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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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Linkages between migration and the care of frail older people
— observations from Greece, Ghana The Netherlands | | Author(s) | Sjaak van der Geest, Anke Mul, Hans Vermeulen |
| Journal title | Ageing and Society, vol 24, part 3, May 2004 |
| Pages | pp 431-450 |
| Source | http://journals.cambridge.org/ |
| Keywords | Migration ; Family relationships ; Informal care ; Comparison ; Greece ; Ghana ; Netherlands. |
| Annotation | There are at least four ways in which old age and migration cross each other's paths. First, people who migrated for economic reasons, usually at a relatively young age, and who have grown old in a foreign country. Second, older people who migrate when (or because) they are old in Europe, they are mostly from the affluent Northern countries and travel southward. Third, the increasing employment of, and demand for, immigrant workers of old-age institutions in the northern countries. Lastly, out-migration of young people, mainly from rural areas, that results in older people being left behind without children to look after them. In all these cases, migration has a profound effect on older people's well-being and care. The authors explore a fifth linkage between migration and old age, by focusing on the (mainly illegal) immigrants who take on roles as private carers and, in effect, replace the children who have emigrated. Two cases, from Greece and Ghana, are presented in their political, cultural and economic contexts. These are compared with conditions in the Netherlands. In both cases, involving a "stranger" in the care of an older parent is regarded as a good and respectable solution to the problem of absent children and grandchildren; it follows rules of reciprocity and normally provides good quality care. Ironically, hiring full-time private care for older people is feasible in low-income countries, but is a rare luxury in high-income societies. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-040514206 A |
| Classmark | TN: DS:SJ: P6: 48: 76X: 7MS: 76H |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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