2001

Georgiu Myria

Thinking Diaspora: Why Diaspora is a Key Concept for Understanding Multicultural Europe

http://www.multicultural.net/newsletter/article/issue4-georgiou.htm

The concept of diaspora goes back in human history; it was initially used by the ancient Greeks to describe their spreading all over the then known-world. For the ancient Greeks diaspora signified migration and colonisation. For the Jews, the Armenians and the Africans who later adopted the term, the concept implied more painful meanings of loss of a Homeland, violent deterritorialisation and longing for return (Cohen, 1997). As much as the history of migration and settlement for these populations and for other populations that have moved across the globe has changed, so did the concept of diaspora