Writing refugee lives: On home

Abstract

This article analyzes an unacknowledged treasure trove of refugee literature that contests media stereotypes of anonymous, needy people fleeing their homes and creating problems wherever they go. It is part of the author’s doctoral dissertation on the role of Syrian refugees’ literature in creating a better understanding of the lives of people in unfamiliar places and terrifying phases of their lives. Based on her reading of 15 Syrian refugee literary works and her interviews with 10 Syrian writers, in this article, she presents an analysis of the concept of home for refugees. First, she compares definitions of diasporic peoples, exiles, migrants, and refugees. Second, she reviews theories on home. Third, she analyzes how Syrian writers who narrate refugee experiences refer to home in their stories. She argues that for refugees, all definitions of home disappear instantly. Interweaving memory and creativity, refugees use their past to rebuild the foundations of the present and re-create home.