In this post: A sobering tale about patriotic genocide and the consequences of inaccess.
Category: Short Story Collection
Ramiah Recommended?
Yes.
This is a really interesting story. For most of it, I did not understand who the protagonist was or the point of the narrative. I think this made the story even more interesting.
Much of "The Revenant" focuses on an argument between a doctor and a border patrol agent. Many Haitians have immigrated to this (unknown) country in which the doctor and border patrol agent reside and it has caused a rift between the sympathetic doctor and the unsympathetic agent. Haitians have been haunted in the country as a deterrence to their migration, and the doctor cares for survivors in his clinic. The doctor tries to understand why the agent helps commit their atrocious crimes against Haitians, and even tries to advocate for their safety to the agent to no avail.
"‘I don’t know where your loyalty lies. Are you a friend of the nation?’" the agent asks the doctor. When the doctor asks the agent who has the Haitians betrayed, to merit this type of treatment, the agent responds: "‘They’ve betrayed themselves. They should stay in their own country.’"
Yet again, as was the case with Coming Attraction, sometimes only a few pages are needed to provide expansive commentary on a contemporary topic. "Go back to your country" has often been the instantaneous response of resistance toward immigration. Danticat adds an additional layer of nuance to this expression by having people of color (both the doctor and the border agent are given names of Latinx descent) voice these sentiments. How does allyship change when people of color can also perpetuate anti-allyship behaviors and perspectives? Worse, what does the need for allyship become when anti-allies commit harm?
Danticat also proposes an interesting dynamic in the latter half of the story in which the protagonist shifts to a Haitian worker in the border agent's home. This Haitian worker is a caretaker for the border agent's son and wife, and is faced with a dilemma when the doctor offers her foreign sanctuary from the imminent threat posed by the border agent's violent behavior toward Haitians. The caretaker concludes, "In my own country I’d be an outsider. The thought of that was much harder for me to take than being a foreigner elsewhere."
The voice to immigrant or refugee perspectives is not one I often come across, unfortunately. Reading the caretaker weigh the pros and cons of staying in her dire situation or possibly entering a new one gave light to the story that enriched it beyond the 'Not In My Backyard" debate in the earlier half.
You can read the story for yourself here.
Ramiah Reflects
(No additional reflections at this time, folks!)
Ramiah's Re-read When
Re-read when:
You want to muse both sides of the argument for "Go back to your country!" and "Not In My Backyard" - or NIMBY for short.
You wish to read a partial (for its brief appearance in the story) immigrant or refugee narrative
Check out my other posts and book notes here.
Until next time!
Montana Houston
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