Diaspora
The term
diaspora (
Ancient Greek διασπορά, "a scattering or sowing of seeds") is used (without capitalization) to refer to any people or
ethnic population forced or induced to leave their traditional ethnic
homelands; being dispersed throughout other parts of the world, and the ensuing developments in their dispersal and culture.
In the beginning, the term
Diaspora (capitalized) was used by the Ancient Greeks to refer to citizens of a grand city who migrated to a conquered land with the purpose of colonization to assimilate the territory into the empire. The original meaning was cut off from the present meaning when the Old Testament was translated to Greek, the word diaspora was used to refer specifically to the populations of
Jews exiled from
Judea in
586 BC by the
Babylonians, and Jerusalem in
136 AD by the
Roman Empire. This term is used interchangeably to refer to the historical movements of the dispersed ethnic population of
Israel, the cultural development of that population, or the population itself. The probable origin of the word is the
Septuagint version of
Deuteronomy 28:25, "thou shalt be a diaspora (Greek for dispersion) in all kingdoms of the earth". The term has been used in its modern sense since the late
twentieth century.
The academic field of
diaspora studies was established in the late twentieth century, in regard to the expanded meaning of 'diaspora'. Jacob Riis, a renowned New York journalist and photographer, concluded that diaspora was established in the mid twentieth century but it was a confirmed fact that the expanded meaning of diaspora was thoroughly researched in the late twentieth century.
History is replete with diaspora-like events. The
Migration Period relocations, which included several phases is just one of many. The first phase Migration Period displacement from between AD
300 and
500 included relocation of the
Goths (
Ostrogoths,
Visigoths),
Vandals,
Franks, various
Germanic tribes (
Burgundians,
Langobards,
Angles,
Saxons,
Jutes,
Suebi,
Alamanni,
Varangians),
Alans and numerous
Slavic tribes. The second phase, between AD
500 and
900, saw
Slavic,
Turkic and other tribes on the move, re-settling in Eastern Europe and gradually making it predominantly Slavic, and affecting
Anatolia and the
Caucasus as the first
Turkic peoples (
Avars,
Bulgars,
Huns,
Khazars,
Pechenegs) arrived. The last phase of the migrations saw the coming of the
Magyars and the
Viking expansion out of Scandinavia.
The twentieth century continued to see massive ethnic refugee crises, due to war and the rise of
nationalism,
fascism,
communism and
racism, as well as from natural disasters and
economic collapse. The first half of the twentieth century saw the creation of hundreds of millions of ethnic refugees across Europe, Asia, and northern Africa. Many of these refugees who did not die from starvation or war went to the Americas.
* The
Acadian Diaspora or
Great Expulsion (
Grand Dérangement) occurred when the British expelled ~10,000 Acadians (over three-fourths of the Acadian population in Nova Scotia) between 1755 and 1764. The British sent members of the same community to different colonies to impose
assimilation.
*
Afghan people who fled their country throughout the 20th century and the long civil wars
* The
African diaspora comprises the indigenous peoples of Africa and their descendants, wherever they are in the world beyond the African continent.
*
Arabs who have migrated out from the
Arab World, and now reside in
Western Europe, the
Americas,
Australia and elsewhere. (see
Arab diaspora)
*
Armenians living in their
ancient homeland, which had been controlled by the
Ottoman Empire for centuries, fled persecution and massacres during several periods of forced emigration, from the
1880s to the
1910s, including the
Armenian Genocide of
1915. Many Armenians settled in
California,
France and
Lebanon (see
Armenian Diaspora).
*
Australian Diaspora is a new and somewhat contentious term, probably coined by the
Southern Cross Group, to refer to the 860,000 Australians living overseas. The migrations have a variety of causes ranging from
war brides and their children to the more recent exodus of young Australians to Europe under
working holiday visa programmes.
*
Basque diaspora,
Basques who left the
Basque Country, usually to the Americas for economic or political reasons. There are also Basque Catholic missionaries.
