How do emigrants cope with the loss of their identity?

The article examines an important but often overlooked problem of a long-term expatriate. It is very interesting to know whether it is easy to emigrate psychologically to another state and how staying in a foreign land can affect the sense of identity and belonging to the motherland. This prompted many to share their own enlightening and often surprising impressions of the movement around the world.

No place is better than home

In a commentary on Facebook, Wendy Skrock wrote: "There is a special form of homelessness that extends to long-term stay in other states." The habit of not being at home in the modern world has become commonplace.

Many people are constantly struggling to re-establish roots in their home country after returning home, but their attempts are associated with certain difficulties, since the national identity has been lost.

You have changed a lot

"Returning home to the United States after 26 years in Australia was a pretty big shock for me," states Bruce Felix. "Being a new guy in the country that I consider to be my home has been a very difficult thing from time to time. The use of new words and expressions with a changed emphasis, made communication at home a very problematic activity. Because of the accent, people just think that you are strange. "

Twenty years after her stay in America, Mary Sue Connolly notes that when she returned to Ireland, she felt like an outsider.

Another emigrant, Allison Lee, returned to Australia after six years in Latin America and London. "The integration process will take much longer. When trying to make friends with their native country, no one wants to delve into your stories, "she says.

Yunis Tz Wa Ma is from Hong Kong. She still experiences a cultural shock, although in the summer she returns to her native city. "Every time I visit my homeland, I just feel like I'm left behind and I'm the only one who still lives in the past," she says.

Councils of immigrants

So, how do you feel after a long absence? Some of the proven tips for overcoming the barrier in dealing with fellow countrymen are extremely simple and practical.

"Do not go back to similar work with the same people, if you can," advises the resident of the United Kingdom, John Simpson. "You will constantly experience mutual discontent, and the daily problems of co-workers will seem trivial to you."

Spring Thomas, who after 16 years of stay in Sydney, the United States and Singapore, struggled to join the once-native team, eventually founded a book club, and also took part in the school.

Some of those who are trying to integrate with the inhabitants of a foreign country, actively sought the community of expats. "It was useful, because I tried not to get along with so many Americans. But, being abroad, I had to understand American culture through their prism ", - writes Alexis Gordon.

How do you reintegrate?

Perhaps the most intriguing answer to our request for advice on reintegration was the acute problem of the question itself. Many readers have found that resettlement to their homeland was a difficult, but not entirely impossible, process.

Nicole Jones has three passports and lives in five countries. "I do not look through rose-colored glasses to all the countries I've visited. Another culture has both positive and negative sides. I feel that I am a citizen of the world, and I am proud of it. "

According to many, the attempt to adapt to their previous society is a mistake. "You will never reintegrate," commented the problem of Paula Alvarez-Cucheiro. "People need to understand that living in a different culture, they have changed their way of thinking, and trying to become what they were before is a big misconception that will ignore the personal growth that emigrants have undergone in another country."

All the facts tell us that for many emigrants the definition of homeland and identity is not a direct task. For those who are trying to regain their identity after returning to their home country, it may be a comfort to find citizens who have been the victims of globalization. After all, for them, reintegration is an option, but not an obligation.