Motivation for civic participation of immigrants: the role of personal resources, social identities,

and personal traits

Ankica Kosic

POLITIS

Interdisciplinary Centre for Education and Communication in Migration Processes (IBKM)

Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg

Ammerländer Heerstr. 114-118/ Postbox 2503

26111 Oldenburg

dita.vogel@uni-oldenburg.de

University of Oldenburg. POLITIS-Working paper No.11 /2007

www.uni-oldenburg.de/politis-europe/webpublications

POLITIS Kosic 2

POLITIS – a European research project

Project information

Populations of immigrant origin are growing and changing in Europe. POLITIS explores the

potential of immigrants for the development of a civically active European society, starting with

foreign students’ perceptions of Europe and focusing on sustained social and political activities

of immigrants. POLITIS is the short title for the research project ‘Building Europe with New

Citizens? An Inquiry into the Civic Participation of Naturalised Citizens and Foreign Residents in

25 Countries’.

The study is divided into three parts:

• Part I: A comparative literature review on immigrant civic participation in 25 member states

• Part II: A comparative analysis of foreign students' perceptions of Europe, exploring the potential of their ideas about Europe with the help of essays and focus group discussions

• Part III: A comparative analysis of more than 150 qualitative interviews with civic activists of immigrant origin in the EU to identify favourable and unfavourable biographical and national conditions for active participation

The POLITIS Working Paper Series

POLITIS working paper series may include project-related contributions by all project partners.

The main project researchers in the consortium constitute the editorial committee of the working

paper series. It is editorial policy to secure quality standards while encouraging the discussion

of results that are preliminary or limited in scope.

Funding Acknowledgement

This research project has been funded by the European Commission through the Sixth

Research Framework, Priority 7, Citizens and Governance in a Knowledge-Based Society.

www.cordis.lu/citizens

Consortium

Interdisciplinary Centre for Education and Communication in Migration Processes (IBKM) www.uni-oldenburg.de/IBKM

Hellenic Foundation of European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP) Athens. www.eliamep.gr

Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies. European University Institute (EUI) Florence. www.iue.it/RSCAS

Churches’ Commission of Migrants in Europe (CCME) Brussels. www.cec-kek.org/content/ccme.shtml

POLITIS Kosic 3

Table of contents

1. INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................................................4

2. METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................................................................7

3. MOTIVATIONS FOR CIVIC PARTICIPATION.........................................................................................8

3.1. ANTECEDENTS TO CIVIC ACTIVISM ..............................................................................................................8

3.1.1. Individual resources for civic participation ..........................................................................................8

3.1.2. Personality characteristics ..................................................................................................................10

3.1.3. Previous experiences with civic activism in the country of origin.......................................................11

3.1.4. Social resources...................................................................................................................................14

3.1.5. Situational motivations ........................................................................................................................15

3.2. THE EXPERIENCE AND CONSEQUENCES OF CIVIC ACTIVISM .......................................................................20

3.2.1. Network effects ....................................................................................................................................20

3.2.2. Benefits and costs of participation ......................................................................................................21

4. CONCLUSIONS ..............................................................................................................................................25

5. REFERENCES.................................................................................................................................................27

POLITIS Kosic 4

1. Introduction

Several authors have studied the underlying motivation and characteristics of those who actively

participate in civic activities of different types, from individual voluntarism to organizational

involvement and electoral participation (for review, see Brady, Verba, & Schlozman, 1995;

Verba, Schlozman, & Brady, 1995). Great part of studies on motivations and resources for civic

participation regards the phenomenon of pro-social behaviour and of a specific form of

participation: volunteering. Several theoretical approaches of what factors determine why people

participate in civic activities, and what sustains this participation in time have been proposed.

Verba, Schlozman, and Brady (1995) have outlined a civic voluntarism model of participation

involving three basic aspects: resources, motivations, and recruitment. Resources such as

education, money, time, and civic skills are the basic assets that increase an individual’s capacity

to act, they make participation easier and thus more likely. Successively, Snyder, Omoto and

Crain (1999) proposed the volunteer process model considering the three stages – antecedents to

volunteering (e.g., addresses the characteristics, resources and motives that people bring with

them), the experience of volunteering (e.g., emergence of role identity, social relationships that

develop over time, and level to which volunteers feel that their work has met their expectations

and those of the recipients of their services), and consequences of volunteering (e.g. benefits

experienced, barriers). Concerning the antecedents, civic participation is strongly associated with

the components of socioeconomic status: education, occupation, and income. Some studies

suggest that level of education is the most consistent predictor of volunteering (Cohen, Vigoda,

& Samorly, 2001; Kraaykamp, 1996; Lindeman, 1995; McPherson & Rotolo 1996; Sundeen &

Raskoff 1994; Wilson, 2000). One possible explanation of these findings is that better educated

people have communication and organisational skills that facilitate civic participation, such as

the ability to speak or write well, or organize and taking part in meetings (Brady et al., 1995).

Education also heightens awareness of problems, increases empathy, and builds self-confidence

(Brady et al., 1995; Rosenthal, Feiring & Lewis, 1998). The civic voluntarism model also

emphasises the role of some socio-demographic characteristics as they are often correlated with

resources: e.g., marital status (it seems that married people are more likely to volunteer than

single people, although single people without children volunteer the most hours (Sundeen, 1990),

occupation (it was found that the self-employed and people with flexible work schedules are the

most likely to volunteer, e.g., Freeman, 1997), gender, age, etc. Next to individual resources and

socio-demographic characteristics, recruitment networks denoted as social capital (Coleman,

1990; Putman, 2000) serve as catalysts for civic action. Social networks may increase civic

participation because they are used for the mobilization of new members. It seems that people

become involved because they are asked to, and the chance of being asked is greater if they are

involved in active social networks. Furthermore, it has been argued that people are more likely to

volunteer and commit more strongly to civic activities if their parents have also been volunteers

(Piliavin, 2004; Sundeen & Raskoff, 1995). Thus, all these factors may play important role in the

decision to engage in civic activities, but there is a request for another factor in order to get

involved: motivation (Verba, Burns, & Schlozman, 1997; see also Caiazza, 2005).

Several theories on motivation have been proposed. We can mention decision-making models,

such as game theory and rational choice theory (Luce & Raiffa, 1957; Olson, 1965). Following

these theoretical models, individuals are seen as primarily driven by their (economic) self-

interests. Accordingly, all actions are fundamentally 'rational' in character and people calculate

POLITIS Kosic 5

the likely costs and benefits of any actions before deciding what to do (Downs, 1957; Buchanan

and Tullock, 1962; Riker, 1962; Hechter, 1987; see also Coleman, 1990. Thus, they will not

contribute goods and services to others unless they profit from the exchange (Smith, 1982).

People are motivated to maximize their rewards and to minimize their costs (Heath, 1976;

Coleman, 1973).

There are many variants of the cost/benefit approach to studying participation, including Olson’s

(1965) theory of collective action (which emphasises selective incentives1 as a way to maximize

rewards for participation) and McAdam’s (1982) political process model (which argues that

collective action will occur to the extent that an organization has the necessary resources to be

successful). Homans (1961) proposed the exchange theory which held that approval is the most

fundamental human goal. He saw approval as directly parallel to money. Both money and

approval are general means of exchange in social interaction, one in economic exchange and the

other in social exchange. In many cases, there exists a combination of monetary and non-

monetary rewards and costs.

The assumption that people will rationally seek to maximize their utility has difficulties

explaining many forms of civic participation such as voting, membership of unions,

volunteering, and charitable giving (Elster, 1990; Green & Shapiro, 1994; Heath, 1976). Rational

action models have not responded to the question ‘why people should ever choose to do

something that will benefit others more than themselves, and when the expected benefits are

lower than the costs?’ Reflection on that suggests that rational choice theorists do not provide a

complete picture of the determinants of civic engagement, and that some psychological factors

need to be taken into consideration if we want to comprehend that issue more fully.

The psychological approach concentrates on personality variables, motives and values as

determinants of civic participation (e.g., Carmines & Huckfeldt, 1996; Krampen, 1991; Omoto &

Snyder, 1995, 2002; Sabucedo & Cramer, 1991).

