How
to Tell a Refugee Story
A
refugee story is essentially a story of displacement. It is a story of two places. One place is home; another is becoming home. The UNHCR defines refugees as “people
who are outside their country of nationality or habitual residence and have a
well-founded fear of persecution” (UNHCR 8). A refugee story is complex: it deals with the difficulties
involved in moving from one location to another, and the identity struggles
that go along with that. However,
each story has the potential to give the listener important knowledge—
knowledge that can change lives— both in America and in the countries where the
refugees are from. This knowledge can
be shared through the refugees’ stories. To make sure this knowledge is
imparted, the storyteller must know how to tell a refugee story. In this essay, I will explore several
important aspects of telling a refugee story, from the many purposes behind each
story to the importance of the themes of location and identity and how those
themes demand accurate portrayal of those locations. By analyzing these points, I hope to share the power of
refugee stories can hold when they are told both fully and honestly.
First
and foremost, the storyteller must determine the purpose for telling the
refugee story. The purpose of a
refugee story can be multi-faceted, or a combination of inward and outward
facing elements. This is
illustrated in Dave Eggers’ novel What is
the What. In the preface,
Valentino Achak Deng explains why he wanted to tell his story, which was
written by Eggers. Deng explains
the outward-facing purpose of his novel through his statement: “I wanted to
reach out to others to help them understand Sudan’s place in our global
community” (xiv), a purpose that is selfless, and a means of benefiting his
homeland rather than himself. At
the end of the novel, Deng reflects that the purpose of telling his story was
not solely outward facing, but also served a personal function. Deng tells his audience that, “I speak
to you because I cannot help it. It gives me strength, almost unbelievable
strength, to know that you are there” (Eggers 535). For Deng, storytelling serves a personal purpose as well,
and the action of telling his story gives him strength and fulfillment that is
satisfying in and of itself.
Each
refugee story has its own unique purposes behind it. Every author has certain motivations, and these motivations
work to determine which details the storyteller includes and which ones are
excluded. For example, when
considering the following three refugee stories: God Grew Tired of Us, Of Beetles and Angels, and What is the What, it can be noted how
each story has different focuses. God Grew Tired of Us follows the Lost
Boys’ journeys in America, and their struggles to find work to support their
families at home. Detail about
their persecution in Sudan was only used as a means of introduction. Similarly, Of Beetles and Angels most heavily details Mawi Asgedom’s life in
America. These stories’ purposes
were not to bring attention to circumstances in the refugees’ homelands, but
rather to detail their struggles and successes as resettled refugees in
America. Deng’s story, on the
other hand, places equal attention to his life in Sudan and in the refugee camp
as well as on his life in America.
However, his rhetorical choice makes sense, considering he wanted to
inform others about the ordeals of Africans and refugees in Africa, as well as in
America. The author’s purpose,
therefore, determines which details of the story are weighted more
heavily. These details often have
to deal with location, as some stories detail the issues in the refugee’s
homeland, while others detail the refugee’s resettlement in a new country.
While
specific details of location vary for each story, location as a theme is an
integral piece of each story, especially as it relates to identity. Location in
general plays a major role in every refugee story, as each refugee has to deal
with forced relocation away from his or her homeland. However, this forced relocation has an
effect more profound than simply where the refugee resides. In the article “Rhetorics of
Displacement: Constructing Identities in Forced Relocations”, Katrina M. Powell
discusses how forced relocation affects a persons’ identity. She explains how
forced relocation causes refugees to face unique struggles that form their
identities during their plights. This kind of relocation results in a “shattering
of identity” during which “the paths of displacement are violent journeys” for
the refugees who have no choice but to relocate (301). So much of one’s identity is tied to
location, including family, food, friendships, employment, cultural practices,
and history. When refugees are forced to leave all of these things behind, they
don’t just leave behind physical objects.
They also leaves behind pieces of their selves, things that helped them
determine who they were and where they fit into the world. After leaving this
all behind, refugees must find a way to redefine themselves in terms of their
new homeland and culture. They must build a new ‘self’.
In
his novel Of Beetles and Angels, Mawi
Asgedom explains what this identity shift is like for refugees. He explains how “those who can find
work often toil at menial jobs.
Those who cannot, stay home.
For both, life is a far cry from the glory and self-worth they knew back
in their homeland” (96). The
refugees must learn what it is like to be at the bottom of the social
hierarchy, even if they had held prosperous and respected jobs in their
homelands. The men, like Mawi’s
father, who had been highly regarded in their villages must now realize that
their identities have shifted. The
refugees are no longer important, upstanding members of their African village,
but rather poor working immigrant fathers in a foreign land in which they
receive little to no respect for their hard work. This enormous identity shift
is a result of the simple act of moving locations.
What is the What explores these identity
issues as well. Eggers and Deng
describe how Deng struggled internally with his identity. While looking back on
his life, Deng laments, “I pretend that I know who I am but I simply
don’t. I’m not American and it
seems difficult now to call myself Sudanese” (Eggers 505). Deng also explores the issue of his
external identity, which is illustrated when the 10-year-old boy, Michael, is
holding Deng hostage. Deng relates
a particular incident in which Michael tries to silence him by dropping a
phonebook on his head. This action makes Deng realize, “this boy thinks I am
not of his species, that I am some other type of creature, one that can be
crushed under the weight of a phone book” (Eggers 50). Not only does Deng have to struggle
with his identity on an internal level, but he also struggles with his identity
in everyday life. He is not seen
as human, or recognized as somebody with worth and value to contribute to the
world. Instead, he is seen as an
insignificant bug or varmint that might, in fact, be crushed under a phone
book. Deng must search to find who
he is on the inside, as well as search for who he is in relation to the people
in his new country. All that he
was in his home country as a child has been completely shattered both
internally and externally, and he must find a way to rebuild his identity from
those broken pieces.
