Abstract:
This paper explores the feelings of loneliness, insecurity and vulnerability among Indonesian mothers who lived away from their children while they were working overseas - outside of Indonesia - as domestic workers.
I accomplish this exploration by conducting open-ended, in-depth interviews in the tradition of feminist methodology with 38 respondents, including the mothers and daughters in relation to long-distance mothering, were from West and Central Java. In my research, I uncovered three distinct themes that the previous literature had not explored, these are: (a) leaving her own children behind; (b) who takes care of her children; and (c) the work of taking care of another woman’s children. I have found in my study that narratives were strongly informed by my respondents’ educational backgrounds, occupations, marital status, economic situations, and the overall well-being of their children (especially daughters) at the time of the interviews.