Concerning the motives, we can to mention Maslow’s (1970) theory of hierarchy of needs,

which contends a pyramid consisting of five levels: the four lower levels are grouped together as

deficiency needs associated with physiological needs, while the top level is termed growth needs

associated with psychological needs. Once physiological and safety needs (e.g., safety from

violence, delinquency, aggressions, security of employment) are fulfilled, people start worrying

about other goals in life, such as social acceptance (need to feel belonging). In addition, people

need to engage themselves in order to gain recognition and have an activity or activities that give

the person a sense of contribution and self-value (desire for a stable and high evaluation of

themselves, for the respect of others, and for high self-esteem). Ultimately, people strive for self-

realization (the tendency to actualize all potentials, and to become everything that one desires to

and is capable of becoming).

Furthermore, classic motivation literature has distinguished between intrinsic and extrinsic

motivation (e.g., Deci & Ryan, 1985). People may engage in an activity for their inherent

satisfactions that helps to enhance or maintain a person's self-concept (e.g., curiosity, interest), or

because of some external incentives (e.g., rewards, payments, duties, controls, pressures,

sanctions, gain of a status). By intrinsic motivation is considered a process of arousal and

1 For example, Unions might attract members by ensuring that will provide legal assistance to them for free.

POLITIS Kosic 6

satisfaction in which the rewards come from carrying out an activity (task itself) rather than from

its being a means to an end. By contrast, one might work hard at a task in order to gain money or

social approval. Extrinsic motivation thus contrasts with intrinsic motivation, which refers to

doing an activity simply for the enjoyment of the activity itself, rather than its instrumental

value. However, usually there is a mixture of motives. Most people will find at least some

satisfaction in simply doing civic activities. They might say, for example, that they found it

"interesting". For most people there is also some satisfaction in rewards, material or social. The

proportion of these intrinsic and extrinsic sources of satisfaction varies from one person to

another and between different situations.

There are two theoretical models, linked to conceptual framework in social psychology, of what

factors motivate and sustain volunteering over an extended period of time: the functional model

(Clary et al., 1998; Omoto & Snyder, 1995; Snyder & Omoto, 2000), and the role identity model

proposed by Piliavin and her associates (Grube & Piliavin, 2000; Piliavin & Callero, 1991;

Stryker, 1985). The functional approach explains motivation to volunteering in terms of

taxonomy of functions that people try to fulfil. Clary and his associates have identified a set of

six motives for volunteering including: career enhancement, learning new skills, social

interactions, escape from negative feelings, self enhancement, and expressing pro-social values

(Clary et al., 1998). In general, the two dimensions of motives could be distinguished: individual

and social. It was suggested that activism may serve to increase one’s job prospects and enhance

one’s career. Activism also can give an opportunity to learn, understand, practice, and apply

skills and abilities. In addition, people sometimes become active due to social pressure, or to get

along with others in reference group, and to enlarge their social networks (Coleman, 1990;

Putnam, 2000). Activism can also have the protective function whereby one becomes active to

resolve one’s own problems, anxieties and conflicts. In addition, activism may help to enhance

one’s self-esteem and self-confidence through experiencing positive emotions such as pride.

These motives are closely related to the self-enhancement motive, which stands that people are

motivated to raise levels of ability or performance and maximize potential for personality growth

(Taylor, Neter & Wayment, 1995). Last but not least, activism can be linked to altruism, or

concern for the welfare of others (Batson, Ahmad, & Tsang, 2002).

The role identity theory, which derives from the theory of symbolic interactionism (Mead, 1934),

describes civic participation in terms of a set of roles. This theory hypothesises that the extent to

which the role of civic activist is important for the person’s identity can predict intentions to

volunteering.

Psychological studies on pro-social behaviour and volunteerism stress further the importance of

some personality characteristics in explaining civic participation (e.g., Carlo, Allen & Buhman,

1999; Elshaugh & Metzer, 2001; Oliner & Oliner, 1988; Penner, 2002; Penner & Finkelstein,

1998; Penner, Fritzsche, Craiger, & Freifeld, 1995; Snyder & Ickes, 1985). It seems that people

with specific personality characteristics are more likely to engage in civic activities, also when

there are little or no social incentives. According to the so-called Big-Five Model (McCrae &

Costa, 1996), there are five basic dimensions of human personality: openness to experience,

conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. Agreeableness is believed to be

particularly predictive of pro-social behaviours (Ashton, Paunonen, Hehnes, & Douglas, 1998;

Graziano & Eisenberg, 1997). Agreeable people are friendly, helpful, modest, trusting, and

cooperative (McCrae & Costa, 1996). Similarly, extraversion is associated with sociability,

POLITIS Kosic 7

assertiveness, positive emotions, and good social skills (Burke & Hall, 1986; Lindeman, 1995).

Extraverted people may be engaged in civic associations because they like to do and organise

things with other people. Moreover, they have more social ties to expose them to being asked to

participate (Freeman, 1997). Furthermore, it was found that civic engagement is negatively

related to a depression (Lin, 2000), and positively to feeling of optimism (Whiteley, 1999), and

emotional stability (Allen & Rushton, 1983). Last but not least, empathy is believed to be the key

aspect of the ‘altruistic personality’ (Davis, 1994; Davis, Mitchell, Hall, Lothert, Snapp, &

Meyer, 1999; Batson, 1998; Eisenberg & Miller, 1987; Penner, 2002; Penner & Finkelstein,

1998).

The approaches mentioned above complement one another and assist in establishing an

integrated understanding and explanation of civic activity. In general, activism may serve more

than one type of motives and, also, different motivations may be served within a group of

activists performing the same activity. Brudney (1994, p. 292) suggests that the variety of

motivations underlying volunteering are coherent and congruent with one another. According to

the author, people can hold simultaneously both other-directed and self-directed motivations. A

person may help others, learn and grow from the experience, and enjoy the company of other

people involved in the civic organisation. People may vary not only in the types of motivation,

but also in level of motivation (i.e., how much are motivated).

This chapter explores how do immigrants in 24 EU countries describe their motivation to

become and stay involved in civic activities. It explores how far the narratives display the

patterns that the reviewed theoretical and empirical literature suggests, and whether there are

indicators that some elements are of particular relevance for active immigrants.

2. Methodology

The chapter is based on 176 interviews with immigrants engaged in civic activities in 24 EU

Members States. In a first step of analysis, we used the first coding of the interviews in the

MAXqda qualitative software package. All responses concerning motivation to participate in

civic activities were selected, which resulted in 1848 segments. Moreover, segments of text

related to personal, social, and material resources which enable or inhibit participation, have

also been selected in the analysis. For personal resources we consider personal skills and

competences which facilitate civic activism (in particular, knowledge of language of the

receiving country, communication skills, education), as well as some socio-psychological

characteristics (e.g., identity and personality dimensions). These resulted in 532 codes. Social

resources (682 codes) refer to the social capital (e.g., level of support from family, friends, and

society), whereas material factors (865 codes) regard practical resources (e.g., time, money,

office space).

These segments of text were read and subcoded by introducing themes which appeared during

the analysis. Subcoding was guided by the themes in the literature as suggested in Rubin and

Rubin (2005:209), and supplemented with additional themes that appeared during the reading

and are more specific for immigrants (e.g. language competences as resource). Usually,

motivations were expressed clearly and in an easily understandable way. However, in a number

of cases, we also read the surrounding segments and the interview summary to understand deeply

the meaning of the coded segments. It has to be clarified that this analysis does not take the

POLITIS Kosic 8

larger context of the interviews and the background conditions in the countries of origin and

receiving countries into account. This paper does not try to reconstruct motivations in any

substantial sense, but summarise how immigrants choose to portray their motivations and how

they relate their motivations to personal characteristics in the context of an interview for a

research project.

The findings have been structured through the model proposed by Snyder a.o. (1999), by

considering factors which motivate immigrants to start their participation in civic activities, and

to maintain involvement over time. Some quotations have been selected that illustrate well the

key ideas of the analysis.

3. Motivations for civic participation

In this section, the main findings are summarised, structured into (a) antecedents to civic

activism; and (b) the experience and consequences of civic activism. It shows how active

immigrants explain their motivation, and to what factors they relate in their explanations.

Aspects that are potentially immigrant-specific are highlighted.

3.1. Antecedents to civic activism

As mentioned previously, activists may relate to individual and social resources, and personality

characteristics to explain why they became active. In this section, all codes related to personal

resources necessary for civic participation have been analysed. It was explored which incentives

and reasons were mentioned as most common. Among most common antecedents and resources

for civic engagement emerged: the level of education and communicative skills; personality

characteristics; previous civic activism experienced personally or within their family; and the

role of social network.