*
Bosnian diaspora as a phenomenon appeared after four years of planned
ethnic cleansing in
Bosnia. It mainly consists of
Bosnian Muslims but also out of
Bosnian Croats,
Bosnian Serbs,
Bosnian-Jewish people, and
Bosnian-Roma people. People from
Bosnia can be found almost anywhere in the world. Many
Bosnians live in
USA, mostly in large cities like
New York,
Washington, D.C.,
Boston, Massachusetts,
Los Angeles, California, and many live in
Australia,
Canada,
Denmark,
Germany,
Sweden,
Norway,
Italy,
Austria,
Croatia,
Serbia, and many other places.
*
Chechens who fled
Chechnya during the late 20th century insurrection against the
Russian Federation*
Chinese diaspora*
Colombian diáspora *
Cornish diaspora refers to Cornish emigrants and their descendants in countries such as the
United States,
Canada,
Australia,
New Zealand,
South Africa and
Mexico. The diaspora was caused by a number of factors, but due mainly to economic reasons and the lack of jobs in the 18th and 19th centuries when many
Cornish people or "Cousin Jacks" as they were known migrated to various parts of the world in search of a better life.
*
Crimean Tatar diaspora, formed after the annexation of the
Crimean Khanate by
Russia, in
1783.
*
Tamil diaspora is a term used to denote people of
Tamil Nadu and
Sri Lankan Tamil origin who have settled in many parts of rest of India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, Reunion, South Africa, Mauritius, Fiji, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, French Caribbean islands, Europe, Australia and North America
* The
Filipinos peoples throughout
Australia, the
United States,
Canada and South-East Asia. Overseas workers have their own political party in the Philippine Congress.
* The
French Canadian diaspora includes hundreds of thousands of people who left
Quebec for "greener pastures" in the
United States,
Ontario and the
Prairies, between 1840 and the 1930s.
*
Galician diaspora,
Galicians who left their country for mainly economic reasons to richer areas of Spain or
America (especially Argentina and Cuba) and, later, Western Europe (Germany, Switzerland, France, Belgium).
*
Cuban Diaspora The exodus of over two million Cubans following the Cuban Revolution and the resulting Communist regime. It is the largest diaspora in the history of the Western Hemisphere.
*In
modern Greek, the word
diaspora refers to the large populations of Greek descent living in the
United States,
Australia and other countries. There is a Department of Diaspora Affairs in the Greek government.(see
Greek diaspora).
* The
Roma (English terms: Gypsy, Gypsies), a traditionally 'dispersed' people in
Europe, with origins in
South Asia (or perhaps, northern India), are even more 'dispersed' today, following
the Holocaust of Nazi Germany. (See
Some names for the Roma)
* The
Heimatvertriebene, the ethnic German refugees and expellees from Eastern Europe and from provinces of the former German Reich during and following World War II, see
Oder-Neisse line* The
Irish diaspora consists of Irish emigrants and their descendants in countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, South Africa and nations of the Caribbean and continental Europe. The diaspora contains over 80 million people and it is the result of mass migration from Ireland, due to past famines and political oppression. The term first came widely into use in Ireland in the 1990s when the then-
President of Ireland,
Mary Robinson began using it to describe all those of Irish descent.
* The
Jewish diaspora in its historical use, refers to the period between the Roman invasion and subsequent occupation of
Land of Israel beginning
70 CE, to the re-establishment of Israel in 1948. In modern use, the 'Diaspora' refers to Jews living outside of the Jewish state of
Israel today. There is a 'Ministry of Diaspora Affairs' in the Israeli government, for example.
* Palestinians who fled
Palestine during the
1948 Arab-Israeli War (see
Palestinian exodus,
Palestinian refugees)
* "
Polonia", the diaspora of the
Poles, started with the emigrations after the
partitions of Poland,
January Uprising and the
November Uprising, enlarged by the
Nazi policies, and later by the establishment of the
Curzon line* Portuguese diaspora
* The
South Asian diaspora includes millions of people in
Suriname,
South Africa,
Trinidad and Tobago,
Guyana,
Jamaica,
Mauritius,
Fiji,
Singapore,
Malaysia and other countries who left
British India in the 19th and early 20th century, and millions more who have moved to
Australia,
Canada,
New Zealand, the
United States, the
United Kingdom and the
United Arab Emirates in recent decades (see
Desi).
