Caribbean Studies Unit 1

Mrs. Ramsoomair
Topic: Recognition of Diasporic Communities
“Write One/Two Paragraphs on the following: Recognition of diasporic communities,
namely- Santo Domingo, Panama and London.”
Migration is an integral part of Caribbean culture and society. Citizens of various
Caribbean used migration as a tool to seek job opportunities to support their families. This
process of migration to metropolitan states has led way for the many diasporic communities
found all over the world. The late 19th and early 20th century saw many emigrants, specifically
those from Jamaica and Barbados migrate to Panama to find jobs on the canal that was being
constructed. Although the jobs were highly desirable, emigrants encountered many
challenges such as jungle diseases, racial discrimination, and various forms of abuse.
However, this did not deter them as they supplied their families abroad with enough money to
join them in Panama. This process has led to the large diasporic community in Panama.
Similarly, when Britain offered job opportunities and citizenship in exchange for
labour in the rehabilitation of its industries, numerous west Indians flocked to the United
Kingdom in hopes of a better life. However, likewise in the case of Panama they too also
faced many challenges in respect to housing accommodations, low wages, and racial
discrimination. These shared challenges and oppression fostered strong bonds between
immigrant communities, and they devised many ways to assist each other. In addition, they
brought their culture that forever changed the United Kingdom such as Nottingham hill
carnival. Today, the generations of many Caribbean immigrants have climbed the social
hierarchy and even maintain positions in parliament. However, the unfairness of a racially
biased system still afflicts many of them.
In Santo Domingo, we saw the migration of the Chinese population mainly occurring
in the second half of the 19th century. This immigrant population started off quite small but
eventually grew as due to many immigrants wanting to escape US military domination. By
the 1950s there was a Chinatown in the Duarte area in Santo Domingo. In contrast to the
Caribbean population in Britain, the Chinese immigrant population did not retain its culture
and integrated into the Dominican Republic culture. Some immigrants went as far as
converting to Christianity.