In
today's world with Facebook, Instagram, Vine and many other online interaction
applications and websites, it is very easy for people to continue to stay in
contact when they are affected by diaspora, "This concept mostly used in a
context of movement of people" (Mung, 2005). Even if their space and place
is not where they originate from, they are still able to keep a very firm
connection with the people they have left behind through narrative, or even
other people that have been affected by the same circumstances. For example
just after World War 2 many people were forced to leave their homes and
immigrate to Australia, whilst here certain ethnic groups found people from
their same background by starting soccer clubs. This for them was a way of
keeping part of their cultural heritage and holding onto a part of their old
space and place, whilst living in a completely new one.
One
thing that I found really interesting from the lecture this week was how
Victoria described place and space can be built by narratives. Even though some
people may be re-located or forced to leave their homes, if they share stories
of their homeland, keep their native language and pass down their customs they
will always have their home with them, wherever they are. Even if they are
unable to do this in person they can still stay in contact by uploading videos
on Vine, or send messages and even make calls through Facebook, making it
extremely easy for them to stay in contact and discuss things. So wherever you
are in the world, with today’s virtual networks we are all able to link with
one another, even if we are on opposite ends of the globe, exchanging stories
and customs with one another.
Bibliography
Mung, E. M. (2005). Diaspora, Spatiality,
Identities. Balibo: University of Deusto.
Image From https://www.rochester.edu/working/hr/relocation/
Facebook does definitely allow for communication between all sorts of people, especially those locked in diasporas; however there are barriers or restrictions on that connection from newly established communities and their origins. Today, we pride ourselves on the spread of brand new technology, and its accessibility for all, yet many countries are lagging behind and as things currently stand have little chance of catching up. Most of these countries are war torn, and struggling financially, causing many to flee to those that are more stable and thus loosing connections to their struggling “homeland” (Klausen, 2015). However in their new land, opportunities to reconnect with those that were left behind abound, yet due to the circumstances, on the other end the same access is denied due to restrictions (Klausen, 2015). As much as we would like to believe that people can make the most of unfavourable circumstances, and stay in touch with family living in war zones, the equal opportunities for such connection does not exist (yet).
ReplyDeleteBibliography
Klausen, J. (2015). Tweeting the Jihad: Social Media Networks of. Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, 1-22.