Long-distance nationalism, boundaries and the experience of racism among Santomean migrants in Portugal

Long-dis ance na ionalism, bounda ies and he expe ience o acism among San omean mig an s in Po ugal José Manuel Sob al 2. 50 ambiguous inclusions: inside ou , ou side in in oduc ion Benedic Ande son (1998, 58-74) i s coined he concep o “long-dis ance na ionalism” o dealing wi h he impo an ole o exiles and mig an s in na ionalism. Long-dis ance na ionalism “ esembles con en ional localised na ionalism as an ideology ha links people o e i o y” (Glick-Schille and Fou on 2001, 20). I includes a e i o ial homeland go e ned by a s a e ha claims o be ac ing in he name o he na ion and ideas o common descen and his o y. The main speci ic poin o di e en ia ion in ela ion o con en ional na ionalism is ha his ype o na ionalism is a p oduc o ansna ionalism, ha is, o he keeping o a ansna ional ield o social ela ions be ween hose who mig a ed and hose who s ayed. As wo o he mo e in luen ial schola s in he ield ha e emphasised, “Long-dis ance na ionalism binds oge he immig an s, hei descendan s, and hose who ha e emained in hei homeland in o a single ansbo de ci izen y. Ci izens esiding in he e i o ial homeland iew emig an s and hei descendan s as pa o he na ion, wha e e legal ci izenship he émig és may ha e” (Glick- -Schille and Fou on 2001, 20). Immig an s emain a ached o hose who s ayed, sha ing a sense o “peoplehood”, based no only on cul u e and his o y, bu also on a con inued commi men o he na ion-s a e (Idem, 20-22). They also emain highly in e es ed in na ional poli ics and y o in e ene in local a ai s, and he e is poli ical ac i ism among hem.1 Indeed, no only is long- dis ance na ionalism – o “diaspo a na ionalism” (Landau 2001) – closely ela ed o homeland na ionalism in i s ideology and pu poses, bu , as has been emphasised in se e al cases, diaspo as ha e played a his o ical ole in na ionalis p ojec s o s a e-na ion building, such as in I eland, Is ael, A menia, Slo enia and C oa ia (Dieckho 2017; Sk bis 2017). One o i s schola s ha , ollowing he s eps o Benedic Ande son, analysed long-dis ance na ionalism poin ed o he ela ions be ween his ype o na ionalism and globalisa ion: “Long-dis ance na ionalism is s ill a na ionalism bu one ha is p o oundly adap ed o he condi ions o a mode n global sys em” (Sk bis 2017 [1999], 79). 1 Al hough many San omean mig an s a e in e es ed in hei “homeland poli ics” (Ve o ec 2009, 93-94), only a poli ical eli e is mili an ly in ol ed in objec i es like “ he cons i u ion o a ansna ional na ion-sa e” (Glick-Schille and Fou on 2004, 21). In ou iew, we should no only conside he membe s o his mino i y as long-dis ance na ionalis s, bu all hose who claim an un i alled a achmen o he na ion and exp ess his in se e al ways, including hose pe aining o banal na ionalism. long-dis ance na ionalism, bounda ies and he expe ience o acism 51 In ac , “e hno-na ionalism [his exp ession] and globaliza ion hus need o be seen as complemen a y a he han con adic o y p ocesses” (Idem, 2). I is closely embedded in one o he building blocks o globalisa ion: mig a ion. Indeed, a sho de ini ion o long-dis ance na ionalism sees i as binding oge he “immig an s, hei descendan s, and hose who ha e emained in hei homeland in o a single ansbo de ci izen y” (Dieckho 2017, 273). This s udy will pay a en ion o modali ies o he exp ession and ep oduc ion o long-dis ance na ionalism among immig an s om S. Tomé and P íncipe in Lisbon – commemo a ions and con e sa ions and na a i es – ha a e also dimensions o social memo