Skip to main content

Global Diaspora Week: 11-17 October 2015




This week, from 11-17 October, 2015, is Global Diaspora Week. The United States Department of State announced the week to celebrate the fact that the country is home to more than 230 million people who live outside of their country of birth.

The unofficial theme of Global Diaspora Week is ‘partnerships and the networks that exist to leverage diaspora finance for development’ (DevExImpact, October 12, 2015).

The number of people that comprise the Diaspora in America alone would make them the fourth largest country in the world. Imagine if you add all the Diaspora from every country.  Approximately $581 billion in remittances flow from the Diasporic community flow into their original countries, which is 16 times more than America’s aid development funding assistance. America estimates that only 30% of that money goes towards education, land purchase, or starting a business. That means that 70% of the remittances are used for basic consumption and day-to-day living.

The money that that Diaspora use to create businesses in America is also often used to create businesses in their original homeland. But there are often challenges back home, especially if their homeland is a developing country.

One challenge is the lack of acceptance – even though the Diaspora have local knowledge, the fact that they have left the country may make them feel distanced from the people they once knew.

Another challenge is that their homeland government usually does not have financial incentives for the Diaspora to establish businesses in their homeland, even though the businesses will aid the country’s economic growth. This often goes hand-in-hand with corruption. Government officials in their homeland may impose restrictions and rules that the Diaspora must ‘buy their way out of’ to expediate the business set-up costs.

But the biggest challenge is usually lack of infrastructure in their homeland, such as lack of adequate technology for transportation of goods, digital communications, and electronic financial transfer systems.

Some countries, however, provide support and cooperation for the Diaspora to help their homeland. One of these countries is India. The Indian Diaspora Investment Initiative is a partnership between the American Government and an NGO to mobilize funding from the Indian Diaspora. Lebanon too is a good example of Diaspora cooperation.


The models for Diaspora cooperation that work well are those that receive government-to-government support – that is, the government of the homeland and the government of the new country. Financial partnerships, trade agreements, and incentives can then make it easier for the Diaspora to help their own communities back home.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Pir-E-Kamil - The Perfect Mentor by Umera Ahmed: book review

The Perfect Mentor pbuh  (2011) is set in Lahore and Islamabad in Pakistan. The novel commences with Imama Mubeen in medical university. She wants to be an eye specialist. Her parents have arranged for her to marry her first cousin Asjad. Salar Sikander, her neighbour, is 18 years old with an IQ of 150+ and a photographic memory. He has long hair tied in a ponytail. He imbibes alcohol, treats women disrespectfully and is generally a “weird chap” and a rude, belligerent teenager. In the past three years he has tried to commit suicide three times. He tries again. Imama and her brother, Waseem, answer the servant’s call to help Salar. They stop the bleeding from his wrist and save his life. Imama and Asjad have been engaged for three years, because she wants to finish her studies first. Imama is really delaying her marriage to Asjad because she loves Jalal Ansar. She proposes to him and he says yes. But he knows his parents won’t agree, nor will Imama’s parents. ...
1 comment
Read more

Sister cities discussed: Canberra and Islamabad

Two months ago, in March 2015, Australia and Pakistan agreed to explore ways to deepen ties. The relationship between Australia and Pakistan has been strong for decades, and the two countries continue to keep dialogues open. The annual bilateral discussions were held in Australia in March to continue engagements on a wide range of matters of mutual interest. The Pakistan delegation discussed points of interest will include sports, agriculture, economic growth, trade, border protection, business, and education. The possible twinning of the cities of Canberra, the capital of Australia, and Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, were also on the agenda (i.e. called twin towns or sister cities). Sister City relationships are twinning arrangements that build friendships as well as government, business, culture, and community linkages. Canberra currently has international Sister City relationships with Beijing in China and Nara in Japan. One example of existing...
2 comments
Read more

The acacia thorn trees of Kenya

There are nearly 800 species of acacia trees in the world, and most don’t have thorns. The famous "whistling thorn tree" and the Umbrella Thorn tree of Kenya are species of acacia that do have thorns, or spines. Giraffes and other herbivores normally eat thorny acacia foliage, but leave the whistling thorn alone. Usually spines are no deterrent to giraffes. Their long tongues are adapted to strip the leaves from the branches despite the thorns. The thorny acacia like dry and hot conditions. The thorns typically occur in pairs and are 5-8 centimetres (2-3 inches) long. Spines can be straight or curved depending on the species. MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom (2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Suda...
1 comment
Read more