Exile and the Syrian Refugee Crisis

Edward Said's discussion of exile in the twentieth century immediately brought to my mind the ongoing Syrian refugee crisis. As Said discusses, it is "a cruel punishment of whole communities and peoples" (492), and is a result of a war, that is, the Syrian civil war. I found his arguments to be interesting, and with the current examples of exile, such as the refugee crisis, very relevant and a good way of looking at modern issues. His discussion of the misconception of what exile means was another point of interest. Although not explicitly mentioned on the wiki site, Said argues that exile is like being in a state of limbo. The exiled are not completely separated from the place they once called home, yet they are also not fully integrated into the new society they live in now.

I think that examples such as the Syrian refugee crisis are interesting to note as Said outlines the shift from exile being an extraordinary and solitary punishment for one given individual to being a collective experience of large groups of people in present day times. The subtleties and nuances of these forms of exile can be more difficult to see and assess at first glance, such as your comment that exile can now be seen as a state of limbo, but the weight and effect of such experiences is not lessened simply because it may appear less drastic than older forms of isolation. I believe that the isolation of large groups can be overlooked at times because they are seen as having each other for support but that view can neglect powerful instances of social isolation in our world today.

I absolutely agree with what you said about being able to apply Said's views to the Syrian Refugee Crisis. He didn't really talk about if these individuals were ever to return back to their home countries and what they would face upon return. Would they still experience the same state of limbo and isolation? Would it be of the same degree or of a lesser degree?

I really liked what he said about those in exile being in a state of limbo. I find this interesting because I feel that sometimes, refugees from countries that have been ravaged by wars and other destructive forces end up in the countries that directly or indirectly affected the destruction. For example, some Vietnamese individuals who were affected by American intervention in Vietnam during the Vietnam War ended up living in the US as a result of the war. This creates a further isolation and limbo for these individuals.