Abstract
The year 1989 brought an important change for the countries of the former Eastern Bloc: they got now involved in different global processes. The Czech Republic gradually became a destination for immigrants; currently, an average of 4% of the population is of foreign descent (up to 12% in some areas).
One of the changes in migratory flows is also an increased employment of migrant domestic workers. In my contribution, I focus on Philippina nannies working in Czech households, transnational relationships and practices in their families.
Although the number of Philippinas in the Czech Republic is not as high as in Italy, Austria or USA, their presence is important from the global perspective: It shows a diffusion of certain patterns from western countries: in this case, Phillipina nannies as a solution to the increased requirements on professional and familiar lives. Philippinas themselves are making use of a transnational network within their diaspora.
Furthermore, the families participate in the global chain of care (Hochshild 2000). Transnational processes can be located in practices of family life and maternity and in narratives about it.
Anthropologist Petra Ezzeddine (Charles University, Prague) analyzed those in a research among Ukrainian mothers in the Czech Republic. I will contrast it with narratives of the Philippinas about their (transnational) families, based on my initiatory, doctorate research in Czech Republic and the Philippines.
I will also reflect on applicability of analytical concepts related to globalization of care in the context of Middle and Eastern Europe: the global care chain and the European care curtain, a concept proposed by Helma Lutz (Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main).