BookPDF Available

Death on the Move: managing narratives, silences and constraints in a trans-national perspective

Authors:

Abstract

The chapters of this book analyse different aspects of the management of death, dying and mortality by migrants in Southern Europe, by deconstructing persistent idiosyncratic beliefs, myths, narratives, silences, and constraints. It focuses on migrants from diverse geographical (Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Brazil, Bangladesh and China) and cultural backgrounds in Portugal, Spain and Italy. It also includes reflections on Madagascar, East-Timor and Cuba. The thirteen chapters divided into four parts provide insights into epistemological issues, the trans-national circulation of bodies, spirits and rituals, migration, the placing of the dead and diverse funerary practices and perspectives. Privileging a multidisciplinary and multi-sited approach to death and migrations, this book draws on oral, archival and published sources to give visibility to populations that often live in liminar structural positions and transient worlds. By exploring the multifaceted dimensions of death and suffering among immigrant populations, the present volume refocuses the debate on migration in Europe and beyond by highlighting under-researched issues such as the end of life care, mental health, death, burial, cremation, funerary ceremonies and symbols, and martyrdom. Finally, it reveals the complex processes that connect notions of the “good” and “bad” death and burial, and notions regarding home and belonging in contexts of trans-national mobility.
Death on the Move
Death on the Move:
Managing Narratives,
Silences and Constraints in a
Trans-National Perspective
Edited by
Philip J. Havik, José Mapril
and Clara Saraiva
Death on the Move:
Managing Narratives, Silences and Constraints in a Trans-National
Perspective
Edited by Philip J. Havik, José Mapril and Clara Saraiva
This book first published 2018
Cambridge Scholars Publishing
Lady Stephenson Library, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE6 2PA, UK
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Copyright © 2018 by Philip J. Havik, José Mapril, Clara Saraiva
and contributors
All rights for this book reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without
the prior permission of the copyright owner.
ISBN (10): 1-5275-0757-2
ISBN (13): 978-1-5275-0757-9
TABLE OF CONTENTS
List of Illustrations ................................................................................. x
List of Tables ........................................................................................ xi
Foreword ............................................................................................. xiii
Editors’ Note ...................................................................................... xxii
Introduction ............................................................................................ 1
Philip J. Havik, José Mapril and Clara Saraiva
Part I—Death: Theories in Motion
Chapter One ......................................................................................... 12
Death and What Comes After: Immobilising the Dead and Migration
Maurice Bloch
The Transcendental and the Transactional ........................................... 12
The Organic, the Inorganic and the Immovable ................................... 14
Decomposing Bodies and Permanent Places ....................................... 17
Migration Abroad ................................................................................ 20
Chapter Two ........................................................................................ 24
Missing Bodies and Belonging in Manjaco: Or the Past and Future
of some Funeral Customs in the Context of Cosmopolitanism
Eric Gable
Introduction .......................................................................................... 24
Shameful Suicides ................................................................................ 26
Remittances .......................................................................................... 28
Death as Remittance ............................................................................ 30
Concluding Remarks ............................................................................ 33
Table of Contents
vi
Chapter Three ...................................................................................... 36
Death that Moves: A Theoretical Approach to Death and the Possible
Implications in Transnational Settings
Anastasios Panagiotopoulos
Death and Anthropology ...................................................................... 36
The Dead in Cuba ................................................................................ 41
Death and Migration: or “death-and-migration” .................................. 47
Part II—Transnational Circulation of Bodies, Spirits and Rituals
Chapter Four ........................................................................................ 56
“Fallen Leaves Return to Their Roots”: The Invisibility of Death
and the Idea of ‘Home’ in the Burial Politics of Chinese Migration
Irene Rodrigues
Introduction .......................................................................................... 56
Statistical Trifles and a very Coolie Urban Myth ................................ 57
A Public Funeral and a Private Death: Strengths and Possibilities ...... 63
Creating Roots and the Idea of ‘Home’ in Chinese Migration ............. 68
Chapter Five ......................................................................................... 74
Diversities within Cemeteries: The Otherness in the Expressions
