LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
2.3 Theoretical Framework
2.3.2 Social Network Theory
The social network theory maintains that people are embedded in thick webs of social relations and interactions (Borgatti et al, 2009). In the context of migration, the theory involves interpersonal links that connect migrants, former migrants and non-migrants
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in origin and destination areas through ties of kinship, friendship and a shared community origin (Massey et al.1993: 448). According to Jennisen (2007), these interpersonal ties can either be intimate (family relations or close friend) or noncommittal (the so called weak ties).The Social Network theory affirms that migration is not an individual activity but rather a social activity that involves decisions informed by the interpersonal ties one has. These interpersonal networks make it easier for new migrants to find jobs and gain access to the required resources in their destination countries (Poston & Bouvier, 2010:213).Migration networks could also facilitate access to micro-credit needed to bolster businesses and support for other livelihood expenses. In migrant-sending countries, information about jobs and living standards abroad is transmitted through personal networks such as friends and neighbors who emigrated (Oishi, 2002:7).This information emanating from these networks informs the plans and decisions to migrate or not, as potential migrants are informed about the awaiting risks, possible opportunities, challenges and support systems. The work of Nielesen (2004) focused on the migration of Darnish Somalis to Britain which indicated that the dissemination of information enhanced by a strong network among Somalis in Britain facilitated by their migration.
In receiving countries, immigrant communities often help their fellow men and women to immigrate, find a job, and adjust to a new environment (Oishi, 2002:7).
According to Raghuram (1999), the aid channeled through the networks includes information about the area; travel costs; board and lodging on arrivals in the city and loans to cover the initial expenditure. The social network theory acknowledges the presence of various related cross-border linkages between individuals and groups (Bijak, 2006).This link facilitates and encourages new movements by providing resources in form of information and assistance to potential migrants( Vandererf &
Heering, 1996:154).The more social relations one has at the place of destination and, consequently, the more information channels these relationships provide, the more influential such information is on the decision to migrate (Coombs, 1998; Haug,
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2008).The network is also a powerful force in person’s decision to move to another country, given that decision to move is often a family or household decision rather than an individual one (Vandererf & Heering, 1996:154). This decision to migrate is enhanced by expectations that the family members have on the one to move. Curran and Saguy (2013) observe that just as potential migrants expect kin or friends, who have already migrated, to assist them, so households of origin expect migrants to “help out” financially by remitting a portion of their earnings.Due to this expectation, households encourage select family members to migrate.
Thus, studying networks, particularly those linked to families and households, permits an understanding of migration as a social product, not as the sole result of individual’s decision to move, not as the sole result of economic or political parameters but rather as an outcome of all these factors in interaction (Boyd, 1989; Spittle, 1989).” In her analysis of Mexican illegal migration, Dinerman argues that migration as a household strategy is conditioned by social ties at the community level as well as by the local economy (Boyd, 1978; Dinerman, 1989). The community and family support systems are catalysts for migration because they sponsor migration which could involve huge finances for transportation and immigration documentation.This therefore determines when and who migrates. According to Dinerman (1989), immigrants come mainly from those households which members can combine economic options and households whose members have consistently upheld their family and community obligations and consequently find that they are able to call in their social debts.
The Social Network theory is limited in the sense that it cannot explain why and how various networks were developed between one country and the other, and between one community/clan and the other (Oishi, 2002:7).This is because the development of such networks is dependent on historical, geographical and political ties which existed before large scale migration started (Oishi, 2002:7).These factors show that migration patterns vary from one country to the other. The Social Network theory, however,
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cannot explain the pattern of international female and male migration because Oishi, (2002:7) argues that gender aspects of international migration have not been addressed due to the assumption that most migrants are men, and women are their followers.
While usefulness of social network theory is increasingly being realized, its interrelations with gender have hardly been addressed and there has been little attempt to see how women access and mobilize social networks during migration process (Raghuram, 1999; Tacoli, 1995). Hondagneu-Sotelo (1994), laments that, while immigration literature underscores the importance of those social networks, insofar as they provide important resources and connections, most of the literature either ignores the gender-based character of those networks or assumes that male-dominated immigrant networks are natural and do not need further inquiry. Nonetheles,Doreen massey (1994) brings in gender into the geographical space within which, there exists the social networks. She buttress’s the fluidity of the transnational space,which she argues that it is socialy constructed.She points out that gender is redefined and reconstructed within the transnational territories.
The work of Niyigena (2013) adopts Social Network theory in studying the challenges that Somali migrants face in South Africa. These refugee’s, argues Niyigena (2013), rely on the existing networks within their family members and acquaintances that supply them with information about South Africa, and also, when they arrive into the country, their settlements are eased by their friends within the community. Although Somalis are not a homogenous community, the members seem to be united by a phenomenon facilitated by the strong ties which exist among them. Brown (2014), focused on the Somali gendered integration and settlement, and how the social networks affect their lives within the transnational space. The work found out that, all the research participants responded that they had already established some connections with other Somalis in Cape Town who facilitated their migration and settlement to the city (2014).
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Social network theory enabled the researcher to focus migration experiences of Somali women as a phenomenon affected by interpersonal interactions within the transnational space. In order to comprehend how Somali women adjust and integrate within the transnational space, the theory enabled the researcher expose the manner in which kinship ties, friendship ties, clan ties and religious ties assist Somali women who navigate transnational space amidst Xenophobia-Afrophobia related complexities. In view of the main work of SASOWNET, which is an advancement of a network platform where women can raise a robust voice together, the theory will unpack how those women link with other persons within and across South African borders.