ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the evolving character of new labour migration from the settlements of Lautem and Dili among young Fataluku hopefuls from the post-occupation period. Key enabling factors facilitating the development of the migration possibilities are analysed against the background of rural poverty and the widespread absence of employment opportunities. Drawing on extensive empirical field research, Fataluku narrative reflections on the migration experiences provide insights into both the benefits and challenges of working and living in the UK. By the early 2000s a steady flow of young Fataluku migrants, with Portuguese passports in hand, were following the pioneering footsteps of their elder siblings and relatives. Through familial networks of support, they found diverse work opportunities in low-wage service sector jobs and sectors and shift work in factories. This chapter explores these experiences and recurrent patterns of arrival, work and a commitment to save their hard-earned wages for the benefit of those at home. In many respects the Fataluku labour migrant experience, mirrors that of many other aspiring migrants who have come before. It also demonstrates that the strong and enduring social ties that inform the Fataluku and Timorese migrant experience more broadly convert feelings of dislocation and separation from home and homeland into positive spatial extensions of sociality and kinship.
