‘It is normal, that is, difficult’: Care obligation and solidarity in Balkan-Swiss families during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

This article explores the dynamics of care obligations and family solidarity within Balkan-Swiss families, specifically concerning ageing parents, against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic. Through interviews with adult children residing in Switzerland whose ageing parents reside in Kosovo, North Macedonia and Serbia, we uncover the challenges exacerbated by the pandemic’s global border closures and lockdowns. Our conceptual framework places a spotlight on family solidarity, central during our interviews in contrast to major discussions in social science literature on ageing in cross-border families revolving around moral obligation. We explore how family solidarity plays a pivotal role in the support systems for ageing parents in the interviewed families. We contextualize by the history of migration between the Balkans and Switzerland and the relevant migration laws before we shed light on the conditions of parents in the Balkans both before and during the pandemic. We analyse the impact of international border closures on family relationships, support structures and international travel patterns. We highlight a pattern of cooperation and unity, a solidarity as it manifests in specific relationships within families. Yet, the notion of solidarity encompasses the broader ‘public’ sphere and social movements. Solidary connections transcend one’s immediate (family) circle, encompassing also a global dimension of solidarity. We argue that the intricate dynamics of cross-border family caregiving for ageing parents during the COVID-19 pandemic represent a contemporary social issue suitable for discussion in the context of the solidarity concept. This discussion, we believe, offers a valuable contribution to the discourses on solidarity.