by Alex Bacchus (they/them)
Why am I looking specifically at those descending from indenture in diaspora, the Diasporic Children of Diaspora?
Folx1 descending from South Asian indenture and living in diaspora, especially in the Global North2, inevitably have very different lived experiences from those living in the former indenture sites from which our families have migrated.
For starters, we navigate :
1) living amongst people who do not share the same histories and, consequently, do not have that knowledge or understanding of our ancestries, and
2) being alongside significant populations of South Asians whose lineages don’t include indenture.
There are other reasons too. In summary, we have different lived experiences. And now being made part of the Global North by recent migrations made by our parents, grandparents or maybe even ourselves, to what extent is it fair to speak for those in our homelands?
The answer is very individual and depends on what ties you still have to the countries you or our families have come from.
- Folx: originating from the word “folks,” this is a term meaning “people” that specifically singals the inclusion of induviduals of trans and gender diverse experiences not traditionally considered in conversations with binary cisgender models of idenitity.
- Global North: a term for the richest and most industrialized countries, freqently former colonial powers, current imperial powers and settler-colonial states. Global North countries include states like Korea, Japan, New Zealand, Canada and Denmark.