What’s Diaspora Got To Do With It? It’s All About Social Capital – By Boko Inyundo
The World Bank defines 'social capital' as "the norms and
networks that enable collective action" and states "increasing
evidence shows that social capital is critical for societies to
prosper economically and for development to be
sustainable"
To further illustrate the value of social capital, note the
distinction between 'bonding' and 'bridging' social capital. The
former refers to connections within a social or ethnic group,
whereas the latter refers to connections that 'bridge' social and
cultural divides. David Halpern's inspired book "The Hidden Wealth
of Nations" argues that for wider social
outcomesbridging social capital is preferred though it's
harder to foster. You and I may hail from opposite sides of the
African continent and have had quite different life experiences,
however, the fact that we are of African origin gives our
relationship an under-girding of reciprocity and solidarity. Other
communities, including the English, have long relied on such
'bonding capital', famously acknowledged in the phrase, "the old
boy network". By dint of its dispersal away from its homeland, any
Diaspora must develop both its 'bonding capital' and
its 'bridging capital' and, in many cases, it does so in an
international framework. This mix is a major asset especially as we
witness increasingly global relationships of culture, people and
economic activity.
In relation to nurturing bonding capital, members
of the UK African Diaspora might: interact with those from their
homelands through grassroots organisations; congregate at places
like London's Africa Centre to enjoy the arts and culture of
Africa; attend seminars implemented by the African Foundation for
Development (AFFORD);go to Diaspora-focussed events hosted by their
respective Embassies and High Commissions; eat at those excellent
restaurants that serve authentic food from home or shop for
foodstuffs sourced from Africa via markets such as those in
Shepherds Bush or Brixton; or attend churches which cater for the
style of evangelical worship common across much of Africa or
distinguished in approach such as the Ethiopian orthodox
church.
However, as a 'minority' community we must also learn how
the society here in Britain works, with its own rich historical
tapestry of different peoples and cultures. By definition, we have
to 'bridge' the inherent social gaps between our homelands' norms
and values and those of the British as well as those of other
communities living in Britain's cosmopolitan cities.
As we build ties with these other constituencies we not only
learn about them, but about ourselves. It is in that intersection
of bonding and bridging capital in this
inexorably globalising world that as members of a
Diaspora we develop robust and defining characteristics that inform
how we survive and thrive. We have seen evidence of 'majority'
communities across the world sensing the tremendous potential
benefits that these experiences of living in another culture can
bring. Chinese professionals educated abroad, for example, have
been actively encouraged to return home to take up lucrative senior
posts in mainland China, a development commonly referred to as the
'sea turtle'[5] effect - which is referred to as 'brain gain'
in Africa.
Bridging social capital helps us to generate broader
identities and reciprocity by linking us with people from
communities outside our own and by enabling information diffusion
across a wider network, whereas bonding social capital
bolsters our narrower selves. With this mix of experiences, members
of a Diaspora have the potential to develop into formidable assets
for any community, whether that is their 'home' or amongst the
'external' communities in which they live. A Diaspora is a
community of people dispersed from their homelands for a variety of
possible reasons but whose collective characteristics
aren't informed by 'escape' but, in fact, by 'opportunity'
andentrepreneurial zeal. Consider the Kenyan nurse who signs up to
serve in the UK's National Health Service. She is making a
conscious choice about her career progression and the opportunity
to build a future for her and her family. A Togolese footballer
that signs up to play for Tottenham Hotspur is doing much the same.
So is a Somali gentleman who spends years in the UK working as a
school support teacher and community organiser and who, as a result
of these experiences, is subsequently invited to return home to
Somalia to assume high political office as the deputy Prime
Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Like a seed, we in the Diaspora have been scattered and sown
across various lands and our innate instinct is to establish and
grow roots within / beyond our communities in order to survive and
thrive, whatever the weather. As we in the Diaspora seek to build
and sustain ours, and our families' lives we also actively build
our bridgingcapital, which we continually hone as this enables
us to learn from, and influence, the dominant and other cultures
within which, and with whom, we live. Especially in our now more
global village, that capacity is of immense potential net-benefit
for all and is, to me, 'what the Diaspora has to do with
it'.
Boko Inyundo is a member of the 'Save the Africa Centre'
campaign team in the UK (www.savetheafricacentre.com) and trustee
of Kenyan community-based organisation Khwisero Water Development
Project (www.kwdp.co.uk)