Configurations familiales transnationales suite à une migration forcée : le cas des anciens exilés chiliens en Suisse

Author(s) : Claudio Bolzman

Source : https://dx.doi.org/10.3280/MM2023-003005

Abstract:

“This article explores the forms of family configurations and “doing family” of former Chilean exiles forced to separate from part of their family due to po-litical persecution. It is a question of examining the effects of exile on family functioning and the ways of coping with them in order to maintain links with relatives at a distance or to update them through direct contact with them. The article highlights the configurations that unfold in two periods: the exile which goes from the moment of departure to the end of the dictatorship in 1989, then the post-exile where the return or the direct contact with Chile are possible again. Therefore, the paper aims to highlighting and understanding these different logics of family functioning initially triggered by the military coup 50 years ago. The article is based on interviews and observations with about twenty families that the author has been able to follow since the 1980s and see again at regular intervals.”

Keywords: exile ; family configurations ; Chileans ; transnational families ; return