Dr. Catherine Hall Ward and Dr. Irene Styles are the authors of an academic article titled "Guilt as a consequence of migration", published in the International Journal of Applied Psychoanalytic Studies.
Their findings suggest that feelings of guilt, for some of the migrants who participated in the Australian study, were intense and long lasting. Guilt resulted from: first, leaving parents in the homeland; second, being the only daughter or the only child and leaving parents in the homeland; and third; weakening the bond between grandparents and grandchildren as a consequence of migration.
The study suggests that guilt is a powerful emotion that negatively impacts the well-being of migrant women and their families.
SBS broadcaster Delys Paul spoke with Dr. Hall Ward about the study:
Dr. Hall Ward also explained how migrants often find strategies to fill in the gaps of not having the parents or grandparents in the new country.
Kalpana Goel arrived in Australia in 2007 and lives in a regional town near Adelaide. Kalpana lives with her husband and three children.
Kalpana says she had her share of difficult times while settling in Australia as a new migrant from India. She explains that some of the most difficult issues still remain unresolved in her mind.
Kalpana is a social work lecturer at the University of South Australia and is well connected to the local Indian Community in Adelaide. She reflects on some of the common problems that Indian migrants face when dealing with parents at home in India.
Pinchoo Thomas arrived in Australia in 2006 and lives in Melbourne with his wife and two children.
As the only son of parents who still live in India, Pinchoo feels the weight of responsibility on his shoulders.
Pinchoo's migrant journey portrays a typical scenario where the distance between Australia and homeland India becomes a major hurdle in some of the most important events of their family life.
