Picturing precarity

Diasporic belonging and camp life in Leila Abdelrazaq's Baddawi

Bibliographic Data

ID2179432
AuthorsBidisha Banerjee (0000-0002-5974-1896)
Year2021
Volume57
Issue1
Pages13-30
Publication date2021-01-02
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Postcolonial Writing (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1744-9855 • E-ISSN: 1744-9863
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/17449855.2020.1866258
OpenAlexW3118291111
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited19

Leila Abdelrazaq's Baddawi (2015) tells the story of her father Ahmad's childhood spent in Baddawi, a camp for Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. Given that the refugee status of Palestinians has now lasted over 70 years, Palestine occupies a unique position in refugee studies. Camps like Baddawi form a distinctive model of refugee diasporic space where a temporary, liminal space becomes a diasporic "home" for millions. Contrary to the Agambenian depiction of "bare life" in camps, Abdelrazaq's graphic novel portrays Baddawi as a communal space where families live together, preserving cultural traditions and performing daily rituals of life. Despite its depictions of the precarity and violence, Abdelrazaq portrays Baddawi as a space of belonging and, ultimately, of solace and return. Considering questions of diasporic belonging and agency of refugees in precarious and liminal spaces like Baddawi, the article calls for a renewed understanding of diasporic identity and belonging in conflict settings

Art · Art history · Precarity · Sociology · Anthropology · Jewish and Middle Eastern Studies · Middle East Politics and Society · North African History and Literature · Gender Studies

Tools

Open DOI