Pakialam and Kalinga: On the Materiality of Care in Migration, or How to Survive in It

Abstract

Using autoethnography, this text explores care practices and networks in migration through the Filipino concepts of pakialam and kalinga, in the context of a Filipino student in Europe. From a material culture and new materialism lens, two main arguments are presented: first, that migration, though often economically driven, demands more than financial gain—migrants need more than money to survive. Second, material objects possess agency and actively shape care networks, supporting migrants as they navigate precarious environments. The paper thus calls for a reimagining of care beyond anthropocentric frameworks and advocates for an anthropology that queers dominant theories to resist neocolonial paradigms, while also illuminating how such approaches can deepen our understanding of the possibility of survival and life amidst today’s anthropologists’ precarious becoming.