of the Funerary Heritage in Spain
Sol Tarrés, Ariadna Solé and Jordi Moreras
Introduction: Where to Bury “the Other Dead”? ................................. 75
The Place of the “Other Deceased” in History ..................................... 78
The Experience of Ordinance .............................................................. 83
The English Cemetery in Malaga ......................................................... 83
The Muslim Cemetery in Barcia (Asturias) ......................................... 86
The Hebrew Tombs in the Cemetery of Sant Andreu de Palomar
(Barcelona) ..................................................................................... 90
Conclusions: When There is no Place for the “Other Deceased” ........ 94
Chapter Six .......................................................................................... 98
Person, Death and Gender between Lisbon and Dhaka
José Mapril
Introduction .......................................................................................... 98
A History of Bangladeshis in Portugal .............................................. 102
The Dithidar-bari ............................................................................... 104
Places of Relatedness ......................................................................... 107
Living Widowhood Transnationally .................................................. 110
Conclusions ........................................................................................ 112
Death on the Move vii
Part III—Migration, Morbidity, Mortality and Public Health
Chapter Seven .................................................................................... 118
Transnational Death Survey: A Focus on Death Related Attitudes
Violeta Alarcão, Elisa Lopes, Filipe Leão Miranda and Sofia Ribeiro
Introduction ........................................................................................ 118
Methods ............................................................................................. 120
Results ................................................................................................ 122
Conclusions ........................................................................................ 130
Appendix ............................................................................................ 135
Chapter Eight ..................................................................................... 139
Health Services and Attitudes Towards End of Life Care and Death:
A Multi-ethnic, Cross-sectional Survey
Sónia Dias, Ana Gama, Ana Tavares and Violeta Alarcão
Introduction ........................................................................................ 139
Methods ............................................................................................. 141
Results ................................................................................................ 142
Conclusions ........................................................................................ 156
Appendix ............................................................................................ 164
Chapter Nine ...................................................................................... 169
Mental Health, Morbidity and Mortality of African Immigrant
Communities in Portugal: Implications for Primary Care
Philip J. Havik
Introduction ........................................................................................ 169
Immigrant Communities, Mental Illness and Public Health
in Portugal .................................................................................... 172
Migrants’ and Practitioners’ Perceptions ........................................... 178
Final Considerations .......................................................................... 188
Part IV—“Placing the Dead” and the Locations of Death
Chapter Ten........................................................................................ 202
A Few Lost Boxes on the Highway: On the Move with Friendship,
Death and National Cultures
António Medeiros
Friends ............................................................................................... 202
Some Traps in the Highway, Flows of Culture and Stories from
Ribadavia...................................................................................... 204
Which “Country” of the Blessed Souls? ............................................ 207
Table of Contents
viii
(Still) Domesticated Monuments to the Dead .................................... 212
Conclusions ........................................................................................ 214
Chapter Eleven ................................................................................... 218
“Waiting for the Reunion”: Death, Dying, Cremation and Cape Verdean
Notions of Belonging in Greater Lisbon
Max Ruben Ramos
Introduction ........................................................................................ 218
The Cape Verdeans in Portugal: A Brief Overview ........................... 219
Death, Repatriation and Cremation among Cape Verdeans
in Portugal .................................................................................... 221
The Nazarenes in Portugal ................................................................. 222
Waiting for the Reunion ..................................................................... 222
Conclusions ........................................................................................ 226
Chapter Twelve .................................................................................. 229
“They Won’t Go There with Flowers”: Non-Evident Deaths in Migration
Ottavia Salvador
Introduction ........................................................................................ 229
Inside Stories...................................................................................... 231
Meaningful Bodies ............................................................................. 236
Oral Sources ....................................................................................... 240
Appendix ............................................................................................ 242
Chapter Thirteen ................................................................................ 245
Moving the Dead and Building the Nation: Martyrs in Timor-Leste
Susana de Matos Viegas and Rui Graça Feijó
Introduction ........................................................................................ 245
Contemporary and Past tensions: Concentrating the Dead in One
Place? ........................................................................................... 248
The Ossuary and the Ambivalence of the Armed Struggle:
The Case of Afonso Sávio ............................................................ 253
Opposing Scales: The Saga of National Heroes and the Return
to the Place of Origin: Konis Santana .......................................... 255
Caivaca’s Memorial ........................................................................... 257
Burying in the Place of Origin ........................................................... 259
Conclusions ........................................................................................ 261
Acknowledgements ............................................................................ 262
Death on the Move ix
Afterword ........................................................................................... 265
Cristiana Bastos
Contributors ....................................................................................... 267
Index .................................................................................................. 273
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Figure 5.1: Anglican Church of Saint George, ancient funerary chapel ... 84
Figure 5.2: Interior of the English Cemetery in Malaga ........................... 85
Figure 5.3: Door to the Muslim Cemetery in Barcia ................................ 88
Figure 5.4: Tourists inside the Muslim Cemetery in Barcia ..................... 89
Figure 5.5: Niches in the 6th department of the cemetery of Sant
Andreu ................................................................................................. 92
Figure 5.6: Tombstones (matzeva) on Jewish graves in the cemetery
of Sant Andreu ..................................................................................... 93
Figure 13.1: A grave in the Fataluku speaking region (1960) ................ 249
Figure 13.2: The Garden of Heroes ........................................................ 251
Figure 13.3: Nualata graves .................................................................... 261
LIST OF TABLES
Table 4.1: Evolution of the number of deaths among Chinese citizens
compared to the total of Chinese population residing in Portugal,
between 2008 and 2014 ....................................................................... 60
Table 4.2: Comparison of the number of deaths of Chinese citizens
with foreign population groups in Portugal in 2012 ............................ 60
Graph 7.1: Gender distribution in each country (percentage) ................ 123
Graph 7.2: Distribution according to age group and country of origin
(percentages) ...................................................................................... 124
Graph 7.3: Distribution according to marital status and country
of origin (percentage) ......................................................................... 124
Graph 7.4: Distribution of educational level according to the country
of origin (percentage) ......................................................................... 125
Graph 7.5: Distribution of average time of permanence in Portugal
per country of origin .......................................................................... 125
Graph 7.6: Religious beliefs by country of origin (percentage) ............. 126
Graph 7.7: Religion by country of origin (percentage) .......................... 126
Graph 7.8: Preferred country of death by country of origin
(percentage) ....................................................................................... 127
Graph 7.9: Circumstances of death by country of origin (percentage) .. 127
Graph 7.10: What happens to the body after death by country
of origin (percentage) ......................................................................... 128
Graph 7.11: Attitudes towards death by country of origin:
Preparation of the body and death ceremony (percentage) ................ 129
Graph 7.12. Attitudes towards death by country of origin: organ
donation, euthanasia, life support (percentages) ................................ 129
Table 7.1: Socio-demographic characteristics of the participants by
country of origin ................................................................................ 135
Table 7.2: Attitudes towards death and the end of life ........................... 136
Table 7.3: Attitudes towards death and death procedures....................... 137
Table 7.4: Non-adjusted and adjusted association between organ
donation and socio-demographic characteristics, cultural,
health and attitudes towards death ..................................................... 138
Graph 8.1: Marital status of participants (%) by sex .............................. 143
