From: "Frank Conlon" <conlon@U.WASHINGTON.EDU>
To: <H-ASIA@H-NET.MSU.EDU>
Sent: Sunday, September 11, 2011 9:20 PM
Subject: H-ASIA: CFP Settled Strangers: Why South Asians in Diaspora cannot
become natives?, panel, ECSAS Conf, Lisbon, 25-28 July 2012
> H-ASIA
> September 11, 2011
>
> Call for papers for panel "Settled Strangers: Why South Asians in Diaspora
> cannot become natives?", European Conference on South Asian Studies,
> Lisbon, 25-28 July 2012
> ***********************************************************************
> Ed. note: The ECSAS conferences offer a wonderful opportunity for meeting
> colleagues and scholarly exchange. Participation and membership is not
> limited to scholars based in Europe. FFC
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> From: Gijsbert Oonk <Oonk@eshcc.eur.nl>
>
> I am organizing a panel at the ECSAS conference from 25-28 july 2012 in
> Lisbon.
>
> Title: Settled Strangers: Why South Asians in Diaspora cannot become
> natives?
>
> My abstract and panel proposal follow below.
>
> If you wish to contribute to this panel let me know as soon as possible
> (by sending a paper proposal).
>
> Dr. Gijsbert Oonk
> History Department
> Erasmus University Rotterdam
> Netherlands
>
>
> Panel:
> Settled Strangers: Why South Asians in Diaspora cannot become natives?
>
> In this panel I propose the concept of 'settled strangers' that may help
> us to understand the ambivalent relations between 'strangers' and the
> local society through generations. Settled strangers are descendents of
> migrants who eventually settled in their new environments for at least
> three generations. They are often referred to as 'third or fourth or more'
> generation migrants, despite that they didn't migrate themselves. They
> (and their parents)are born and raised in the new countries, which they
> have made their own. Here they enjoyed their education, they know the
> local language and they most likely will get married locally (but
> frequently within their own ethnic group). Often, but not always they
> carry local passports or have obtained local citizenship. Despite of this,
> their loyalty towards the local society is at stake in the discourses on
> migration, citizenship. Frequently the suggestion is that 'strangers' are
> not committed to the local economy or the local politics because settled
> strangers always have an 'escape'. Nevertheless, if they take up local
> citizenship or become political active, they are said to do for 'personal
> gains' and not to 'serve the country'. In this paper I show how settled
> strangers navigate between being an insider and an outsider at different
> places and in different times. Even after three or four generations
> running local business, paying taxes, spending money on charities,
> hospitals, dispensaries and what not, they find out that it is never
> enough to be accepted as locally loyal. In his Inaugural Lecture at the
> University of Cape Town, Mahmood Mamdani rethorical asks: When does a
> Settler Become a Native? And his shortcut answer is: from the point of
> view of ethnic citizenship, NEVER.
>
>
> Abstract:
> In this panel I would like to explore the economic, cultural and
> political position of the South Asians in diaspora. They control most of
> the trade and businesses and like many other groups are well known for
> their economic networks and their economic achievements. The most
> influential literature on 'middlemen minorities' (Bonachich e.o.) and the
> recent acclaimed work by Amy Chua is sociological rather than historical.
> This literature cannot explain why these minorities are still not accepted
> and integrated in the local societies. A historical approach may reveal
> some of the answers.
>
> I propose the concept of 'settled strangers' that may help us to
> understand the ambivalent relations between 'strangers' and 'natives'
> through generations. Settled strangers are descendents of migrants who
> eventually settled in their new environments for at least two generations.
> They are often referred to as 'third or fourth or more' generation
> migrants. Despite that they didn't migrate themselves. They are born and
> raised in the new countries, which they have made their own. Here they
> enjoyed their education, they know the local language and they most likely
> will get married locally (but within their own ethnic group). Often, but
> not always they carry local passports or have obtained local citizenship.
> In other words, they are 'settlers' not migrants.
