Desiring home: Return migration of Indonesian migrant domestic workers

In studies on migrant domestic workers, notable themes of delayed returns and serial migration emphasize their mixed feelings toward home. This paper argues for a deeper investigation of the relationship between their emotions and homecoming through an interview-based study of 18 middle-aged Indonesian migrant domestic workers, who have returned to their home country and have remained there for over five years. This work focuses on how the experience of time and the meanings of space have shaped their desire for home. It provides insights into the self-formation of return migrants, closely related to the neoliberal emphasis on self-responsibility and their experience of age. In their homeward journeys, the home is a familiar yet uncertain space requiring effort and determination so that they can truly feel at home. Homecoming does not signify an end to their transnational network, which indeed contributes to their sense of home, making future departure unlikely.