Refugee Identity in Lawrence Hill’s The Illegal
Abstract
The Illegal by Lawrence Hill is a dystopian novel that presents an imperfect world where refugees have to escape their home countries to avoid persecution and death. They enter foreign countries and end up facing conditions that are largely similar to the ones that forced them to escape. They live in deplorable conditions, in constant fear of arrest and deportation. They cannot access necessities and face discrimination and exclusion from the society around them. The entire novel, though fictional, represents the actual situation that goes on in most countries. Refugees do not live comfortably and freely, and they are always in distress. The society in the countries of refuge does not receive them and considers them to be intruders who take away the resources that rightfully belong to the citizens. Hill presents the theme of the refugee condition and identity by introducing a protagonist, Keita, whose running symbolizes the refugee journey, which begins at the home country and culminates at a point of hope.
Keywords: refugee, discrimination, government, running
Refugee Identity in Lawrence Hill’s The Illegal
Introduction
The Illegal by Lawrence Hill paints a picture of the challenges that refugees face as they live in foreign lands. It is a dystopian novel, presenting an alternate society that is unpleasant and undesirable while drawing the reader to connect the scenario with the present society and draw parallels. It explores the idea of living on the run and trying to survive in a country that does not embrace the refugee and does not recognize them as an equal human being. Lawrence introduces Keita Ali, who lives through the struggles of being a foreigner, all alone in a land that does not embrace him. The book takes the reader through a journey to understand the problems that refugees face, the rejection that they face, and their overall life experiences. It examines the social issue of refugee identity, which has plagued society in recent times. This paper will analyze the theme of refugee identity as Lawrence Hill presents it in The Illegal, pointing to the literary devices that he uses to convey his message. It will also examine how the book addresses the real-life social issues that affect refugees.
The Refugee Experience: Conditions in Home Countries and the Countries of Refuge
Hill presents a situation where refugees attempt to escape poor conditions and injustice and end up in even worse situations. It is a clear “out of the frying pan into the fire” situation. The Illegal shows how refugees flee their homes as they try to escape oppression, social injustice, and the violation of human rights perpetrated by their home governments (Raeymaekers 32). They attempt to run away from general social injustices such as arbitrary detention, torture, poverty, discrimination, and censorship but end up experiencing injustices that specifically target them as refugees. Hill presents the situation in Zantoroland, which was an underdeveloped country that was plagued with social issues. There was ethnic tension between the Kano, who were the majority, and the Faloo, who constituted the minority. The tension resulted in a coup d ‘état by the Kano community (Hill 343). A military regime came into power, and under its rule, unlawful detention, torture, and enforced disappearances were the order of the day. There was an injustice against political opponents, journalists, refugees who went back to the country, and the people from the Faloo community. The military regime eliminated them since they were a threat to the dictatorship. They were “snatched off the street…never to be seen again” (Hill 29). Some went through arbitrary arrests and torture by the government (Hill 33). The Faloo community suffered hate crimes, and returnees had to carry a red cane, which was “a sign for all who oppose the government” (Hill 35). There is also serious censorship of speech where media outlets were under the control of the government (Hill, 21, 42). Further, the government monitored dissidents and even planted bugs in their homes to spy on them (Hill 45). The ultimate effect was a society that was characterized by ethnic discrimination, poverty, curtailed freedom of speech, and general injustice and arbitrariness, which pushed people to escape and seek a better life in other countries.
When refugees flee their homes, they seek a better life, but this is not always a reality for them in the country of refuge. They find deplorable conditions that they have to accept and live through. Keita decided to leave Zantoroland and go to Freedom State to flee the persecution that was going on and the threats to his life after the government assassinated his father. In the Prologue, Hill paints a vivid picture of the rejection that Keita experienced. As he ran in a marathon, another runner shouted at him that he should go home. He was not welcome in Freedom State. His presence was a threat to the people in that country. As a result, he was always considered to be an outsider and intruder, and an insignificant member of society. Keita encountered several injustices and poor consideration of refugee rights. There were anti-immigration laws that excluded people from Zantoroland from legally migrating to Freedom State (Hill 269). When the government found them, it immediately arrested and deported the refugees (Hill 64, 321). There was also a general hostility against refugees and immigrants. The country was a hostile place to reside, and they were intruders and invaders in a foreign land. People from Freedom State accused immigrants of draining the economy and abusing the resources in their country (Hill 66, 237, 264). The government went to the extent of taking illegal actions against the refugees under the pretext of protecting the country from these intruders (Hill 194). To escape and defend themselves against the hostilities they face each day, the refugees hide in an informal settlement known as AfricTown, which comprises of black people and immigrants. They live in deplorable conditions, having to squeeze themselves into old shipping containers (Hill 89). They lack necessities such as water, electricity, and sanitation. They could not get education or healthcare, and their lives were filled with fear and the threat of government raids that targeted illegal immigrants. In public, the government presented the country as a diverse, inclusive, multicultural, and non-discriminatory society (Hill 184). However, the actual situation was far from perfect. The abuse of immigrants was institutionalized and deeply ingrained in the country’s systems. The government was oppressive and curtailed freedom of speech and the media, which is a replication of the situation in Zantoroland. The main perpetrator of injustices and human rights violations that specifically target the immigrants and refugees is the government, in the same way, that the Zantoroland government promotes injustices.
