ORAL HISTORY: MIGRATION AND LOCAL IDENTITIES - Academia

Migration as a Catalyst for ValuesAija LulleFaculty of Humanities,University of LatviaHOME REDEFINED: LATVIANS INGUERNSEY23Let me begin with an excerpt from my conversation with Aina, a66-year-old woman in an internet- based social portal, a virtual spacebetween Liepaja and Guernsey:Latvia is my real home, and I feel it most intensely while I am inGuernsey. I had a chance to work in Guernsey and I am very happy for that.I work hard indeed, but I am endlessly happy all the time, because for thefirst time in my life I feel like a human being. I felt cheated and humiliatedall the time in Latvia. Right now I am thinking that there is no greater placeof employment than the one I am currently working for, and I would neverwant to live in another place, in another country. When I am in Guernsey, Ifeel wonderful in any situation. When having a walk in picturesque places,