What is meant by diaspora?
The term "diaspora" comes from the Greek spiro, which means "I scatter". It usually refers to populations chased out of their country and who maintain emotional, cultural, economic and political bonds with each other across borders. In France, the Jewish and Armenian diasporas are the best known; they hark back to a lost land, the departure point for a life in which mobility has set the tempo.
Questions of definition
So an idea of dispersion and of bonds maintained with the country of origin… the term is popular today both in migrant “communities” and in academic studies and research. The word’s increased use is the result of several dynamics at play: increased number of international migrations and blending of identities, a concern to respond positively to migration situations among the populations themselves.
It can be difficult to measure the difference between migratory phenomena and diasporas. In this respect specialists and researchers argue back and forth between closed and open conceptions of the diaspora. The IOM provides an extremely broad definition, defining diasporas as “migrants or descendants of migrants whose identity and sense of belonging have been shaped by their migration experience and background”, while holding onto a collective memory, they maintain links with their homeland, sharing strong group awareness and a feeling of kinship with the other diasporas in the group.
This is how diasporas flourish across the world, driven by the combined action of technology – communications and transport – and politics – redefinition and blending of national identities and collective identities, a multiculturalism of Anglo-Saxon inspiration.
Transnational networks on an international scale…
Today, worldwide, the two biggest diasporas created by migrations are characterised by very powerful transnational networks between the different communities: the Chinese diaspora, evaluated at between 30 and 50 million people, and the Indian diaspora, evaluated at between 16 and over 25 million people. These diasporas are present on several continents and are supported by economic networks and cash transfers that favour the permanent mobility of their members.
The other diaspora homelands include Mexico (12 million), Russia, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Ukraine.
… and on a European scale
In Europe, two diasporas emerge. The result of economic migrations, they maintain economic, political, religious and matrimonial networks within the European Union. The first is the Turkish diaspora: evaluated at over 5 million people, they are present not only in Germany and Austria, where they represent more than half of immigration, but also in France, the Scandinavian countries and Benelux.
The second, with almost 5 million people, is Moroccan; they are present in France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, and represent one of the three leading immigration nationalities in these countries. Diasporas stand apart from the notion of "migration pairs", which refers to situations where a foreign nationality settles in a single host country, as is still the case for Algerians in France (over 90% of the Algerians living in Europe). But here again, migration journeys are diversifying and new destinations are emerging, notably in the direction of the USA and Canada.
Mustapha Harzoune, 2022
