Diaspora in its most basic form can be defined as the
dispersal of a people. In general, a diaspora involves people moving from a
point of origin to another point, wherein they retain their cultural practices;
essentially they continue their lives while in an alien and unknown society. There
exist so many different diaspora, the Irish diaspora (1840-50s), the Italian
diaspora (1860-1960) and the African diaspora, yet it is interesting to consider
that perhaps somewhere in our own histories, our own narratives, there is a
diaspora.
When considering whether the dispersal of a people is a diaspora or a
migration of people it is important to acknowledge the argued requirements for
a diaspora, which are as Ma Mung (2005) states, “the existence of an ethnic
community, the attachment to a territory, the conscience of a shared identity
feeling and a situation of exile.” Personally, my family were forced out of
their homes in Prussia during World War II, and fled to safety in a
neighbouring country, and created a community identity with those in the same
position, retaining their culture and their sense of identity by coming together,
as outsiders in an alien country. Yet all the while, they were able to remain
in contact with those in Prussia after the war through letter correspondence
when possible.
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| Image from: http://www.ecigadvanced.com |
So through the dispersal of these people they were able to create
a shared community identity, creating a people network. These people networks
are formed by two main features, a hub of origin and links (Kuttainen, 2015),
the dispersed peoples retain these links to a hub of origin through economic
and social means particularly, but also virtually, as social media websites,
like Tumblr, enable people to communicate and connect to their hub of origin. Tumblr
also enables people to post photos and videos, allowing them to go viral and
ultimately reach there intended destination back at the hub of origin.
Ultimately, there are so many ways that people create networks, whether it be a coming together through force due to uncontrollable circumstances, or through a simple image sent across the internet to a family member, yet these aspects all contribute to creating narratives.
References:
Kuttainen, V. (2015). BA:1002 Our Space: Networks, narratives, and the making of place, Lecture 7: People Networks. [PowerPoint Slides]. Retrieved from: http://learnjcu.edu.au.
Ma Mung, E. (2005). Diaspora, spatiality, identities. France: University of Poitier.
Prussia. (2015). In Wikipedia. Retrieved September 10th, 2015, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prussia
Image Reference:
ecigadvanced. (n.d.). Network. [Image]. Retrieved from: http://www.ecigadvanced.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/network.jpg
Diaspora, as you mentioned are an ethnic community, with the attachment to a territory, the conscience of a shared identity feeling and a situation of exile (Ma Mung, 2005). All around the world this ‘shared identity’ is recognised, Diaspora communities have an incredible ability to continue their traditions through food, festivals, fashion, housing and religion. Although keeping this identity can put a pressure on the following generations of the original Diaspora migration. Retaining the identity requires the original traditions mentioned earlier, to be practiced. Traditional meals served and religion unchanged which is becoming increasingly difficult with more and more cultures living in one neighbourhood. Friends, colleagues and partners all have different backgrounds fighting to maintain their identities. This argument is also discussed by Ma Mung (2005) “diaspora identities are to be altered while maintaining the unity of the diaspora without diluting in other peoples” (p.41). Diaspora is an important part of the world’s identity and development, but may not hold the same strength of cultural individuality as it once did.
ReplyDeleteReference:
Ma Mung, E. (2005). Diaspora, spatiality, identities. France: University of Poitier.