Leaving Homeland Behind: Cultural Attachment, Transnationalism and Acculturation among Kabyle Diaspora of the United Kingdom

This research explores the lived experiences of 10 Kabyle migrants who live in London, Wales, and Aberdeen. Theoretically, the study focusses on four research objectives: (1) the motivation behind their migration, (2) their acculturation process and social integration, (3) the challenges impacting their psychological well-being and (4) cultural and in-group attachment and their attitudes towards returning to their homeland. Methodologically this research employed different data collection methods at three different stages; initial structured interviews, followed by retrospective self-completed diaries and ended by in-depth open-ended semi-structured interviews. The theoretical contribution of this research is to extend the concept of attachment to more abstract figures such as culture and community. The detailed insights contributed to better understanding the experiences of the Kabyle diaspora in pre-migration and post-migration periods and the barriers they faced during these two different periods. The study reveals that like most other Algerians, Kabyles’ migration of the 1990s mainly resulted from the Algerian internal conflicts known as the Black Decade, and subsequent migration was for social, political, economic, and educational reasons. The results explain how the experiences of pre-migration can lead to relocation and eformation of self while maintaining cultural and group ties. The lack of recognition of their culture and language resulted in a growing sense of cultural resilience and protest that accompanied them in their diaspora. The Amazigh/Kabyle cultural association became important to Kabyles for several reasons; it offers Berber cultural display for Kabyles and non-Kabyles audiences; the Berber events such as Yennayer and Berber Spring provide occasions in which Kabyles from across the UK can collectively celebrate their culture. In addition, such occasions provide an expression of cultural pride and dissemination. However, due to the lack of support from the Algerian authorities in the UK and the recent lack of community cohesion between the Kabyles, these migrants fail to develop the imagined collective cultural identity, which subsequently resulted in cultural community disconnection and cultural individuality.