International Migration Institute

Carolin Fischer presents her paper 'The (changing) role of family among Afghan communities in Britain and Germany' in Parallel session I(D) of the conference Examining Migration Dynamics: Networks and Beyond, 24-26 Sept 2013 This paper explores how Afghan families shape migration from Afghanistan and processes of settlement and community formation at European destinations. Social relationships based on family and tribal ties are sources of solidarity and make mutual assistance an imperative. How these attributes of Afghan families are maintained or re-shaped through migration and settlement in western countries has not been explicitly addressed. Focusing on the lives of Afghans in Britain and Germany I examine the reconfiguration of families and agency of family members, taking into account structural conditions enforced in the receiving society. I conducted a series of in-depth interviews with people who left Afghanistan at different stages during the last four decades and now live in Britain or Germany. The