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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Being Away from 'Home': The Equatorial Guinean Diaspora
Author:Cusack, IgorISNI
Year:1999
Periodical:Journal of Contemporary African Studies
Volume:17
Issue:1
Period:January
Pages:29-48
Language:English
Geographic term:Equatorial Guinea
Subjects:nationalism
diasporas
Peoples of Africa (Ethnic Groups)
Urbanization and Migration
External links:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02589009908729637
http://ejournals.ebsco.com/direct.asp?ArticleID=458293BA06EBF1FCF502
Abstract:This paper argues that the crossing of borders, being away from 'home', makes a significant contribution to the emergence of a national identity. Focusing on Equatorial Guinea, a country with a large diaspora, the paper addresses the question of whether the emergence of a sense of national identity in this former Spanish colony has been aided by the various journeys undertaken by its inhabitants. It examines the flow of exiles under colonial oppression, the journeys made by Spain's colonial subjects both within the colony and back to the metropole and, finally, those journeys made by the elite of the new State, in order to see how these journeys might have assisted in the emergence of any sense of national identity. The colonial journeys and pilgrimages to the Escuela Superior Indígena in Santa Isabel and to other colonial educational establishments did result in a community which played a key role in forming the first nationalist parties. Those who travelled abroad to receive higher education and training, along with the students of the Escuela Superior, played a key role in the running of the 'official' nation. Despite restrictions in territorial movement within Equatorial Guinea itself, this type of mobility may also have contributed to the emergence of a sense of national identity. Bibliogr., notes, ref.
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