Sri Lankan Transnational Mothers’ separation disturbs their children’s mental health and their behavior

In developing countries women tend to migrant to work abroad to support their family condition. According to Save the Children’s statics, in the year 2000, 858,000 Sri Lankan migrants migrated. Of this group, the majority were women, totaling 590,420. Among the female migrant workers, 90% of them have children (2006, the impact on Children & families of Mothers Migrating for work Abroad). In Sri Lanka, in the eastern province, especially, most of the women after marriage (Thiriyah,Mullipotthana) used to migrate to abroad in order to support their family survival (Research Findings and Policy Challenges, Save the Children). In addition, research done by nongovernmental organizations and international organizations states, that roughly 25% of children in selected traditional migrant sending have at least one parent abroad (Mazzucato & Schans, 2011). Transnational migration mothers from Sri Lanka can create unexpected challenges and changes in their children’s lives. For example, according to the Save the Children’s the study findings indicate that “the love, attention and proximity of the mother were not replaced … with 77% of the children indicating that they felt lonely due to the absence of the mother” (Research Findings and Policy Challenges, Save the Children). According to the above statics, I assume that migration mothers’ separation can be the one of the reasons that children mental health and behaviors changes.
Specially, nature of the childhood is tending to be with their mothers and expecting their love and kind. Moreover, society thinks that mothers teach good habits and lead the children in the exact way which the society expects a child to be in the society with good characters and moral behaviors. Thus becomes problematic because children’s misbehaviors increase when their mothers migrate to abroad. For example, National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1997 cohort (NLSY97) mentioned that, “More than four in five adolescents (84 percent) agreed or strongly agreed that they think highly of their mother;” (Moore, K. A., Guzman, L., Hair, E., Lippman, L., & Garrett, S. (2004).According to the above survey result it clear that role of motherhood is important for each children’s life.
In the case of Sri Lanka, the government passed some laws for the benefits of the children on the transnational mothers’ migration because the government found Early in 2007 the Sri Lankan government briefly considered to not to allow the mothers to migrant to abroad if they have children under age of five (Rakesh 2007 as cited by Gamburd. 2008). The reason for banning the mothers’ migration was to consider the children childhood growth. When the mothers migrate to abroad there are children drop out of the school, poor academic performances, become drug users and malnutrition. When the mothers away from the home the health conditions of the children become very poor. 25% of the transnational mothers’ school children face the malnutrition is estimated during the study of a literature (Economist 2004:13 as cited by Gamburd. 2008). Here I suspect that Sri Lankan transnational mothers’ separation can disturb their children’s mental health and their behaviors. Furthermore, the concept of the ideal mother in the Sri Lankan Tamils culture is that she has to stays with the family and take care her family and house hold work especially, the children (Gamburd, 2008). When she fails to keep her role in the family stereotypes as a mother with above characterizes the Tamils culture would not accept her as a mother.
In this study, I emphasize the general ideas of the current literatures, which are related to transnational mothers’ migration. Rest of the section will discuss the methods, material and producers for the study. In addition, the study addresses the situation of the children who left behind back at Sri Lanka by the transnational migrant mothers. In order to test my hypothesis, I will be using interviews, and survey data collection along with sample of hundred children. Half of them belong to transnational migrant mothers’ family and the other half belong to family whose mothers are in the home and in term of interviews, I will interview fifty transnational mothers’ observation about their children behaviors and mental health.

Transnational Motherhood and Child Care
Mothers’ separation can affect the children’s mental health and behaviors. A study which is base on transnational families from Mexico stated that in order to consider as a good mother she has to physically present at home, has to take care her family members when they get sick, has to play main role during the special occasions and have to maintain and perform her daily house hold work at home (Coe, 2011). Since, the mothers are in abroad and when they back home they are expect to perform their mothers’ role at home. Especially, she expected to work for her family and her children though she far from the family members. (Alicea, 1997 as cited by Fresnoza-Flot, 2009)
In addition, mothers have to take care of their children emotions and have the responsibility to balance children’s mental health. In the other word, mothers need to balance the emotional feelings of the children (Dreby 2006) and she has to aware of each and every incident whatever takes place around her children. For instance, children school life, friends, and children activities outside the home where he or she is going, what he or she is doing outside the home? One of the studies indicate that when the fathers’ migrant in the family does not creates any problem among the children, but the mothers’ migration creates several emotional problems among the children. Which clearly portray that children need mothers and they do not able to tolerate their mothers’ absence for long period. The explanation given was motherhood is relate to care ( Mazzucato & Schans 2011) which shows that motherhood is important for children during the period of their growth and they need strong support from their mothers in order to be a good citizen.
