Expatriation, Identity, and Asylum in Iraqi Novel “Khazamia”
The Iraqi novel “Khazamia” by the author Sennan Anton, published by Al-Jamal Publications in 2023, explores the issue of human identity and the internal and societal conflicts surrounding it, as well as the connection of the self to place and roots, or the ability to detach from them.
The novel revolves around two Iraqi characters heading in different directions. Sami tries to retrieve his memory with things and preserve the remaining positions that connect him to the place and roots after finding himself living as an expatriate in America, fleeing from the war. He has been afflicted with a form of mental dementia, causing his life experiences, positions, and memories to gradually fade from his memory.
On the contrary, Omar emigrates to America, fleeing from his identity and the painful memories and injustice he faced during the era of Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, through losing an ear due to escaping military service.
Despite the separation of the two characters throughout the narrative, the ending holds a dramatic surprise that brings them together.
The novel addresses “vocabulary and terms that are like bandages of varying sizes and shapes, placed on silence, to conceal the wound and blur the ugliness. Events, incidents, stories, all are terms that are spoken in order to avoid saying the truth, the truth that cannot be covered or told, but can be seen, a severed ear, nothing left of it except remnants.”
“Khazamia” spans 256 pages to delve into the composition of Iraqi society and the composition of the Iraqi immigrant through addressing the facts during Saddam Hussein’s era, as well as during the American occupation of Iraq and the subsequent contradictions related to human identity and the relationship between humans and the land. This novel marks the author’s fifth in history.
Escape
Sennan Anton commented to Al Jazeera, “Seeking refuge from one place to another, from one country to another, most often is an escape from a difficult or painful reality, even danger, to a ‘shore,’ literally and figuratively supposed to be safer and a more hospitable land. We live in a time when dozens die daily while attempting to migrate and flee from wars, tyrants, and poverty.”
He added, “Writing is a journey, but it is imaginary and optional, to places, people, and times, but it is a journey not fraught with risks to one’s life, nor does the writer have to adapt to a new life or risk their life. Death here is metaphorical (reader’s boredom or the writer’s inability to write or boredom).”
Time
While the elements of the novel’s narrative extracted from reality change and vary in form and details, its essence remains. It is the thread that the author holds onto to reach the origin through research and memory. However, he follows his senses, feelings, and thoughts about the event to present it according to his own vision, which is subject to the factor of time. The narrative’s style and construction details seem to be subject to the latest time.
Anton mentioned that he spent 6 years shaping the novel “Khazamia,” adding and deleting many details. He revealed, “A significant part of the novel’s events and the fate of one of the characters takes place after 2003 and is influenced by the consequences of the invasion and occupation.”
He explained that “there are questions and concerns that were not raised in 2003, and one of the novel’s themes mainly revolves around the debates before and after 2003 and the loss of memory, both individual and collective.”
Cultural Interplay
The portrayal of the novel’s two characters “Khazamia” seems impossible without imagining the social and cultural interplay associated with both of them. Each character has social roots that contributed to shaping them and presenting them in the work, but these interplays remain unshaded, emerging at times in the narrative and then vanishing.
Sennan Anton believes that “societal culture is not necessarily a homogeneous mass. There are currents and conflicts, dominant culture, marginalized and rejected cultures.”
He added, “Culture is a complex concept that’s difficult to define tightly and precisely, but the individual interacts with the cultural environment from the moment of birth, and social and economic conditions place him in a certain position with respect to cultures. The relationship is dialectical, with conflict or subjugation, knowingly or unknowingly.”
Imagination
The space of imagination in “Khazamia” seems intertwined with events related to the work, which followed the American invasion of Iraq and the practices preceding it during the era of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. The realistic events served as a springboard relied upon by the author to stimulate his literary imagination and present the narrative in a “superhuman” manner.
Anton stated, “The main and pivotal events in Khazamia are realistic, but imagination is always an important factor in writing; I cannot specify in detail. Sometimes, I forget that there are things I imagined, and even the imagined characters, but inspired by reality, become real after living with them for years.”
