”Hemland är ju hemland” : transnationella aktiviteter och engagemang bland individer inom den afghanska diasporan i Sverige

Sammanfattning: This paper focuses on the transnational activities among individuals in the Afghan diaspora in Sweden. The qualitative data of the paper is obtained through seven semi-structured interviews and analyzed through a framework of transnational activities (economic, social and political) and Van Hear’s categories on three social spheres in Afghanistan where those activities are directed (household and the extended family sphere, the well- known community sphere and the imagined community sphere). The capacities and personal motivations that contributes to engagement are thereafter examined. The analysis shows that the individuals engage in Afghanistan in several different ways. Economic, social and political activities are aimed at the different social spheres to a varying degree, thus matching Van Hear’s categorization. The main capabilities that enable or hinder the transnational activities are their economic conditions and the security situation in Afghanistan. The desire to engage primarily deals with a sense of obligation and tradition to help the family in Afghanistan or other people in need and that Afghanistan is the "home country” and that they have a desire to help develop the country. This paper helps to understand the variation in transnational activities and gives a suggestion over how and why individuals in the Afghan diaspora engage with their country of origin.