FAQ
What is diaspora?
Diaspora = dispersed or scattered; think urban, refugee, migrant, immigrant or other “scattered” groups. Diaspora communities are concisely defined as “those who identify with a homeland but live outside of it”. Today, it is often used as a cover term for many kinds of dispersed communities, whether their migration was voluntary, such as for economic or educational reasons, or involuntary, such as for reasons of war, famine, persecution, etc.
How do refugees relate to diaspora?
Refugees are a subset of the global diaspora. Refugees are involuntary migrants who are forcibly displaced outside of their home country. The United Nations High Commission on Refugees officially defines a refugee as someone who has a “well-founded fear of persecution in the home country for racial, religious, ethnic or socio-political reasons.” There are currently 26.4 million registered refugees around the world plus 4.1 million asylum seekers. There are even more who are forcibly displaced within their home countries either by conflict or by disaster (55 million), but these, by definition, are not counted in the official refugee statistics.
Where is all the migration happening today?
Where are people moving from and where are they moving to?
Complicated answers needed here. 2020 numbers report 281 million total diaspora including 89.4 million forcibly displaced. But with the war in Ukraine and elsewhere that number has topped 100 million! That includes roughly 27 million officially registered refugees and 4.1 million asylum seekers. Included in the migrant total are roughly 5 million international students and 39 million children with the majority being general economic migrants or “migrant workers” (169 million). In general, people are moving from less affluent to more affluent countries and from less free to countries with greater freedom. See graphics or go to this LINK for the full IOM 2022 report.
What prompted the creation of the Global Diaspora Services?
In 2017, the MUSE task force was launched as part of the SIL action plan to explore the topics of multilingualism, urbanization, and Scripture engagement. They soon realized that urbanization represented one aspect of a broader global trend of increasing migration. As SIL seeks to “understand and respond to the global realities that are shaping mission in the 21st century,” a natural outgrowth from these discussions was the forming of the Global Diaspora Unit. The inaugural team meeting was held in San Diego, CA in August 2019. The Global Diaspora Unit is a strategic initiative of International Language Services and an ongoing part of the SIL Action Plan.
What are some of GDS’s initiatives in partnership with others?
Scripture Access
Facilitating greater awareness of and involvement in Bible translation projects by diaspora communities. This includes leveraging new resources and broader participation for these projects.
Increasing access to and effective use of available Scripture and Scripture-based resources and supporting the development of new products and strategies that better meet the needs of dispersed communities.
Language Development
Encouraging contributions from the diaspora in language development initiatives such as dictionaries, literacy materials, and multimodal literature.
Partnering with the diaspora in the development of materials specific to their needs which could include language preservation, educational development, multilingual tools, and language learning.
Special Considerations
Providing trauma-informed approaches to various areas of engagement with diaspora, especially in the context of forcible displacement.
Helping to equip those who work cross-culturally with vulnerable populations.
Offering services in language and culture learning, which is a key success factor in adaptation and integration of dispersed people into their new environments.
Partnering in the context of “education in emergencies”, a significant focus on serving children and preparing them for the future.