The notion of the far-flung Irish carrying their zeal to build a better Ireland via migration – rather than choosing to forget their homeland – is deeply embedded in its culture.
Consider the Salmon of Knowledge – the mythical bradán feasa – whose legend speaks of a magical fish swimming home to its ancestral spawning spot, promising to share the wisdom gained from its worldly travels with anyone lucky enough to taste its flesh.
It’s a myth, but it embodies a mission that is eternal. Millions of Irish migrants over the centuries sailed off to destinations across the globe, gaining knowledge and wealth, yet never losing a homing instinct that kept them focused on the villages that spawned their ambitions and drive.
Recent days marked a welcome homecoming therefore, as international policymakers, corporate leaders and scholars addressed diaspora engagement at the Global Diaspora and Development Forum hosted by the Clinton Institute.
Although Ireland is new to institutionalising diaspora affairs as part of its governing mission, I was delighted to learn it recently joined the family of nations creating a Cabinet-level Minister of State for the Diaspora.
As with diasporas of the past, we still see the many ways migrants continue to engage with their home countries and home communities. We see the many ways expatriate communities become vital players in the lives of nations thousands of miles away.
Emigrant remittances
Take remittances – a nearly $500 billion a year cash flow – that, in many countries, represent the single greatest source of investment capital annually. For Ireland, remittances will pump nearly $1 billion (€800 million) into the local economy this year, about twice the diaspora’s annual contribution at the start of the century. Accumulated since 1990, the diaspora’s monetary contribution to Ireland’s wellbeing totals about $12 billion (€9.6 billion), according to World Bank figures, and many times that amount once one factors in remittances from the 1940s or even the previous century.
Money, of course, doesn’t begin to tell the whole story. We, at the International Organisation for Migration, speak of diaspora and the three Es: engagement, enabling and empowerment, the components that create what might just as easily be termed the “diaspora synergy”.
By engaging the diaspora – discovering its needs and tapping into its concerns for the homeland – we begin to discover means for enabling its progress, such as making it easier to remit funds homeward, or legalising “irregular” migrants’ status. That leads to empowerment – the flourishing of a more stable, wealthier and politically engaged diaspora.
Political power
The three Es tell exactly the story of Ireland’s diaspora in North America. As the migrant population grew, its economic wealth and political power accrued dramatically – to the point where expatriates played a huge role in securing Ireland’s independence in the early 20th century, and then helped negotiate a peaceful settlement to the Troubles.
That history is being repeated in a myriad of ways today.
In Somalia, the International Organisation for Migration’s Return of Qualified Nationals Programme has enabled more than 120 highly qualified Somali diaspora members to return and help build government, civic and private-sector capacity. For Africa’s Great Lakes region, the diaspora in Europe is supporting institution-building, training and humanitarian causes.
These are exciting times. Human mobility is a megatrend set to continue to mid-century and possibly beyond. It makes nations more connected to each other, while deepening a centuries-old bond between migrants and the lands they leave.
We see across the world that the brain “drain” is becoming the brain “gain” or even the brain “chain”. Technological advances in communication, information and transportation allow a growing corps of migrants to contribute to the renewal of their new homes, while simultaneously adding value to places they’ve left.
The internet has spawned vibrant diaspora networks: countries as far apart as India, South Africa and the Philippines have thriving online diaspora communities. These allow citizens to contribute knowledge, experience and skills to their country of origin without having to go home.
William Lacy Swing is director general of the International Organisation for Migration