1.1.1. Pattern

a) Ancient and Medieval migration to colonial powers.

b) Migration to the industrial nations immediately after World War II.

c) Recent migration to developed countries for better career opportunities and better living condition, where the Internet, affordable airfare, and cheap communications help to maintain close ties with one’s homeland for people migrating to these countries.

Diaspora is a word of Greek origin that means scattering or sowing of seeds. It is used to refer to people who leave their native lands to live in other parts of the world for employment, business or any other purpose.

The term originally referred to the dispersion of Jews after their exile from Babylon in the 6th Century BC, and later to describe all the Jewish people scattered in exile outside Palestine. Today, the word has evolved to classify any group of people who are dispersed or scattered away from their home country with a distinct collective memory and a myth of return.