Having lived in three completely distinct cultures, the notion of “Global Citizen” often is often more difficult to digest than perhaps for the person who has lived in their own culture and has been familiarized with Global Citizenry through education and the occasional sampling of other cultures through business and vacation trips. It is not uncommon to hear one saying “I can live anywhere” or “I feel that I am a citizen of the world”. My initial response to this is, “this is way too theoretical to be real” because, after having lived in three different parts of the world, I feel far from being a “Global Citizen”. Should there have been a phenomena such as a Global Citizen, immigrants legal and illegal in any part of the world, should be the “crème de la crème” of citizenry and more than welcome anywhere as their global experience would serve to raise the levels of this maximum form of citizenry with their travel experiences, languages and above all, ability to coexist with others. Furthermore, should there be global citizens, should we adhere to the concept of citizenship which has always been based on the nation-state, city state, etc, what is the jurisdictional concept of the state for the “global citizen”.
The notion of Global citizen tends to circulate amongst those good doers who have the financial and the academic ability to espouse and promote support for causes and identities which are truly transnational in nature such as poverty, human rights, science and beliefs etc. The fact that solutions are transnational in nature also tends to be a basis for Global Citizenship and this sense that one is more a citizen of the world than actually being a citizen of a particular state. When it comes down to reality the nation state strongly present, while undoubtedly being affected by global issues but also exists within its own context when it comes to bureaucracy and actual identities. One could be a Global Citizen, but they are an American Global Citizen, A Nigerian Global Citizen etc. when it comes to de jure terms or else they would be an undocumented Global citizen who is an illegal alien, pending immigrant etc. Often the later, may not have much education or money, but over the years defiantly has acquired a global experience through living in different parts of the world having acquired languages and idiosyncrasies, perhaps permitting them to think globally.
Through the sending of remittances back home to relatives and accepting any job and often at lower wages, this person tends to fall short from being considered a Global Citizen but rather a repercussion on Globalization and a local social cost. Furthermore, the very reasons for this citizen to want to leave their land of origin are that he or she has already sampled globalization in their land of origin and need more. This includes years of access to international and culture and the failure of the desire to move up the social echelon in their country of origin. Today the upper echelon in the developing world is not being a Brahman or a local landlord but rather having access to the products of Globalization and access to capital. An immigrant from the Horn of Africa once told mentioned to me that he was well off back home, but his children compared to their classmates were deprived as they could not go on vacation in other countries.
The other Global citizen is the one who experiences the convergence of the economic globalization, the most salient part of Globalization. This citizen is well traveled but is wined and dined by global franchises and major hotel chains throughout the world. He or she has been groomed in cross cultural dialogue and can develop empathy with the locals anywhere in the world through a smile and a generous tip. Perhaps this form of Global citizenship is the most tangible and realistic form as it is truly being truly supranational, whereby national boundaries are something of the past as, these individuals irrespective of their nationality, race or class origin are able to move around the world to carry out the tasks of multinationals corporations. Going to work for them entails traveling to another country for a few days or even a few hours. International airports for them are equivalent to most people’s local bus stop or station.
If the concept of citizenship ascribed to Nation-State, continues to unattainable in many parts of the world, as states have resorted to decentralization and federation to accommodate the multiplicity of cultures and ethnicities maintain national identities, attaining Global citizenship is even harder. It is harder because as in the case of the Nation State, a concrete definition is yet to be attained and should entertain the multiplicity of experiences which are global in nature.