{"id":239,"date":"2017-03-29T01:24:28","date_gmt":"2017-03-28T20:24:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/civil.ge\/?p=239&lang=ka"},"modified":"2017-03-29T01:24:28","modified_gmt":"2017-03-28T20:24:28","slug":"%e1%83%a5%e1%83%90%e1%83%a0%e1%83%97%e1%83%a3%e1%83%9a%e1%83%98-%e1%83%93%e1%83%98%e1%83%90%e1%83%a1%e1%83%9e%e1%83%9d%e1%83%a0%e1%83%90-%e1%83%ae%e1%83%98%e1%83%93%e1%83%94%e1%83%91%e1%83%98","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oldwp.civil.ge\/ka\/archives\/239","title":{"rendered":"\u10e5\u10d0\u10e0\u10d7\u10e3\u10da\u10d8 \u10d3\u10d8\u10d0\u10e1\u10de\u10dd\u10e0\u10d0: \u10ee\u10d8\u10d3\u10d4\u10d1\u10d8"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

It is a group of Georgians that rarely features in the country\u2019s public life. But a stark reminder of their existence came in September and October 2013, when former President Mikheil Saakashvili granted Georgian citizenship to over 2,500 people of Georgian origin living in Turkey.<\/p>\n

Their enthusiasm took some people by surprise. \u201cI would never have thought that so many people would say \u2018yes, I have Georgian roots\u2019 and want to receive citizenship\u201d, Fahrettin \u00c7ilo\u011flu, a bilingual Georgian-Turkish writer known in Georgia as Parna-Beka Chilashvili, recently told researchers from the International Centre for Migration Policy Development<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s like an avalanche: one person wants it, then another, and so on.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the Office of the State Minister for Diaspora Issues, Georgia\u2019s \u201chistoric\u201d diaspora comprises about 2 million people, most of whose families left Georgia in pre-Soviet times for Turkey, Iran and Azerbaijan. The UN Population Fund estimates<\/a> that just under 750,000 more Georgians have emigrated since the early 1990s, mostly in search of work. Georgians can also now be found across Russia, Europe and North America. \u201cWe are a very scattered nation,\u201d adds Mr \u00c7ilo\u011flu, \u201chowever much we claim the opposite.\u201d<\/p>\n

Georgia is hardly unique. Across the world an estimated 240 million people live in another country to the one in which they were born, according to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM). 75 million people have left their country in the last 10 years. More are likely to do so in the future, as ageing populations across much of the rich world will increase the need for migrant workers. The consultancy company McKinsey estimates that Europe alone will need 30 million more workers by 2050.<\/p>\n

Many poorer countries complain of a \u201cbrain drain\u201d, as the best and brightest of their citizens leave for opportunities abroad. But migration has benefits too, not least in economic terms. According to the World Bank, USD 540 billion was sent as remittances through the formal banking system in 2012, with hundreds of millions more sent informally. That dwarfs official aid flows.<\/p>\n

It is a similar tale in Georgia, where remittances through official channels reached<\/a> USD 1.33 billion in 2012, roughly 8.4% of Georgia\u2019s gross domestic product (GDP). Foreign direct investment in the same year only reached $912 million. Add in estimates of unofficial money transfers, such as relatives travelling with cash, and the difference is greater still, says Natia Chelidze, a labour economist at Tbilisi State University.<\/p>\n

Unrealised Potential<\/strong><\/p>\n

But can Georgia benefit even more from its diaspora? That was one of the questions posed by a large-scale conference held in Tbilisi on 13th November, which was jointly organised by the Office of the State Minister for Diaspora Issues and IOM.<\/p>\n

The opportunity certainly exists. Changes in transport and technology make it easier than ever for diaspora members to engage with their homeland. Years ago, migrants would leave their homelands knowing they were highly unlikely to return. Now they can fly back in a day. The internet means that staying in touch has never been more straightforward.<\/p>\n