3.1.1. Individual resources for civic participation

The level of education was mentioned as a central individual resource. From a statistic analysis

of socio-demographic characteristics of our respondents emerged that the overwhelming

majority of them (79%) have a high education level, having completed tertiary (university or

college) education. Many among the interviewees commented on the relationship between their

education and their civic activism: they noted that education was relevant because it made them

suitable candidates for positions of responsibility in voluntary and other type of organisations

(e.g. members of parish or church councils, presidents or secretaries of ethnic associations,

managers of ethnic schools or other type of cultural associations). For others, education was

more indirectly relevant: for example, their level of education help them to acquire knowledge

on legislation useful in the process of integration in the receiving country.

While some interviewees came to countries in which they were able to use their mother tongue

or a language spoken in their country of origin, most interviewees immigrated to foreign

language countries. Most of respondents emphasised that if the person does not speak the

language and has no education, she or he risks to be excluded from the receiving society. The

POLITIS Kosic 9

low knowledge of language limits real contacts with local society. Education and language

competences are closely associated with communicative skills requested for many civic

organisations. Many interviewees, living in different countries under highly differing

circumstances emphasize the importance of language in connection with education and self-

confidence:

You have to learn some language, so you can communicate with people around you, so you can get a job, so

you have some self-worth, something to offer, or finish an education, before you can take the next step.

(028/137)

The main question is the language: the language, the language and the language again (..) there are many

barriers in front of foreigners, migrants. Too many… and the biggest barrier is the language… Maybe if we

could solve the problem with the language, we could come to higher positions. The language is very very

important, it is crucial… (061/39)

It’s like being in darkness if you cannot read and write, you are blind, partially blind because you feel inferior

of yourself. Anybody who is not educated, people who are not educated, not everybody, there are people who

are not educated they have that attitude of showing off, talking in a way but I think education helps you

because you are confident, you know what you talking about and you know what you are doing. (119/150)

Many of immigrants emphasised that doing civic activities at a professional level requests for

high language competences, and they still struggle about that, even after several years of living

in the receiving country. They see their language competences as an inherent disadvantage if

compared to natives. People feel discomfort because they have a complex of not being able to

express themselves in the same elaborate way and with same level of eloquence of natives. It is

especially case with political involvement, which requires particular manners of expressing, very

often assertive and diplomatic.

I think I can have some improvement of my foreign language. But it’s hard for me to totally change its level.

It’s beyond my power. It’s easy to understand. The language ability of your 40 years old is not same with that

of your native language ability. (001/90)

Because it is not a matter of knowing how to write, not an issue of being a migrant, your problems, knowing

how to say them and where to start, how you articulate problems, eeh, in a way that is understandable without

annoying people, in a diplomatic way. It is not about going and saying this is how we feel, we need this and

that, there is another way, a word that you should use. (085/165)

At the beginning, I could not understand them and I was wondering if that was because of a limit in my

language? One time I got very upset and told them that you are using these special abbreviations that I could

not understand; could you please explain them to me? You are asking all the time why immigrants do not

participate in party activities? This is why! … Foreigners usually come to meet you one to two times, they

understand nothing so they quit and if you are going to continue in this way I am going to quit too. (161/63)

In cases in which immigrants do not share the mother tongue with the receiving country, there

were also some reflections that indicate that not only language competences are important, but

also the way to deal with language problems. Here emerges the role of some psychological

factors, such as self-confidence in telling proper opinion without hesitating in spite of language

problems. People with high self-confidence are not ashamed of asking explanations if they do

not understand something, or in approaching others, as in case of a Bulgarian activist in Greece.

POLITIS Kosic 10

Even the fact that I do not speak grammatically correct Greek is not an obstacle in my contacts. It is really

interesting that often when we meet with the authorities, I usually let others speak – those who have received

their education here and speak the language much better than I do. But the other immigrants ask that I speak

because I am not afraid to tell the truth in people’s faces. (068/57)

In relation to what mentioned in the theoretical introduction, we may argue that all personal

resources require come type of connection to motivation, social capital, and personality

characteristics to get involved and sustain civic activities in time, as pointed out in a concise way

by one of the interviewees: “My Swedish language is very good, my very strong personality and

my relationship to others and their encouragement played big roles.”

3.1.2. Personality characteristics

Some of immigrants involved in civic activities, even at leading positions, have a relatively low

level of education, and it seems that in this context we have a strong impact of psychological

characteristics on the decision to get involved in civic activities. It is self-confidence and

leadership or charismatic personality that may compensate for low education in accomplishing

their civic activities, as this Danish woman of Turkish origin explains:

I don’t have any particular education in reality. I have an office education. My resources have been that as a

person, I’m very, very strong. At that time at least, I’ve had a very strong psyche and a very strong will. So

that was my strength. (028/110)

Personal charisma is an important factor. As the head of an association, my performance does matter much. If I

complain everyday: “I’m tired to death. I’m exhausted. I couldn’t carry on.” Then other people will say: “All

right. You quit, then we’ll quit.” So the (strong) personality as a motivating force is very important. (167/131)

Many interviewees do not explain their activities with what they want to gain or achieve, but

with their personality, individual identity, energy and strength. Among psychological

characteristics of active participants which play a significant role emerged, for example,

leadership and charisma, capacity to take an active role; enthusiasm, curiosity, optimism,

extraversion, open-mindness, determination and tenacity, capacity to persuade people, and being

hard working and goal oriented.

They are not discouraged in difficult situations. Many of them had to endure difficult times

during their migration and had to struggle to actualise their capacities and fulfilling their

political, economic, social and cultural needs. They represent amazing cases of human

decisiveness not to give-up, despite difficulties, but to struggle and actualise themselves.

Most interviewees present themselves as very self-confident (as best described by one of the

respondents: …there is such a slogan: «if not me, than who?» This is something I always had,

from childhood…), as dispositional optimists with a sense of mastery that do not feel helpless,

and cope with stress effectively. Some of participants also revealed that civic activities helped

them to gain this sense of self-esteem, better reliance on their abilities, their opinions, and the

POLITIS Kosic 11

faith that it is possible to change something to improve the situation. The selection of quotations

below illustrates different ways in which interviewees refer to their personality as a resource.

Perhaps somebody outside can say that I knew someone? Absolutely nobody. I am a very decided character,

very strong and just because I have believed in myself, just because I have said to myself if there is something

you can do, do it, it is useless to feel inferior just because you come from Albania… (102/162)

(..) even living through very tough circumstances, very hard, not having even for eating, despite all that…I

came through and I keep going through, because I have that optimism… (150/98)

I am a very natural person, a very free person and I have always told my opinion without fearing that

tomorrow I might lose my job. I have always supported my position when I knew I was right. Even if I am not,

I always quarrel until I am convinced that the opposite is right. (070/183)

I keep on making an effort because I have hope. I am capable of making something positive out of all the

things that go wrong, that’s a power of me, to make something positive out of it. And that’s not because I

always think positively, I see many things that go wrong and I’m not so perfect either, so I also make many

mistakes. Only the difference is, I’m open for it, people can talk to me. (122/161)

Probably, because of this, because I had too many problems. When you look from outside, people say, a strong

woman… Because, you know, I don’t know where from I have all of this, maybe, as I say, it’s genetic, or

maybe because, indeed, there were times when I had to face big problems, and when I understood that there

was none to solve them for me, that I had to solve them myself, or indeed, as that woman said, it’s easier to go

and jump from the bridge, well, this is also not a solution. (..) I mean if you don’t like something you can do

something to change it. And, I would rather do something to change it. Why sit around cursing the darkness,

when you can, like, light a candle. (try to change). (..) In general by nature I’m optimist. Optimist. Not only…

even not that much optimist, as a fighter. I will fight till the end. [laughing]. I’m a fighter…I have to find a

way out! Because it cannot be, that there is no way out of a situation. (094/138)

Some of them reflect on their characteristics associated with extraversion, such as sociability,

assertiveness, positive emotions, and good social skills.

Personally I like people, I like working with people, I’m always very curious about the motives of people,

what, and how people think. (122/161)

I’ve always been a curious person, I could easily make contact with people as well, I could yes, I didn’t have a

threshold, I never had a threshold either. (123/92)

I mean, basically I think this has to do with who I am, naturally speaking eh, I am the type of person who is , I

am an extrovert, as you can see I am not trying to blow my own, but I am a very easy going person you know,

I like to smile, people know me, you know, for the man who smiles every time. (120/139)

3.1.3. Previous experiences with civic activism in the country of origin

In many interviewees it is emphasized that previous experiences with civic activism in the

country shaped their ways into civic activities in the receiving country. These experiences may

relate to own activism, often in the youth, to active role-models in the family or to the general

attitudes towards activism in their community or country.

