Nearly mobile: pandemic im/mobilities and lockdown strategies amongst Asian migrant professionals in England

Juan Zhang; Bingyu Wang

doi:10.1080/1369183X.2023.2199138

Nearly mobile: pandemic im/mobilities and lockdown strategies amongst Asian migrant professionals in England

Juan Zhang
, Bingyu Wang^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article (Academic Journal) › peer-review

8 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This article proposes ‘nearly mobile’ as a productive concept to illustrate the im/mobility experiences amongst Asian skilled migrants in England during a global health crisis. The concept of ‘nearly mobile’ describes how mobility practices and aspirations have been heavily restricted during national lockdowns, while still remaining fluid and relational, with both debilitating and empowering potentials. The ambiguity of ‘nearly’ offers both frustration and hope, when the desired ‘mobility as normal’ seems just out of reach. The concept of 'nearly mobile' offers two main dimensions. First, it highlights how migrants navigate through ‘shock precarities’ by safe-zoning–utilising and spatialising voluntary immobility to create unique work and living spaces based on daily assessments of risk and responsibility. Second, ‘nearly mobile’ reflects a continuous yearning for a return to normality, where forecasting and imagining become practical ways of seizing opportunities that emerge amidst crisis and uncertainty. We propose 'nearly mobile' as a productive framework for revaluing im/mobility in times of rising localism, protectionism, and the normalisation of transnational biopolitical regimes, which underpin a possible ‘new normal’ beyond the pandemic.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	4964-4983
Number of pages	20
Journal	Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies
Volume	49
Issue number	19
Early online date	12 Apr 2023
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2023.2199138
Publication status	Published - 1 May 2023

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This research was conducted as part of a larger project on public adherence to social distancing and self-isolation measures during the pandemic among people from low-income and Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities in the UK. The main project was led by the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) Health Protection Research Unit in Behavioural Science and Evaluation at the University of Bristol, in partnership with Public Health England, and funding was provided by the UK Research and Innovation/Department of Health and Social Care COVID-19 Rapid Response Call 2 [MC_PC 19071]. While the larger project featured a broader sampling approach with participants from the African and Caribbean groups, South Asian groups (Indian and Pakistan), and mixed white/Asian groups, the smaller work package upon which this article is based had a different research focus on cultural practices and mobility experiences, which remained separate from the ‘public adherence’ focus of the larger project. The methodology used in this work was more ethnographic in nature, which also differed from the public health approach used in the larger project. This article therefore draws from only the smaller set of data that the author collected, without utilising the larger dataset with a broader representation of the Asian communities.

Funding Information:
The research and writing for this article has been supported by funding from the UK Research and Innovation/Department of Health and Social Care COVID-19 Rapid Response Call 2 [MC_PC 19071]. The authors would like to express their gratitude to Tingting Zhang for providing research assistance. We also thank the editors of JEMS and the anonymous reviewers for their valuable and constructive feedback.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Keywords

Covid-19
im/mobility
Nearly mobile
shock precarities
skilled migrants in England

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Cite this

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title = "Nearly mobile: pandemic im/mobilities and lockdown strategies amongst Asian migrant professionals in England",

abstract = "This article proposes {\textquoteleft}nearly mobile{\textquoteright} as a productive concept to illustrate the im/mobility experiences amongst Asian skilled migrants in England during a global health crisis. The concept of {\textquoteleft}nearly mobile{\textquoteright} describes how mobility practices and aspirations have been heavily restricted during national lockdowns, while still remaining fluid and relational, with both debilitating and empowering potentials. The ambiguity of {\textquoteleft}nearly{\textquoteright} offers both frustration and hope, when the desired {\textquoteleft}mobility as normal{\textquoteright} seems just out of reach. The concept of 'nearly mobile' offers two main dimensions. First, it highlights how migrants navigate through {\textquoteleft}shock precarities{\textquoteright} by safe-zoning–utilising and spatialising voluntary immobility to create unique work and living spaces based on daily assessments of risk and responsibility. Second, {\textquoteleft}nearly mobile{\textquoteright} reflects a continuous yearning for a return to normality, where forecasting and imagining become practical ways of seizing opportunities that emerge amidst crisis and uncertainty. We propose 'nearly mobile' as a productive framework for revaluing im/mobility in times of rising localism, protectionism, and the normalisation of transnational biopolitical regimes, which underpin a possible {\textquoteleft}new normal{\textquoteright} beyond the pandemic.",

keywords = "Covid-19, im/mobility, Nearly mobile, shock precarities, skilled migrants in England",

author = "Juan Zhang and Bingyu Wang",

note = "Funding Information: This research was conducted as part of a larger project on public adherence to social distancing and self-isolation measures during the pandemic among people from low-income and Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities in the UK. The main project was led by the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) Health Protection Research Unit in Behavioural Science and Evaluation at the University of Bristol, in partnership with Public Health England, and funding was provided by the UK Research and Innovation/Department of Health and Social Care COVID-19 Rapid Response Call 2 [MC\_PC 19071]. While the larger project featured a broader sampling approach with participants from the African and Caribbean groups, South Asian groups (Indian and Pakistan), and mixed white/Asian groups, the smaller work package upon which this article is based had a different research focus on cultural practices and mobility experiences, which remained separate from the {\textquoteleft}public adherence{\textquoteright} focus of the larger project. The methodology used in this work was more ethnographic in nature, which also differed from the public health approach used in the larger project. This article therefore draws from only the smaller set of data that the author collected, without utilising the larger dataset with a broader representation of the Asian communities. Funding Information: The research and writing for this article has been supported by funding from the UK Research and Innovation/Department of Health and Social Care COVID-19 Rapid Response Call 2 [MC\_PC 19071]. The authors would like to express their gratitude to Tingting Zhang for providing research assistance. We also thank the editors of JEMS and the anonymous reviewers for their valuable and constructive feedback. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2023 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor \& Francis Group.",

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AB - This article proposes ‘nearly mobile’ as a productive concept to illustrate the im/mobility experiences amongst Asian skilled migrants in England during a global health crisis. The concept of ‘nearly mobile’ describes how mobility practices and aspirations have been heavily restricted during national lockdowns, while still remaining fluid and relational, with both debilitating and empowering potentials. The ambiguity of ‘nearly’ offers both frustration and hope, when the desired ‘mobility as normal’ seems just out of reach. The concept of 'nearly mobile' offers two main dimensions. First, it highlights how migrants navigate through ‘shock precarities’ by safe-zoning–utilising and spatialising voluntary immobility to create unique work and living spaces based on daily assessments of risk and responsibility. Second, ‘nearly mobile’ reflects a continuous yearning for a return to normality, where forecasting and imagining become practical ways of seizing opportunities that emerge amidst crisis and uncertainty. We propose 'nearly mobile' as a productive framework for revaluing im/mobility in times of rising localism, protectionism, and the normalisation of transnational biopolitical regimes, which underpin a possible ‘new normal’ beyond the pandemic.

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ER -

Nearly mobile: pandemic im/mobilities and lockdown strategies amongst Asian migrant professionals in England

Abstract

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