Twice Migrants

Studies on South Asian Diaspora

by

M. K Gautam and M. Seenarine

Xpyr Press, 2024. 286 pages

ISBN: 978-1-7346514-1-6

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The term "twice migrants" can refer to immigrants who arrive in a country through an intermediate country, rather than directly from their country of birth. For example, in the UK, "twice migrants" are people of South Asian descent who have migrated from countries outside of South Asia, often as descendants of Indian settlers in British colonies. In Canada, "twice migrants" can refer to immigrants from South Asia, China, or the Philippines who arrive through a second country, such as the Gulf. In 1996, 15.7% of immigrants to Canada from South Asia were "twice migrants". 

This edited collection of articles explores some of the causes of twice migration, as well as twice migrants’ adaptation to their new host societies, centering on the USA and Canada. This is our second collection of articles on the South Asian Diaspora. This text is a follow-up to Kalapani: Studies on South Asian Diaspora by M. K. Gautam and M. Seenarine, Xpyr Press (2023). This volume, Twice Migrants: Studies on South Asian Diaspora, explores migration from the diaspora in the 20th century, and it contains eight articles on the Suriname, Guyana, the Netherlands, USA and Canada.

Table of Contents 

1. "Twice Migrants in Western Countries: Indians and the children of indenture contract labourers of Surinam” by M. K. Gautam 
2. "Sansari: From South Asia to South America, to North America” by M. Seenarine 
3. "Constructed Communities: The Contribution of Bangladeshi Women to Life in New York City” by Florence E. McCarthy, M. Seenarine, and Nina Asher 
4. “A brief history of East Indians in Suriname” by Hanan Orna 
5. “East Indian Surinamese women in the United States: Acculturation, group relations, and managing strategies in perspective” By Hanan Orna
6. “The cultural adaptation of Indians from Trinidad and Guyana to Canada” by Subhas Ramcharan 
7. “East Indians in Canada’s Pacific Coast 1900-1914: an encounter in race relations” by Sahadeo Basdeo 
8. A Comparative Study of African American and Asian American Diaspora in USA: Integration in Host Culture” by Nitesh Narnolia