THE MIGRANT OUTLOOK IN COLONIZED AFRICA THROUGH THE NARRATIVE OF ABDULRAZAK GURNAH

Abstract

As a representation of the currents of change in the world, the migrant inhabits a dialogic space created on the clash of cultures. They are in constant movement as they assemble their own narratives outside well-established national identities. The present study aims to analyse the construction of such character in Paradise (1994) and Afterlives (2020), published by Abdulrazak Gurnah, a writer recognised by his portrayal of the refugee and the migrants in-between the African and European continents. Both novels were set during the period of the German colonization of Africa (end of the 19^th and beginning of 20^th century) and depict the relationship between the German colonial troops (the schutztruppe) and their native recruits. The relations of power and the contradictory nature of the schutztruppe reflect on the search for belonging in which Yusuf and Hamza, main characters of above mentioned novels, find themselves.