Sociology

The topic of home and displacement in ethnic and area studies occupies a special place. A wealth of literature had been written about foreign and domestic experiences of migrants and the impact of migration on their perceptions of nationhood. Since the times when the Palestinian Autonomy was occupied by Israel, the discussion of migration has acquired a different coloring those who were bound to leave their places under the pressure of the military threats came to view their migration as a form of displacement and even exile, which put them in the challenging environment and left them in the middle of the national and cultural indefiniteness. As a result of the emerging migration trends, individuals had to reconsider the previous ideas about home the need for preserving their individuality became more than urgent. The discussed studies reflect the multiple perspectives, which scholars and professionals in ethnic studies were able to take in the context of migration and its cultural racial ethnic consequences.

The topic of migration as a form of displacement is a common discussion thread. It would be fair to say that those, who were pressured to leave their native land, consider themselves as the victims of those displacement trends. But the major problem is not in that individuals, groups of individuals, and whole nations have to relocate themselves to a safer place but that, when relocated, they immediately lose an opportunity to ever return to their homes. When you left home, you were so eager to find a new life (Abdelhadi  Abdulhadi), but when there is no way back or when the way back is associated with a serious life threat, the need for the migrants to reconsider the meaning of home becomes urgent and even vital for their survival (both physical and cultural). The articles in the current discussion reveal an interesting commonality they create a picture of displacement as a two-way street, in which displacement occurs under the influence of the international political and cultural factors (e.g., the U.S. support of Israel), and in which such displacement necessarily results in the opposition and ethnic violence (the vision on Us and Them in the United States after the 911 events). In this context, those who are displaced have to choose between fighting to preserve their individuality and losing the latter to get a chance for self-realization in the new land these topics are discussed by Abdelhadi and Abdulhadi, Allen, Basu, Bayoumi, and others. When Bayoumi refers to ayrab duke go back to the desert where you cam from you whore. P.S. this note is written is pigs blood (486), the close link between displacement and the Us Them division becomes even more visible.

What seems interesting and important is in how different authors discuss the concept of home and what associations every author holds with the notion of displacement and migration. Some take a general perspective and discuss migration of the Arab people in the context of the cultural hatred, violence, and racism (Allen, Basu, Gualtieri, Kimmelman). Others take a narrow, individual perspective and try to produce a novel picture of migrants life from the inside for example, Jarrar reconsiders the cultural experiences of displacement from the viewpoint of a 14-year-old girl. This discussion sheds the light on the personal problems, which newcomers experience whenever their cultural traditions and the traditions of the new land clash. Sometimes, these problems do not extend beyond ones own cultural circle but more frequently, they cumulate to reflect the broader ethnic and racial trends in the society, with which cultural migrants seek to merge (in this case, the American population). This is actually the intersectionality of oppressions, to which Naber refers in her article when employers fire Muslim women for wearing a hijab, the sense of apprehension for the acceptability of cultural discrimination against the Muslim migrants becomes significantly higher (57). As such, the topic of migration is no longer associated with the reunion but resembles a form of cultural exile  another important thematic reference, which authors explicitly or implicitly include in their discussions of the populations, which face the need to leave their native land.

I cannot say that any of the discussed readings have impacted me more than others rather, they have created a general picture of what displacement means to cultural and ethnic migrants. I totally agree to Hooks and McKinnon in that reconceptualizing these migration perceptions is impossible without applying personal experiences and opinions, but it is clear that while the scope and volume of migration trends gradually increase, displacement and exile will gradually turn into the determining feelings, which individuals and groups are likely to hold about their presence in the new geographical and cultural area.