Diaspora, Identity, and Asylum in Iraqi Novel Khazamia
The novel “Khazamia” by the Iraqi author Sinan Anton, published by Al-Jamal Publications in 2023, delves into the issue of human identity and the internal and social conflicts surrounding it. The narrative explores the connection between self and place, roots, or the ability to detach from them.
The story revolves around two Iraqi characters going in opposite directions. Sami attempts to reclaim his memories with things and preserve the remaining ties to the place and roots after finding himself living as an immigrant in America, fleeing from the war. He has been afflicted with a form of mental dementia, causing his life experiences, stances, and memories to slip from his recollection.
On the contrary, Omar migrates to America, fleeing from his identity and the painful memories and injustice he faced during the era of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, when his ear was mutilated by the Iraqi army as he attempted to escape military service.
Despite the characters’ divergence throughout the narrative, the ending holds a dramatic surprise that brings them together.
The novel “Khazamia” explores the structure of Iraqi society and the composition of the Iraqi migrant through addressing the events during Saddam Hussein’s era and the contradictions relating to human identity and the relationship between humans and the land. This marks the fifth novel in the author’s history.
Escape
Sinan Anton conveyed to Al Jazeera that “Seeking refuge from one place to another and from one country to another is often an escape from a difficult or painful reality and even from danger, to a ‘shore,’ literally and metaphorically, which is supposed to be safer and more accommodating. We live in a time where dozens die daily while attempting migration to escape wars, tyrants, and poverty.”
He continued, stating, “Writing is a journey, but it is imaginative and optional, to places, characters, and times, a journey not fraught with risks to one’s life, not requiring adaptation to a new life, and the writer does not pay a tax or risk their life. The death here is metaphorical (the readers’ boredom or the writer’s inability to write or the boredom).”
Time
While the shape and details of the novel’s narrative change derived from reality, its essence remains, which is the thread the writer holds onto through research and memory to reach the origin. He follows his senses, feelings, and thoughts about the event to present it according to his personal vision, regulated by the factor of time. Sinan Anton spent six years shaping the “Khazamia” novel, adding and deleting many details. A significant part of the novel’s events and the fate of one of the characters occur after 2003, influenced by the repercussions of the invasion and occupation.
Cultural Interplay
The depiction of the two characters in the novel “Khazamia” seems intertwined with the socio-cultural interplay linked to both of them. Each character carries its social roots that have contributed to shaping them, presented in the work, yet these interplays remain unobscured, occasionally highlighted in the narrative and then fading away.
Sinan Anton argues that “The collective culture is not necessarily a homogenous block; there are currents and conflicts, predominant culture, marginalized and ostracized cultures.”
He adds, “The collective culture is not necessarily a homogenous block; there are currents and conflicts, predominant culture, marginalized and ostracized cultures.”
Imagination
The realm of imagination in “Khazamia” is intertwined with events related to the work and those following the American invasion of Iraq and the preceding practices during Saddam Hussein’s era. While the main and detailed events in “Khazamia” are realistic, imagination remains an essential element in writing. This articulation of fiction is elemental, and even imagined characters, inspired by reality, become real after living with them for years.
Identity Shifts
In an era dominated by technology and the world’s transformation into the digital sphere, the human identity that the author seeks to present in “Khazamia” becomes a controversial subject, possibly in need of new definitions. According to Sinan Anton, there is no singular human identity, there never was, and ideologies, discourses, and philosophies revolved around a single human identity, but fundamentally, they were exclusionary.
Bold Word Choice
The issue of bold language in Arab novels remains a contentious topic among cultural circles. According to Sinan Anton, there are terms used daily by people in their dialogues, and literature and literary texts are for adults, not for a utopian world where conservatism practices self-censorship to eradicate and discard anything that might upset or surprise the reader.
Images
The depiction in modern novels remains one of the most critical elements that the writer relies on by inventing impactful scenes that make a difference with the readers. Sinan Anton sought to employ a central image in his latest work, “Khazamia”, whereby dilapidated places are replaced with words.
According to Lebanese critic Fawzi Zbeian, the central image that Anton sought to deploy in “Khazamia” replaces the lost belonging to a specific geographic area when this space transforms into a graveyard teeming with corpses. The words may compensate for the loss of belonging to the specific space when it becomes a grave filled with corpses.
Narrative Style
The technique that delineates “Khazamia” is related more to the content than the form. It is not improbable that the reader might surprise the author while reading the work. This approach is based on posing significant questions regarding home, forgetting, memory, belonging, death, dissolving, or leaking.
Fawzi Zbeian adds, “The narrative in this work is to a significant extent direct, not seeking to distract the receiver with mystery and ambiguity about their internal aspects. The conveyance of messages in this work does not rely on maneuvering and deceiving the reader regarding its fundamental theme.”
Conclusion
The novel “Khazamia” explores themes of identity, memory, belonging, and the existential crisis of the characters. It deftly blends elements of reality with the author’s imagination, creating a narrative that delves into the psychological and societal complexities of the human experience. The blend of cultural, historical, and personal elements adds depth to the story, making it a compelling exploration of the human condition and the impact of displacement and migration on individual lives. The novel opens up a space for important conversations about societal norms, personal struggles, and the quest for meaningful connections in an ever-changing world.
