As scholars including Paul Gilroy and Stuart Hall have argued, the roots and routes of displacement matter. They shape not only individual experiences of migration and identity but are often carried into narratives of how the greater ethnic or national group defines itself within the diverse fabric of American society. For stateless nations in particular, whose homelands have been chipped away by centuries of displacement and divided by modern state boundaries, this
defining of who “we"
are becomes complicated and often contested. As researchers, there is consequentially a risk of painting these communities with an overly-broad brush and overlooking intra-communal wedges that define how people understand themselves, shape experiences within the U.S., and influence political demands on the U.S. and on the homeland.
Using a comparative study of Assyrian, Chaldean, and Kurdish communities in the U.S., this paper examines the layers of identity and intra-communal boundaries within these populations. On a community engagement level, such differences help researchers better understand individual lived experiences and how roots and routes factor in navigating society. For example, for Chaldeans and Assyrians, diasporic leadership largely migrated for employment prior to 2000 and encounter differences with community members who fled ethno-sectarian conflict after 2003. Internal divisions become further significant when politicized. Claims for autonomy and self-governance in Iraq have heightened Chaldean identity, challenging the understanding that Chaldeans and Assyrians are one ethnic group. This paper discusses how communal differences can become increasingly salient, and the significance of locality, particularly socio-economic factors in the place of resettlement, in shaping identity, ideology, and communal boundaries. It highlights how labels like ‘Iraqi refugee’ overlook the rich diversity of people and ideologies contained therein. Lastly, it addresses the challenge of balancing representative, community-engaged research with analysis that holds relevance for policy-makers and wider scholarship.
