren) being left behind, even if its for what they perceive as a good cause. This reminds me a lot of the documentary we saw in class, Maid in America. Judith, the woman who gives birth to her baby boy, was reunited with her daughters in Guatemala, yet her baby daughter does not recognize her as her mother. Even though her mother went to another country to help her family, she has lost value time and connection with her daughters.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting to see how different populations deal with familial stability. The results of leaving your family behind seem to be equal across the board. It is turbulent for any child who has to deal with a parent leaving them for a significant period of time. As Alice said above, the movie we watched displays all the behavior you explained in the blog post.
ReplyDelete