“Could I Ask You, my Brother, to Send me a Little Something?” Remitting Behaviour Among Arabs and Bosniaks in Slovenia

Abstract

The paper addresses motivations for patterns and types of remittances, which can be defined as a set of gifts in different forms. Generally speaking, remittances refer to a variety of transfers between migrants and individuals or groups remaining in countries of origin. The latter most often include both core and extended families. In addition to transfers, the paper deals with processes of incorporation and preservation of migrants’ sense of belonging to the place of origin, and with processes of linking them with places of residence. Furthermore, the authors discuss the essence of social responsibility evident in migrants’ incorporation, maintenance of their sense of belonging, their image, social authority, substance, respect and inclusion into their sending societies. The focus is on migrants’ motivation, as well as on factors existing in countries involved in transnational connections stimulating and hindering processes of remitting. The authors discuss social and demographic distribution and the importance of social pressures faced by migrants and expectations of other members of the social networks which play an essential part in the aforementioned processes.