In her book, Dionne Brand portrays a clear picture of what tags along when one identifies themselves with a certain people from a certain culture. Through her various life experiences we are able to have a clear view of what goes down when people get tangled in others of a different culture from theirs. Some occurrences are sickening as you have to endure doing what probably never crossed your mind. Different cultures trim people differently and the difference may be so crucial as to make those in a foreign culture feel left out or else in the wrong place.
When Africans were being traded for slavery, they were taken to various continents apart from Africa. This led to the occurrence of black people outside of Africa. These people of African origin who dwelled outside Africa were referred to as, the African Diaspora. These settled down in these countries after the abolishment and end of slavery. They could not go back to their original land as they had been settled for quite some time and some had even been born in exile. These people had to put up with a foreign culture. Through the slave trade, Africans left their homeland into foreign land. They dwelled in exile long enough to establish new roots there. They were never to come back as they could not even retrace their way home as those who might have been present in the time of trafficking were long gone. They had left trough the door of no return. After Babylon had conquered Judah’s ancient kingdom, Jews were scattered all over the Middle East. Some sought refuge in Egypt along the Nile delta. Those who settled in Africa started new lives. They had left their land and found themselves in a new land where they settled down in the foreign land. They too had left their homeland and took homage in a new place, never to return to where they had come from.
One does not easily get used to living a life they have never lived, leave alone thinking of it. People may do things that are culturally acceptable to this culture and not that other one. In this case, one would have to learn first. This would hasten their blending in into their new found culture. Though some cultures might prove hard to practice and accept, at desperate moments, one would go through the hardest of them all just to survive. These cultural differences maybe far reaching and may lead to ill consequences. As depicted in Shoah – a nine and a half hours documentary, where anti-Semitism led to a massacre that saw the death of over six million Jews, cultural difference could lead to far reaching consequences other than just blending in. This is freaking enough to make anybody of the Jewish community flee, never to set foot in such a community again. What is even scarier is that, this anti-Semitism is believed to still be embedded deep down the hearts of some Germans and Polish people.
Inch’ Allah demanche is a film where a woman moves into foreign land with her children to join her husband in his place of residence. The woman is tackled by a load of challenges as she tries to fit into her new way of life. She is strained by both her husband and her mother-in-law’s treatment towards her. In a life of exile, she has to do what it takes to survive these harsh moments. The situation would not be similar as to when she is in her homeland. In exile she knows no one but her harsh family. The film is just a true depiction of how foreign lands may be hard to dwell in. This is mostly the case when the people are of a totally different culture and in a way; they belittle you for your foreignness. The situation is traumatic as one may feel unwanted and insecure. The emotional problems tagging along may deem unbearable. As in the film, the woman got ill treatment from her own husband and mother-in-law. One would only imagine how it would have been with the other people out there apart from her family. It would normally be thought that the family is where one would feel cherished when the entire world turns their back on them. It turns all nasty when those you expect to cherish you turn their backs to you. Cultural differences in the movie are depicted from the family level, which is alarming. One would probably feel the same with the strangers in the foreign land as with their family members, only worse with the latter because they do not expect such to be happening.
Though the previous cases may give a depiction of life in exile in a manner not many would like to go through, this is not always the case as we have some cases where people move into foreign land and settle comfortably. In the film ‘Paper Bridge’, the main character moves into a foreign land in search of her family’s route of migration before the World War II commenced. The character, as the film depicts, finds the place welcoming and quickly settles down. It is surprising how deep she blends into her new home. The place does not only embrace her as one of their own but also gives an inspiration to childhood. This is a clear depiction that the life in exile is not all that bad, though; very few people are willing to take that risk as the outcome is unknown and the probability leaning more towards the dreaded side.
Racism is where one gets the opinion that people of a certain race are better suited than others, maybe judging from their skin tone, language they speak or the status of the countries or the places they come from. All this entails nothing geared towards good intent. ‘12 years a slave’ is a film in which a black New Yorker, who was born free is abducted and enslaved to work on plantations. The movie is a clear depiction of racism. The movie is a clear depiction of existence of racism. The character was enslaved, not because he bore the wrong skin color, but rather was living amongst the wrong people. The film captures a time when black skin color was a symbol of ill-privilege. These were the times when just because one was a Negro, they could not have access to the same rights as their equal whites. Different cultures may brood racism. This appears to be very unbecoming of civilized people. However, superiority complex and hate speeches may lead to one demeaning other people and the end result is obviously nothing pleasant. People raised in different cultures gain various values and opinions that may conflict with other people’s values and opinions. Due to this, there may be a conflict as to which is right and which is not. If such a conflict takes root, the continuity of the same would lead to something bigger and worse than imaginable. Racism has been the root of some of the conflicts involving people of different
Work cited
"A Map to the Door of No Return." Good reads. N.p.. Web. 25 Feb 2014. <http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/379994.A_Map_to_the_Door_of_No_Return>.
Brand, Dionne. A Map to the Door of No Return. 2012. eBook. <books.google.com/books?isbn=038567483X>.
