Zimbabwean Communities In Britain

This book examines why Zimbabwean immigrants in Britain should be viewed as a product of ethno-racial identities and prejudices developed and nurtured during the colonial and post-colonial phases of Zimbabwe’s history. In the absence of shared historic socio-economic or cultural commonalities, the book will tackle the key question: ‘Are Zimbabweans in Britain demarcated by race and ethnicity an imagined community?’ Through an analysis of personal interviews, and secondary and primary sources, it identifies and engages historical experiences that had been instrumental in constructing diasporic identities and integration processes of Zimbabwean immigrants. With most literature tending to create perceptions that Zimbabwean immigrants are a monolithic community of Blacks, the book’s comparative analysis of Blacks, Whites, Coloureds and Asians unveils a multi-racial community fragmented by historic racial and ethnic allegiances and prejudices. It is essential reading for scholars and researchers interested in migration, African Diaspora, and colonial and post-colonial studies.

This report is based on a survey of 1,000 Zimbabwean nationals living in the UK and South Africa which shows that most migrants have not cut their ties with Zimbabwe and are making a vital contribution to the development of their host countries. Nearly half were in touch with family members once a week; 74% send money back home. 82% had a formal qualification of which 38% had a degree or post-graduate qualification. Amongst those who came to the UK, 97% had a qualification of which 43% had a degree or post-graduate qualification. 48% of migrants cited the economic situation or employment as the main reason for leaving Zimbabwe and 26% gave political reasons as the main reason. Two thirds would definitely like to return to Zimbabwe, depending on improvements in political and economic situation; 21% might like to return. Only 12% definitely did not want to return. When asked if they wanted to participate in development related activities in Zimbabwe, 73% of the respondents said they would be interested in a skills transfer programme.

Pasura proposes a framework for understanding African diasporas as core, epistemic, dormant and silent diasporas. The book explores the origin, formation and performance of the Zimbabwean transnational diaspora in Britain and examines how the diaspora is constituted in the hostland and how it maintains connections with the homeland.

Zimbabwe’s crisis since 2000 has produced a dramatic global scattering of people. This volume investigates this enforced dispersal, and the processes shaping the emergence of a new "diaspora" of Zimbabweans abroad, focusing on the most important concentrations in South Africa and in Britain. Not only is this the first book on the diasporic connections created through Zimbabwe’s multifaceted crisis, but it also offers an innovative combination of research on the political, economic, cultural and legal dimensions of movement across borders and survival thereafter with a discussion of shifting identities and cultural change. It highlights the ways in which new movements are connected to older flows, and how displacements across physical borders are intimately linked to the reworking of conceptual borders in both sending and receiving states. The book is essential reading for researchers/students in migration, diaspora and postcolonial literary studies.

Addresses current issues in corpus linguistics - methodological, theoretical and applied - with special reference to Englishes past and present.

For over 1500 years before the Empire Windrush docked on British shores, people of African descent have played a significant and far-ranging role in the country’s history, from the African soldiers on Hadrian’s Wall to the Black British intellectuals who made London a hub of radical, Pan-African ideas. But while there has been a growing interest in this history, there has been little recognition of the sheer breadth and diversity of the Black British experience, until now. This collection combines the latest work from both established and emerging scholars of Black British history. It spans the centuries from the first Black Britons to the latest African migrants, covering everything from Africans in Tudor England to the movement for reparations, and the never ending struggles against racism in between. An invaluable resource for both future scholarship and those looking for a useful introduction to Black British history, Black British History: New Perspectives has the potential to transform our understanding of Britain, and of its place in the world.

Examines Zimbabwe's pre-colonial, colonial and postcolonial social, economic and political history and relates historical factors and trends to more recent developments in the country.

This book explores the culture of migration that emerged in Malawi in the early twentieth century as the British colony became central to labour migration in southern Africa. Migrants who travelled to Zimbabwe stayed for years or decades, and those who never returned became known as machona – ‘the lost ones’. Through an analysis of colonial archives and oral histories, this book captures a range of migrant experiences during a period of enormous political change, including the rise of nationalist politics, and the creation and demise of the Central African Federation. Following migrants from origin to destination, and in some cases back again, this book explores gender, generation, ethnicity and class, and highlights life beyond the workplace in a racially segregated city. Malawian men and women shaped the culture and politics of urban Zimbabwe in ways that remain visible today. Ultimately, the voluntary movement of Africans within the African continent raises important questions about the history of diaspora communities and the politics of belonging in post-colonial Africa.