Keita as the Embodiment of a Refugee’s Journey
Hill builds Keita’s character to illustrate the journey that a refugee goes through as they seek a better life in a foreign land. Keita’s journey begins in Zantoroland, where he lives with his family. His family experiences the effects of political instability and conflict (Jeslin and Jemi 2). Keita’s father, Yoyo, was a journalist who spoke without fear against the government’s actions. He was bold and presented an example of political dissidents who usually speak out against violations. They end up being targeted, detained, and tortured by governments and eventually die in the hands of state entities such as the police if they fail to flee the country and seek asylum elsewhere. Their families also face the same oppression, as was the case for Keita’s family. Yoyo spoke out against the injustices that the Faloo community experienced, even though he was not a Faloo but was originally from Cameroon. Deacon Andrews praises him for his boldness and how he was the only person presenting the plight of the Faloo to the world. He tells Keita, “Your father is a great man. Courageous. Some may say too courageous” (Hill 13). Yoyo’s courage and fight against injustice lead to his death. He is unable to leave the country since the government took his documentation. He advises Keita to leave while he still can, “They’ve taken my papers, but you still have yours. You should leave this country when you finish school” (Hill 35). He decides to escape to Freedom State after his father’s death. The only motivation for his escape was the preservation of his life, “If Keita stayed in Zantoroland, he would die. He was his father’s son, and that in itself would be a death sentence. He had to get out and stay alive and find his sister” (Hill 48). The preservation of life is usually the main reason why people seek refuge in other countries. They feel threatened, especially by armed conflict, political oppression, ethnic and racial discrimination.
Keita’s experiences in Freedom State reveal the woes of refugees. Hill uses his character to provide a sense of humanity to an undocumented refugee, one who does not have the proper documentation to prove his refugee or immigrant status and would face imprisonment if the government caught him (Fraile-Marcos 185). He appeals to the emotions of the readers and invites them to reflect on the refugee problem as it plagues the society around them. Keita in Freedom State is “a stranger in a strange land whose only transgression was to exist in a place where his presence was illegal” (Hill 1). His presence is unwanted, and the citizens of Freedom State view him as an intruder and openly ask him to go back to his home. He cannot live comfortably, as the only safe residence for him is in AfricTown, where he can at least escape the arm of the government that would oppress, imprison and deport him to Zantoroland. He lives in a poor state that he has to accept because going back to Zantoro is not an option.
Hill’s choice of Keita as the main character brings out the theme of refugee identity even more clearly. The choice of name, Keita Ali, enhances his significance as a representation of refugees. “Ali” is a Muslim name, which points to the discrimination that some specific groups of people experience as refugees. The general perception that most people have towards people of Muslim origin is that they are terrorists and should not be a part of their society. By using the name Ali, Hill presents one of the key instigators of discrimination against refugees, which is religious beliefs. Another key inclusion in Keita’s characterization is his race. He is black, which makes him different from the people in Freedom State, who are predominantly white. Keita and Yvette reflect this position (Jeslin and Jemi 4). Yvette is a black woman who lives in AfricTown and has to spend her nights with white political leaders to earn a living. The only reason why she enjoys acceptance in some situations is that she satisfies the sexual inclinations of the white people in Freedom State. She is an object of pleasure to them. When Keita goes to the same place, the bouncer tells him:
Don’t go near any white customers. They’re here for fun but don’t want to be recognized. If you get within even a few steps of one, I don’t care if you’re a nice guy and Miss Lula’s guest, I’ll have to throw you out.
This scenario reveals another cause of exclusion of refugees, which is their racial identity. They are secluded and sit in separate corners. During the Marathon at the beginning of the novel, the only reason why Keita was singled out as a foreigner is his skin color. These differences contribute to the general exclusion of refugees from normal life, because people view them as different from them and, therefore, conclude that they do not belong in society. They are aliens and do not receive recognition as equal members of the community.
