Theoretical Analysis of migration

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Student Number U0908828                Diaspora Communities in the UK Ed1015

This Theoretical   Analysis is concerning a young Guyanese girl who migrated via the United States of America to the United Kingdom. I will endeavour to critically analyse the main issues of Diaspora within this Narrative. This will involve locating the function and influence of diasporas communities in contemporary British society, reflecting on the conditions of living between culture, examining the concepts of identity in diasporas theory, exploring the idea of ‘homeland’ and ‘hostland’, describing the relevant issues and events for inclusion in a narrative of migration and last recognise and apply diasporas theory to the account contained in the narrative of migration. I aim to address, by referring to relevant sources, the very complex nature of the West Indian migration in the 1950's and draw upon similarities identified and experienced in the Narrative.  I also intend to illustrate the driving forces behind a migrational move to another country, in the case from the Caribbean to the UK, and the actual reality that was received upon arrival.

Before even getting into the issues that were faced in the Narrative of Migration, I feel it is important to explain what a Diaspora identity is. In the cases of the narrative it would be a Caribbean Diaspora. Although I will try to define this word, on a more boarder terms it may seem not to cover all of the Caribbean Diasporas in one category. Diaspora identity is that of a hybridity, which learns and takes from whichever culture that it comes into contact with. As agreed by Stuart Hall (Cohen, 2008, p.125)

‘Diaspora identities are those which are constantly producing and reproducing themselves anew, through transformation and difference’.

In the Narrative of Migration it was stated that Selena’s family wanted to move from the Caribbean with the intension of having a higher standards of life and to increase their employment opportunities. As referred to by Cantle (2008, p.2)

‘For the most part, ethic minorities were encouraged to emigrate from their own countries, with the expectation of a higher standard of living and a welcome place – at least in the labour market – of their new countries’.

Although this may have been 40 years prior to when Selena and her family decided to migrate the feeling was still common amounts Caribbean countries. Selena’s parents did not think about the types of diaspora communities that they would be fitted in when the went to the United State of America or in Britain it was all just looked at as a new beginning or better yet an ‘improvement’ of life. Selena and her parents were already a diaspora community without actually thinking about. This is evidence in the fact that Caribbean people were not actually from the Caribbean but were brought there as workers from such place as Africa and India. As explained by Cohen (2008, p.124)

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A stronger objection to the idea that Caribbean people can from a diaspora (deterritorialized or not) is that they may be thought of as part of other diaspora – notably the African victim diaspora, the Indian labour diaspora, various European imperial diasporas and the Lebanese trade diaspora’.

Arriving in the United States of America Selena’s parents was met by racism and hostility. Even though slavery had been abolished since 1865, after the 13th Amendment had been passed it was still visible that some people could not adjust to living with black people having the same rights as them. Although Selena’s parents ...

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