For Ethiopian and Eritrean comics, family migration routes, refugee histories and diaspora restaurants have become the infrastructure of a new transnational scene. On a breezy Tuesday evening, lanky Simone Shiferaw—whose stage name is Chifforobe—is pacing outside a restaurant on U Street. Positioning himself before commuters emerging from a nearby Metro station, he hands out…
One Midwestern city is using refugee ambition to rebuild neighborhoods America forgot. A city of some 500,000 people lying practically in the geographic center of North America, Omaha, Nebraska, has a well-earned reputation for its delicious steaks, its generous billionaires, and its long tradition of supporting progressive causes. Lately, the city has been drawing accolades…
African street mechanics and junk scavengers push the global north towards climate solutions Freetown—Like a pop star eager to match the success of his last big hit, Emmanuel Alie Mansaray stalks the streets of this steaming, teeming African capital searching. He’s searching for inspiration: the spark that will allow him again to capture lightning…
Thanks to a network of Diaspora West Africans, the grain many call the “Next Quinoa” is being grown in Guinea, Milled in Senegal, and marketed worldwide as the social impact carb of the future. Pierre Thiam, who rose from New York City restaurant dishwasher to restaurant proprietor to James Beard-awarded culinary writer, is adding a…
A little over two years ago, African Development Bank President Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina rose to address a conference in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. The session’s formal name—Development Without Borders—had its theme spelled out in an explainer: Leveraging the African Diaspora for Inclusive Growth and Sustainable Development in Africa. In other words, how Africans living outside…
A small army of mobile diplomats plays a key role. On a busy Sunday morning in Trenton’s sprawling Latino quarter, Guatemalan diplomat Hugo Hun Archila, a veteran foreign service officer, gazes out at a file of countrymen and women lining up for attention from his team. As their waiting time lengthens, the line of Guatemalan…
How Diaspora West Indians Use Track and Field to Lift Countrymen (and Women!) from Poverty “As the world watches this summer’s Paris Olympiad, even casual sports fans can’t help being thrilled, enthralled and enraptured by the skill and finesse top athletes bring to the competition. World records fall practically every hour. The Games go on;…
Migration Drives Innovation: How Guatemala’s Tuk Tuk Entrepreneurs Turn Remittances into Jobs
