The importance of social networks in the migration process A case study in a village of exclusively Roma families

Abstract

Abstract The paper presents evidence related to a qualitative research carried out in a stigmatized village inhabited exclusively by Roma families and the neighbouring settlements on migration patterns, processes and aspirations of Roma families. Based our empirical research I identify two main patterns which reflect their different social and ethnic positions and mobilise different social relations and social capital in the migration process. (1.) Networks and social relations of better-off Roma families in a higher social position are manifold and differentiated, and their migration pattern follows that of Roma and non-Roma families from the neighbouring settlements living in the same social positions. They identify themselves as Hungarian in the narratives on migration. (2.) Conversely, the impoverished Roma families have a possibility to migrate only through a closed ethnic-based network, usually informal, which reinforces their vulnerable position. Thus, the migration pattern of Roma families is based on their social position as defined by the social relations and social capital inflected by the social history of the given settlement/region, the previous social and economic coexistence between different social and ethnic groups, and the accessibility and role of local institutions. Keywords: migration, ethnicity, Roma