4 - Non-economic evaluation of the “success” of migrant workers

This Presentation examines how supporting agencies for migrant workers and family members in receiving countries and home countries contribute to the reintegration process of migrant workers by focusing on Indonesian migrant workers’ cases. Much of the prior research reveals that the aspiration to work abroad is not solely based on economic necessities. Still, it involves other reasons, such as family problems and gender/social norms. However, the successful stories of returnees are primarily based on economic and rather materialistic achievements, typically the opening of small businesses and building houses.
These achievements reflect the government’s discourse on successful returnees as the equivalent of their economic contribution to the family and country. At the same time, they seem to limit the capacities of migrant workers and their families to be “successful” in various other ways. In this presentation, the “success” of migrant workers is discussed through values, such as bringing new ideas and skills and cutting off the migration labor cycles within the families by building learning communities. In both cases, the key initiatives are taken by local NPOs in receiving countries and Indonesia. By introducing three different NPOs in Taiwan and Indonesia with the narratives of migrant workers and their families, this presentation suggests non-economic evaluation of the “success” of migrant workers.