Role of “the other motherhood”: Transnational mothers have the responsibility to assign someone to care for their children during their absence. When the mothers move to overseas for the work they find someone to fill the absence and expect the person to act the role of actual mother. With the term of ‘transnational mothers’, there is another term call the ‘other-mother’ which is found in the one of the study which is the replacement of motherhood. When the migrant mother moves to overseas, she assigns someone for her children (Schmalzbauer, 2004 as cited Fresnoza-Flot, 2009). When the migrant mother leaves the country, she wants to make sure that her family and children are under a safe protection or not. Probably she finds a woman among relations and let the children and the family under care of her. The take care’s main duty to fulfill the children need and make sure with the children that they do not worry about the absence of the mother (Olwig 1999; Save the Children 2006 as cited Fresnoza-Flot, 2009).
Way of expressing mothers’ care and love: Transnational mothers have to fulfill their traditional care giving roles from abroad to show their care and love over their children. Besides assigning the other mother hood, transitional mothers found some new ways to care their children back at home and express their love towards them. A study which is based on Filipino migrants in France, found there are several options to show their concern through sending valuable gifts which are needed for them, calling their children often in order to express their love(Parrenas 2001 a, 2001b as cited Fresnoza-Flot, 2009).
Expectations of children from their transnational mothers: Generally, Children have expectations from their parents to act as a part of their lives in order to take important decisions especially, their mothers. Some traditions especially Asian context culture has tendency that the parents have important part of taking decision on their children’s lives.
Most of the children are eager to talk to their transnational mothers often to fill the gap of their absences at home. The study which is base on Filipino mothers, they spend much money to call from their migrant place to their home. Those mothers cannot easily visit to home and take care or meet the children, so they tend to spend much money to call their children to make sure that their health and behaviors. (Fresnoza- Flot, 2009). Talking over the telephone mothers used to questions the children about their life at the home, which most of the children expect the mothers to ask the questions and willing to answer it. The time of the calls, mothers used to have conversations about the father, family, children’s school performances, and their behaviors and importantly the activity and the environment about their home (Fresnoza- Flot, 2009).
Moreover, transnational mother has found one more way to complete their children’s expectations, by sending gifts and things through their friends who work with them in the migrant country. “Pasabi” is one of the ways of communication system, which the transnational mothers use to connect back with their children this is actually sending very short messages to their children through their friends who are willing to visit to their home country often. In the one of the study, Filipina transnational mothers used to communicate with their children through Pasabi (Fresnoza- Flot, 2009).
Most important expectations of the transnational mothers to contact their children back at home to make sure that they do not feel the absences of the mother. One of the other study claims, Filipino transnational mothers’ often communicate with the children to perform their mother role and want to make sure that they will not feel the absences of their mothers. In addition, the transnational mothers believe that though they find the guardians for their children still they are responsibilities for their children’s mental and psychical health where ever they migrate. Transnational mother that responsibility make the children feel good mentally because they will not feel that their mothers’ are irresponsible after they migrate to other place. Those are the expectations from the children from their transnational mothers.
The changes of mental health and behaviors of left-behind children
Children’s experiences of the separation from their mothers for a long term period may lead the children to end up with some mental suffering and mental health issues. Most of the time, absence of the migrant parents affect the children a lot specially, if the migrant parent is mother then the family will view as “ abnormal” family (Parrenas 2005: 38 as cited by Gambrud 2008). It indicates that separation from the mothers’ disturb children’s mental health and their behaviors. A study which is based on the topic of transnational mothers and their children the area of South-East Asia point out, there is general tendency, however, to articulate concerns about children of migrant parents who may suffer emotional costs even if their material well-being is improved, and this concerns is expressed with greater emphasis when the migrant parent is the mother, as is increasingly common for many sending countries throughout the world ( Parrenas 2001 as cited byJordan & Graham, 2012).
Transnational mothers do think about their children mental health and behaviors once they leave their children back at home they become drug addictives and, getting poor grades drop the school in the middle. One of the literature base on Philippines indicate that though the migration mothers move to abroad they do think about their children back in home. In some point when they come to know that their children addicted to drugs, emotionally weak and become cheap labors mothers feel very bad of their children (Asis, 2006; ECMI CBCP/AOS-Manila, SMC & OWWA, 2004 as cited by Graham & Jordan, 2011). In addition, few studies portrayed after the investigation that absence of the mothers made the 709 Filipino children age between 10 and 12 end up with poor grades and some of them drop the schools because the absence of their mothers( Battistella & Conaco, 1998, as cited by Graham & Jordan, 2011).
