The joke brings into question the sensitive issue of modern identity and provokes the deep tension between nationalism and diaspora. Classical nationalism, mainly European, appoints itself as the guardian of identity by fixing and controlling its racial, religious and geographic codes. The nation-state, from which nationalism derives its legitimacy, is scared of differences and must push it outside geographic borders to feel safe. The modern African diaspora re-emerged in Europe as a migrant labour imported from the former colonies to rebuild the economic and industrial infrastructure devastated by World War II. The diaspora is an ideal source of illustration able to tell us who is in and out of the village we prefer to call ‘global’.

Source: Standard Digital September 29, 2020 21:01 UTC