Some people have been active in the country of origin before emigrating, demonstrating

leadership abilities since their school age. It confirms what suggested by previous studies that

children who volunteer during their school years develop more pro-social attitudes and are more

likely to volunteer later in their adult life (Astin, 1993; Damico, Damico & Conway, 1998).

POLITIS Kosic 12

(..) since I was in the elementary school I was engaged in organising different activities, I have been ‘group

commander’…During the high school, starting from the second year, for three years, I have been youth

secretary of the school so I always have been participating into the youth activities (..) Coming here, I missed

this participation in political life… I haven’t stay quite, I couldn’t. I am a character that if I have the possibility

to bring the voice of the others I would do, that is, for others I fight… (102/162)

I think politics has been in my blood from ... from (laughs) youth. Back in the university I was the president of

my departmental association, you know, and this is because I’ve always been in the forefront (..) you know …

eh…fighting and campaigning for positive human rights for every one, you know, equality for everybody.

(092/187)

For many interviewees, civic participation become part of their self-concept, as the role-identity

theory suggests.

For me personally, when I arrived here, I mean, for a while I was not involved, I had to work and stuff, I had

to draw away for half-a-year in the beginning; it was no more then a year, but I told myself that I had to do this

[be civically active] because that is part of my life’s rhythm (139/133).

Some interviewees also appointed that their parents or other family members had been active

politically and that it had a positive influence on their motivation to get involved into civic

activities. There were no specific questions in our interview guide on the parents’ activism, but

many of our interviewees have mentioned spontaneously that they have learned a civic attitude

in the family. Thus, it emerged from the analysis a strong association between personal and

social factors (e.g., parental socioeconomic status and involvement in civic activities).

Sometimes it’s something that you carry in your DNA and you don’t know why. I come from a family

politically strong. My grandfather ended in prison many times because he believed in the Aprista party. My

uncles are trade-unionists, radical persons, very strong, therefore my family always claimed for rights.

(097/159)

(..) my father was Member of Parliament. It is difficult to say when the politics starts in a family when you

have a father Member of Parliament, because it is an every day thing… My mother was very involved in

politics. She always read the news that was interesting for us. (099/260)

My parents also belonged to various associations, and the door to our house was always open, from 6 in the

morning to midnight, there was always more than enough openness and incentives to work in associations and

be in permanent contact with society, so I learnt to get involved since childhood. (138/109)

As opposite, some interviewees were grown up within families and cultures that suppress civic

participation. They have been motivated to get involved by an aspiration to achieve

emancipation, as in the case of this Turkish woman in Denmark.

I know that the family structure is very, as the Turks call it, old fashioned, very conservative, not even Turkish,

but Ottoman. My father was very traditional, a real macho, the master of the house. And I, as girl and

daughter, was placed under a lot of cultural restrictions that I couldn’t accept. I didn’t find them

reasonable…(028/106)

POLITIS Kosic 13

People who were active in their country of origin, upon their arrival to the receiving country,

tried to find the possibility to follow the same model of participation, bringing with them their

interests and experiences.

I came here as an active person. What you do then is to look for a similar group when you arrive. You look for

people like you. People who think like you, who have the same ideas, aims, ambitions…(059/69)

I got involved with the professional women’s network before I even came into the country because I knew that

networking is essential for my professional survival and psychological well-being and professional

development. Before I even came here, I was searching. I contacted the embassy and asked if there was a

professional women’s network here. (001/90)

It seems that some communities cultivate the culture of civic participation and solidarity more

than others, which may be attributed to the dimension of Individualism vs. Collectivism.

Individualism stands for a society in which the ties between individuals are loose: everyone is

expected to look after himself or herself and his or her immediate family only. Collectivism on

the other hand stands for a society in which people are integrated into strong, cohesive ingroups,

which throughout people's lifetime continue to protect them in exchange to unquestioning loyalty

(Hofstede, 1980; Jetten, Postmes & McAullife, 2002; Triandis, McCusker, & Hui, 1990;

Triandis & Trafimow, 2001).). This encourages people originated from collectivist groups to

become involved in civic associations, and to contribute to the welfare of their in-group.

The whole concept of working together for…the better of everyone (..) is just something that I grew up with.

(001/90

Jewish education encourages people to be active in different civic organizations. This is even in the religion,

there is this principle that every person has to help society, and the groups where he is living. (055/55

I was born in a town in which 80% did political activities. (098/81)

Some interviewees reported on initial reluctance of people from former Communist countries

(e.g., Albania, Russia) to get involved into voluntary activities and civic organizations because of

their negative experience of compulsory voluntary activism forced upon citizens in the

Communist regimes. It seems that there was no sense of common purpose among them.

Individualistic values have replaced any sense of community feelings. We find a number of

statements in which active immigrants describe their compatriots’ reluctance to get involved

which is explained with relation to the history of communism and transition to a market

economy. This is a particularly vivid example.

One should not forget that these children, these young people come from Soviet families. … In principle, as

soon as young people start participating more actively, they are immediately stopped by their own parents:

“You should better study; it is not necessary to do all this, and finally, why should you do this for free? We

live in a capitalistic society where everything is done for money.” ... I tell them: If you go to an organisation,

there is a person sitting in an office and you ask him a question and receive some help from him and you can’t

even imagine that he does not get any payment for this, he is working voluntarily. Here, this is worthy. They

listen as if I was talking about Harry Potter. (058/130)

POLITIS Kosic 14

3.1.4. Social resources

Many participants have not being active before, and specific circumstances in the host country

lead them to engage actively in civic organisations. Some have either been encouraged or invited

to take part in a civic activity by other active immigrants. Having a family member or friend

involved also provides motivation for joining a civic organisation. In few instances, they were

asked or appointed to work for the parish or the church and the idea of creating an association

came up spontaneously from them and others. Through these circumstances they realized that

they could achieve something important through network with others, something that cannot be

achieved individually. All this confirms as suggested by previous studies that motivation to be

involved in civic activities is largely embedded in social network (e.g., Freeman, 1997; Pearce,

1993).

Neither in the school age nor as a youth, I had been involved with much of social activities (..) But after my

arrival here, being among the friends, made me or pushed me to do some kind of service…(033/50

I can never be involved in politics (..) But then the pressure was gathering from the whole society…‘why not

consider this, we think you will be, I mean you will be very valuable’…they supported me all the way through

and here I am today a town councillor…(091/168)

I looked for a flat – or was it a room – then I had noticed how that migrants were faced with language

problems, also during the search for a dwelling place. And then I have tried to help in interpreting, together

with a few colleagues. And then when I entered the Club ... via a friend, I found that there was a demand for

someone who could do this in a regular way, and thus I have started it in the Club. (007/56)

Generally comments indicate the supportive role of the family or friends. They appointed that

without their comprehension, and a support in practical and moral sense, it would be much more

difficult to achieve something.

(..) my husband, my children and particularly my friends supported and encouraged me very much. Without

their support I could have done nothing. (066/37)

Sentiments of loneliness, or the need to talk with people from their own country in their mother

tongue, or to discuss about their problems and about what is happening in their country of origin,

were as well among the motives for get involved in civic organisations. In adjusting to a new

culture, immigrants experience also other types of difficulties related to job and regularisation of

their stay permits, which may cause them significant distress. Interviewees emphasise that it is

important to have somebody to talk about problems, and to ask for an advice and support, and

that civic associations provide for a certain level of solidarity among members, and for a place

where to relax and forget about daily problems at least for a moment. Feelings of discrimination,

nostalgia and homesickness are mentioned as motives to search for their co-nationals and ethnic

associations. When it is difficult to find an ethnic association, or they are not prone for some

reason to be involved within, people try to find other type of civic associations in order to

prevent isolation, and to find a place to socialise with others.

POLITIS Kosic 15

The other thing that when you don’t’ have a network, no family, no friends, because when you leave your

country you actually leave everything and you start form zero as a baby that must learn to speak, to learn the

way to be, to learn also how to live and to live together with this society…(098/47)

(..) many people had felt very isolated really, not being to participate in any form of social life at all… So it

was also an opportunity for people to outburst their emotions in fact, to say whatever they thought about what

was happening. (111/129)

I was newly arrived in France and I needed to make friends. So, I joined [the association] and that was really

to make friends. To find more people who were like me because I was actually finding it very difficult to

integrate and make friends in my community because most of the women sort of my age were working.

(049/79)

As a whole lot, people [in our group] manage to relax as our daily life is filled up with stress and there are too

many responsibilities. This makes people stresses and tense. By coming here, they manage to relax and to

forget about the problems of the day. (021/38)

Why did I go - the desire to be among the people from my country, to communicate in the native language.

