Paper short abstract:

By analysing their experiences of return, this paper unpacks the tensions within Romanian migrants' transnational social networks. It uses a two-fold focus: firstly examining the Romanian state's standpoint on migration, then considering how this shapes migrants' trajectories and social networks.

Paper long abstract:

Responding to fractured economic and social prospects in their places of origin, Romanians represent one of the fastest growing and most disputed migrant groups within present-day Europe. Addressing this recent phenomenon, my ongoing ethnographic research analyses the trajectories and motivations of Romanian migrants in London. This paper unpacks the tensions and contradictions embedded in migrants' transnational social networks by discussing the possibilities and realities of return.

Through its affiliated institutions in the UK, as well as its policy and public discourse at 'home', the Romanian state renders migration a shameful, immoral act. In turn, this narrative is mirrored in migrants' experiences of return and actively shapes their transnational social networks. Whether permanently or not, most of my interlocutors desire to return to Romania and maintain this possibility active through frequent online communication and remittances (money and goods) to kin and friends at 'home'. However, migrants' imagined prospects of return stand in stark contrast with their disillusionment after briefly visiting Romania during the summer or religious holidays. Perceived as 'coming from abroad' by key actors in their transnational social networks, migrants face intense scrutiny around their morality and patriotism. Their labour is also vernacularly devalued in their interactions with close kin and friends. These attitudes towards migration in turn translate into corrupt practices during migrants' interactions with local institutions. Through the prism of return, this paper illustrates how Romanian migrants in London maintain transnational social networks and unpacks the tensions and contradictions embedded in this process.