* The Southeast Asian diaspora includes the refugees from the numerous wars that took place in Southeast Asia, such as
World War II and the
Vietnam War.
** The
Vietnamese disapora who fled communist rule in
Vietnam following their victory in the
Vietnam War.
* The
Romanians, who emigrated for the first time in larger figures between 1910 and 1925, and left in mass after the fall of communist regime in Romania in 1989, and comprise the
Romanian diaspora, are found today in large numbers in USA, Italy, Spain, Canada.
* Various ethnic minorities from areas under Russian and Soviet control following the
Russian Revolution, continuing through the mass forced-resettlements under
Stalin.
* Various groups fled in large numbers from areas under Axis control during
World War II, or after the border changes following the war, and formed their own diasporas.
* The
Somali diaspora that includes ethnic
Somalis who live in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Djibouti, as well other parts of Africa. It also includes the one million people who live in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, North America, and the Middle East as refugees from the civil war. It altogether numbers between five and seven million. This is almost the same as the population of
Somalia itself.
* The
South African diaspora mainly consists of white South African emigrants, especially to white
Afrikaans speakers who have fled the country for a number of reasons. There is also a growing black middle class in South Africa, many of whom are starting to emigrate as well, furthering the demographic weight of South Africans abroad. South Africans have largely settled in the
United Kingdom,
Australia, the
United States,
New Zealand and
Canada.
*The
Ukrainian diaspora, represented by
Ukrainians who left their homeland in several waves of emigration, settling mainly in the Americas, but also Australia, and Europe. Also includes the Ukrainians who migrated from Ukraine to other parts of the former
Soviet Union (mainly Russian Federation) during Soviet time.
*The diaspora of the
Tibetan people began in 1959 when the
People's Republic of China invaded Tibet.
*The Macedonian diaspora was created by Macedonian refugees from Macedonia to the United States of America, Australia, Canada, Germany, Sweden, New Zealand, South African Republic, Argentina, Italy, and many other states. There are approximately 2,000,000
Macedonians worldwide.
*The
Jaffnese/Ceylonese Diaspora refers to the diaspora of Sri Lankan Tamils, especially those post-1983 due to the civil conflict in Sri Lanka. This has created huge Tamil communities in countries such as Canada, Australia, UK, Germany and other European countries. In many ways, the Jaffnese Diaspora is compared to the Jewish Diaspora, both historically, socially and economically. It is a subset of the greater
Tamil Diaspora.
*Futuristic
science fiction sometimes refers to a "Diaspora", taking place when much of humanity leaves
Earth to settle on far-flung "colony worlds".
The above list is not comprehensive or definitive. Only a few have been given much historical attention. There is much talk currently (after
Hurricane Katrina in 2005) of a
New Orleans or US Gulf Coast diaspora, but only time will tell how significant a number of those evacuees will indeed not return.
During the
Cold War era, huge populations of refugees continued to form from areas of war, especially from Third World nations; all over
Africa,
South and
Central America, the
Middle East, and east
Asia.
*
Exodus is another Biblical term related to migration, but with a connotation of grouping rather than the scattering of a diaspora.
*
Displaced person*
Diasporas of Highly Skilled and Migration of Talent*
Telugu Diaspora*
Global Diasporas*
The Indian DiasporaT.L.S.Bhaskar
*
The Tamil Diaspora - a Trans State Nation Nadesan Satyendra
*
Katrina scatters a grim diaspora BBC
*
In Throes of a Diaspora, Two Families Bind New York Times
*
Diplomacy Monitor - Migration*
BBC The Cornish Diaspora - I'm alright Jack*
The Cornish Transnational Communities Project*
Overseas Cornish Associations
