Exploring Arab American Literature

  Nidali’s struggles with her multiple identities    While reading A Map of Home by Randa Jarrar, I felt that Nidali’s search for identity mirrored my own. Growing up as a refugee, I faced significant discrimination in Pakistan, even from members of my own community who were a few steps ahead of me in life. I was often labeled as uncivilized and illiterate. Because of this, Iived many years of my life, denying my identity and distancing myself from who I truly was. Yet, at the same time, I didn’t belong to that community either. Eventually, I found my place and reclaimed my origins, but my search for who I am is far from over. I constantly ask myself: Who am I?   Even though I have an identity now, I still do not have a home. As an Indigenous person, I am treated as an outsider in my country of origin, Afghanistan, and in Pakistan, I was considered a homeless Afghan refugee, leaving me stranded between two places. Nidali’s father said, “Our people carry the homeland...

  Crescent - Diana Abu-Jaber  Diana Abu-Jaber’s book,  Crescent is captivating, taking readers on an emotional rollercoaster. It explores themes of politics, exile, love, and food as a love language. Beginning in Baghdad, Iraq, Abu-Jaber illustrates what it means to live in a politically unstable country, showing how people suffer under domestic government policies coupled with foreign invasion.   Han’s life, both in Iraq and in exile, mirrors the experiences of the Iraqi people under Saddam Hussein’s dictatorship, where speaking out against the government led to silence and torture. Additionally, the novel addresses themes of racism, particularly through Han and Janet’s relationship. Abu-Jaber not only connects Iraqis’ struggles to their government but also highlights the devastating impact of the U.S. invasion and the economic embargo, which harmed the people more than the regime. The suffering of Iraq’s citizens is vividly portrayed through Leila and Arif’s exper...