Transnational mothers children has found up having high emotional problems because they do not have anyone to share their personal issues. One of the study indicate, the risk of high emotional problem has found among the Chinese early age children when their migrant mothers leave them back at home. (Fan, Su, Gill and Birmaher, 2010, as cited by Graham & Jordan, 2011). The main reason because the young age children do not able to share their emotional feeling with others and it will not be in the way when we share the feelings to our mothers. Especially, most of the girls abused or harassed by their fathers or male siblings when their mothers migrate to abroad and those migrate mothers’ male children start to take alcohol and drugs. (Daily Mirror 2003; 4, emphasis added, as cited by Gamburd, 2008). Above incidents are mentally affect the children as well as psychically and their behaviors turn in a negative way due to the bad experiences. Philippines transnational mother children are mostly affected by the psychological well-being when the study compares them with their peers in non migrant households (Jordan & Graham, 2012). Because when the children with their mothers they have the chance to share every things, but in the case of transnational mothers children they keep their feelings inside and it affect them in the future, so the non migrant mothers children seems more happy and healthy compare to the transnational mothers’ children. At this point, when the children are not able to get care or fail to be kind by their other mother and suffering the absence of long term of the own mother will lead the children to choose the negative way to get pleasure or relief the stress and over come from the mental suffering. One of the few studies to consider that transnational mothers’ children get jealous of their peers who have their mother with them and it makes them in to personal suffering which can end up with the severe mental problem ( Dreby 2007; Parrenas 2005 as cited by Fresnoza-Flot 2009).
Weaknesses and negative impacts of replacing transnational mothers
Children’s mentality and behaviors changes when a new person providing caring responsibilities replaces their transnational mothers. When transnational mothers’ replace of the role their motherhood to the other mother hood and when it fails to keep the role of mother, then the failure changes the children mentality and behaviors much. One of the study address that when the mother left their children back at home, she has arrange a person to take care of her children which refer the term of “transferred mother hood”. When the role of transferred mother hood did not play the role as the mother then the child end up with lack of love and care from the actually mother because psychically she is not present and the replacement character also not play the role properly.
Addition to that, I have found this article, is relevant to my research question because Filpino migrant mothers situation is same as Sri Lankan mothers as I found from the article. The term “transferred mother hood” has the strong evidence for my research question because it affect the child mind absence of the mother. Another study, indicates, the issue about the migration, in this article the researchers clearly mentioned that migrant households’ children are affected because of the physical absent of their mothers. However, the researcher did not address the physical health issues in the article and that is a gap which is not relate to my study. In the other study, it addresses that how the both parents transnational affect the children mental and physical health. According to that the result, if the parents are transnational migrants workers then the children get more affect by emotionally than children who live with the both parents and if the father is transnational migrant worker then that has low impact on children mental health compare to the children’s mother begin a transnational migrant worker.
Positive causes of Migration
Though mothers’ separation changes some children’s mental health and behaviors, it teaches them to live along and let the children to grow up to be mature. One case study point out that, in this research transnational families and children are tested and the result came up during the time is that children life get shape because of their parents’ migration and the result is found in a positive way that children get power and not depended character in the society. I found that this article is very relate to my research questions and it talks about much on the topic of mental health of children when the mother migrant to other places.
Errors and weakness of the studies
Some studies which took place relate to my hypothesis in the other part of the world has some errors, weakness which I have to avoid in order to make the study clear. For instance, one of the study base on Sri Lanka is very interesting one because the area of study is similar to my area of study. In this article, somehow issues are address in a different ways and Gamburd talks about the long term effect of migration and migrants families. In order to find the data for the research he used ethnographic data on labor migration from Sri Lanka, West Asia. In that data, 130 adults most of them are earlier on their 20 years old and affected from their early age of separation from their transnational mothers. This article may have the translation error because the data analysis seems incorrect in some points. In addition, the way the researcher divides the target group does not much effective to find the effective result for that study. Another article talks, about the international and internal migrations, however the cause of the children’s mental health is quite similar because the separation begin the reason for the mental health problems. However, it quite unclear that how did the researcher found the results when he has two opposite target groups during his research. In other study, it portrays the transnational mothers’ situation and mental health of the children’s because of the separation from their parents, but the researcher did not use any strong method to score the mental health. I feel that just observation cannot able to make judgment regarding mental health.
To sum up, this paper is to contribute to the idea that transnational mothers’ children get disturbs could cause of their mothers’ absence. It affects the children’s mental health and behaviors. I suggest my hypothesis as Sri Lankan transnational mothers’ separation disturbs their children’s mental health and their behavior. Though several studies touch the topic of the transnational mothers and children, it does not focus on Sri Lanka particularly.

References
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