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255 Chapter IX Conclusion and Suggestions Thinking beyond Calls Earlier migration theories assumed that migrants are destined for uncompromising integration into the host societies and would cut all ties with their places of origin (Handlin 1973[1951]; Takaki 1993. Quoted in Schiller et al 1995:48). Put differently, migration was misconceived as “a oneway journey from one place to another” (Olwig 2003:67) and migrants were believed to cut “all ties” and shift “allegiances to the host country” (Burrell & Anderson 2008:204). But this is not totally true. Migrants and non-migrants keep in close contact with each other and the new media have been embraced by transnationals to the extent that those who move and those who stay behind are never far away from a communication and interactional point of view. The migration history in the western part of Cameroon within the past century even confirms the vital rural-urban linkage that was described in the ethnographic background. The conclusion basically summarises and interrogates the liveness of the new media. Suggestions for further investigation and theorising of the instantly-mediated transnational relationships are embedded in the conclusion which draws mainly on findings that have surfaced in the various themes and chapters of the work. Furthermore, the summaries and interrogations embed the study within theoretical frameworks of migration, mediated relationships, transnationalism and globalisation. Anthony Giddens has used the term time-space distanciation to describe coordinated activities across time and space such that face-to-face relationships do not have a local focus anymore. Put differently, space is torn “away from place by fostering relations between ‘absent’ others locationally distant from any given face-toface interaction” (1990:18). I set out to examine what has become of Cameroonian “locationally distant” relationships in the advent of the mobile phone and internet. That is, the work aimed at identifying the significance of these media on the narratives and actions of Cameroonians in the “deterritorialised” ties or relationships that are no longer bound to a place (Gupta and Ferguson 1992:6-7, 9). 256 The point of departure was based on the assumption that friends and families contentedly embrace these media to maintain their relationships thanks to the liveness of sociality facilitated particularly by the mobile phone. Based on theoretical literature, I foresaw that the new media would be ‘eulogized’ for facilitating connectedness, closeness and for guaranteeing that the “deterritorialised” or “locationally distant” ties are more easily maintained. But the field results conform to this original view only to a limited extent; instant trans-border sociality and potentials of maintaining the ties go beyond calling “just to get in touch” (Drew and Chilton 2000:137) to embrace expectations, obligations, pressure and conflict in most of these relationships. The final summary of the results presented in the Conclusion is based on the recurrent and dominant experiences and impressions of participants that are hard to ignore even though these findings offer a novel perspective in capturing the liveness of instantly mediated relationships. The concluding remarks emphasize that within a certain context instantaneous availability and reachability make the new media appear as uncomfortable tools of transnational sociality and ties-keeping despite their apparent usefulness. But what does it mean to be instantly available and reachable for Cameroonians? And what is it beyond calling just to maintain the relationships? Being Available and Reachable Before I left Cameroon in September 2001, it was common to see people turn their heads and look when they heard individuals exchanging phone numbers. Mobile phone ownership in those days was rare to the extent that a single phone could serve a whole neighbourhood. It was also common for people to have phone numbers without phones. They would borrow phones, insert their SIM cards and then socialise from distance. Mobile phones were a priced and one of the most stolen objects, regardless of their quality, shape or size (see also Kriem 2009:619; Horst and Miller 2006:1). This sounds mythical and distant but it is just ten years ago. Within these ten years, astounding changes have taken place in Cameroon; many people now own mobile telephones to the extent that thieves select what mobile phone to steal. Individuals might also conceal or even deny ownership of a ‘fat’ phone. As of the time of my fieldwork between late 2009 and early 2010, it was surprising if someone did not own a phone. In most cases, those who had no phone had had theirs stolen or maybe the phone was bad. The history of...

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