\u201cAbsence no longer means exile,\u201d says Kingsley Aikins, who runs Diaspora Matters<\/a>, a Dublin-based consultancy company that advises governments worldwide on how to engage their diasporas. \u201cPeople can be totally committed to where they are living and at the same time have a close relationship to their place of origin or ancestry\u201d.<\/p>\n

Indeed, recent research<\/a> commissioned by GIZ<\/a>, the German international development body, and the Office of the State Minister shows that the Georgian diaspora has much to offer. On one level, they have knowledge, skills and ideas that may be in short supply in Georgia. On another, they can invest their own money, or encourage investment from non-Georgian sources.\u00a0 For example, Georgians based abroad are behind the Tbilisi aquapark<\/a>, which is due to open in January 2014.<\/p>\n

But the experience of countries such as Israel and Ireland suggests that the government has a lot of work to do to turn this potential into reality.<\/p>\n

\u201cDiasporas often love their homeland\u201d, Mr Aikins continues. \u201cBut that doesn\u2019t necessarily mean they love the state.\u201d The distinction is vital. Georgians may feel part of the Georgian nation wherever they are in the world. But they may not necessarily enjoy a strong relationship with the authorities in Tbilisi.\u00a0\u201cThe key to building up that relationship is trust,\u201d he adds. \u201cUnfortunately, trust is hard to earn, but very easy to lose.\u201d<\/p>\n

One Size doesn\u2019t Fit All<\/strong><\/p>\n

The diverse nature of diasporas complicates matters further. For example, Germany attracts Georgian students, while Greece offers the possibility of domestic work. Some emigrants want to return to Georgia permanently; others are firmly rooted abroad.\u00a0 Distance highlights the need for intensive communication. Diasporas can also be \u201cdivided and disputatious\u201d, Mr Aikins adds, which underlines the need to tread carefully.<\/p>\n

His advice to governments looking to build stronger ties with their diasporas echoes former US President (and Irish diaspora member) John F. Kennedy: \u201cThink not of what your diaspora can do for you. Think of what you can do for your diaspora\u201d. The failure to take that into account, he says, is one reason why so many diaspora initiatives fail.<\/p>\n

Konstantine Surguladze, the State Minister for Diaspora Issues, says these are lessons he is keen to learn. His office is working on a draft strategy that adopts a \u201cservices first\u201d approach to diaspora members, no matter whether they wish to return or prefer to stay abroad. Some ideas may be implemented through the internet, such as an online global diaspora network, or courses in Georgian language and culture. Others include organizing cultural and sporting events abroad.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of diaspora ties have fallen away,\u201d he continues. But the fact that Georgian supras abroad often begin with a toast to the homeland demonstrates the diaspora\u2019s lingering affection for Georgia. It is up to the government to take the next step. As Katie Melua, one of Georgia\u2019s most famous diaspora members, sings on her latest album: \u201cChase Me<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n

About the author:<\/strong>
\nGuy Edmunds works for the Danish Refugee Council in Tbilisi. DRC is currently implementing a project called \u201cEnhancing the Role of Georgian Emigrants at Home\u201d in partnership with the International Centre for Migration Policy Development, which is funded by the European Union.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It is a group of Georgians that rarely features in the country\u2019s public life. But a stark reminder of their existence came in September and October 2013, when former President Mikheil Saakashvili granted Georgian citizenship to over 2,500 people of Georgian origin living in Turkey. Their enthusiasm took some people by surprise. \u201cI would never …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":129,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[84,86],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-239","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion-ka","category-op-eds-ka"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/oldwp.civil.ge\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/gagarin-costumes.jpg","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/oldwp.civil.ge\/ka\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/oldwp.civil.ge\/ka\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/oldwp.civil.ge\/ka\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oldwp.civil.ge\/ka\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oldwp.civil.ge\/ka\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=239"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/oldwp.civil.ge\/ka\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oldwp.civil.ge\/ka\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/129"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/oldwp.civil.ge\/ka\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=239"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oldwp.civil.ge\/ka\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=239"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oldwp.civil.ge\/ka\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=239"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}