The seventh session of the 4th International E-Conference on “Migration, Governance, and COVID-19: Perspectives, Policies, Opportunities, and Challenges”, was held on November 3, 2022. The theme of the session was “Literature and Migrant Societies”. The session was chaired by Dr Nandini Sen, an Associate Professor of English at Bharati College, University of Delhi, India.
The first speaker of this session was Dr Himanshi Chandervanshi, a lecturer at Government College for Women, Parade, Jammu and Kashmir, India. Her paper was titled, “Generational Differences and Intergenerational Discord in I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter”. In her paper, Dr Chandervanshi highlighted the generational conflict that arises because the first generation clings to the homeland values, while the second generation is more accepting of the culture of the host country. The second generation’s right to privacy and individualism is observed as a sign of disrespect, resulting in family discord. The parents’ attempt to culturally control their children by insisting on the preservation of virginity, negating their children’s desire for independence and imposing conservative Mexican norms, leads to familial estrangement.
Mainak Putatunda, an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Krishnagar Government College, West Bengal, India, presented his paper on “Afghan Hindus and Sikhs in Germany: Present Status and Future”. His paper examined the status of Hindus and Sikhs in Afghanistan from the 1970s to the present. His paper analyses the reasons for their migration to India, UAE and various European countries, especially Germany. He argued that Germany became the destination of choice for Afghan Hindu and Sikh refugees, because Germany’s refugee policy provided asylum to any individual who was fleeing from religious persecution. Although, Germany became more stringent with its refugee policy after the Syrian refugee crisis in 2015. This was followed by a deportation process in which thousands of Afghan Hindus and Sikhs were sent back to Afghanistan, in lieu of developmental assistance to Afghanistan, which was pocketed by the Hamid Karzai government. Mainak concluded his paper by hoping that the Afghan Hindus and Sikhs will be able to call some land their homeland.
The next speaker was Medha Bhattacharya, an Assistant Professor at Bengal Institute of Technology, West Bengal, India. Her paper was titled, “Exploring Home And Homeland in Shani Mootoo’s Stories”. Her paper focused on the unstable idea of a home and the changes it goes through the time and space continuum. Her paper examined the concept of homeland in Shani Mootoo’s short stories, namely, “Out on Main Street” and “The Upside-Downness of the World as it Unfolds”. The major themes discussed in her paper included hierarchy in Indian diaspora in Canada, multicultural identity, twice migrant, cultural amnesia and the complexity of gender identity of migrants.
R. Trent Larson, an Associate Professor at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University was the last speaker of this session. He presented his paper on “Reviving the Tourism Industry post-Covid-19: Involving Diasporans in Virtual Tourism Initiatives in Sub-Saharan Africa”. He suggested the use of virtual tourism as the COVID-19 pandemic had devastating effects on the tourism industry. His paper suggested that the Sub-Saharan African Diaspora who are highly educated and tech savvy can hone skills to develop virtual tourism in Africa. He concluded by stating that virtual tourism can be a vital option in case of pandemics in the future.
The session ended with an engaging discussion on the various research topics brought forward by the speakers. Several prominent dignitaries, such as Professor Binod Khadria, Professor Pushpa Parekh and Dr Raj Bardouille shared their valuable feedback and comments with the speakers and the audience.
Irram Irfan is a PhD research scholar at English and Foreign Languages University at Hyderabad, India. Her research interests include Migration Studies, Postcolonial Literature and Transnational Studies.