Friendship and internal migration in Brazil: Vulnerability and coping

Abstract

Friendship has been investigated in the context of international migration, but little is known about the subject in relation to internal migration, a phenomenon of great social importance in Brazil. The purpose of this article is to present and discuss data obtained in an investigation on the relations between internal migration and friendship as perceived by citizens from the state of Espírito Santo who were living in other states of Brazil, in the North, Northeast, Midwest, South and Southeast regions. Twenty adults born in the state and who had migrated to another Brazilian state participated in the investigation. The participants have been interviewed about how they perceived the relationship between friendship and migration and the data were subjected to thematic content analysis. Among the results difficulties to maintain friendships with people of the place of origin as well as difficulties in forming new friendships were observed. Friends were considered relevant for adaptation to the new state, affecting the perception of the same. The article also discusses the origin of friends, the perception of cultural differences and difficulties to make friends in another state. It is concluded that friends play a relevant role in the lives of Brazilian internal migrants and further investigations are necessary.