Strategies of integration, identity and belonging among Portuguese emigrant descendant returnees from France and Canada

This article examines negotiations of identity and belonging within the context of Portuguese emigrant descendants’ return to Portugal. Findings are based on semi-structured interviews with 42 individuals from two source countries: Canada and France. Empirical analysis focuses on the individual’s sense of self as defined by their post-diasporic lives, delving into processes of identity negotiations and breaking down the construction of a sense of belonging. Results reveal that processes of integration frequently hold obstacles derived from clashes with Portuguese society’s ways of being and acting. Disillusionment with the ‘inner workings’ of Portuguese society and disenchantment brought about by social differentiation and the not always warm welcome on the part of the local population lead returnees to become more aware of their ‘dual allegiances’. The ‘hyphen’ many returned to Portugal thinking they would finally do away with, in the end, ends up becoming just as accentuated at it was in the pre-return.