Paper short abstract:

This article explores the return mobility of Burmese migrants and its intersection with different forms of power. The imaginative horizons of the Burmese return and the usage of entrepreneurial skills are significantly constituted by diverse socio-political powers, under the continuing reform in Myanmar.

Paper long abstract:

This article explores the return mobility of Burmese migrants and its intersection with different forms of power. Recently, some Burmese returnees, from various ethnic origins, have gone into small-scaled business, discovering the unnoticed economic opportunity. The imaginative horizons towards return and business project are not simply driven by individual calculation, but rather structured by intersecting powers. The political reform since 2011 has increasingly improved civil rights and freedom, providing guarantee of everyday-life safety. Family ties and kinship also oblige many migrants to think about homecoming and eventually rejoin their country of origin. However, the Burmese and ethnic-based militants remain an intimidating obstacle. The situation creates deep anxiety among returnees, as those political influences can hinder or even damage the possibility of earning and having a good life. While most returnees distance themselves from troubles, some new entrepreneurs submit to these authorities, working with them and benefiting from smuggling business. This ethnographic writing is based on fieldwork in business-booming areas of southeastern Myanmar, adjacent to the Thailand-Myanmar border. The paper argues that the politics of return mobility is significantly constituted by diverse socio-political powers under the continuing reform in Myanmar. This return trajectory is not just about going back home, but an on-going mobility through possibilities and dealing with limitations.