Why Kundera's "Life is Elsewhere" resonates so deeply with Arabs

Perhaps this explains why Kundera was well-read in the Arab world.

Our generation, born in the 1960s and early 1970s, witnessed the emergence of the Palestinian guerrilla movement and its accompanying revolutionary slogans.

Enthralled by the notion that armed struggle was the sole means to secure justice for the Palestinian people, we fervently embraced this belief. Inspired by the lyrics of Fairouz, who sang of achieving justice "today, not tomorrow," we harboured a deep conviction in the immediacy of our cause.

In many respects, our generation shares a parallel with those who grew up under the grip of communist rule in Czechoslovakia and Slovakia following World War II.

They were indoctrinated with the notion that socialism was being erected under the watchful guidance of our Soviet comrades. Yet, in reality, this ideal was nothing but a façade.

The socialist nations were, in truth, erecting fortresses to wage an ideological war against the West. In this ruthless pursuit, all values, slogans, and even the citizens themselves were sacrificial pawns in the pursuit of victory. Prisons, gallows, and exiles were the tools wielded by the leaders of these governments. They also promised an imminent triumph.

In Kundera's novel, the protagonist confronts the stark reality that lies beneath the veneer of partisan slogans, leading him to conclude that emigration is the only viable way of life.

Conversely, Arab generations, driven by their beliefs and willing to make sacrifices, have repeatedly tasted the bitter disappointment of self-deception.

At times, they took up arms to confront both external and internal adversaries. On other occasions, they embraced peaceful slogans in the face of merciless tyrants who had held power for years.

Kundera's Arab echoes

Some attempted to construct socio-political theories capable of reconciling Arab heritage with the demands of the present, envisioning a pathway towards a brighter future.

And yet, there were those who clung to the illusion that the "masses" required guidance to pursue their own interests. We arrogantly assumed the authority to define those interests and chart a course towards them, only to be confounded when the "masses" veered in the opposite direction of what we believed to be the righteous path.

The outcome captures haunting echoes of Kundera's homeland: towering heaps of debris alongside the remnants of shattered lives, traversing the inferno of concentration camps and refugee settlements.

Lebanese example

In Lebanon, a significant number of young individuals once held the belief that violence was the most expedient means of achieving radical political transformation.

The outbreak of the civil war in 1975 resulted in the loss of thousands of lives. While some romanticised the conflict as a struggle for justice, others recognised the futility of constructing a better future on the foundation of innocent bloodshed.

The October Uprising of 2019 represented a final endeavour to effect peaceful change, but it, too, met with failure. This setback exposed a prevailing sentiment among the Lebanese people, for the most part, are content to remain in their sectarian ghettos and under the rule of their corrupt and violent leaders.

Yet, certain individuals in Lebanon have come to acknowledge that "life is elsewhere," prompting them to seek opportunities for a better future beyond their homeland's borders.

Nevertheless, many of them persist in returning to Lebanon each summer, fully aware that they will be met with indignity and disillusionment. After all, death, too, has its fans and advocates, even if they live in "another place."

Meanwhile, the questions about the causes of this failure and the unending fate of Lebanon will continue to haunt the country for many years to come.