‘St Helena, an island between’: Multiple migrations, small island resilience, and survival

Parker, Charlie ORCID: 0000-0002-4569-7580 (2021) ‘St Helena, an island between’: Multiple migrations, small island resilience, and survival. Island Studies Journal, 16 (1). pp. 173-189. doi:10.24043/isj.122

Preview

Text (Published version) 9807-Parker-(2021)-'St-Helena-an-island-between'.pdf - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution No Derivatives 4.0. Download (353kB) | Preview

Abstract

St Helena is a non-sovereign British Overseas Territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean. When full British citizenship was removed in 1981, migration destinations were reduced to Ascension Island and the Falkland Islands. The islanders of St Helena are not only transnational; they are trans-islander. With the return of citizenship in 2002, many St Helenians migrated to the UK, depleting the population on the island, creating doubts regarding the island’s future. Whilst the islanders defended their British national identity, they simultaneously questioned it. This paper demonstrates how although St Helena officially economically relies on the British Government, the islanders themselves support their island through economic remittances. This paper offers an insight into how communities survive during times when their national identity is ruptured. The St Helenian community remains intact; the islanders have ensured this. A suit of Bourdieu’s concepts have been utilised for a theoretically driven understanding of islandness. Islander identity is formed as outwardlooking desiring opportunity, freedom of movement and capital, and inward-looking with a strong sense of feeling and attachment to the island. Continuity and survival for this small island community is composed of migration, shift, and rupture.

Item Type:	Article
Article Type:	Article
Subjects:	G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > G Geography (General) > G154.9 Travel and State. Tourism H Social Sciences > HT Communities. Classes. Races
Divisions:	Schools and Research Institutes > School of Business, Computing and Social Sciences
Research Priority Areas:	Place, Environment and Community
Depositing User:	Rhiannon Goodland
Date Deposited:	17 Jun 2021 14:26
Last Modified:	19 Mar 2024 15:30
URI:	https://eprints.glos.ac.uk/id/eprint/9807

University Staff: Request a correction | Repository Editors: Update this record