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The Resurgence of Religious and Ethnic Identities among Eritrean Refugees: A Response to the Government's Nationalist Ideology
Das Wiederaufleben religiöser und ethnischer Identitäten unter eritreischen Geflüchteten: Eine Reaktion auf die nationalistische Ideologie der Regierung
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Abstract This article explores processes of identity formation in Eritrean diaspora communities that have reverted to subnational patterns of identification grounded in the historical-political crises of their homeland. Refugees from Eritrea’s open-ended national service have ambivalent feelings towards thei... view more
This article explores processes of identity formation in Eritrean diaspora communities that have reverted to subnational patterns of identification grounded in the historical-political crises of their homeland. Refugees from Eritrea’s open-ended national service have ambivalent feelings towards their national identity: on the surface, they stress the cohesiveness of the Eritrean people, but in their daily lives they embrace ethnic or religious communities. I elaborate the dilemmas of identity formation in the transnational space between religious and ethnic affiliations and Eritrean nationalism. I analyse the expansion of ethnolinguistic and regional associations among diaspora communities and discuss their impact on identity formation. I link cleavages along ethnic and religious lines to collective memories and the government’s attempts to eradicate subnational identities. The study is based on long-term participant observation and semi-structured interviews with Eritreans in exile, and engages with relevant bodies of literature discussing identity formation in African and diaspora contexts.... view less
Classification
Migration, Sociology of Migration
Free Keywords
Eritrea; ethnicity; diaspora; identity; nationalism
Document language
English
Publication Year
2021
Page/Pages
p. 39-58
Journal
Africa Spectrum, 56 (2021) 1
ISSN
1868-6869
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed