Abstract
This chapter reports on a research project about Indonesian and Filipina migrant worker returnees. Shortly after their return, they were invited to participate in a sharing session with other migrant workers and a researcher about their experiences as migrant workers and about their homecoming. 107 women participated in 30 sharing sessions and all the stories were transcribed and (for some) translated. A large number of the women were (sexually) assaulted while they worked overseas and return to their home countries deeply traumatised. First, the chapter analyses some narrative excerpts in which the women talk about (sexual) assault and other traumatic experiences. The stories are notably incoherent and disconnected, characterised by voids in the narrative flow. This is typical of trauma storytelling but is sometimes used against the women to discredit their stories. Then the chapter discusses the mental health issues involved in these women’s stories and what scholars can do to address them. The findings from the current dataset suggest that hundreds of traumatised women return to Indonesia every year with no access to proper healthcare or professional therapy, and the chapter discusses what can be done to meet these women’s needs.
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Acknowledgements
The research reported in the chapter was supported by a General Research Grant from the University Grants Committee of Hong Kong [grant number PolyU-2444/13H]. Staff and volunteers at Pathfinders organised my field trip to Indonesia and I’m very grateful for their support. My gratitude also goes to the Indonesian migrant worker NGOs who helped me, and to all the migrant workers who willingly shared their stories with me—many of them personal and painful. I’ll never forget the moments we shared and the stories I heard!
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Appendix
Appendix
Transcription Conventions
Bold = pronounced with stress/emphasis
[it’s a] = word(s) inserted by the transcriber to ease comprehension
, = short pause, less than 0.5 s
(2.0) = pause in seconds
‘give me that’ = reporting direct speech
: (as in ah:) = the vowel sound is prolonged
xx = incomprehensible
// = interruption;//as I said// = overlapping speech
? = question/rising intonation
[…] turn(s) left out
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Ladegaard, H.J. (2020). Talking About Trauma in Migrant Worker Returnee Narratives: Mental Health Issues. In: Watson, B., Krieger, J. (eds) Expanding Horizons in Health Communication. The Humanities in Asia, vol 6. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-4389-0_1
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