ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses diasporans who are members of identifiable diasporic communities: they may continue to have family or other ties with the country of origin and may be classified as ethnic minorities or as members of a migrant community in the country of residence. The dilemma of authenticity occurs in expressing a personally relevant diasporic identity, in the context of constraints imposed by the 'homeland', the country of residence and other 'diasporans'. A diasporic heritage is made and remade through culture, defined broadly. The chapter addresses diasporans for whom the link with the original homeland has been lost, either through individual or collective trauma, or through the passage of time. It shows what forms of evidence are considered adequate to create an 'authentic' link. It can be hypothesized that those who lead transnational lives will orient to the set of meanings around national identity currently hegemonic in the homeland, and are likely to position diasporic forms of identity as 'fake'.