And if it were not for my fellow countrymen, it would be very difficult for me here, in Tallinn. The society

helped me very much to adapt. (029/94)

Some of civic associations have been established as a place where immigrants can meet and

preserve their identity, culture, and traditions. The involvement of immigrants in cultural life is a

fundamental tool for breaking the sense of exclusion. Thus, while supporting social networks is

important for all civic activists, the lack of networks can also be an activation factor for

immigrant activists.

3.1.5. Situational motivations

One of the important motives is related to the possibility to solve legal and social integration

problems (i.e., legalization of one’s status, access to the job market, access to education and

health services, learning host language, etc.). The initial period in a host country is in some cases

characterised by a limited access to relevant information on the possibilities for regularising their

work and stay, because of poor language skills, and/or because of lack of supportive institutions

to provide immigrants with assistance. Some of them spent substantial time going round by the

offices in order to have relevant information and assistance. Thus, civic participation was

motivated in some cases by those kinds of personal experiences. Several interviewees regard

their participation in civic organisations as their mission, since they feel able to solve problems

and to help others. Examples of help include the assistance to find accommodation and

employment for recently arrived immigrants and information and help concerning immigration

and other legal issues.

Being informed on my own, reading the laws, knowing the services of the region, their organizational structure

many time even out of my job as an intermediator… especially in the beginning there were a lot of friends,

that were without a job or need whatever documents etc., I simply was giving them information that they need,

I was accompanying in the offices so to find work etc., that has been a significant role, it is understandable that

everything, I was doing in a voluntary base, with pleasure for helping each-other… (101/107)

To start with, I created this association, it happened so that the association was created by several people, who

came here to Italy having no support, no help. Having gone through all the circles of hell, having survived

POLITIS Kosic 16

through all of this, they saw that there are hundreds of people who follow the same path, who repeat all those

same mistakes… (096/130)

What got me into this battle? The suffering, my own and other people’s, every day we see 30 or 40 persons a

lot of excluded people, a lot of people suffering, a lot of people that haven’t seen their children for years

because they wont let them reunite, a lot of people that is fighting and it takes 8 to 10 years to obtain the

Spanish citizenship and that is completely unsustainable. (153/138)

It is easy to meet problems if you don’t know this society well (..) I really experienced a lot of bad things from

the time that I came here and I have some ideas about the life here. I don’t want the bad things that happened

to me before to happen to the other Chinese again. Thus it’s necessary to give more information to these

Chinese who came later and help them when they are in trouble. (013/73)

I had various problems, this forced me and other people from Burundi and others from Rwanda, because, we

have the same cultures, close cultures, to look at problems we have been facing. One by one, has tried to find

how to deal with his/her problems on his/her own, even when we called to service providers, they did not help

as we anticipated, for this reason, for this reason we set up our own organisation to help us in helping each

other in dealing with the problems we face. (087/104)

Naturally, situational motivations are highly dependent on the immigration situation in the

receiving country in general, and on the situation of a particular immigrant group at a particular

time. Among the interviewees, we find refugees who came from countries in war or conflict, and

immigrants who worked as live-in maids and often had to cope with difficult situations.

Badante (care worker) – is assistenza, aid to the elderly. This is a type of work, I’ll tell you, it’s my opinion, it

is slave’s work. This is such a slave’s work, and I am such a freedom-loving person by nature, for me this was

the greatest shock and stress in my life. I survived those seven months, I don’t know, you won’t compare it to

a prison, it’s worse than a prison. I am being humiliated for money, for these earnings, and when a critical

moment came, I had no more strength at all, I simply said to myself: either I am going to nowhere, or I am

returning back to Ukraine. Because to continue living like this, even just for money, even though my salary

was not that high, there is no sense in that. True, money is nothing compared to when you stop perceiving

yourself as a human being, when you are humiliated (..) I decided that, since I stay here, I must organize my

life here in such a way so that I simply do not go crazy. Naturally, during those seven months that I worked, I

got some female-friends, found people who think in the same direction, with whom I had common ideas. So,

the idea of the unification, it has been in the air for a long time, it was not just me, some other people also

wanted…(094/138)

Our community had others, many people especially children, who came without parents. Others were coming

as widows, there were others who came having had serious problems especially those who were raped, those

who had been beaten up, those who had been detained. Those who spent a long time in refugee camps, refugee

camps for over ten years and they had problems, trauma and isolation. We realised that when they arrived in

Ireland, this isolation, sitting somewhere, no Rwandan to speak to, because of language difficulties. This was

not going to be easy, we said, we realised that it would be better if we, if we encourage them to meet and it

would be good to listen to their worries and problems. (085/165)

Facing the gravity of the Romanian children immigration phenomena…these children have emigrated to the

Paris peripheries and to prostitution zone…at the beginning of our activity we have been very impressed about

what we have found, we knew that these children are existing, but seeing them, realizing the gravity of the

phenomena, entering into contact with them…(051/100)

Frequently, the situation of young people, frequently requires on our part an almost exclusive dedication. I

don’t know… if you have a youth at risk, in a neighbourhood, for example, a youth is born in a neighbourhood

where he’s always surrounded by drug traffickers, and the temptation is there to act as a courier for them and

make, in one day, just in one day, more than his parents, who work all day, will make maybe in a year or

something like that (..). If you decide that you are going to disconnect one or two or three youngsters from that

life, you have to be available to devote yourself to them almost full time. Because you will have to follow

them closely, spend time and means, and your emotions and feelings, your availability has to be

complete…(137/143)

POLITIS Kosic 17

Some of informants get involved in civic organisations in order to inform (to raise awareness)

about a particular issue relevant to their country of origin or even another country. This includes

informing the host population of the hardships faced by people due to the political regime or

natural catastrophes that may have occurred in their home country. Last but not least, an

important motivation in some cases was to help specific population groups in their country of

origin (for example to help orphans in Thailand going to school, etc), or any other country

characterised by difficult situation (e.g., helping people in Palestine).

We are now thinking that with the drought that is devastating Mozambique and the Aids too that is striking

down Mozambican children (..) We are trying to study the feasibility of, of having the government here and

the European Union give us aid so that we may help those children. There are many children. Drought affected

80% of the Mozambican country (..) in Mozambique it had been for over two years that it had not rained. So

those children who remained orphans, poor them! There are many children who are abandoned. After all, they

walk on the streets…(135/138)

Wherever you are, you would never forget the way you grew up. There are many children who don’t have

food to eat and who are living in a dangerous situation. Hence, we have to get together to do something about

it (..) I have not had an opportunity to study when I was young. Once I had a chance, I realized that education

helps me develop myself. (..) The objective is to help poor children in Thailand, who have no opportunity to

learn. (126/44)

A number of interviewees involved in civic activism want to promote a positive image of their

immigrant group, and to contrast eventual negative stereotypes. This type of situational

motivation does not primarily aim at improving the social or legal situations of individuals or

groups but at improving image and acceptance of groups in the receiving society. Social identity

theory, advanced by Tajfel and Turner (1979; see also Tajfel, 1981), holds that individuals define

themselves socially primarily with reference to salient groups of which they are members. Thus,

theory predicts a positive relationship between identification with one’s own group and in-group

bias as a result of people’s striving for a positive self-esteem. Like all people, immigrants also

want to think positively of themselves and of the groups from whom they derive their social

identity. In other words, they try to maintain a positive social identity and want their national and

ethnic group(s) to be respected and well regarded in their receiving country.

Most of the time collective identities remain latent. One of the circumstances that may force a

collective identity into awareness is related to the discrimination toward specific group(s). It

seems that immigrants face many problems of discrimination in EU countries, and that local

populations sometimes show strong antagonism or even racism underneath an outward

appearance of tolerance. Mass media and some politicians have been accused of being partly

responsible for the negative attitudes towards immigrants because of their portrayals of

immigrants as being involved in clandestine, illegal and criminal activities. The terrorist attacks

in last years added further to ethnic tensions, and have generated suspicions of if not hostility

towards Arabs and Muslims. The results of public opinion polls, conducted regularly in the

European Union, show a high percentage of people having negative attitudes towards immigrants

(ESS, 2002; Eurobarometer surveys2). In addition, several studies report that some groups of

2 http://europa.eu.int/comm/publications/booklets/eu_documentation/05/txt_en.pdf

POLITIS Kosic 18

immigrants, who are typically perceived as most culturally distant, different or deviant, are more

devalued and more discriminated against than other groups (Hagendoorn & Hraba, 1987;

Hagendoorn, Masson, & Verkuyten, 1996).

