Bridging gaps: How technology has shaped diaspora literature

Today, our writings are drastically different from that of our ancestors who emigrated wrote. Technology's facilitation of communication has healed nostalgia and mitigated feelings of alienation.

Al Majalla

It's no secret that the technological revolution has created a parallel reality, which, in turn, has been reflected in literature. Technology has helped narrow gaps felt by distance and exile.

Bridging gaps: How technology has shaped diaspora literature

Haitham Hussein

last update on 20 Jun 2023

London: Is it still possible today to distinguish between migrant literature, literature in exile and indigenous literature? Or has the information revolution changed the rules and given rise to a new reality that redefines the literary industry?

To what extent can home and abroad be distinguished from one another? Do writers retain memory, which serves as the inspiration for their writings, despite being physically separated from their native country? Are refugees/exiled/migrants haunted by memories of their homeland?

It's no secret that the technological revolution has created a parallel reality, which, in turn, has been reflected in literature. Technology has helped narrow gaps felt by distance, emigration and isolation.

Writers who live in confined spaces in their own countries can float to distant places, travelling through space and time through their imagination. They create and inhabit their imagined reality, living in the details they think up.

Then there are others who have been forced to leave their countries but have carried their homeland with them through their writings.

Al Majalla sought the views of many writers whose circumstances have forced them to leave their home countries and live elsewhere. We found that their writings are still influenced by their old homes while incorporating the influences of their current surroundings into their works.

Fawaz Haddad

“The effects of exodus are being reflected in the literature of Syrians who were displaced and emigrated. They relay their circumstances of migration and their miserable and deadly journeys, and combine these with the memories of suffering inside their country," says London-based Syrian writer Fawaz Haddad.

"Their works continue to be dominated by themes of revolution, oppression, brutality, and tragedy.”

The author of "The Enemy Syrians" points out that "Syrians have left their homeland, but it still lives within them. Despite the fact that 12 years have passed since the Syrian crisis, most of them believe that they will return one day."

"This enduring sense of anticipation year after year leads them to not fully engage in the process of integration, even if they have settled in a host country."

Technology has played a crucial role in keeping writers connected to their homelands. In the past, sending and receiving postal messages could take a month or more, but now communication is instant.

London-based Syrian writer, Fawaz Haddad

Haddad believes that technology has played a crucial role in keeping that connection alive.

"While in the past, sending and receiving postal messages used to take a month or more, now communication is daily. As a result, writers can stay informed about current events and keep cultural ties with their homeland," he says.

In fact, life in the diaspora can offer certain advantages to writers, Haddad explains. "Literature in home countries differs from literature abroad since writers in home countries, due to censorship, use symbols to avoid punishment or censorship. On the other hand, authors abroad enjoy both freedom of expression and freedom of writing."

Duna Ghali

Denmark-based Iraqi writer Duna Ghali looks back to history to draw inspiration from certain events and situations and to project them to shed light on the relationship between migrant literature and indigenous literature.

She says: "The author of Al Maqamah, which is regarded as one of the greatest pieces of Arab literature and one of the richest sources and references of Arabic heritage, was an Arab who was born in Hamdhan and embarked on travels spanning regions like Iraq and Khurasan, as well as cities such as Nishapur and Gorgan."

"He journeyed between the cities of Persia and Afghanistan until his death in Herat, an Afghan city. He was a master of both Arabic and Persian cultures and well versed with their literature."

Ghali wonders: "How do we classify his works which found their way into the Persian, Hebrew and Syriac literary archives, and were translated into countless languages? Is it part indigenous literature or migrant and exile literature?"

She confirms that there is no clear classification of this literary product, and above all, that this classification is not necessary to evaluate his literary work.

"Regardless of the large number of Maqamahs that have been lost, Al-Hamdhani was able to create an innovative and distinct literary genre while reflecting the events, politics, customs and morals of his time."

She points out that he was able to do this without the internet and social media, just by moving around from city to city and meeting different people, scholars and leaders.

Khaled Hussein

On his part, Syrian university professor Khaled Hussein, who resides in Switzerland, takes a different tack. He believes that "no matter how effective technology is, it cannot substitute for being in one's homeland."

He explains that while exile offers the advantage of being in a socio-cultural space that liberates the imagination, he warns that "we have to be careful that the 'freedom' provided by the host country does not have the effect of influencing the writer to produce similar literary works to his/her surroundings.

"Differences are fundamental to creativity," he says.

Asine Shalhoub

Lebanese-Canadian author and novelist Asine Shalhoub believes that 'there is a difference between migrant literature and indigenous literature. This difference is evident in the literary work, which depends on the personality of the writer and the circumstances surrounding him.

Everyday experiences and the changing atmosphere in which the writer lives have a great impact on his creative and innovative process.

"It is true that technology has transformed the world into a small village, but what the writers live on the ground has a profound impact on them, since they directly interact with their immediate surroundings, which allows them to change or create new beliefs and perspectives."

Asine Shalhoub also believes that 'the writer's product, whether at home or abroad, reflects his or her cultural knowledge, life experience and his creative ability arising from the general atmosphere that surrounds him, in addition to other important factors derived from his past and present and influenced by his surroundings.'

Technology has transformed the world into a small village, but what the writers live on the ground has a profound impact on them, since they directly interact with their immediate surroundings, which allows them to change or create new beliefs and perspectives.

Lebanese-Canadian novelist, Asine Shalhoub

Razan Naim al-Maghrabi

Libyan novelist and storyteller, Razan Naim al-Maghrabi, compares the writing styles and themes of the past and present.

"If we go back to the classic novels that were written in the 1950s until the early 1980s, we find that they share a common view of the West."

"Today, our writings are drastically different than that of our ancestors who emigrated wrote. Technology's facilitation of communication has healed nostalgia and mitigated feelings of alienation," the author of 'Women of the Wind' explains.

"Technology has made the world very small. You will find that a villager who has never travelled before knows what is going on in the world."

This is why the complexities faced by today's immigrants are very different from those of the last century. Living in the West no longer produces a civilisational shock, integration with the place has become faster, and communication with the place of origin has become easier."

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