1/15/2024 0 Comments Home warsan shire claimThe poem's sixth stanza is a collage of commonly repeated phrases used to express bigotry, xenophobia, and fear of foreigners and immigrants. This presence of violence in every aspect of the poem reveals the pervasive harm that war and displacement and hatred cause, leaching into every facet of people's life and completely altering the way they perceive the world. Everything, even things that are not traditionally violent, are made so in the realm of the poem: breath is "bloody" and passports are never merely thrown away they are torn apart and sobbed over. "Home" describes violence unflinchingly and viscerally, beginning with the phrase "mouth of a shark" being used to describe the war-torn environments that often cause migrants to leave their homes. It is what drives the poem's subjects from their homes, it is what defines their journeys, and it is also what greets them when they arrive at the places that promised them refuge. Violence pervades "Home," from beginning to end. It is comprised of various scenes of discomfort and displacement, violence and movement leading to a loss of physical as well as spiritual home. "Home" is a poem about migration, about what happens to people when, uprooted from their homes, they find themselves unable to find acceptance in the places they fled to looking for safety. So for those watching, debating and waiting – my question is how do you reconcile the struggle that Jende describes? How do you deal with longing for home yet not wanting to be home? How do you deal with wanting to be home but feeling like home doesn’t want you there? I don’t know the answers but I know many of us are grappling with these questions.Displacement, migration, and diaspora are all words that define Warsan Shire's poem "Home," as well as much of her work. They see the returnees with successful relocation – thriving after trading their western dreams for a new African dream. They want to be part of the “Year or Return”. Many children of the diaspora (young and old) are longing for home. There are so many people who want to leave home yet there are so many people who want to go back home. Sometimes home means things stay the same. Sometimes your fortune exists across an ocean. Sometimes home cannot educate you the way you desire. Sometimes home has its own kind of discrimination – “what is your tribe, your religion, your gender, your social status?” It asks. At home, your soul is at peace because you simply belong.īut sometimes home lacks opportunities, home has poverty, home has war and conflict. Where home means family – with weddings, graduations, and no celebrations missed. This is a common experience for many immigrants, where home is a beautiful place. But when Jende left home, upon realizing the many struggles of being an immigrant, he wondered whether it was worthwhile for him to have left home. As Warsan Shire wrote in her poem ‘Home’ – “you only leave home when home won’t let you stay”. He loved it but yet he had to leave home. Jende’s description of his home – a land of beauty that he cherishes so much yet at the same time, it is a place of despair for him. I thought this was really interesting as it’s a common experience for many immigrants. Imbolo Mbue – Author of “Behold the Dreamers” However, in America, he believed he could claim part of the American dream and his son could become anything he wanted to. He would be destined to continue living in poverty. His mood changes as he explains to him that as a poor man, he would never be able to make it. His response is a stark contrast to what he was explaining earlier. The exec then asks him, “then why are you here?”. A place where they live simple lives but enjoy it. An Atlantic Ocean coastal gem with the friendliest people and his boss must must visit it. Jende goes on an exciting nostalgic monologue describing how Limbe is so beautiful. Without giving too much away, the main character Jende Jonga is the chauffeur of a wealthy wall street executive and during one of car rides, the exec asks him about his hometown in Limbe, Cameroon. The Cameroonian family is dealing with complex immigration laws, finding employment, low income whilst sending remittances back home, acquiring an American education, and securing a future for their son. I’m in the middle of reading a book – Behold the Dreamers – a novel by Imbolo Mbue that contrasts an immigrant family from Cameroon and their wealthy American employers living in New York around the financial crisis of 2008.
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