Previous studies have shown that perception of discrimination among members of minority

groups can enhance civic engagement, as a way for protecting their collective self-esteem

(DeSipio, 2002; Duncan, 1999; Leighley, 2001). Our study confirmed that improving the image

of the own group in the receiving society and combating the problem of discrimination, racism

and xenophobia is an important motivation.

I’ll tell you when I started to become active… It all came at one time. It came really at the time of election.

Because, there were certain things written in the media that shocked me, which were anti-Semitic… I’ve never

experienced anything in which I felt threatened. But, during that period, it was very unpleasant… (003/144)

I began to think that it is necessary to change Latvian thoughts that Arabs are such ethnic group or nations (..)

his is one thing, a thought, which I want that there will be no phobias in the society. (114/32)

It was the bad image that unfortunately Albania has today not only in Austria but all over the world was one of

the main motivation that lead me and a group of Albanian intellectuals to the foundation of the institute. The

bad image is a problem of the Albanian community and the Albanian state. That is why we thought that

through culture, as the most neutral element of a country, we could present ourselves to the Austrian public.

(006/113)

(..) there are only bad words about, said eeh, bad facts about migrants and particularly Romanians. It is not

fair, we have to change this image and for changing this image we have to be organised (086/74)

Wherever we past people we were verbally abused us because we were black, yet they did not know us. What

did you come here to do? When are you going back? Why, eeh, did you choose to come here? That is why we

started saying, let us get, get together…(085/165)

Many immigrants indicated that attitudes towards them in EU countries are based on negative

stereotypes which often originated from the lack of knowledge about their countries and cultures.

Immigrant activists try to show and explain to the receiving society who they are, where they

come from, what their country of origin is like, in an attempt to change negative representations

towards them.

At least in my case, what was… annoying for me, and is still annoying nowadays, is the extreme ignorance

that in general has… I don’t say everybody because there are some specific cases that one must separate, but in

general the Finns do not know very well this… nothing about Latin America. (038/98)

One of the things that I saw when I came here was that the hosting countries (western countries) or the Holland

community has a very limited understanding of Ethiopia. I saw that practically. For instance, when I was in a

refugee camp in 1995, I was looking a pictures that was taken back home. There was a refugee worker, who

asked me to have a look at those pictures with me. She was surprised as she looks some buildings in the

picture. She then asked me, “Do you have such a building in Ethiopia?” I said, “Yes, we do”. She then flips

over another picture with a green background. Then she asked me, “Do you have anything green in Ethiopia?”

I replied, “Yes, we do”. Annoyed by her questions, I closed my photo album, I asked her “You have a masters

degree in sociology. So, how on earth one country can be hostile desert from north to south and from east to

west?” You know what she said? “This is how I grow up. This is what I heard from the media (..) Then I

thought, I have to do something about it to show not only who really I am but also what my community is.

(125/72)

Many people who live in Latvia still think that Iran or Pakistan are Arabic countries. No. Okay, it is the

Islamic world, but in the Islamic world not everybody is an Arab and not all Arabs are the Islamic world. We

POLITIS Kosic 19

have Indonesia, for example, it is not the Arab world, but the biggest Islamic country. Pakistan, Iran,

Tajikistan, there are many, Azerbaijan and all other these south Russia countries - they are not Arabs.

(114/129)

So, that was the reason actually why we wanted to gather and actually, to present that our culture and that

positive aspects so we would influenced the public opinion let’s say in acceptation of us Afghans here into this

society because at that time, they spoke about Afghans in very negative way because at that time Taliban was

in power and everybody who heard about Afghans had this imagination of Afghan as a bearded man who

wears turbans and who would not let the women out of the house, out of the house…and who do not respect

any human rights and liberties…that are the people who kill and so on and so on and even, they connected us

with the terrorism that was quite unhappy for us because many Afghans have nothing to do with either

terrorism nor Taliban. (143/114)

I was able to tie that in with what I experienced in a small village not too far from here about six months

before then, this was in May, the interview was in May 2002, in November 2001 I was walking down the

street of a town... 25 miles from here, it’s a small town with about one thousand people or a thousand five

hundred people, so I was walking down their main street and this man came up to me the man shook my hand

and he said, he was privileged to shake a black person, I started laughing, then I said common don’t flatter

me, I said to the man, this man said I am not flattering you ”in me fifty-two years, I have never, never seen a

black man in my life, that the only time I see black people is when I watch them in the movies and on the

televisions… I use to think black people are from another planet”. I was laughing and I said we are not from

another planet, are you aware of a continent called Africa? The man said Africa? Is that very close to Egypt

here? He asked, then I said no, Egypt is in Africa it is not a matter of African close to Egypt, Egypt is in

Africa. He said oh! (..) just to tell you that this diversity or multi-culturalism that this country is now enjoying

is a relatively new thing, I mean there are people out that have never, I mean that is a very typical example the

man I have never seen one on one a black person before…(091/168)

Immigrant activists mentioned that importance of teaching about cultures as a means for

promoting mutual acceptance and respect. They struggle to have their cultural difference and

values acknowledged by organising cultural activities. These include promotion of national

“high culture” or “popular culture” through events such as concerts, exhibitions, celebrations,

festivals. Culture and arts are seen by them as important vehicles for promoting cultural

dialogue, inclusion, and a positive vision of a society.

(..) our goal is to show Polish people how we live in Poland, and a part of Vietnamese culture, and the same

we show to Vietnamese people Polish culture. Exchange of culture and for sake of it, two cultures rub away

together and people can get know each other better and better. (131/69)

Another motivation for becoming civically active was to teach their children the language and

culture of origin in order to maintain a connection with their country of origin, to not forget the

roots, and to preserve the feeling of ethnic identification and pride in their ancestry. The

relevance of maintenance of traditions and culture of the home country was not understood as a

way of separation, but as opposite, interviewees who were active in this field emphasised that

this is a means for creating a bridge between the country and culture of origin (which was losing

out in the second generation) and the country and culture of settlement (which is gaining ground

among the second generation).

I think, it is a shame, that a child born in Albanian family, has Albanian parents, and is not able to speak

Albanian. (..) It is always wise to speak another language, especially if this is your mother tongue. (146/71)

POLITIS Kosic 20

I would really like immigrants to integrate: to integrate into German life in the broad sense of this word

without forgetting that they have their own national roots, their national traditions. I would like their children

to speak in their mother tongue. (06/136)

We have to help the youngsters to stay on the right path or road, so that they can’t lost, get lost (..) Because I

have seen young people, who struggle with identity, because they feel at home of course here but they don’t

feel completely accepted from this society. (041/67)

I tried to empower their first nationalities, personalities as immigrants and to make them understand the

importance of their mother languages and of their feelings as Syrians and what can they give to Sweden (..) I

tried to teach them how to be proud of their culture, civilization, language, parents and everything they have as

background to be able to enter the Swedish society strongly. (160/92)

Another dimension of social identity which may act as motivational force for civic involvement

regards religion. There is the common public perception that the vast majority of immigrants

predominantly engage in religious associations, but no research has been done to support this

hypothesis. However, it seems that immigrants who have a very strong religious affiliation,

regardless of faith, referred to this as a strong means through which to communicate with people,

and provide support and direction. Religion seems to function as a strong triggering mechanism

that provides justifications and substance to their actions and that encourages their civic

activities.

3.2.The experience and consequences of civic activism

As mentioned previously, this stage of activism refers to factors that sustain civic activism over

time (e.g., perception of results achieved, of benefits and costs of civic activism). This section

looks at the elements in the process of civic activism that make it self-perpetuating. Most of

factors mentioned previously as antecedents to civic activism may also have a role in reinforcing

participation over time. Here, social network effects and costs and benefits at the individual level

are discussed.

3.2.1. Network effects

Social networking has already been discussed as a factor that encourages the start of civic

activities. It serves as important resource to individuals for coping with difficulties. It seems that

sense of togetherness develops relatively easily between members of a community. It creates a

strong solidarity between members of a community especially when they face similar problems.

In addition, the degree of recognition in networks is an incentive to go on, as for example this

Tunisian origin woman in Belgium describes:

What is encouraging is the recognition of your activities and this is when you are always supported and

surrounded by people who share with you your activities. (..) When there are more and more people who are

interested in your work and are always present whenever you organise something. (016/84)

Others complain that they feel discouraged if events organised by them are not visited and their

activities not appreciated by the receiving society or their compatriots. The following quotation

POLITIS Kosic 21

indiciates that an active persons needs patience and persistence, and thus indirectly indicates why

others might give up.

