Maintaining Identities

Here is an outline of several hundred responses from people in 10 countries and 200 cities to the 2024 survey. Initial distribution, by email and web link to about 10,000 individuals, was facilitated by the Conselho das Comunidades Macaenses (CCM – The Macanese Communities Council in Macau), and 13 “Casa de Macau” associations from around the world. We thank them for making the survey available to their members prior to “Encontro 2024” (the association meetings) scheduled for November in Macau.

A Little Background

The 2024 Luso-Asian / Macanese Survey (the fourth since 2012) began on June 30th and remains open until the end of the year. (Please click on the link above if you or your relatives have not participated.) Translated into both English and Portuguese, the survey is expected to reach about 150,000 people, and could increase substantially after being posted in newsletters and on multiple social media sites. Those who responded are the descendants of Portuguese Eurasians (Luso-Asians), with cultural roots in Portugal, Macau, Hong Kong, Canton, Shanghai, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Timor, and other Portuguese settlements in Asia.

The purpose of the survey is to determine how descendants from around the world maintain their family connections and cultural identities. Information about family size could also lead to estimates of the Luso-Asian population world wide. The questions were devised over several years and reviewed by researchers from the University of California, Berkeley (The Institute for the Study of Societal Issues) and Georgia State University (School of Public Health). All information, including voluntary health status, is provided anonymously and will not be shared with third parties.

Some initial responses:

General Demographic Information (Who responded ?)

Male: 40 %    Female: 60 %

45 % = 18 – 64 yrs. (working)

55 % = 65 yrs. or older (retired)

Present Location (Where people who responded currently live.)

United States = 56.00%

Australia = 11.27 %

Canada = 8.00 %

Portugal = 7.64 %

Europe (multiple countries) = 5.24 %

Macau = 5.09 %

Hong Kong = 3.27 %

Brazil = 2.91 %

Southeast Asia (Japan) = .35 %

Family Size (All living multi-generational members.)

48.78 %:  5 – 30 family members

51.22 %:  31 to >150 family members

Average: 15 living and extended family members

Principal Means of Contact (Use of the Internet – Social Media)

Cultural Interest or Work:
Facebook = 78.91 % ,
Instagram = 38.55 %,
LinkedIn = 29.09 %

One-to-One Communications
(text or voice):
WhatsApp = 70.18 %,
WeChat = 9.09 %

Ancestral Legacies (Locations of family migrations – 500 yrs)

Portugal = 52 %

Goa = 12.73 %

Macau = 73.09 %

Hong Kong = 52.36 %

Shanghai = 21.45 %

Canton = 10.18 %

Southeast Asia: Japan, Malaysia-Singapore, Timor = 8 %

Present Cultural Identity  (How they identify themselves culturally)

Macanese – 57.82 %

Portuguese – 21.21 %

Eurasian – 12.05 %

Chinese – 7.80 %

European – 5.67 %

Luso-Asian – 5.09 %

Health Questions: (Monthly status of general and mental health)

Sick days each month: 31.5 % reported 5-30 days p/mo.

Stress/Depression: 27.6 % reported occurred 5-30 days p/mo.

Initial Observations (not conclusions)

Based on these responses:

1. There seems to be a robust and connected global diaspora of Luso Asian / Macanese communities (currently in 10 countries and 200 cities) that has endured for almost 500 years.
   
2. Following tradition, more than half of the respondents (51%) come from large families with at least 30 living members, with several families (18.4%) consisting of 97 to more than 150 living members.
   
3. A large number use the Internet and Social Media for work, to connect with family members, or for personal communications.
   
4. A large number are familiar with the migratory paths of their ancestors, including from Portugal, Goa, Macau, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Canton (Guangzhou) over the last 500 years.
   
5. As a result, a significant number (84.12%) culturally identify themselves as Macanese, Portuguese, or collectively as “Luso-Asian”.
   
6. Due to the age of the respondents (55% over 65 yrs), about a third (31.5%) report several sick days each month, while over a quarter (27.6%) report continuing stress and depression. These statistics are generally lower than the average for this age group in most countries, and may be attributed to closer family ties among Macanese families.