y. Building on he examina ion o hese exp essions, and complemen ing hem wi h da a ga he ed om in e iews, we aim o show ha immig an s – including he second gene a ion, a leas – emain a ached o hei San omean na ional iden i y and o e some explana ions o his. Like o he s be o e – Glick-Schille and Fou on (2001) – we don’ see long-dis ance na ionalism as a phenomenon ela ed solely o he mig an s. On he con a y, we will a gue ha his a achmen o homeland is he by-p oduc o wo ypes o p ocesses: ones ha bind hem oge he as a collec i e wi h sha ed cul u al exp essions and memo ies; o he s ha pull hem apa as he O he o he so-called “hos na ion” ( T ianda yllidou 2006). I he bounda ies ha dema ca e hem om he majo i y also exclude and s igma ise, his mus be aken in o conside a ion when explaining he s eng h o na ional eeling. As mo e han one s a ed in con e sa ion wi h us, “I li e he e, bu my hea lies in S. Tomé”.2 s. omé and p íncipe: a b ie look a i s his o y The a chipelago o S. Tomé and P íncipe (s p) consis s o wo islands and some isle s loca ed nea he coas o Wes A ica, in he Gul o Guinea, wi h a o al a ea o 964 km2. Acco ding o he las census (2012), i s popula ion is a ound 180,000 people.3 2 A wo d o cau ion abou ou da a mus be gi en. I was ga he ed h ough e hnog aphic esea ch and in-dep h in e iews. The people wi h whom he esea che has been in e ac ing a e mainly adul men and women. So, al hough he chap e also elies on in o ma ion ob ained h ough in e iews wi h people unde 25, he olde ones a e s ill o e - ep esen ed in he da a. 3 Ins i u o Nacional de Es a ís ica, República Democ á ica de São Tomé e P íncipe, i Recen-seamen o Ge al da População e Habi ação – 2012. 52 ambiguous inclusions: inside ou , ou side in The a chipelago was, o cen u ies, an ag icul u al colony con olled by he Po uguese. The islands we e uninhabi ed when he Po uguese a i ed a he end o he 15 h cen u y. The i s colonise s we e a ew whi e se le s, bu mos ly o he popula ion we e A icans impo ed as sla es. The i s wa e o colonisa ion in he 16 h cen u y was linked o he p oduc ion o suga in plan a ions ha collapsed in he ollowing cen u y. The islands we e hen educed o small a ming and o he in ol emen in he sla e ade. Then, a e some cen u ies, a new plan a ion economy was es ablished in he 19 h cen u y based on co ee and mainly on cocoa, suppo ed a i s by sla e labou (Ten ei o 1961). Cocoa p oduc ion would each i s peak in 1920, when he ou pu o i s p oduc ion was a ound 50 000 onnes (Ten ei o 1956, 30), s p being he hi d bigges p oduce a e he Gold Coas and B azil. The plan a ions could be huge – one o he bigges had o e 20,000 ac es, 50 Kilome es o ailways, 50 Eu opean employees and 2,500 con ac wo ke s (Seibe 2006, 40). By he end o he 19 h cen u y, o me local plan e s and smallholde s e ained less han 10% o he land (Seibe 2006, 41). The highes posi ions in he plan a ion sys em we e occupied by whi e se le s and employees who, by he 1950s, accoun ed o a ound 2% o he o al popula ion (Ten ei o 1956). The colonis s also con olled he mos impo an businesses. Al hough people om S. Tomé we e conside ed o mally as Po uguese ci izens (Ten ei o 1956, 25), in p ac ice acism denied hem highe posi ions and oppo uni ies. A e he aboli ion o sla e y in 1876, as he local inhabi an s e used o do ag icul u al wo k hey iden i ied wi h hei o me bondage, hey we e eplaced in he plan a ions by a wo k o ce o inden u ed labou e s mainly impo ed om o he Po uguese A ican colonies. These o med a seg ega ed g oup. The local popula ion was he e ogeneous and s a i ied. The o me sla es, now eedmen – o os – emained he b oades s a um o na i e-bo n San omeans. This g oup owned land ha was only o ma ginal alue o he plan a ion economy, bu which a o ded hem ela i e au onomy in po e y. The as majo i y we e ei he unemployed o had humble occupa ions. A he op we e hose who had occupied he lowe and e en some middle- anking posi ions in he colonial adminis a ion; some o hem owned small businesses o shops, pa icula ly ou side he capi al (Ten ei o 1956, 25). Some would wo k on he plan a ions, bu as ca pen e s o mechanics, o example, no as u al wo ke s. A he bo om o he local popula ion, he e was a g oup long-dis ance na ionalism, bounda ies and he expe ience o acism 53 o small-scale ishe men and a me s, he Angola es, descended om o me sla es who had escaped om he plan a ions in o he jungle, and who we e disc imina ed agains by he dominan o o (Ten ei o 1961, 80). S. Tomé and P íncipe became an independen s a e in 1975. The plan a ions, p e iously owned by he Po uguese, we e na ionalised. Lacking he aining and he echnical expe ise ha we e he monopoly o he colonise s, who hen le he coun y, he plan a ions we e uined and wi h hem he main sou ce o e enue o his new na ion-s a e. P i a isa ion in he 80s ollowed a neolibe al agenda dic a ed by in e na ional unding agencies. Linked o c onyism and co up ion, no only did i no p e en he decay, bu i ac ually seems o ha e accele a ed i . A he same ime, he popula ion expe ienced an exponen ial g ow h. F om ha ime on, San omean immig a ion inc eased massi ely, mainly o Angola, Po ugal and om he e o o he coun ies o he Eu opean Union. Acco ding o he Po uguese au ho i ies, he cu en numbe o legal immig an s in Po ugal is a ound 9,000 (se 2016), bu o he sou ces who ake in o accoun bo h San omeans wi h dual ci izenship and illegal immig an s es ima e ha up o 25,000 could be in Po ugal (Nascimen o 2012, 123-124).4 We mus ake in o conside a ion he his o y and he social con igu a ion o he islands in o de o ge a ull unde s anding o he p ac ices and discou ses ha a e majo dimensions o hei memo ies and na ional iden i ica ion. long-dis ance na ionalism, memo y and emembe ing: o mal and in o mal ways The S. Tomé and P íncipe communi y in Po ugal is concen a ed in he poo e subu bs o he Lisbon Me opoli an A ea. Male adul s a e mos ly public wo ks and cons uc ion wo ke s, and many women a e cleane s o ca e wo ke s. The e is also a small numbe who ha e mid-le el occupa ions – such as nu sing and p ima y school eaching – and a ew highe ones: high school eache s, doc o s, lawye s, ci il se an s, e c. Nea ly all he membe s o his small eli e will ha e Po uguese ci izenship. A ce ain numbe o high school and uni e si y s uden s whose pa en s emain in he coun y a e also membe s o he communi y. The e is an immig an s’ associa ion o hose bo n in S. Tomé and P íncipe 4 O icial da a ga he ed om se (2016). 54 ambiguous inclusions: inside ou , ou side in (acosp). Ano he , smalle one, only o he na i es o he Island o P íncipe, and a mo e ecen and ac i e O ganisa ion o he Women o São Tomé and P íncipe (men-non, “Ou Mo he ” in S. Tomé C eole). The acosp – o which I will be mainly e e ing, as many o he con e sa ions ook place he e – has been playing a cen al ole in immig an li e. In i s modes headqua e s, immig an s can ge help in legal ma e s, such as he acquisi ion o legal esidence o o Po uguese ci izenship, suppo in heal h ca e issues, o e en in sea ching o educa ional and employmen oppo uni ies. Besides, people can go he e and lis en o music om he a chipelago, ea and d ink, exchange in o ma ion, discuss poli ics, and