Diaspora In this country we will always be immigrants not really belonging... CB, British Columbia, Canada

Donald and Christian Matheson emigrated from Bracadale, Skye, to Alabama in 1842. Their great-great-granddaughter writes that ‘along with his wife, children and bagpipes, Donald also brought with him a sense of family’. Photograph © Sandra Fondren Playing the bagpipes outside Flinders Street Station, Melbourne. Photograph © Jenni Calder

Diaspora means dispersal. It has been used most often to describe the scattering of the Jewish people from their original homeland, but can apply to any group of people forced into unwilling exile. Can we talk of a Scottish diaspora? Many were forced to leave their homes, by famine or by landlords. But many also chose to go overseas, enticed by better prospects for jobs, for farming their own land and for commerce. So not all Scottish emigrants were unwilling. Because the reasons for leaving a homeland can be varied and complicated, diaspora is often used now to include people who chose to emigrate. So to describe the millions of Scottish descent now living in the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, even England, as ‘the Scottish diaspora’ seems to make sense. But it really only makes sense if these people still feel a link with Scotland. Without the homeland as a reminder of identity, diaspora does not mean very much. And what about the homeland itself? There may be more than thirty times the number of 'Scots' overseas as are now in Scotland. Many of them are involved in activities that keep Scottish culture and history alive - perhaps more involved than most of those who live here.

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