DIASPORA
"A diaspora from Greek Διασπορά "scattering, dispersion" is a scattered population with a common origin in a smaller geographic area." Wikipedia. And of course Christos Boulocheris would call to my attention 'it all traces back to the Greeks'.
Map of Greater Greece Wikipedia
Had I not met Ellie, short for Elinida, I could not imagine myself thinking about this concept, nevertheless writing about the subject of diaspora.
The conversation traces back to the Havanna, Cuba trip and a woman I met. We spent the evening at Sloppy Joe's Bar in Havanna with our new friends and family. It was late, later than usual and well past midnight, and as Graham Greene would have, we were drinking Dimple 15 year old scotch , Mulata 15 anos ron dark , an 'umbrella cocktail' & Knockando 15 year old scotch - over which I broached my puzzlement to a new friend regarding her statement earlier that day, insisting she is not Greek. Mind you, we were here in Havanna for the 10-year celebration of the Greek church. Her name is Ellie. Over the course of the trip, I learned, a. Ellie holds a US and Greek passport; b. She speaks Greek and goes to Greek church; c. Her parents are of Greek origin born in Turkey and Bulgaria. All this said - Ellie insists she is not Greek. I was quite surprised and remained so. Puzzled and curious ......
I will spare the reader further discourse on Magna Gracea, Asia Minor, the city states of Athens and Sparta that colonized Sicily. The exodus of the Greek population from Western Turkey to Greece. And who won the Peloponnesian War.
While I remained perplexed that Ellie does not believe she is Greek, it only serves to broaden the inquiry into diaspora. Reflecting on family and friends, we all harbor a yearning for the homeland; or, we are part of the diaspora. For my cousin in Greece, she is a Cretan before being an Athenian. Another family member is from Alsace-Lorraine and Bavaria; when speaking with someone from Germany, and speaks of her heritage - there is a bit of pride I detect in her voice when proudly acknowledging her ethnicity.
Another friend's father is from Mexico and he reaches back to his Mexican roots. For me, I am now in search of my McGinnis and O'Hare family in County Down of Ulster. And I look forward to the visit with my family in Athens this Spring.
As it seems all over the world, we tie back to our geographic roots. In so many cases that also links us to religion and ethnicity. So once we get beyond the political discourse and learn more of the background on an issue, it becomes increasingly clearer that disputes have a deep underlying diaspora. That brings greater meaning and understanding of the division going on in the Ukraine between geographic areas that were assembled for one reason or another. Or in China as the threat of ethnic rivalry becomes more prominent. Or between India and Pakistan, the Republic of Ireland and the North, Cyprus, Sudan ... it goes on and on.
June of 2014 will be the Centennial recognition of the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand. This act was a result of - yes you guessed it correctly - the desire of a people to unite its ethnicity and to have it recognized as one country. Coincidently, this was in the Balkans of southern Europe! Does this knowledge assist the world's political leadership of the consequences of "sleepwalking" [1] the world into another Great War?
Sobering thoughts worthy of a Guinness and more reflection ...
The names of the innocent have been changed, this is a fictional story and any similarity or persons or names are ...
[1] The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914. Chris Clark. 2012.
Drink
Guinness and a Jameson on the side
alternatively Ouzo on the Rocks, or Pernod
Music - any Chieftains album, Xaris Alexiou or Carla Bruni-en Français
Appetizer - Irish Soda Bread and Corned Beef, or tomatoes and olives, or a baguette and brie
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