Connecting and Disconnecting People and Places: Migrants, Migration and the Household in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Migration can be domestic or international. The author examines the impact of both types of migration at the economic and social levels by surveying two sites in rural Sri Lanka. Findings of the survey indicate that domestic migration is caused by the desire to escape from the mundane rural life, whereas international migration is caused by a need to rise from poverty, and to provide a better life for their families. Domestic migration is common with the youth who wish to become independent and have their own means of livelihood. International migration is likely to raise the status of the migrant in the household and create several household- migration interactions. This study seeks to explore these interactions and also the role of migration in this context.