To see and not be seen: Latin American illegal foreign workers in Jerusalem

The article describes the formation and characteristics of the new evolving community of illegal Latin American foreign workers in Jerusalem while ado pting the ecological perspective,which examines human development and behav iour in various contexts of their social and cultural environments. We have looked specifically at illegal Latin American foreign workers' reas ons for and process of migration, their accommodation and living conditions , allocation of employment, daily cultural and social conditions, education and health issues concerning children and families, perceptions of relatio ns with host culture and perceptions of well-being and future expectations. Our findings are based on the investigation of perspectives offered by the foreign workers themselves, by representatives of the various sectors of th e host culture who are well acquainted with these workers, and by the resea rchers themselves, demonstrating how by means of triangulation these percep tions achieve extra validity or differ. The article further explores the contribution of the case study in the inve stigation of acculturation stress and migrant's well-being,and emphasizes t he need to study specific populations of immigrants under specific ecologic al conditions.