Refugee experience in I saw Ramallah and the bone sparrow: Identity crisis, othering and definition of home

Abstract

The recent Israel-Palestine conflict and Rohingya genocide have escalated the refugee crisis to one of the most pressing issues worldwide. Both the Rohingya and the Palestinians are otherized based on their religious and cultural identities by the dominant groups. They have been brutally victimized for decades in their homelands, and these groups are now forced to live as outsiders in their own countries. They face marginalization in their host countries which make them suffer from severe identity crises and a sense of homelessness. Their histories are denied, their stories of suffering are distorted, and their voices are silenced by their governments. Refugee literature is an exceptional medium to explore these experiences, offering holistic insights into the conditions surrounding the refugee crisis. Novels narrated by refugees or inspired by true refugee experiences can provide a deeper understanding of their sufferings. I Saw Ramallah, a memoir by Mourid Barghouti is an impeccable example of a refugee narrative that tells the story of the exiled Palestinian writer's loss of home and conflicted identity. Zana Fraillon’s fictional novel, The Bone Sparrow, inspired by real events in a refugee camp in Australia, portrays the true hardships of Rohingya refugees and their struggles to find a sense of self and existence. This thesis aims to show how refugee narratives address the real stories, sufferings, and traumas of refugees without any biases. The paper explores refugee experience by decoding the novels I Saw Ramallah and The Bone Sparrow through the lens of Orientalism. This research examines the identity crisis, concept of home and homelessness and othering of the characters in the texts. The study further investigates the dehumanization and distortion of history and truths of the refugees by analyzing the characters of the texts.