Graph 8.2: Country of birth of participants (%) by sex .......................... 144
Graph 8.3: Average years of education of participants, by sex .............. 144
List of Tables
xii
Graph 8.4: Occupation of participants (%) by sex ................................. 145
Graph 8.5: Religion of participants (%) by sex ...................................... 146
Graph 8.6: Refusal health care provision in Portugal (%), by sex ......... 147
Graph 8.7: Refusal health care provision in Portugal (%) by country
of birth ............................................................................................... 147
Graph 8.8: Use of emergency services in Portugal (%) by sex .............. 148
Graph 8.9: Use of emergency services in Portugal (%) by country
of birth ............................................................................................... 149
Graph 8.10: Use of health services outside Portugal (%) by sex ........... 150
Graph 8.11: Use of health services outside Portugal (%) by country
of birth ............................................................................................... 150
Graph 8.12: Use of health services abroad (%) by country of birth ....... 151
Graph 8.13: Knowledge of organization/association that could
provide health assistance (%) by sex ................................................. 152
Graph 8.14: Knowledge of organization/association that could
provide health assistance (%) by country of birth .............................. 152
Graph 8.15: Preference for place of death (%) by sex ........................... 153
Graph 8.16: Authorization for use of life extended support means
for an undetermined period of time (%), by sex ................................ 154
Graph 8.17: Recourse to euthanasia (%) by sex. .................................... 156
Table 8.1: Socio-demographic characteristics of the participants
by sex. ................................................................................................ 164
Table 8.2: Health care utilization by sex ................................................ 165
Table 8.3: Preference for place of death by sex ...................................... 166
Table 8.4: Authorization for use of extended life support means
for undetermined period of time by sex. ............................................ 167
Table 8.5: Recourse to euthanasia by sex ............................................... 168
Table 9.1: Self-evaluation of quality of life and mental health ............... 180
Table 9.2: Evaluation Access to Health Services (SNS) ........................ 182
Table 9.3: Evaluation Access Health Services (SNS) and psychological
suffering (CV) .................................................................................... 183
Table 9.4: Evaluation Access Health Services (SNS) and psychological
suffering (GB) .................................................................................... 184
ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any citations for this publication.
Waiting for the Reunion": Death, Dying, Cremation and Cape Verdean Notions of Belonging in Greater Lisbon Max Ruben Ramos Introduction
  • ................. . Chapter Eleven
Chapter Eleven................................................................................... 218 "Waiting for the Reunion": Death, Dying, Cremation and Cape Verdean Notions of Belonging in Greater Lisbon Max Ruben Ramos Introduction........................................................................................ 218 The Cape Verdeans in Portugal: A Brief Overview........................... 219
Repatriation and Cremation among Cape Verdeans in Portugal
  • Death
Death, Repatriation and Cremation among Cape Verdeans in Portugal.................................................................................... 221
They Won't Go There with Flowers": Non-Evident Deaths in Migration Ottavia Salvador Introduction
  • ........... . Chapter Twelve
Chapter Twelve.................................................................................. 229 "They Won't Go There with Flowers": Non-Evident Deaths in Migration Ottavia Salvador Introduction........................................................................................ 229
74 Diversities within Cemeteries: The Otherness in the Expressions of the Funerary Heritage in Spain Sol Tarrés, Ariadna Solé and Jordi Moreras Introduction: Where to Bury "the Other Dead"?
  • . . . Chapter Five
Chapter Five......................................................................................... 74 Diversities within Cemeteries: The Otherness in the Expressions of the Funerary Heritage in Spain Sol Tarrés, Ariadna Solé and Jordi Moreras Introduction: Where to Bury "the Other Dead"?................................. 75
112 (Still) Domesticated Monuments to the Dead
  • . . Conclusions
Conclusions........................................................................................ 112 (Still) Domesticated Monuments to the Dead.................................... 212
245 Moving the Dead and Building the Nation: Martyrs in Timor-Leste Susana de Matos Viegas and Rui Graça Feijó Introduction
  • ...................... . Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Thirteen................................................................................ 245 Moving the Dead and Building the Nation: Martyrs in Timor-Leste Susana de Matos Viegas and Rui Graça Feijó Introduction........................................................................................ 245 Contemporary and Past tensions: Concentrating the Dead in One Place?........................................................................................... 248