Of course our health is affected at the end. But with the time, you learn to fight with that. You know that if 70

people are screaming to you for what you are doing, 30 people are applauding you and little by little, I can say

that these people who are clapping for me are increasing. Some people who were against you start to come

next to you to tell that they were very reactive, it makes you strange but you see that to have the fruit of your

work, you need to wait a long time. (044/100)

A young Ukrainian immigrant in the Czech Republic makes a vivid description of his impression

that it is hard to stop being active. She emphasizes that people – once being active – are asked by

others in a kind of permanent recruitment from below (see also Vogel 2007).

(..) when you just begin, it goes as… as an avalanche from the mountain, it can’t be stopped, because… for

example, for several times we wanted some how to “freeze” the Forum, but a lot of people do know about it

and they all are asking… And this support, it bowls this snow ball down from the mountain, right? (026/41)

Networks also lead to a perpetuation of activities because active people are recruited to other

positions.

Then, people just rang me up and asked for help: to accompany them here or there. I became involved in

this little by little. Later, I was suggested as a candidate to join the council for immigrants’ issues. (056/36)

3.2.2. Benefits and costs of participation

Almost all immigrant activists, regardless of country of settlement, emphasised that their

activism involved a significant investment on their part both in terms of money and in terms of

time. Some authors suggest that individuals become involved in civic activities depending on the

benefits and costs of participation (for a review see Coleman, 1990). The Rational Choice

Theory (Luce & Raiffa, 1957; Olson, 1965) and other models of self-interest suggest, for

example, that people might participate in civic organisations in order to reap the benefits of an

expanded network of business and professional contacts (Clary et al., 1998; Clary & Snyder,

1999). Civic engagement involves the personal ambitions of status-enhancement and embrace

the desire for power, prestige, and to be close to influential people. Some interviewees confirmed

these presuppositions. Some immigrants mentioned that they decided to participate to make new

contacts that might help their business or career (e.g., used social contacts to get better jobs).

Benefits discussed by our respondents were often linked to antecedent factors such as functional

motivations and resources. Civic engagement involves the personal ambitions of status-

enhancement and embrace the desire for power, prestige, and to be close to influential people.

Some interviewees confirmed these presuppositions by mentioning that they decided to

participate to make new contacts that might help their business or career (e.g., used social

contacts to get better jobs). People perceive their activities in civic organisations as a way of

exploration, in the course of which they get new experience and different skills.

POLITIS Kosic 22

I knew there was a professional woman’s network here. I got involved with them very early. And, quite

frankly, every job that I’ve gotten here in town, I’ve gotten through some type of network. (001/154)

You cannot deny that you are also interested in the opportunities that might grow out from networks. Anyway,

you can never be sure. And you can never know. I found some great friends in the Club. And, of course, I

made also some business together with club members. (174/98)

This job here has grown me even from the professional aspect and has formed me a lot because we have

contacts with ministries, contacts with enterprises, with governmental institutions for the problems that

citizens in general, not only foreigner but even Italians may come across. (102/162)

Civic participation may have a special function for highly qualified first generation immigrants

who are employed in low-skill jobs. These jobs allow them to fulfil what called in Maslow

(1970) theory of motivation as safety needs (e.g., security of employment, salary), but soon after

that people start worrying about other goals in life. Civic participation is a way to emerge from

this situation, especially for immigrants with high level of education. The possibility to do

activities in which they are interested and feel useful and respected, gives them a sense of self-

value.

Some immigrant activists are employed in immigration related areas (for example, cultural and

linguistic mediators), who can afford to combine their working time with civic activism. Usually

they represent the elite of the immigrant populations. Those who are more settled, sensitive to

the relevance and potential of civic participation, or more secure in terms of legal status,

language skills and economic conditions often emerge as advocates for the larger community.

Furthermore, some of efficient mobilisers are found among students enrolled in western

universities.

I was force to do, what was the kind of this work; 2 hours to someone, one hour to another but even those

works interrupts you from the political and social life, so to participate in the political life was a luxury (..) I

was participating to satisfy my ego…(102/162)

I had to do it (i.e., domestic job) in order to guarantee the survival. All the rest it was useful for me. Personal

satisfaction. I say " I do it, yes", without removing importance to the domestic job, but I do it but it is not my

choice, is not what I want. (097/159)

Most of our interviewees affirm that incentives for maintaining civic engagement are primarily

nonmaterial (e.g., personal satisfaction, ego gratification). Material motives were found to play a

relatively minimal role as motivator for the most of participants interviewed (see also Frideres,

1997), but of course this may also be due to the fact that these are no socially accepted motives

for civic activation in most countries, and interviewees might be reluctant to talk about them.

I faced a lot of difficulty. There were many people… how can I put this? They criticised me. Many of them

were jealous and talking about me in unpleasant words. They said I opened the Chinese school and I opened

the Centre for my own interest. They said I wanted to make myself famous and make a lot of money out of

these. They have never understood that all I have done has been voluntary work. Not mentioning making

money, I even have to sacrifice a lot of my own time. (167/62)

It is complicated with adults. To rouse interest in young people is easier than in adults. Adults immediately

think: “How much will be paid for that today?”- “Today nothing, but if the project will be accepted, then from

there something can be paid”. - “But if they don’t accept?” And that’s it, [problems] start. That’s because all

are materialists, let’s put it like this, because adults have families, adults have children; they have

POLITIS Kosic 23

responsibilities and so on. But kids - they are kids, youngsters, and students. [Pause] With them it is easy.

(110/72)

Social rewards and feelings of social prestige gained by helping others are certainly the more

dominant topic in the interviews, what confirms findings of some other studies (e.g., Gueguen &

De Gail, 2003; Harbaugh, 1998; Van de Ven, 2003). A successful assistance to others and the

pleasure of doing the right things gives a personal satisfaction and enhance self-esteem (for a

review, see Cohen & Wills, 1985; Schroeder, Penner, Dovidio & Piliavin, 1995).

I really love what I am doing in this regard (..) what we are doing is something that demands commitment.

You almost get nothing out of it, except inner satisfaction. You don’t make money out of it. You don’t get

rich. (125/43-53)

I’ve never asked for compensation. It is a personal social engagement and I have never waited for something

in change. All what I have been looking for is only people’s recognition, relations, friendship… and nothing

else… People’s recognition is the most encouraging thing. Because when someone does a work and likes his

work it is sure that he would be pleased when his work succeed. (018/67)

I could make millions and millions pounds somewhere else maybe, but how I would have someone coming

back to me and say: thank you very much, you’ve done something for me you made me integrate into the

community and I have a good job now, I own a house now, I got a car now…something like that… so that

recognition come to you from the people you work with and… it’s a good feeling… it’s better than winning a

lottery actually. (172/137)

A while back there was this newspaper, a Russian newspaper here (in Portugal); they had an open letter that

was written about us (..).. I think that is proof of the respect shown to the work we do. That, for me, is worth

more then anything. (139/133)

One other source of satisfaction and powerful motivation for participation is feeling that civic

activities are important for their self-development and self-realisation, as well as for satisfying

their need to feel involved in social activities. People perceive their activities in civic

organisations as self-improvement and a way of exploration, in the course of which they get new

experience and different skills.

(..) the pleasure of working with other people is so strong, that the material thing goes to second place. Money

is not everything, there are intellectual interest as well. (070/183)

I wouldn’t feel satisfied if I would have a 9 to 5 office function and couldn’t do anything else afterwards. (..) a

human being is a social being, you can’t be involved only with yourself or with a small group. I flourish if I

can work with other people. And, and I also enjoy seeing that you have more value in the organizations in

which you participate. And that you can also actively contribute to, to the forming of the society…(123/92)

Immigrant activists describe a sense of efficacy as important for civic engagement. Many

interviewees tell stories how they achieved something and how this has supported their

motivation. Being acknowledged as an interlocutor or having received an award for services

rendered even by the authorities, further reinforced the commitment of certain individuals in the

meaning of their work and in terms of their wider recognition and the sense that their

contribution was being respected by the host country.

POLITIS Kosic 24

Many different cases exist here and we try to help to everyone. One woman had died in an accident, and her

child under age was alone. Nobody wanted to pay the compensation especially the employer who is kind guilty

of mother’s death. And you know if you want you can escape paying this compensation, you know to bypass

the law, to forget, etc. So we went to the law and collected all documents also we attended every sitting of the

court and in the upshot we achieved the success and now the child has his compensation. (073/43)

Every time, when I help other people solving their problem, I have a sense of achievement, a feeling of being

of successful. It is a very comfortable feeling for me. Whenever I help someone out of his difficult situation, I

am very happy because the person who gets my help becomes happy (..) Deep down in my heart, I regard

helping other people as the source of happiness to myself. “Helping others is the source of happiness”.

