Makini Boothe,
"A Reunion of "Sisters": Personal Reflections on Diaspora and Women in Activist Discourse"
(page 3 of 6)
During the sessions, I found that even though I understand my
experiences as an African-American, my ability to connect with certain
subjects and participate in certain discussions was limited. While
talking about water privatization, for example, I felt at a loss about
how to contribute. Growing up in California, I never encountered issues
with water access (other than pledging to monitor my water use in
kindergarten during a drought), and I remained ignorant of issues of
water access in the U.S.—and unaware how access fared among racial and
gender lines. I wavered when participants were asked to stand if
everyone in their country, without exception, had access to clean tap
water. I never stood up because the instructor assured me that the U.S.
did not make that list. Although she had plenty of information to offer
those from African countries, she did not address the issue of water
access in the U.S.. Whereas in some countries water access is a political
issue, those of us from other places—particularly from Brazil and
Trinidad—were unaware of the particular challenges to water access. As a
result, a number of us simply observed instead of contributing to the
conversation. Although we remained silent, however, this situation
compelled many of us to question and learn more about our local access
to water, thus enriching our future activism.
This discussion proved interesting, especially since it reversed the
tendency to focus on the U.S. by placing Africa at the center of
attention. However, this reversal also led to my exclusion from the
conversation, forcing me again to question the role the institute
expected me to play. How could I possibly mobilize my own nation without
learning more about my particular experiences? Slowly, I began to
recognize that how the organization viewed my role in the diaspora had
less to do with mobilization in my own country than with my potential
contributions to mobilization efforts in the continent. It became
increasingly clear that my role—and the role of participants not from
Africa—was that of an ally to the continent.
Since 2003, the African Union has actively regarded the African
diaspora as a major contributor to the development of the continent.
They define the diaspora as follows: "The African Diaspora consists of
peoples of African origin living outside the continent, irrespective of
their citizenship and nationality and who are willing to contribute to
the development of the continent and the building of the Africa Union."[2]
The use of the phrase "willing to contribute" situates the "diaspora"
within a political context. As such, a person of African descent living
in the United States, with no interest whatsoever in the affairs of the
continent, is not considered part of the diaspora because they
contribute nothing to the continent.
In line with this thinking, the World Bank launched an initiative in
support of the African Union's mobilization of willing participants in
the diaspora. They group members of the diaspora into two categories:
(1) people of African heritage who "involuntarily" migrated to North
America, Europe, the Caribbean, Brazil, and Latin America (2) people of
recent "voluntary" migration from Africa. Interestingly, the World Bank
carves out a specific agenda for those who trace their heritage to the
middle passage:
[This] former group is especially relevant in the
formation of socio-economic and cultural blocs of collaboration to
strengthen Africa's response to globalization; tapping their capacity to
lobby Western governments (in the case of African-Americans,
African-Canadians, and African- European groups) for the benefit of
Africa, e.g., combating HIV/AIDS, Malaria; resolving conflicts such as
in Sudan's Darfur region) . . . (2).
Here, the underlying definition of diaspora comes from a Sub-Saharan
construct; there is, in fact, no mention of North African countries. In
addition, the World Bank remains clear about its focus on the potential
mobilization efforts by members of the diaspora. And its written
statement, too, focuses specifically on the political influence of the
diaspora in the United States, Canada, and Europe by encouraging people
of African descent to utilize their political power to influence their
respective government policies in favor of development projects in
Africa.
Despite the fact that the institute referenced neither the African
Union's nor the World Bank's definition and expectations of the
"diaspora," the training no doubt fell in line with the role of the
diaspora in the development of continent. Learning about this discourse
(from the World Bank, the African Union, and others) affirmed my
bourgeoning realization that my role at the training institute was not
necessarily to learn how to effect change in my own community but to
become an ally of social mobilization on the continent.
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