Caribbean Diaspora offers more than remittances

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - The Christmas season is here once again and most citizens in the Caribbean diaspora would, creatively, squeeze out extra cash to send, or buy gift items, for loved ones in their respective countries of birth. The recipients of such generosity will smile from ear to ear, in appreciation of the gratitude shown by their loved ones living abroad. Notwithstanding the socio-economic impact of such benevolent exchanges between family members across geographical borders, however, with many of the beneficiaries being the elderly, we must embrace the irrefutable fact that the diaspora has significantly much more to offer than mere remittances. The concept of diaspora is often credited to the dispersion of the Jewish population after the destruction of Jerusalem by the Roman Empire in 135 AD. However, the movement and displacement of peoples across the earth is an ancient custom. The push and pull factors, historically, have included famine, war, enslavement, natural disasters, and more contemporary realities, such as demand for human resources driven by economic expansion, or boom in some cases, in many democratic societies.