(167/161)

(..) what gives me strength is that when you go to bed you know that you have taken someone out of prison,

you have provided the right advice, someone goes to bed with a smile on his face, not hungry and not in the

street, he has job and is protected - this gives you strength to help others. (068/102)

It is especially interesting in case of political activists, who are highly motivated to take part in

the political process because they believe that the political system can be affected by their

activities and effort.

I tried to look into ways and means of creating this political awareness amongst our people and there was no

other party I could use other that the party that I already belong. (090/84)

Political participation is defined here as an active participation in terms of involvement in

political party and constituency offices/organisations, including trade unions. Politically active

respondents see their activism, even in the absence of full voting rights, as a very important

means through which to influence policy design and implementation and to obtain access to

power (although very few mentioned the issue of power openly). They expressed the need to get

involved in order to fight for changing unacceptable regulations. Some interviewees stressed that

natives “cannot know” what immigrants’ needs are, even if they think they so. Thus, immigrants

do not need to leave other people (from the host population) to talk about their own needs

because the locals do not know who the immigrants/asylum seekers “truly are”, where they come

from, what their culture is, what their experiences have been. Through that discourse emerges a

profile of activists with internal locus of control (Rotter, 1966) who believe their behaviour to be

relatively decisive in determining their fate. They are highly motivated to take part in the

political process because they believe that the political system can be affected by their activities

and effort. Such people do not feel helpless but think that they can control their lives, and

because the political system can affect them, they should do their best to influence it.

Why, my participation in politics? Been just foreigners, without participating in the country politics, all the

decisions taken from above without our participation, falls as rain to the head but without realising that a

decision they take may bring positive or negative results. I really want not to passively participate in the

political life but where even I should have possibility that with my background, my character to do suggestion

even for foreigners although I don’t know how much I will realise. (102/162)

(..) for me the only reason I have decided to go into politics…you know you can actually make policies and

decisions affecting people and if we continue to stay away from the political arena, then we would not have

our issues addressed…we need our voices to be heard and we need a change in policy as it affects us (092/187)

POLITIS Kosic 25

(..) most of all powers in the country lies in the of the politicians, so I mean if we have no representation from

ethnic minorities that means our voices will not be heard and it is very very important that we get our voices

heard on… it is very important that we get an opportunity to speak out, to say, you know, things, to say our

views about things affecting us, our children and even future generations, it’s very important…(092/187)

I started to observe the society and realised that state of the society does change depending of who is in power.

That in Sweden one can influence the society’s development in one or another direction. (154/98)

In some cases immigrants concern about the political situation in their country of origin, and try

to inform the host population of the hardships faced by their co-nationals due to the political

regime, as well as try to influence the situation through organising demonstrations or supporting

democratic elections.

In the Czech Republic, when I arrived in 2000… it was just the time of that action “Ukraine without Kuchma”

(Note: Leondin Kuchma - ex Ukrainian president). It started at that time… a lot of students and me together

with them, we took an interest in politics, because before it the politics was not interesting to anyone, but it

had happened…(..) During “Orange revolution” we (all local Ukrainians) were here, we all got together, we

signed the petition, we co-operated during that demonstrations. So we actually all were at that orange

revolution. (026/110)

Then I discovered that our people here were also very complacent about what was going on in our country

even though we are in diaspora we still remain Nigerian (..) We try to enlighten the people about the problem

our people are going through by making presentations. And then we also try to organise peaceful marches,

demonstrations, to highlight the problems of the Igbo and the Biafrans to the Irish public and then we make

presentations to different embassies of the world to present our case for Biafra. (090/63)

In relation to what pushed me was a matter of finding a few groups, a few friends that supported the candidacy

of Lula, the first candidacy of Lula. (..) we supported the candidacy of Lula here from Portugal…(..) that

encounter with friends and having reached the conclusion, not conclusion, I mean, organising people,

organising a social groups…(141/108)

4. Conclusions

This paper tried to enlighten the plurality of motivations underlying civic activity of immigrants,

and how immigrants link their motivation to their resources and their personality as well as the

perceived needs of the immigrant communities. Following the volunteer process model, we

structured motives into antecedents and those related to the experience and consequences of

activism. Many aspects that were portrayed in the literature were – not surprisingly - also salient

for immigrants. In this summary, we focus on those aspects that seem to have specific relevance

for immigrants.

Many of the participants of the study were prompted to involve in civic organisations by their

dissatisfaction with the work situation and status in which they found themselves, and their

perceived need to change something. Most of our respondents have high levels of education and

have worked in professional and semi-professional occupations prior to migration. Many of them

moved from professional occupations in their country of origin to unskilled or semi-skilled

employment in the host country. They think that civic participation has allowed them to learn

something new, to gain new experiences and knowledge, and to improve their situation. Thus,

here motivations are more self-focused in nature. The final motivation is personal development,

self-esteem enhancement, or participating to feel better about oneself.

POLITIS Kosic 26

People are motivated to get involved in organisations also by their need to be with people who

share their views. Social networking serves as important resource to individuals for coping with

difficulties. It seems that sense of togetherness develops relatively easily between members of a

community when confronted with a common threat. It creates a strong solidarity between

members of a community as everyone is essentially “in the same boat.” Several interviewees

who feel able to solve problems see their participation in civic organisations as a mission, and a

humanitarian obligation to help others with similar problems. They respond to an existing need

for their community in the host country, i.e. to help in the initial phases after arrival for

regularisation of status, they assist them to find employment and accommodation, and help to

overcome economic and social hardship. Thus, we found that in many cases the principle of

solidarity and altruism stimulated people to get involved in civic activities – the need to

contribute to the well-being of others, and to feel that they have done something of community

concern.

Among the motives that occur through the experience of activities, we find that some immigrants

mention a family background that encourages activism and many were already active in their

country of origin. In addition, the support of family and friends is emphasized as an important

precondition for participation by some of interviewees.

Furthermore, people participate in civic organisations to express their social identity (e.g.,

provide language lessons to their children in order to preserve their ethnic/national identities,

teaching mainstream group about their culture and traditions as a means for promoting mutual

acceptance and respect, and combat negative stereotypes and xenophobia, etc.).

Speaking about changes in life after joining civic organisations, both positive as well as negative

aspects were mentioned. Among the negative aspects, respondents mentioned lack of time,

saying that was often taken away from the family. The lack of time was also linked to the lack of

money, since no profit is gained from activities in civic organisations. The positive aspects,

mentioned more often, included opportunities to meet interesting people, enlarge social network,

and to gain knowledge and experience. The civic activities also render self-confidence to people,

as well as satisfaction and joy because they help others, and the activities also give them a sense

of purpose. Social recognition from a specific immigrant or host group is presented as a major

motivating factor. Pride and life satisfaction make civic activists more altruistic and ultimately

more active. Offering help may increase one’s status and reputation among members of one’s

community. Furthermore, the work in civic organisations develops personality, the system of

values, and it gives a sense of freedom.

Overall, our study reveals that motives for civic participation of immigrants are multiple and

complex, and take parallel directions. The motives may interact, as well. Furthermore, the

attitudes of immigrants toward civic participation are shaped by their personal resources and

personality characteristics. The level of education and knowledge of language of the host country

emerged as very important resources. Furthermore, many respondents see their civic and

political participation in terms of character, as an inner need, and as part of their way of life.

Their personality characteristics reflect traits such as altruism, curiosity, optimism, dynamism,

tenacity, sociability, extraversion, self-confidence, enthusiasm, which all may mediate the

relationship between motivation and civic participation.

POLITIS Kosic 27

To conclude, combinations of motives are often explicitly suggested, as in the following

quotation: An Ethiopian in the Netherlands emphasizes that there was need, and that he is the

person with the passion and the abilities to do something about it:

I work with underage asylum seekers. This young people came from various parts of the world such as Africa,

Asia, etc. They are the children who lost their parents. They have a housing that is given by the government. I

chose this work because of my love to children. Moreover, I have also once been an asylum seeker, and I

know what it looks like and I have the experience. Therefore, I thought that these experiences would be a great

tool in helping them (..) I had a passion and conviction to help them. Besides, I felt because I had ability to do

something about them because I had an experience as well. This is the reason why I chose. (124/25)

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