An International E-Conference was convened jointly by the New Delhi based Global Research Forum on Diaspora and Transnationalism (GRFDT), Mexico based Center for Research on North America (CISAN), UNAM, and Philippines based Migrant Forum in Asia (MFA), with the overarching theme “Migration, Diasporas and Sustainable Development: Perspectives, Policies, Opportunities and Challenges” from 2nd -5th November 2020. The virtual conference witnessed a galaxy of participants, speakers, academicians, policymakers and civil society activist who debated and discussed various facets connected with Migration, Diasporas and Sustainable Development.
The session titled Perspectives on Diaspora Engagement with Home country was chaired by Prof. Chandrashekhar Bhat, Former professor; Hyderabad Central University who initiated the fascinating discussion on emerging perspectives related to migration and diaspora and introduced the paper presenters.
Prof. Bhat chaired the session and raised some important questions about Diaspora engagement with home country and about the importance of return migration in India or abroad. He mentioned about ideas, identity, behavior and nostalgia which were attached with home country. He talked about generational gap and other issues as well. He emphasized on the issue of return migration and integration which are important for home country and host country.
Dr. Güler Canbulat Kamba, Post-Doc Research Fellow at Kadir Has University, in Istanbul, TURKEY said about the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) among Congolese Migrants with intensive interviews of Istanbul and Turkey. She found that every was attached with family. The research paper mentions about the importance of ICT in Congolese migrants, how they are more attached with home land and maintain integration and relation.
Dr. Güler Canbulat Kamba concluded by stressing that the diasporic digital media produces content that creates a sense of identity and community for the Congolese people living in different places around the world.
Dr. Subhasri Ghosh, Asutosh College, University of Calcutta, India, presented the paper- Looking back At ‘Home’: Narratives of East Bengali Refugee Women in West Bengal. In this paper, researcher mentioned about migrant’s nostalgia and trauma during partition. First generation migrants are more attached with feeling and historical story. The narratives crisscross with one another to construct that complex structure of feeling, where several emotional conditions prevail and interpenetrate.
Recollections of the days gone by or the lived experiences are now treated as integral components of history-writing since it helps the scholar to unravel the complex phenomenon of time.
Dr Anushyama Mukherjee, Public Affairs Centre, India, presented research paper – Understanding Homeland/s and Identities: A Study of Barkas in Hyderabad. This paper was an attempt to understand the construction of homeland/s and identities in Barkas, an Arabian colony in Hyderabad. She talked about the identity and culture during migration. She mentioned that migrant children also thought about the next migration, it means urban to international migration because everyone wants better education and better living space where one can enjoy living without any obstruction.
First generation might fare badly in the labour market, including a lack of recognition for foreign qualifications, a lack of language fluency and lack of experience in the destination labour market. In contrast, pessimists suggest that this historical experience may not apply to recent migration.
Mr. K C Dinesh, Nepal, The Impact of Migrant remittance on the future of Nepal’s Economy. He talked about the remittance’s which are coming from foreign country. Research Paper raised some important questions, how many remittances are gathering in our country and where are these remittances being utilized? These remittances have enhanced the living standard of human being in terms of health and day to day expenditure. Remittances should be benefitted for all people make better policy.
Remittances are not merely money –it is highly consequential that remittances involve money transmitted by migrants in particular ways, to particular people, for particular purposes.
Mrs. Michaela MATEI, University of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania, Diaspora Start-up – a tool to stimulate return migration in Romania, Over 3 million Romanians have exercised their mobility right seeking a higher income. Concerned with demographic challenges and increasing labor gaps on the national labor market, the Romanian Government started to look at the impacts of emigration on the labor market. Against this context, starting 2017, a new tool was implemented through structural funds: ‘Diaspora start-up’ aiming to attract back on the labor market where Romanians are working abroad. Purpose of the article: Despite the growing attention to return migration, limited research has been conducted to understand the effectiveness of relevant programs or policies. Therefore, this paper aims to assess the results of the Diaspora start-up program implemented by the Romanian Government financed by the Human Capital Operational Program in Romania.
Returning home is one way that people stop being migrants-although often even after returning home people maintain elements of new practices and identities they have developed abroad. There are no global estimates on the scale of return migration, although most experts believe that it is substantial.
Return and integration can benefit both host and origin country, if Governments support the migrant’s activities and morale. All countries have to work together to create a model that can help in return migration and integration. The issues of every migrant in this world are same but common practices must be followed to overcome the problem. These are issues like health, safety and rehabilitations. All the research papers raised important questions for future and also provided some solution as to how assimilate with the new society.
Overall, the session witnessed diverse perspectives and insightful intervention from academician Prof. Chandrashekhar Bhat, Former professor, Hyderabad Central University that set the discussion in motion.
Dr. Omprakash Manjhi is an Independent Researcher at IGNOU, New Delhi.