Homes on War In Stephen Gill’s An Immigrant Complains, Go Back and A New Canadian in Toronto

Abstract

Diaspora is an occurrence that is not limited to any particular region but one that stretches all over the globe. With the whole world having shrunk into a global village, the number of people on the move has increased rampantly and the term diaspora has been used with reference to the communities of people who are displaced or relocated “from their homelands to new lands for social, political or economic reasons” (Evani 100). Diaspora the term, has various connotations. Despite its usage with respect to people’s movements, its usage can also be extended to indicate dislocation of ideas, language and culture.

Tracing the etymological roots of the word, it becomes conspicuous that the word first evolved to characterize the dispersion of the Jews, centuries back. Much earlier, the Hellenic Jews in Alexandria who were on exile from Palestine, their homeland were called the Diaspora. Historically, soon after the conquest of the Jews by the Babylonians and their demolition of the Jewish temple, many Jews were scattered / dispersed from their homeland like seeds. The dispersion of the Jews did not come to a halt with that but their frequent expulsions from their native land remained one long on – going process. Very importantly, the Jews thus dispersed, tugged with them their language, customs, beliefs, tradition, ethnicity and culture.