Everything about Scouts-in-exile totally explained
Scouts-in-Exile, also referred to as
Scouts-in-Exteris, are
Scouting and
Guiding groups formed outside of their native country as a result of war and changes in governments. This concept isn't to be confused with overseas branches of Scouting associations for Scouts whose parents are stationed in countries due to military or business assignment, such as the
Transatlantic Council of the
Boy Scouts of America.
From time to time throughout its existence, Scouting has been suppressed by a change in government, usually when a totalitarian regime comes into power, as is the modern-day case with
Cuba,
Laos,
Myanmar and the
People's Republic of China.
Early years
After
World War I, Scouting was banned by the
Soviets in
Russia,
Armenia,
Ukraine, and
Belarus. Just prior to
World War II, both
Mussolini and
Hitler disbanded Scouting. In most of these instances, Scouting was revived in the individual community in diaspora.
During the later days of World War II and until about
1947, Scouting flourished in the
Displaced Persons Camps or
DP Camps. These
DP Scout groups often provided postal delivery and other basic services in Displaced Persons Camps.
At the end of World War II, the Soviets absorbed
Estonia,
Latvia, and
Lithuania and immediately banned Scouting. The establishment of
communist regimes in Eastern Europe resulted in the end of the original Scouting movements within
Albania,
Bulgaria,
Czechoslovakia,
Hungary,
Romania,
Poland, and
Yugoslavia.
Totalitarian countries
With the end of the colonial period, other countries came under totalitarian control and banned Scouting. Such was the case in
Ethiopia,
Iran,
Iraq, Mainland China, Cuba, Laos,
Malawi, Myanmar,
Vietnam and
Afghanistan.
During and immediately after the establishment of each totalitarian government, there was an exodus of people that were not in sympathy with the new regime. Those immigrants brought Scouting with them, as Scouts-In-Exile, groups of Scouts dedicated to the principles and ideals of their original associations, but located outside their country of origin. The notable exception to this is
Bosnia, where refugees fleeing the war in the
1990s made their way to
Ireland, where they were assisted in the creation of their own Scouting movement by local volunteer Irish Scouters.
Modern era
Many of these exile Scout groups were members of the
World Organization of the Scout Movement or the
World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts. However, in the mid
1940s, they were denied further membership, with the exception of the Haï Ari Association of
Armenian Scouts, whose membership was retained at the explicit wish of
Baden-Powell.
All the formerly communist states of
Central and
Eastern Europe,
Central Asia and the
Soviet Union have developed or are developing
Scouting in the wake of the
renaissance in the region. These include most of the successor states to the Soviet Union. In many cases, the exile Scout association was absorbed into the new nation's association, in others the association remained separate and provided aid to the fledgling homegrown Scout groups.
A number of exile Scout groups have their own national and multinational organizations, hold regional and world
jamborees, issue training materials, and furnish leadership. Other groups were eventually absorbed into local communities or lost their unique Scouting completely, as seems to have been the case with Belarus.
In a number of countries, the Scouts in exile cooperated with the national Scout organizations in joint activities, including joint activities between
Estonian Scouting in Exile Eesti Skautide Malev and
Sweden;
Latvian Scouting in Exile and
Australia,
Polish Scouting in Exile and
Argentina,
Ukrainian Scouting in Exile and
Canada, and other Scout groups. In many countries, such as the
United States, exile units function as troops within their host nation's organization. There are Estonian exile troops in New York and Armenian exile troops in California, as units of local councils within the Boy Scouts of America.
In
Germany there's a Scout Fellowship founded by Scouts and Guides from Afghanistan, named
De Afghanistan Zarandoi Tolana-Afghanische Pfadfinder Organisation (Afghan Scout Association) and affiliated to the
Verband Deutscher Altpfadfindergilden e.V. (Fellowship of German Former Scout Guilds), a member of the
International Scout and Guide Fellowship. The Chairman of this Scout Fellowship is Said Habib, former vice president of the
Afghan Scout Association.
For the Scouts-in-exile groups, serving the community outside their homelands, there's sometimes resentment that they were not recognized by the
World Organization of the Scout Movement during their nations' totalitarian periods. Due to this, such groups are openly courted for membership in the
World Federation of Independent Scouts (WFIS).
Further Information
Get more info on 'Scouts-in-exile'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://scouts-in-exile.totallyexplained.com">Scouts-in-Exile Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
