This week we read the article West Indian Migration to New York: An Overview by Nancy Foner. This article generally summarized the migration of West Indians or Caribbean’s to New York. She states the reasons that caused West Indians to leave their home countries and move to New York as “Scarce resources, overpopulation, high unemployment and underemployment, limited opportunities for advancement—these have long spurred West Indians to look abroad…” Once the movement of people had begun, transnational networks were and continue to be essential. These were emphasized greatly in this week’s readings. The migrants keep strong and vibrant connections to their home country and family members elsewhere. Another big factor in the experience of West Indians is race and ethnicity because their blackness affected their reception in New York and elsewhere.

This week we also read New York as a Locality in a Global Family Network by Karen Fog Olwig. This article outlines how important the transnational networks are to transnational migrants. These manifest themselves in several ways. There is the economic aspect, in which remittances are sent from the new country back to family members back in their place of origin. There is also money set from the home country to the United States. Family members send money to younger people that are studying or to a family member that wants to buy a house. The family members also help direct flow of migrating relatives to places where there is favorable or guaranteed employment.

Another important role they played was that of childcare. When Caribbean people left their countries of origin they couldn’t afford to bring the entire family, so the head of the household would often move leaving the rest of the family behind. The children of that family would stay behind and remain with relatives until the entire family could move. This also went the opposite way, where the families abroad would sent their children back to the home country for a more strict education or to reconnect with their culture.

In the article, Olwig uses personal interviews with West Indian migrants to extrapolate the experience in a micro view to that of a macro view. The story of Bill was especially interesting. His family was an upper-middle class family in Jamaica and they decided to move to New York for a better future. But upon arriving they realized that they weren’t as welcome as they thought they would be. They were always lumped in with other West Indians and they hated that because back in the Caribbean they were perceived as much different than all the others. His family moved to white neighborhood but always the neighborhood would become predominantly West Indian. It is an interesting story of having to struggle with one’s identity when they are not perceived the way that they want to be.

The last article we read this week was Trust Networks in Transnational Migration by Charles Tilly. This article focused more on the transnational networks that are established by migrating peoples. Tilly starts by showing that the money sent abroad in the form of remittances does not have a negligible effect. There are huge amounts of money moving through transnational networks all the time, the estimate given being $60 billion in a year. It shows the amount of dependence and trust that people have on these networks. They are essential to the survival of many families caught in the transnational migrant situation.

The members of the transnational networks take huge risks in placing so much trust in other. For example, they will lend family members money for a house, education, or wedding. These people could so easily lose all their money but still have trust in members of the network. Tilly argues that these networks make their members form extreme bonds of trust with one another. Simultaneously, with all the trust that is inherent in these transnational networks and with all the benefits, come many obligations. The members must comply with their role in the network and must always be in constant motion