They Want to Live a Good Life": Narratives of Irregular Migrants' Families in District Gujrat, Pakistan

Abstract

The present study aims to explore how the family members of the irregular emigrants who were left behind in Pakistan describe their narratives regarding the purpose of irregular migration of their male family members. This study is based on a qualitative research design by employing a constructivist epistemological standpoint. The current research's target population comprises the male family members of the irregular emigrants in the rural areas of district Gujrat, Pakistan. For the present study, a snowball sampling technique has been used to select the respondents because it was challenging to identify irregular emigrants due to their hidden nature. In the first phase of the data collection, some male family members of the emigrants were contacted working in a public sector organization in district Gujrat with the principal researcher. Later on, these initial contacts facilitated the primary researcher to approach various family members of the irregular emigrants in the peripheral villages of Gujrat city. The fieldwork comprised in-depth interviews, which were started with a broader discussion on the issue of irregular migration. The initial four in-depth interviews were analyzed parallel, which led to the emergence of new themes for further interviews. A total of thirteen in-depth interviews were conducted until saturation. Three major themes emerged from the data as poverty, inequality and migration; social class and competition; and Europe as a dream land.