The impact of homeland independence on the Latvian community in Great Britain

Abstract

The article examines the effects of homeland independence on the Latvian DP community in Great Britain. Although the most tangible effects of independence have been the new opportunities to re-establish physical links with the homeland — to visit, and for a tiny minority to return to live, there have also been significant consequences for the organised community and on conceptions of home and belonging. This paper suggests that for an overwhelming majority of Latvians in Britain, homeland independence has strengthened the bond to Britain and brought about shifts in identities. Rather than stimulating a large-scale return to the homeland, independence has somewhat ironically, led to the completion of the integration process in Great Britain.