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1 African Transnational Diasporas: Theoretical Perspectives 2 Vintages and Patterns of Migration

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1 African Transnational Diasporas: Theoretical Perspectives 2 Vintages and Patterns of Migration Notes 1 African Transnational Diasporas: Theoretical Perspectives 1. In 1965 George Shepperson (1993), drawing parallels with the Jewish dias- pora, coined the term ‘African diaspora’. The term was also closely associ- ated with social and political struggles for independence in Africa and the Caribbean. For detailed examination on the origins of the term African dias- pora, see Manning (2003) and Zeleza (2010). 2. The Lebanese in West Africa, Indian Muslims in South Africa and the Hausa in West Africa and Sudan are some of the examples of African diasporas within the continent (Bakewell, 2008). 3. See, for example, Koser’s (2003) edited volume, New African Diasporas and Okpewho and Nzegwu’s (2009) edited volume, The New African Diaspora. Both books provide a wide range of case studies of contemporary African diasporas. 4. This taxonomy has been adapted and developed from my examination of Zimbabwean transnational diaspora politics (see Pasura, 2010b). 2 Vintages and Patterns of Migration 1. Ethnic differences between ZANU and ZAPU caused the war of liberation to be fought on two fronts until the formation of the Patriotic Front, a unified alliance. ZAPU continued to advocate for multi-ethnic mobilization; historians have sought to explain the growing regional/ethnic allegiance partly in terms of the role of the two liberation armies, as old ZAPU committees existed in the Midlands and Manicaland but the areas became ZANU after having received Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA) freedom fighters. 2. The subtitle comes from the BBC’s (2005) article entitled: ‘So where are Zimbabweans going?’ 3. See the case of Mutumwa Mawere, who recently won his case against the state with regard to dual citizenship (Gonda, 2013). 4. Statistics New Zealand, Census of Population and Dwellings 1996, 2001 and 2006. 5. US Census statistics as captured by the United Nations Global Migration Database, http://esa.un.org/unmigration/migrantstockbyorigin.aspx (accessed on 15 February 2013). 6. IRIN (2008), ‘Zimbabwe: Returning will take more than politics’. http:// www.irinnews.org/Report/77599/ZIMBABWE-Returning-will-take-more- than-politics. 7. Statistics Canada, 2001 and 2006 Census of Population, Statistics. 8. Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, Facts and Figures 2011 – Immigration overview: Permanent and temporary residents, http://www.cic. gc.ca/english/resources/statistics/facts2011/permanent/10.asp 149 150 Notes 9. Gukurahundi is a word that originates from the Shona peasant population and refers to the early rains that wash away the chaff before the spring rains. 10. In Zimbabwean public discourse Malawian, Zambian and Mozambican people are imagined and construed as inferior, unthinking, ‘the other’ (Rutherford, 2001). 3 The Construction and Negotiation of Diasporic Identities 1. Chinyawo is a person who performs a nyao dance, a dance carried out by secretive men dressed head to toe in sisal sacking, covered in mud, holding knives. The real identity of a chinyawo always remains a mystery. The nyao dance originated in Malawi and is regularly performed on commercial farms in Zimbabwe. 2. Qualified Lawyers Transfer Test (QLTT) is the conversion test that enables certain lawyers to qualify as solicitors in England and Wales. 3. After my fieldwork, I wrote a letter to the mayor of the city explaining some of the disturbing research findings. The council’s Community Safety Team invited me to make a presentation, on 2 October 2006, to a panel of eight members, which included a police officer from the Greater Manchester Police, a church minister from the Methodist church, a representative from a refugee organization, an anthropological researcher from the University of Manchester and city council officials. The uninterrupted 30-minute presen- tation was followed by two hours of discussion. Every member of the panel was shocked by my findings about the nature of racial violence experienced by Zimbabwean asylum seekers and refugees. From this productive meeting, a working group was formed to address the issue. A recent draft report to the Wigan Council cabinet by the Refugee and Migrants Forum, a range of differ- ent agencies that work with asylum seekers, refugees and migrants within the Wigan borough, concludes that ‘there is a lack of cultural awareness and there is evidence of racism and far right activity in the Borough’ (WARM, 2009, p. 15). Unsurprisingly, as McCarthy (2007, p. 3) observes, ‘those granted refugee status often left the borough as they had little connection, instead choosing to live where there more settled communities and more culturally orientated services’. 4 ‘Do You Have a Visa?’ The portrayal of married women as the equivalent of the Home Office is so popu- lar that it has been turned into a short story titled ‘Nyambo 5: Types of Drinking Visas’; see Dandarotelevision, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgrdpYOfdQk (accessed on 5 April 2013). 