engage in con e sa ion, keeping communal bonds ali e. Mos ly adul men go he e. O icials om S. Tomé and P íncipe also egula ly isi i when hey come o Po ugal. The e is also ano he o ganisa ion, based in S. Tomé, ha aims o connec people in he Diaspo a wi h he homeland, he ds p, Fó um da Diáspo a de São Tomé e P íncipe (Fo um o he San omean Diaspo a).5 The Associa ion (acosp) can be concei ed as a “mnemonic communi y” (Ze uba el 2003a), because i is a place whe e “mnemonic socializa ion” – he ansmission o na a i es and ep esen a ions o he pas – akes place. I is a place whe e “communi ies o memo y”– such as hose o he na ion and he amily – a e inex icably in e wo en (Misz al 2003), as people mee he e and ecall, a he same ime, hei kin and hei homeland. A his poin , we mus s ess ha ou app oach o collec i e memo y is he one adop ed by schola s like Misz al, who s a es ha “Al hough memo y is a acul y o indi idual minds, emembe ing is social in o igin and in luenced by dominan discou ses. In o he wo ds, while i is he indi idual who emembe s, emembe ing is mo e han a pe sonal ac as e en he mos pe sonal memo ies a e embedded in social con ex and shaped by social ac o s ha make social emembe ing possible, such as language, i uals and celeb a ion p ac ices” (Misz al 2010, 27). Social memo y is an ensemble o p ac ices – o al, isual, i ual, bodily – h ough which a communi y’s collec i e ememb ance o he pas is p oduced and sus ained (Linke 2001; Conne on 1988; Olick and Robbins 1998). All hese p ac ices can be obse ed a he Associa ion, which plays a mos impo an ole in San omean long-dis ance na ionalism. Remembe ing he homeland is c ucial in long-dis ance na ionalism. Fo he sake o simpli ica ion, we can di ide ecalling in o mal and in o mal 5 h p://www.diaspo as p.o g/Home/QuemSomos, las accessed 1-11-2017. long-dis ance na ionalism, bounda ies and he expe ience o acism 55 ways, he i s in ol ing in en ional ac ions and he la e non-in en ional ones. By o mal ways, I mean he i uals o commemo a i e ce emonies (Conne on 1988; Gillis 1994) ela ed o he o icial na ional San omean calenda (Ze uba el 2003b), hence bonding he homeland and he Diaspo a in he same celeb a ion, as is he case o he commemo a ion o Independence Day, July 12 h, p omo ed by he Associa ion. In hese commemo a ions, iconic ood such as calulu (callaloo, a s ew simila o o he s ound in he Wes Indies and B azil), molho no ogo (li e ally “sauce in he i e”, also a s ew wi h smoked and sal ed ish) and boiled banana a e usually se ed. The e a e pe o mances o adi ional dances and conce s by bands and singe s om he islands o he communi y. Flags o S. Tomé and P íncipe – and, a leas some imes, also hose o Po ugal – a e used in he deco a ion. The na ional an hems o bo h coun ies a e usually also sung. Howe e , e en in his mo e o mal con ex , in o mali y ends o p e ail. Mos o he ime is spen wi h people ejoicing, alking, dancing, ea ing, d inking, enjoying he con e sa ion and he oge he ness, ec ea ing he ype o commensali y and in e ac ions hey would be ha ing in hei homeland. In a nu shell, we can say ha , in hese commemo a ions, memo y ope a es no only h ough discou se and he display o symbols ha a e eminde s o he homeland, bu also in an embodied way, such as h ough dancing and ea ing – bo h o hem mani es a ions o a habi us, in Bou dieu’s e ms, acqui ed in he homeland.6 Al hough in hese special momen s he na ion is o mally in oked, we can say ha by in o mal ways i is cons an ly ecalled. Fo some yea s, du ing summe , when people could use a small backya d which p o ided mo e space, hese ga