Transnational Ethnicity

Transnational Ethnicity

Introduction

“In the survival of favoured individuals and races, during the constantly-recurring struggle for existence, we see a powerful and ever-acting form of selection.”- Charles Darwin

There are 6,477,450,857 humans in the world and still there are only six degrees of separation between any two (Wikipedia). The world is shrinking all around us, and being able to adapt to this ever changing environment is the only way for a group to be successful. There are those who’ve recognised the opportunity offered by global connections and are making full use of this growing niche.

Discussion

Up until relatively recently the word “network” was ‘n foreign concept to most people, but this has changed considerably. People are no longer confined to living out their lives on the family farm and are moving further and further away from home in search of a better life and better opportunities (Eriksen, T.H 2001). Ethnic groups are no longer defined by where they live, but rather that of their ancestors (Vertouvec, S 1999). Diasporas especially have successfully exploited the opportunities offered by technology and have build up vast social networks. Vertouvec states that a Diaspora can remain bonded despite their separation through what he calls a “shared imagination”. This connection between individuals thus has far more to do with the way people think than where people live. This is important since it helps explain what ethnicity now means to people.
As always the youth are especially touched by this and it is not uncommon to find young people from diverse “base” cultures consciously selecting factors to accentuate. These conscious choices are influenced at least to some extend by the related advantages offered by being part of that ethnic group. Such favourable conditions surrounding a specific ethnicity also serves as an incentive when it comes to keeping customs alive.

Maintaining these social networks not only helps those living abroad, but also their families at home. Many migrants send money home and even though the individual amounts may be small, they add up to at least $75billion world-wide (Martin 1994 in Vertouvec). For a poor country with limited resources available these remittances offer a valuable lifeline, bringing at least income to impoverished households. This isn’t just a one sided drain however and resources flow quite freely within these social networks, creating a bigger “pool” of assets which people within the network can draw from. These networks serve to create advantageous environments for those involved, with jobs and even marriages being organised within the network (Vertouvec 1999).

Conclusion

Some transnational communities may have been forced into this way of life due to war or other turmoil, but have since made a great success of it. And there are definite advantages connected to belonging to one of these networks (Vertouvec 1999). However membership is not certain and when you go against their wishes you risk being ostracised (Eriksen 2001).


References

Eriksen, T.H. 2001’the Politics of Identity: Nationalism and Minorities’ & ‘the Global, the Local and the Glocal’ in Small Places, Large Issues: An Introduction to Social and Cultural Anthropology.

Population Reference Bureau, Population Statistics, http://www.prb.org/datafind/prjprbdata7.asp?DW=DR&SL=&SA=1 (07 August)

Vertouvec, S. 1999 ‘Conceiving and researching Transnationalism’ in Ethnic and Racial Studies 22(2)

Wikepedia, Six degrees of Separation, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/six_degrees_of.seperation (07 August)