Location
and identity are essential to a refugees ’story. Therefore, it is imperative that the storyteller accurately portrays
the locations and the identities associated with those locations in the story. Refugee stories and immigrant
narratives have been generalized in ways that prevent refugee storytelling from
reaching its full potential. This expected immigrant narrative genre includes
elements such as “the ethnic hero, the journey of acculturation, and the trials
that the hero must endure—[which] all contribute to shaping misconceptions
about the immigrant experience” (Hron 44). One way in which misconceptions can form is when storytellers
use typical strategies and tropes to tell the refugee stories. Although these methods might be widely
used, some can be harmful to the story.
One such example occurs when a storyteller presents the refugees’
homelands as barbaric or primitive lands of savagery. Amal Hassan Fadlalla
studied depictions of the Sudanese Lost Boys in her article “Borders of (In)
humanity: Sudanese Refugees and the Mediation of Suffering and Subaltern
Visibilities”, in which she notes that “captured images of the Lost Boys’
departures and resettlements were not free from hegemonic understanding of
Africa as a ‘bushland’”(106). When
authors use these kinds of images and descriptions, they give the reader false
ideas about what the refugees’ homelands are truly like. Those reading the stories will miss out
on important elements and understandings. Although the homelands of the
refugees may have been third world countries, using these common images of a
primitive and barbaric land creates a false image in the readers’ mind about
what living in that country was truly like. The truth may be that, although their homes didn’t reflect
American models of modernity, they were still lively, vibrant, and happy
places.
Refugee
stories that choose not to follow these typical depictions of Africa and other
refugee homelands provide a much richer and more honest portrayal of refugee
life. In “Humanitarian Narrative
and Posthumanist Critique: Dave Eggers’s What is the What” Michelle Peek
explores how What is the What “exhibits
self-awareness about the various genres it draws from and transcends, openly
rehearsing their generic complexities: the humanitarian narrative” (118) The
novel defies the typical depictions of Africa and even goes so far as to
insinuate that life in Africa may have been better for Deng than life in America. After being robbed and beaten, Deng
thought, “I want to be in Kakuma, where I lived in a hut of plastic and
sandbags and owned one pair of pants.
I am not sure there was evil of this kind in the Kakuma refugee camp,
and I want to return” (Eggers 4).
Rather than contrasting Africa’s primitiveness with America’s modernity,
Deng and Eggers contrast violent crime in America with the difficult but
friendly life in the Kakuma refugee camp.
This choice contradicts the typical representations of Africa, but in
doing so presents a more honest depiction of a refugee’s struggles and
feelings. Similarly but less
drastically, Mawi Asgedom chooses to forgo the typical illustrations of Africa
as he explains how, “My father knew how to dance with every muscle of his body…
Conversations stopped, Cups were lowered.
Heads turned. Then the
villagers jumped from their seats and plastered him with money” (9). Rather than describing Africans as
primitive and barbaric people, he shows how his village was lively and full of
joy and music and dancing. Through
these illustrations, the reader begins to understand Africa as a whole—
although it may have a dark side, there is still joy and liveliness.
Similarly,
in the documentary God Grew Tired of Us,
the filmmakers chose to include interviews in which the Lost Boys lamented the
fact that they were going to the United States. Although the boys knew they had great opportunities awaiting
them in the US, they also recognized that they were leaving behind great
friendships and years of history. Their departure was not all joy, but there
was sadness. This illustrated that
Africa was not simply a place of persecution and savagery but it was also a
place of strong friendships and love. Additionally, the Huffington Post photo series entitled “Refugees
from Syria, Sudan Pose With Their Most Prized Possessions” depicts many
refugees with the items that they hold most dear. This article does more than simply show the reader what
items refugees possess. It also
serves to show the reader that the refugees are human. Just like Americans, they have items
that hold strong personal meaning in their lives. The refugees are human. They are not barbaric or savage as their homelands are often
depicted. This article chooses to
forgo these hegemonic understandings and allows the reader to understand that
we are much more similar to refugees than we might originally believe.
When
a storyteller chooses to honestly depict the refugee’s homeland, he or she
gives the reader a more meaningful representation of the refugee life. When a reader understands fully where
the refugee came from and the struggles and successes that refugee experienced
along the journey of relocation— whether those successes are greater in Africa
or America— the reader suddenly has great power. Not only does the reader have the power of knowledge— true,
meaningful, and deep knowledge— but the reader also has the tools necessary to
create meaningful change both for the refugee’s homeland and for those refugees
living in America today.
Works
Cited
Asgedom, Mawi. Of Beetles and Angels.
New York: Little, Brown and Company. 2001. Print
Eggers, Dave. What is the What. New
York: Vintage Books. 2006. Print
God
Grew Tired of Us. Dir.
Christopher Dillon Quinn. National Geographic Films. 2006. Film.
Grenoble, Ryan. “Refugees from Syria, Sudan, Pose With Their Most Prized
Possessions In Brian Sokol Project.” TheHuffingtonPost.com.
The Huffington Post. 22 Mar. 2013. Web. 2 May 2013.
Hron, Madelaine. Translating Pain Immigrant Suffering in Literature and Culture. Toronto:
University of Toronto Press Inc. PDF.
Peek, Michelle. “Humanitarian Narrative and Posthumanist Critique: Dave
Eggers’s What is the What”. Biography. 35.1. (2012): 115-136. Web. 3
May 2013.
Powell, Katrina M. “Rhetorics of
Displacement: Constructing Identities in Forced Relocations”. College English. 74:4. (2012): 299-317.
Web. 2 May 2013.
United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees. The UN Refugee
Agency. Protecting Refugees & The Role of the UNHCR. 2012. Web.
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