he ings we e e en o mally o ganised on a weekly basis: hey we e he so-called “con e sas no quin al” (con e sa ions in he backya d). On Sa u days, people would b ing ood deemed ypical o he Islands, hea he music and dance, joke and alk abou p i a e and public ma e s. S. Tomé and i s agic economic and social si ua ion, old imes, he p ospec s o he u u e, he ecen pas , we e he main opics o con e sa ion. Bu he Associa ion is 6 Ano he o mal commemo a ion is S. Tomé Women’s Day (19 h Sep embe ). In his commemo a ion, he ole o women is e en mo e p onounced, because hey a e eally he mains ay o he ac i i ies, in planning, a anging he spaces, p epa ing he ood, cleaning, e c. Bu wha makes his commemo a ion special is he ac ha he e has always been a deba e conce ning hei educa ional ole – o ins ance in ma e s p e en ing he sp ead o hi – o he abuse and iolence hey a e ic ims o . I is a speci ic indica ion o women’s ole and alue. 56 ambiguous inclusions: inside ou , ou side in also open du ing weekdays, a e wo k, o deal wi h occasional ma e s and o o e a place o he San omeans who pass by a e wo k o who a e unemployed o alk and o in o mal con i iali y on Sa u days. In a e y simpli ied summa y o he ecu en opics o he ongoing con e sa ion he e, we can say ha geog aphy and his o y a e always p esen and in e wined in he e-imagina ion o he islands. People emembe oads, beaches, i e s, ees, lo a and auna, he se lemen s and he plan a ions: all unc ion as mnemonic de ices ha igge ecollec ions. As plan a ions we e he mains ay o he local economy, being a he same ime he symbols o mode ni y, i is no su p ising ha hey a e cen al e e ence poin s when ecalling in con e sa ion. And his is ce ainly in lec ed by he ac ha mos o he indi iduals in ol ed in hese con e sa ions a e adul s in hei mid- i ies o abo e, whose you h was spen in he las yea s o he colonial egime. So, in o mal con e sa ion e ol es a ound he dicho omy be ween he p esen and he pas , wi h a endency o u n in o a kind o c i ical his o y o he yea s ollowing independence. I he con e sa ion d aws on he o es , o example, he e a e complain s ha nowadays, wi h he explosi e g ow h o he popula ion ha elies on wood o uel and building ma e ial, de o es a ion is gaining g ound wi h nega i e implica ions o he en i onmen , because i will be esponsible o less ain all and he inc easing e osion o he soils. Bu , mos impo an ly, con e sa ion will deal wi h he p esen si ua ion o he old plan a ions, which, acco ding o hei own ep esen a ion o hem, we e b igh examples o economic mode ni y. These acknowledged hallma ks o he colonial economy a e now abandoned, hei buildings in uins, a sad shadow o hei glo y days. They iew hei ecen his o y since Independence wi h pessimism. And, al hough hey hold he poli ical eli e as mos esponsible o he p esen si ua ion, denouncing he e ec s o pa onage poli ics and co up ion, hey a e no a aid o p oducing an essen ialis ep esen a ion o wha we could call hei “na ional cha ac e ”: he blame is also pu on local people who don’ wan o wo k (o o o não abalha; he eeman doesn’ wo k). This is a discou se ha is hea d om people who classi y hemsel es as o eemen ( o o) ascendancy. This con aposi ion be ween he p esen and he pas makes clea how p esen ci cums ances shape social memo y. As one o he ounding igu es o he s udy o social memo y, Mau ice Halbwachs, made clea , memo y is no a simple egis a ion o he pas wai ing o be awakened. I is “a econs uc ion long-dis ance na ionalism, bounda ies and he expe ience o acism 57 o he pas ” cons an ly made and emade in he p esen (Halbwachs 1994 [1925], 