Identity Transformations
In an era dominated by technology and the world’s transformation into a digital realm, the human identity that the author attempts to present in “Khazamia” has become the subject of much debate and perhaps requires new definitions. Anton believes, “There is no singular human identity, and there never was a singular human identity. There are ideologies and discourses revolving around a singular human identity, but it was inherently exclusionary because the universal self was actually a European male of a specific race and class, viewing the world and humans with an imperialist and racist gaze, overlooking and producing negative connotations for the Other.”
He continued, “We are in the era of fluidity, chaos, and disintegration; technology and virtual platforms are double-edged swords. They allow humans to communicate and mobilize, verbally and practically, and organize themselves, attempting to change their reality, but they are also tools that authorities and regimes can penetrate for control, surveillance, and repression.”
He elaborated, “Every technology emerges with the promise of changing the world and making it a better place. However, in the late capitalist era, this technology manages itself for profit and accumulation of capital. Twitter, which Mark Zuckerberg acquired, is a prime example.”
Bold Vocabulary
The issue of bold vocabulary in Arabic literature remains a topic of debate among cultural circles. From Sennan Anton’s perspective, it is not present in the traditional custom of novels. He justified, “There are words we hear every day and people use them in their conversations. Novels and literary texts are for adults and are about the real world we live in, not about an imaginary or utopian world where conservatives exercise self-censorship to exclude anything that might disturb or surprise the reader.”
He continued, “Discussing offending modesty has become increasingly problematic in the last few decades, with ignorance and oblivion of the history of Arabic literature. It suffices to look at samples of Arabic literature from ancient times to realize that the standards some use these days to judge the morality of a literary text is strange and has no relation to the local cultural history.”
Images
The image in modern novels is among the most important fundamentals that the author relies on by inventing powerful scenes that make a difference with readers.
Lebanese critic Fawzi Zbeian commented, “The central image that Anton wanted to employ in the minds of the recipients in his latest work ‘Khazamia’ is to replace dilapidated places with words.”
He emphasized, “Words can compensate for the loss of belonging to a specific geographical area when this space turns into a graveyard filled with bodies. The words may not respond to this expectation, but as articulated in ‘Khazamia,’ they can be the final destiny when all hopes for a person to survive above this simple are gone.”
Messages
Regarding the narrative messages in the novel “Khazamia,” Zbeian noted, “The narrative in this work is considerably direct, not seeking to distract the recipient with mystery and equivocation about their interiors. The conveyance of messages in this work does not rely on guile and pretense, contrary to the main theme.”
He added, “We are all displaced in this world; grief, in general, necessitates directness in this fast-paced world. Absence and appearance, darkness and visibility in the presence of sorrow are noteworthy. Is there a greater tragedy than a person’s loss of themselves? This forms the depth of the characters in the work, the subject of these questions?!”
Narrative Style
In terms of the narrative presentation, Zbeian highlighted, “The technique that outlines the features of ‘Khazamia’ relates more to content than form. It is not unlikely for the recipient to surprise the author while reading the work, as history tells us. The technique relies on posing major questions about the homeland, forgetting, memory, belonging, death, dissolution, or leakage.”
He continued, “What distinguishes this approach is that it was accomplished directly, without burdening the reader with poetic or theoretical language or pushing for philosophical pleadings. The technique here rests on a set of questions that this work is based on, evolving as the pages are turned.”
Discussing the novel’s character, he remarked, “Even his apparent desire to acquire American citizenship is, in some respects, a fervent desire not to belong. Iraq is no longer a homeland, and America, in turn, will not be the alternative homeland. Perhaps that false display of belonging to a third homeland is an embodiment of this desire not to belong.”
He concluded, “I see no harm in engaging with literature beyond its author’s intent; here lies the primary reading pleasure.”
The news article explores the intricacies of Sennan Anton’s novel “Khazamia” to delve into deep-rooted themes of identity, expatriation, and societal conflicts, shedding light on the complex human experience in the context of Iraqi history.
