Social Ties and Embeddedness in Old Age: Older Turkish labour migrants in Vienna

Author(s)

Monika Palmberger

Abstract

This paper focuses on older Turkish labour migrants and their spouses, who mostly came to Vienna as young adults in the 1960s and thereafter. They are now entering retirement age and constitute a significant part of Vienna's older population. I analyse their understandings of transnational ageing, their social ties and feelings of social embeddedness. For those still mobile, active participation in one of Vienna's Turkish cultural/religious/political associations is identified as a particular source of social embeddedness. I argue that these voluntary associations provide an important place for older migrants to strengthen social ties and are relatively easy to access, including in old age. Nevertheless, I demonstrate that older Turkish labour migrants are exposed to several forms of discrimination, some of which are felt especially strongly in old age, including a lack of adequate institutionalised late life care. In the discussion of the paper, I critically revisit the debate on ethnicity as a resource versus ethnicity as a vulnerability factor in old age. I argue that this debate is misleading since it camouflages other central social categories and relations. I conclude by suggesting closer attention be paid to the specific but multiple generational experiences of older labour migrants and their spouses.

Organisation(s)

Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology

Journal

Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies

Volume

43

Pages

235-249

No. of pages

15

ISSN

1369-183X

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2016.1238907

Publication date

11-2016

Peer reviewed

Yes

Austrian Fields of Science 2012

504010 European ethnology, 504007 Empirical social research, 504009 Ethnology

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Demography, Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)

Portal url

https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/8eb90c5d-9649-4bb2-9b97-288007c721fb