Running as a Representation of the Refugee Experience
Running is a symbolic representation of a refugee’s journey. Keita is a runner who dreams of competing in the Olympics. He participates in marathons and thoroughly enjoys running as an escape and an activity that liberates him. Running represents a situation where a person does not settle permanently at a specific place. It represents a form of uneasiness and continuity in a journey. Refugees are always on the move, seeking a better life. This position is even more prominent in a situation where the refugee faces rejection in the society where they attempt to settle down. When Keita was in Zantoroland, he thought about what his parents would say in his situation, “Run Keita, just run. So he got up and ran, focusing on his breathing, just as he had been coached. Inhale deeply, fill the diaphragm, exhale. Control the air. Keep the oxygen moving through your blood. Breathe. Run.” (Hill 15). The words connote a connection between running and breathing, which represents survival. This point marked the beginning of his journey as a refugee. He ran away from the violence in his homeland and sought refuge in Freedom State. The whole reason behind migration is the need to escape the violence and threats that plague society. Several people left Zantoroland to avoid execution. Viola reflects on this as she travels to Yagwa:
According to Amnesty International, the Zantoroland authorities had executed at least twenty dissidents and had incarcerated dozens more in the year 2017 alone. In addition, the government or its mercenaries were killing members of the Faloo business class, and even friends of Faloos among the Kano majority. This had incited even more Zantorolanders to attempt the passage across the Ortiz Sea. (Hill 343)
The main distinction between migrants and refugees is the fact that migrants choose to leave their homes, not because of a fear of persecution or death, but because they seek a better life for themselves (Edwards n.p.). On the other hand, refugees do not have an option. Their entire survival depends on their escape to a foreign country. Hill presents the plight of refugees rather than migrants. From the novel, it is evident that the people run away from the state of their home country, seeking a better and safer life.
The second aspect of the run is the condition of refugees when they arrive at their destination. They face discrimination, and, in most cases, they have to run away from the authorities, who view them as illegal aliens because of their lack of documentation. The refugees in the novel had to stay in AfricTown, where they lived in constant fear of government raids and arrests (Hill 56). They could not even afford basic needs and healthcare. Through their conditions, Hill paints the picture of life on the run, trying to escape the authorities and the discriminatory practices that they had to face each day. The refugee journey does not end at the point of entry into a new country. The struggles continue in the country, where they are foreigners, outsiders, and intruders who do not belong in the new society. Their lives are not fully integrated into the country, and, therefore, they remain on the run.
The final aspect that running symbolizes is that the refugee journey may end in hope. It is an encouragement that despite the challenges and experiences that they go through in the countries of refuge, they should continue with their pursuit of a better life because, in the end, they just might succeed. Keita uses running as a weapon. He considers it to be a way of escaping his condition. He runs to earn money that is necessary for his survival in Freedom State (Raeymaekers 35). He even runs to save his sister. He does not give up his passion for running, and in the end, the government of Freedom State is held accountable, and Keita can settle as a legal citizen. This achievement crowns his role as a protagonist in the novel. Keita’s running represents the fact that refugees should fight through every condition that they encounter. They keep going and ensure that they do not let the situation hinder them from attaining a better life.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the entire novel depicts the struggles that refugees undergo as they escape life-threatening situations in their home country and seek a better chance at survival in foreign countries. Hill uses Keita’s character to represent the plight of refugees, showing their experiences from the time they escape their homes to the situation in the new country. They struggle with the fact that their presence is unwelcome, and they cannot fully integrate into society. Hill persuades the reader to think about the refugee situation in the current world.
Works Cited
Edwards, Adrian. “UNHCR Viewpoint: ‘Refugee’ or ‘migrant’ – Which is Right?” UNHCR, 27 Aug. 2015, www.unhcr.org/news/latest/2015/8/55df0e556/unhcr-viewpoint-refugee%20migrant-right.html. Accessed 18 June 2020.
Fraile-Marcos, Ana M.” ‘The Challenge of Heart and Imagination’: In Conversation with Lawrence Hill.” Revista Canaria de Estudios Ingleses, no. 78, Apr. 2019, pp. 173-188, doi.org.10.25145/j.recaesin.2019.78.012.
Hill, Lawrence. The Illegal: A Novel. W. W. Norton & Company, 2016.
Jeslin, Packia J., and Evangeline A. Jemi. “Straits of refugees in Lawrence Hill’s The Illegal.” Cikitusi Journal for Multidisciplinary Research, vol. 7, no. 2, Feb. 2020, pp. 1-5, www.cikitusi.com/gallery/1-feb-1004.pdf. Accessed 17 June 2020.
Raeymaekers, Lena. Refugee Existence In Lawrence Hill’s The Illegal. 2017. KU Leuven, MA thesis. www.scriptieprijs.be/sites/default/files/thesis/2017-09/FINAL%20Raeymaekers_Lena_Masterproef.pdf.