1. Although migrants contribute significantly to the British economy, the Home Office is known for enforcing restrictive and defensive border control meas- ures against migrants. It is no wonder that among migrant communities, the Home Office is perceived with mistrust and dislike. 2. Oliver Mtukudzi is one of the original and finest musicians Zimbabwe has ever produced. Notes 151 5 The Diaspora and the Politics of Development 1. The Global Political Agreement, signed by Zimbabwe’s three main parties on 15 September 2008, created the necessary conditions for the formation of the inclusive government (Government of National Unity) in 2009. The signing of the GPA had important implications for how diasporan politics was conducted. 2. ‘Old man’ was an indirect reference to Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe. 3. According to Ong’s (1999) understanding of ‘flexible citizenship’, some individuals view passports instrumentally in terms of status and security rather than as symbols of national loyalty and belonging. At the same time as Zimbabweans abroad have pressed for recognition of citizenship rights at home, they have also taken out citizenship in the UK in large numbers. Figures from the Home Office show that between 1997 and 2012, over 46,000 Zimbabweans were granted British citizenship. 4. By 2013, since the signing of the GPA, Zimbabwe had received transitional development support amounting to around US$2.6 billion (Friends of Zimbabwe, 2013). 5. Homelink is a concept developed and initiated by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe to cater for the interests of Zimbabweans abroad. 6. See http://www.zimbabwehumancapital.org/about-zimbabwe-human-capi- tal (accessed on 4 June 2013). 7. See also the education initiative launched by the Council for Assisting Refugee Academics (CARA). In 2011, CARA in partnership with the mobile network Econet Wireless set up the Virtual Lecture Hall, an e-learning scheme that facilitate academics working in the diaspora to provide ‘Virtual Lectures’ to students at the University of Zimbabwe’s College of Health Science and the Faculties of Science and Veterinary Science. See http://www. academic-refugees.org/zimbabwe-virtual.asp. 8. D. Brown (2008), More Destitution in Leeds, Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust report (York: Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust). 9. The radio station is called SW Radio Africa. See http://www.swradioafrica. com/. 10. A significant number, approximately 600 Zimbabweans, joined the Britain’s Armed Forces when their visitors’ visa expired. As citizens of a common- wealth country, Zimbabweans were entitled to apply irrespective of their immigration status. Perhaps this may need to be put into the context of Britain and its allies’ ‘war on terror’ in Iraq and Afghanistan and the need to recruit more soldiers (Kirkup and Prince, 2008). 11. A Zimbabwean currency that can only be used within a specific period. 6 Religion in the Diaspora 1. See http://www.fifmi.org/ (accessed on 15 March 2010). 2. See http://agapeforallnations.com/uk_satellites.html (accessed on 20 May 2010). 3. See http://www.fifsutton.org/. 152 Notes 4. This is a department that deals with accommodation and housing in the city. 5. In October 2009, I attended one of the Apostle Walter Masocha’s church ser- vices in Yorkshire. 7 Transnational Religious Ties and Integration 1. Mbuya Anna and Mai Maria uniforms are Catholic dresses for Zimbabwean married women. Mbuya is a Shona word for grandmother and mai means mother. These are women’s associations that support the church teachings. 2. A site for pilgrimage where priests used to hide in caves during the war. References Adogame, A. (2004) ‘Engaging the Rhetoric of Spiritual Warfare: The Public Face of Aladura in Diaspora’, Journal of Religion in Africa, 34(4), 493–522. Adogame, A. (2013) The African Christian Diaspora: New Currents and Emerging Trends in World Christianity (London: Bloomsbury Publishing). Afshar, H. (2008) ‘Can I See Your Hair? Choice, Agency and Attitudes: The Dilemma of Faith and Feminism for Muslim Women Who Cover’, Ethnic and Racial Studies, 31(2), 411–27. Akyeampong, E. (2000) ‘Africans in the Diaspora: The Diaspora and Africa’, African Affairs, 99(395), 183–215. Al-Ali, N. (2010) ‘Diasporas and Gender’ in K. Knott & S. McLoughlin (Eds), Diasporas: Concepts, Intersections, Identities (London: Zed Books). Al-Ali, N., Black, R., & Koser, K. (2001) ‘Refugees and Transnationalism: The Experience of Bosnians and Eritreans in Europe’, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 27(4), 615–34. Alba, R. D., & Nee, V. G. (2005) Remaking the American Mainstream: Assimilation and Contemporary Immigration (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press). Alcalde, M. C. (2010) ‘Violence across Borders: Familism, Hegemonic Masculinity, and Self-Sacrificing Femininity in the Lives of Mexican and Peruvian Migrants’, Latino Studies, 8(1), 48–68. Alexander, C. (2004) ‘Imagining the Asian Gang: Ethnicity, Masculinity and Youth after “the Riots”’, Critical Social Policy, 24(4), 526–49. Alpers, E. A. (2001) ‘Defining the African Diaspora’, Paper presented at the Center for Comparative Social Analysis Workshop, University of California, Los Angeles. Alpers, E.
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