Globalization, Survival, and Empowerment in the African Diaspora - Report Example

Order ID 909309 Globalization, Survival, and Empowerment in the African Diaspora Diaspora is a Greek term for dispersal. For Greeks, diaspora meant productive colonization and was seen as a positive movement for all concerned. However, in subsequent millennia, this was not the case because diaspora gained more negative connotations following the enslavement and exile of Jews from Babylon throughout the West. Other examples of diaspora included the slavery of West Africans, the Palestinians, through Zionist expansionism and the persecution of Armenians by the Ottomans. All these involved forcible displacement by another group. From these experiences, diaspora became associated with oppression, forced displacement and ceaseless search for an authentic homeland (Mohan and Zack-Williams). In its modern usage, African diaspora emerged in scholarly debates both as a political and analytical term, to emphasize the unifying experiences of black communities dispersed by slave trade in other parts of the worlds, and generally describe black communities across national boundaries. The dispersal of black communities was brought about by both their voluntary and involuntary movement to various areas of the world, but it is the involuntary movement through the trans-Saharan, trans-Atlantic and Indian Ocean slave trades, that accounts for most of the black presence in outside Africa. Diaspora has broadened to include voluntary and pro-active movements of people and the connections between them. For some, diaspora may be quite liberating especially if there is economic uncertainty and hyper-inflation their homeland. Others migrate to pursue further education. However, when the movement is involuntary, diaspora is an ever-present trauma due to forceful displacement. Since the ancient times, scholars have examined the scattering of black communities outside Africa, their role in transformation, the creation of new cultures, institutions and ideologies, as well as the problems resulting from the establishments of pan-African movements across the globe. Different diasporic configurations operate in different ways and have had different implications for development. A three-fold classification was suggested in order to critically examine the linkage between diaspora and development. The first type, development in the diaspora, was such that people within diasporic communities used their localized diasporic connections within the ‘host countries’ to secure economic and social well-being and this in turn contributed to development of their locality. The second type, development through the diaspora, involved diasporic communities using their diffuse global connections beyond the locality to facilitate economic and social well-being, while the third type, development by the diaspora, involved diasporic flows and connections back home to facilitate the level of development and contribute to creation of these ’homelands’(Mohan and Zack-Williams). While in some cases diasporic communities experienced hostility from their hosts, this hostility served as their motivation and strength. Fellow diasporic members teamed up and built trust and this enabled cooperation among them. By working together, the competitiveness of diasporic groups with the host countries was strengthened, particularly where they developed business networks. Such connections among diasporic groups develop and the members tend to cluster themselves, for example in enclaves, for example, the ghettoes and China towns. These connections are not necessarily the result of cultural affinity but rather, they are influenced by factors such a racist real markets, property costs, the wealth of diasporic communities and the legal status of individuals. Small businesses that serve local markets constitute the majority of diaspora. There is growing importance of remittances to the African economies and has been facilitated by growth of money transfer agencies. Large numbers of communities lead dual lives, moving easily between different cultures and often maintaining homes in both their homeland and host country. On returning to their home countries, they contribute to the development of both human (individual skills and knowledge) and social capital (resources available through networks of relationships among members of a particular society). The success of these African communities abroad is made easy and relatively affordable by rapid technological advancement, including communication and transportation sectors. The migrants receive high wages abroad and they send the monies earned home. Besides the individual or family transfers of monies to home countries, development organizations play an important role in linking the diasporic communities to African development. They include hometown associations, alumni associations, religious associations, professional associations, development non-governmental organizations (NGOs), investment groups, welfare refugees groups, among others. These organizations are involved in activities such as identity –building, community-to –community exchanges/ transfers, lobbying on issues relating to homeland, promotion of trade and investment in ancestral home, the transfers of intangible resources, support for development and payment of taxes in ancestral home. These activities are efforts are aimed at sustaining or supporting the society and culture of the homeland within exile communities, and they contribute largely to shaping the future of these home countries. It is evident that the well being of diasporic Africans and Africa as a continent is mutually implicated. As evidenced from Jewish supporters of Zionism, Irish American supporters of republicanism and diasporic Hindu fundamentalists, one can conclude that the exiles often have a more idealized notion of what their nation should encompass. Because of this, nationalist organizations in home countries rely on financial support of the diasporic communities (Van der Veer; African Foundation for Development (AFFORD)). In order to determine the capacity of diaspora to support the home countries, it is important to consider the degree of integration within the host countries and wheter or not the diasporic communities are allowed to live and work in that country. Another crucial factor is the legal status of migrants or refugees. When the legal status of an individual is awaiting residency for example, an individual cannot be able to support others back at home. The support of diasporic communities by development organizations clearly shows that politics is highly important for their proper functioning. An important observation is that “The marginal position of the migrant and the special qualities of group formation among exiles seem in general to play a significant role in the formulation of nationalist discourse” (Van der Veer, 1995: 5). Therefore, political vision and the cultural desire to belong to a particular homeland are inseparable. The University of Hargadesia in Somalia is a typical example of the connection of diaspora with development and political aspirations. According to the AFFORD (2000) note , “ Initiated in mid-1997,this effort united Somalis in Somaliland itself with Somalis in the diaspora as far-flung as Australia, Sweden, Kuwait, the United states and Britain. The project enjoyed support by the government of Somaliland, a territory still without international recognition. A steering committee in London that combined Somali expertise and leadership with British know-how and experience worked in close collaboration with an interim council in Somaliland. Local businesses in Somaliland took full responsibility for rehabilitating the government-donated dilapidated old-school building that was in fact home to over 500 returned Somali refugees. Somalis in Sweden provided 750 chairs and tables; Kuwait –based Somalis sent computers. In the project’s second year, the Somaliland Forum, a cyberspace-global network of Somalis formed task-forces to tackle specific elements, raised money, maintained email groups and hosted real-time e-conferences” (AFFORD, 2000:10). The setting up of a national University is very important and fundamental to a country’s development. Somaliland lacks international recognition and it is through such an institution that awareness can be spread. Where political institutions lack international legitimacy and recognition, a national university holds more than just a learning environment. It is the glue that holds the country together .Besides providing university education to students, the training is they receive is aimed at producing skilled people and future leaders to work for the good of the country. It also may provide employment to the educated Somalis who could have left the country to further their studies. Therefore, the example of the University of Hargadesia is an ideal representation of the diasporic community’s role and the importance of social capita for development. When the diasporic communities are geographically and politically close to the centres of global decision –making, they are better placed to lobby for changes in development policies .Therefore, the diasporic African movements could be an invaluable tool to policy making both in the host countries as well as their homeland(Mohan and Zack-Williams). REFERENCES African Foundation for Development (AFFORD), 2000. "Globalisation and Development: A Diaspora Dimension, ." submission by AFFORD to DFID, AFFORD: London (2000). Print. Mohan, G., and A.B. Zack-Williams. "Globalisation from Below: Conceptualising the Role of the African Diasporas in Africa’s Development. ." Review of African Political Economy 29.92 (2002): 211-36. Print. Van der Veer, P. "Introduction: The Diasporic Imagination." Nation and Migration: The Politics of Space in the South Asian Diaspora, . Ed. Van der Veer, P. Vol. 1-16: University of Pennsylvania Press: Philadelphia 1995. Print. Read More