RP3: Diaspora

Last week’s talk about diaspora and what it meant got me thinking on how can it be defined in one word or if it has only more than one meaning. Based on the discussions in class we determined that the term diaspora had multiple meanings since it is constantly changing throughout the years. The definition that struck me the most was the definition that Ien Ang defined for us in his essay Beyond ‘Asian Diaspora that “all peoples must have a territorial specific homeland and that living away from it is an unnatural and undesirable condition” and that these groups of people are often associated with immigrants, refugees, and exiled communities. However, he also states that these groups of people are dispersed from their homes and that they are in the myth of returning home therefore making it difficult for them to be accepted in the host country and culture since these people do not want to leave their culture that they brought with them, but instead want to feel more at home in their host country and culture without having to assimilate.

The idea of being forced to leave one’s homeland gives me the impression that the term diaspora is put upon people because I honestly believe that no one leaves their homeland voluntarily. Yes people have a choice on whether to leave or stay in their homeland but the reason that people leave their homeland is because they feel the pressure of being forced to leave because they outweigh the costs and reward on making a drastic decision on leaving a homeland that one holds dear. If a person has to leave the country in order to find a better opportunity not only for them but also for their children, then that decision is a forced decision because they made the impression that staying at their homeland would not benefit them other than being closer to their culture and homeland.

Not only does the decision of the people to leave their homeland play a factor but also advertisement of the hosting countries that advertise their prosperity and oppressing the success of other countries. Many countries such as the United States advertise their prosperity by inventing the “American Dream” and how only through hard work and patience is one able to achieve their dream, but not just any dream, the American Dream. Once those people that fell into that propaganda, they notice that the American Dream was just a beautiful lie of a dream that would never become a reality because of all the unequal opportunities offered for people that were not citizens. Unequal opportunities for those people that did not let them be comfortable and therefore have that wanting on returning home but either external or internal issues are impeding that therefore it becomes a myth for some that they will ever return back home. This type of propaganda and other factors play a role in forcing people to leave their hometown and therefore are known as diaspora according to Ang.