Social Networks and Organization of Thai Migrants in Europe: An Interview with Chongcharoen Sornkaew Grimsmann, President (2019-2022) of Thai Women Network in Europe

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14764/10.ASEAS-0082

Keywords:

Europe, Migrants' Socical Network, Migrants' Social Organizaion, Thai Migrant Women, Transnational Social Organization

Abstract

The interview with Mrs. Chongcharoen Sornkaew Grimsmann, a long-term member and former president of Thai Women Network in Europe (TWNE), was originally conducted in English over email by Sirijit Sunanta and Asuncion Fresnoza-Flot in July 2022. It was supplemented by an online interview (via WebEx) in Thai by Sirijit Sunanta in November 2022. Mrs. Grimsmann served as the President of TWNE from 2019 to 2022. TWNE is well-established and one of the most active organizations of Thai migrant women with individual and organizational members in 16 European countries, the US, and Thailand. TWNE seeks to collaborate with governmental and non-governmental organizations, both in Thailand and the destination countries, to improve the welfare of Thai migrant women. They organize annual general meetings to discuss topics relevant to Thai migrant women’s lives in destination countries and publish an annual newsletter Sarn Satree (สารสตรี) to circulate information. Mrs. Grimsmann has extensive experience of providing community service as a social volunteer and working with international organizations, particularly in the area of women and children’s welfare. She is now based in France and Thailand.

Author Biographies

Sirijit Sunanta, Mahidol University

Sirijit Sunanta is Associate Professor in the PhD Program in Multicultural Studies, Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia, Mahidol University, Thailand. She is a member of the Sussex-Mahidol Migration Partnership. She has published widely in leading journals in migration studies, gender studies, Asian studies, and tourism studies. Her research interests include gender and migration, globalization and food cultures, and the politics of diversity in Thailand. Her current research projects focus on care transnationalization and gendered labour in Thai health and well-being tourism.

Asuncion Fresnoza-Flot, Université libre de Bruxelles

Asuncion Fresnoza-Flot is tenured Research Associate (chercheure qualifiée) of the Belgian Fund for Scientific Research (F.R.S.–FNRS) and Senior Lecturer (maîtresse d’enseignement) at the Université libre de Bruxelles in Belgium. Her publications deal with transnational family dynamics, conjugal mixedness, and intergenerational transmission, as well as marriage and divorce involving Filipino and Thai migrants. Her ongoing research focuses on the contextual mobility of Belgian-Asian couples within their cross-border social spaces.

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Published

2022-12-23

Issue

Vol. 15 No. 2 (2022): Challenging Stereotypes in Europe-Thailand Transnational Migration

Section

In Dialogue

License

Copyright (c) 2022 Sirijit Sunanta, Asuncion Fresnoza-Flot

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