1st Edition
An Ethnography of Care Work Across Borders Foreign Intimacy
This ground-breaking ethnography illuminates the theory and practice of "aging in place" by examining the relationships between migrant live-in care workers of older people in Israel, and their local employers and family members.
Daniella Arieli begins her investigation with a discussion of her own experiences of employing a care worker from overseas for her mother and sets this book in its interdisciplinary context, while looking at how best to promote the health and wellbeing of both family members and carers. The two central sections of the book focus on narratives of care workers and family members, respectively, with topics such as trust and suspicion, intimacy and abuse, ambivalence and ambiguity, transnational familial relationships, personal transformations, and cultural differences discussed.
This book is an invaluable contribution to the literature on ageing and family relations, transnational care work and the movement of healthcare practitioners around the world. It is of interest to advanced students and scholars in the fields of nursing, anthropology, sociology, social work, geography, and gerontology.
Acknowledgements
Section I
Introduction: What Is This Book About
01a. The Context of this Book
01b. How it all Began: Searching for a Care Worker for Mum
Section II
Care Workers
02a. Emily’s Miracle: The Hope for a Better Life
02b. Narashtra’s Secrets: Plans and Unexpected Changes
02c. Toma’s Journey to the Holy Land: Care Migration and Pilgrimage
02d. Linda’s Tears: On Humiliation and Abuse
02e. Marsha: Choices and the Lack of Choices
02f. Lucy, Lisa and the Limitationf of Freedom: Autonomy, Morality, and Control
02g. Luna and Cindy: Living on the Edges of the Law
02h. Davis’s Victory: Working Outside
Section III
Family Members
03a. Dubi and the Fight with Bureaucracy: The Overly-Successful Arrangement
03b. Eden’s Dilemmas: Morality and Dual Obligations
03c. Ella, Anna, and Ilana: On Expectations, Disappointments, and Vulnerability
03d. The Dispute between Eric and Lihi: One Family, Different Voices
03e. Helena’s Insomnia: Cold Interests, Guilty Feelings, and Tough Regulations
03f. Rachel Blows Up: Living on the Edge of Sanity
Section IV
Transnational Intimacies
4a. Rocky’s Wedding: An Essay about Co-presence
Section V
Two Ending Chapters
05a. Writing about Vulnerable Matters: Anthropological Journey at Home
05b. Conclusions: A Journey towards Empathy
Index
Biography
Daniella Arieli is a social anthropologist and an action researcher working at Emek Yezreel Academic College, Israel.