>
> In the case of outsider trading and business minorities, these settlers
> often remain 'strangers'. Both national (or colonial) states and their
> citizens frequently feel uncomfortable with the settled strangers. They
> constantly question whether their political and economic loyalty is
> 'local' or 'overseas', transnational or elsewhere. Returning issues are
> the question of local and/ or multiple citizenship, the questions whether
> they re-invest profits in local industries or 'abroad' and the question of
> 'local assimilation', often defined along marriage patterns (within their
> own group, or with outsiders). Frequently the suggestion is -to say the
> least- that 'strangers' are not committed to the local economy or the
> local politics, because they want to have an 'escape'. And if they take up
> local citizenship or become political active, they will do so because they
> 'profit' from it, they use it for their 'personal gains' and not to 'serve
> the country'. The question of re-investing profits locally is mostly
> disputed along lines of 'exploitation' and selfishness and not along lines
> of 'rational entrepreneurship and objective choices'. However, what in
> fact is happening is that emerging states are creating 'strangers'
> themselves. Often, these 'strangers' were already settling before the
> nation state was foreseeable, like in the case of Asians in Africa.
>
> Once and a while, however, states and citizens admire the workmanship,
> the economic results and the political prestige and professionalism of
> strangers. But, there is always a 'but', -in the end- one never knows
> whether the stranger will leave tomorrow, take his money, his experience
> and 'know how' to another place. This 'danger' makes the stranger
> untrustworthy, someone to keep an eye on, and someone you can use for your
> own interest. But one can never rely on 'strangers' in the long run. For
> them, the axiom 'trade follows the profits' is probably more accurate than
> 'trade follows the flag'.
>
> Interestingly, many of these qualifications are not mentioned in relation
> to local indigenous businessmen and professionals. But often, they have an
> option to leave the country as well. Nevertheless, this hardly ever seen
> as 'untrustworthy', but more often as 'taking an opportunity'. In other
> cases, e.g. when a local politician illegally send money to an overseas
> bank account, this will be seen as corruption. But only 'afterwards', he
> is not accused of potentially being disloyal or corrupt before the events
> happen. Whereas the idea is that minority traders and businessmen were
> 'expected' to send money abroad.
>
> The settled strangers constantly have to deal with these notions of the
> (colonial) state and local citizens. Even after three or four generations
> running local trading companies, spending money on charities, temples,
> mosques, local education, hospitals, dispensaries and what not, they find
> out that it is never enough to be accepted a locally loyal. They will
> always be seen as outsiders. In his Inaugural Lecture at the University of
> Cape Town, Mahmood Mamdani rethorical asks: When does a Settler Become a
> Native? And his shortcut answer is: from the point of view of ethnic
> citizenship, NEVER.*
>
> (*Mahmood Mamdani, When does a Settler become a Native? Reflection of the
> Colonial Roots of Citizenship in Equatorial and South Africa, Inaugural
> Lecture 13th May 1998 at the University of Cape Town, South Africa.)
>
> For more information see: See: http://ecsas2012.iscte.pt/
> REMINDER: please note that convenors of accepted panels must all be/become
> members of EASAS - please attend to this as soon as possible.
> More information on this can be seen at: http://www.easas.org/membership.
> Accepted paper-givers must also join.
> There is no funding for travel or other expenses.
>
> --
> Yours sincerely
>
> Dr. G. Oonk
>
> Head of the History Department
> Erasmus School of History, Culture and Communication
> History Department l3 48
> Erasmus University
> PB 1738 3000 DR Rotterdam
> Netherlands
>
> email: Oonk@eshcc.eur.nl
> phone: +31 10 4082496
> Webiste: WWW.asiansinafrica.com
>
> My recent books: G. Oonk: The Karimjee Jivanjee family: Merchant Princes
> of East Africa, Pallas/AUP, Amsterdam 2009:
> http://www.press.uchicago.edu/presssite/metadata.epl?mode=synopsis&bookkey=10369038
>
> G.Oonk: Global Indian Diasporas:
> http://books.google.nl/books?id=BkwsMTyShi8C&printsec=frontcover&dq=oonk+diasporas&hl=nl&ei=-SLVTIHNDYKWOuHq0YEK&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCsQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false
>
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