83-113; 1997 [1950]). In he wo ds o a mo e ecen schola , “Social memo y is conce ned wi h bo h cons ancy and change, e e ing a he same ime o con inui y wi h he pas , while ein e p e ing ha pas o p o ide he jus i ica ion o bo h poli ical belie s and needs o he p esen ”. The pas is no some hing ixed bu is con inually ein e p e ed “in ela ion o ac o s ela ed o he p esen ” (McAuley 2015, 130, 129). I is he angs p o oked by he cu en si ua ion o hei coun y ha explains his ocus o he con e sa ion. This app aisal o he p esen doesn’ in ol e in any way he condoning o he colonial egime, bu a he , as is also he case in memo ies o he colonial pas in he Democ a ic Republic o he Congo (Mwembu 2008, 97-120; Rubbe s 2008, 121-129), a c i ical iew o he si ua ion since he independence ha o ced many o hem o immig a e. The con as be ween he pas and he p esen ends o a ou a selec ed pas , a pas ha , as in he case o he Congo (Mwembu 2008, 117), conce ns he las decades o he Po uguese domina ion, when ag icul u al p oduc ion was well managed; he es a es whe e no de elic as hey a e nowadays; he capi al ci y, he sani a ion sys em, he ai po , he oads we e well kep and clean and he e was be e heal hca e on he islands. This is clea ly he Golden Age o he na ional na a i e(s) ha a e ep oduced cons an ly. I’ e ecalled in some de ail his pe spec i e on ecen his o y because i eally haun s con e sa ions and ecollec ions among immig an s. Bu emembe ing he homeland is nei he educed o commen a ies on hei his o y no o discou se in gene al. They dance, lis en o music, ea , ouch each o he and expe ience he oge he ness o a (imagined) communi y. In sum, hey pe o m na ionali y. Being pa o a collec i e is some hing enjoyable (Skey 2013, 87). As Pe e B a sis s a es he e is “libidinal alue” in na ional iden i y (quo ed in Skey 2013, 87). They enjoy sha ed p ac ices and unde s andings oo ed in he homeland and ep oduced in he Diaspo a. As Hage pu i , in his s udy on Lebanese immig an s in Aus alia, “i is he posi i e encoun e wi h a pe son, a sound, a smell, o a si ua ion ha o e s an in ima ion o an imagined homely expe ience in he pas , an expe ience o “back home”. These in ima ions ope a e like “imagined me onymies” in ha hey a e agmen s ha a e imagined o be aces o an equally imagined homely whole, he imagined pas “home” o ano he ime and ano he space” (Hage 2010, 412-422). 64 ambiguous inclusions: inside ou , ou side in ianda yllidou, A. 2006. “Na ions, mig an s and ansna ional iden i ica ions: an in e ac i e app oach o na ionalism”. In The Sage Handbook o Na ions and Na ionalism, eds. G. Delan y and K. Kuma . London: Sage, 285-306. uan, Y. F. 2005 (1977). Space and Place: The Pe spec i e o Expe ience. Minneapolis and London: Uni e si y o Minneso a P ess. e o ec, S. 2009. T ansna ionalism. London and New Yo k: Rou ledge. ze uba el, E. 2003a. Time Maps: Collec i e Memo y and he Social Shape o he Pas . Chicago: The Uni e si y o Chicago P ess. ze uba el, E. 2003b. “Calenda s and his o y: a compa a i e s udy o he social o ganiza ion o na ional memo y”. In S a es o Memo y: Con inui ies, Con lic s, and T ans o ma ions in Na ional Re ospec ion, ed. J. K. Olick. Du ham and London: Duke Uni e si y P ess, 315-337. ci e his chap e as: sob al, J. M. 2018. “Long-dis ance na ionalism, bounda ies and he expe ience o acism among San omean mig an s in Po ugal”. In Changing Socie ies: Legacies and Challenges. Vol. i. Ambiguous Inclusions: Inside Ou , Inside In, eds. S. Aboim, P. G anjo, A. Ramos. Lisbon: Imp ensa de Ciências Sociais, 49-64. h ps://doi.o g/10.31447/ics9789726715030.02