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We are still alive' : Refugees and loneliness
Damousi, Joy
Damousi, Joy
Author
Abstract
This chapter discusses the place of loneliness in the writings by refugees across the 20th and 21st centuries. It aims to capture the complexity and multi-layered perspective of loneliness in the experience of refugees and chart this over time, cognisant of the significance of context, time and place. I argue that one of the key themes that emerges in these writings is that a perpetual state of detachment from the host culture generates an alienation that is invariably manifest as loneliness. This is not, however, a tale of a passive emotional state. Loneliness can inspire action and resilience, intervention, survival and rebuilding. However, the detachment that comes with a form of rootlessness cannot be easily extinguished, as each of the writers painfully demonstrate.
Keywords
social history, history, loneliness, history of loss
Date
2023
Type
Book chapter
Journal
Book
The Routledge History of Loneliness
Volume
Issue
Page Range
471-483
Article Number
ACU Department
School of Arts and Humanities
Faculty of Education and Arts
Faculty of Education and Arts
Collections
Relation URI
Event URL
Open Access Status
License
All rights reserved
File Access
Controlled
Notes
Copyright © 2023 selection and editorial matter, Katie Barclay, Elaine Chalus and Deborah Simonton; individual chapters, the contributors