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Diaspora, Development, and Intra-community Politics: Sri Lankan Tamils in Canada and Post-War Debates

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Diasporas, Development and Governance

Part of the book series: Global Migration Issues ((IOMS,volume 5))

Abstract

The chapter demonstrates that the historical context out of which diasporas are born and the internal politics of the diasporas themselves influence the ability and willingness of the diaspora community to contribute to development efforts in Sri Lanka. The plurality of voices and activities within the Tamil diaspora indicates that there are real moral debates taking place about the validity and ethics involved in assisting a country that has long isolated its ethnic kin. The state’s persistent rhetorical demonization of the Tamil diaspora, including the banning of several organizations, indicates that the government views the diaspora primarily through the lens of security, and not development. The complexity and plurality of opinions in the Tamil diaspora have led to a fragmentation of efforts to provide development assistance in post-war Sri Lanka.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Resilience Research Centre, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada

    Amarnath Amarasingam

  2. Independent Scholar, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Ahila Poologaindran

Authors
  1. Amarnath Amarasingam
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  2. Ahila Poologaindran
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Correspondence to Amarnath Amarasingam .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography and African & African American Studies, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, USA

    Abel Chikanda

  2. Balsilie School of Intern Affairs, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

    Jonathan Crush

  3. Balsilie School of Intern Affairs, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

    Margaret Walton-Roberts

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Amarasingam, A., Poologaindran, A. (2016). Diaspora, Development, and Intra-community Politics: Sri Lankan Tamils in Canada and Post-War Debates. In: Chikanda, A., Crush, J., Walton-Roberts, M. (eds) Diasporas, Development and Governance. Global Migration Issues, vol 5. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-22165-6_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-22165-6_4

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-22164-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-22165-6

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

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