Title  The myth and current reality of 'vieirenses' emigration to Zurich
Author  Paula Augusta Rodrigues Vieira Dionísio
Supervisors  Jean Martin Rabot and Clara Maria Faria Simães Mendes
Year  2018
Institution  University of Minho
Degree  Masters
Area  Sociology
Keywords  Emigration, crisis, diaspora, social networks, life stories
URI  http://hdl.handle.net/1822/54880

Abstract

Based on the – never-ending – phenomenon of emigration and its evolution over time, this work looks at the subject from 2008 onwards, the year in which the economic and financial crisis shattered the most fragile family and social structures, becoming a kind of last refuge for many people who were preparing to enter the job market, and the resulting shortage of jobs affected everyone in some way, pushing the Portuguese once again into a situation of exodus. The people of Vieira - the target population of this study - are thus running towards Switzerland, more specifically to Zurich. This is where the "new diaspora" begins, with its origins in Portugal's economic fragility triggered by the emerging crisis. We sought to identify the reasons for leaving Portugal and entering Switzerland (Zurich), characterizing the processes and mechanisms of reception and integration in Switzerland, in terms of the labour market and social terms in general.To this end, an interpretative table was drawn up, based on the narratives of the participants in this study, on the existing cooperation policies between the two countries, providing a reflection on the typology of emigration flows to Switzerland and the ways in which they are expressed in both spaces. It cross-references approaches to the host society, its implications in terms of labor markets, as well as approaches to relationship and integration processes. The development of this study is geared towards a more up-to-date perception of the knowledge of this typology today, alluding to the breadth and solidity of the most recent phenomenon of departures, the “flight” of Portuguese from the Vieira do Minho region to Switzerland (Zurich), seeking to update data that has remained dormant in “myths” about the old/new diaspora of the 21st century.