Moroccan Guest Worker Identity in the Dutch Literary Narration A Thematic Analysis

International Journal of Humanities and Social Science

© 2021 by SSRG - IJHSS Journal

Volume 8 Issue 5

Year of Publication : 2021

Authors : Tijani Boulaouali

10.14445/23942703/IJHSS-V8I5P102

How to Cite?

Tijani Boulaouali, "Moroccan Guest Worker Identity in the Dutch Literary Narration A Thematic Analysis," SSRG International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, vol. 8,  no. 5, pp. 7-13, 2021. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.14445/23942703/IJHSS-V8I5P102

Abstract:

This article deals with the issue of migration in relation to identity through the Dutch novel Ahmed, het verhaal van een gastarbeider, Ahmed, the Story of a Guest Worker (1984). This narrative is written by the Moroccan-Dutch author and journalist Mohammed Nasr, and it is considered one of the early and rare books written by the first generation of immigrants. This novel approaches the subject of the Moroccan guest workers who have moved from Morocco to the Netherlands since the sixties of the last century. The most important historical and contextual transformations, that took place in the migration landscape in the Netherlands until the mid-eighties, are approached from various angles based on the testimonies of different characters. This article is divided into three parts. Firstly, the written literature by Dutch authors from Moroccan origin is introduced, focusing on some aspects and features of this kind of literature. Secondly, the essential experiences of the protagonist, the main character “Ahmed” is discussed. So, five experiences, that are strongly present in the novel, are examined, namely: immigration, alienation, sickness, religiosity and Christianization. Finally, the last part analyses the most determinants that govern the identity of the first generation of Moroccan guest workers, in which the focus is mainly placed on three determinants: the other, the language and finally that of homeland.

Keywords:

Dutch Immigration Literature, Guest Workers, Diaspora, The Netherlands, Identity.

References:

[1] Anbeek, T. ‘Over Marokkaans-Nederlandse auteurs en hun critici’ (About Moroccan-Dutch Authors and their Critics), Literatuur Journal. 16 (1999) 335-342.
[2] Armentier, L. Dictionnaire de la théorie et de l'histoire littéraires. Paris: Retz (1986).
[3] Boulaouali, T. ‘Islamophobia and the Economic Crisis in the West’, Academic Journal of Research and Scientific Publishing (AJRSP). 21, 47-58. Retrieved (2021). https://bit.ly/38Sf2BT
[4] Clerix, L. De literair-sociologische inbedding van migrantenauteurs in Nederland en Vlaanderen (The Literary-Sociological Embedding of Migrant Authors in the Netherlands and Flanders. Ghent: University of Ghent (2015).
[5] Howard, J. R. (1969). The Flowering of the Hippie Movement, The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. 382 (1969) 43-55.
[6] Kuipers, W. ‘Ik ben een Nederlandse schrijver, Hafid Bouazza wil geen model-Marokkaan zijn’, Volkskrant, 1 May 1998. Retrieved (2021). https://www.volkskrant.nl/cultuur-media/ik-ben-een-nederlandse-schrijver-hafid-bouazza-wil-geen-model-marokkaan-zijn~b4c1d72e/
[7] Marcouch, A. Mijn Hollandse droom (My Dutch Dream). Amsterdam/Antwerp: Contact.(2010)
[8] Murray, J. et al. Oxford English Dictionary (Vol. I). Oxford: Clarendon Press(1913).
[9] Nasr, M. Ahmed, het verhaal van een gastarbeider (Ahmed: The story of a Guest Worker). Amersfoort: De Horstink (1984).
[10] Neuter (de), W. Marokkaanse literatuur, een collectie samizdatboeken, Uitpers, 66. (2005). Retrieved September 8, 2021. https://www.uitpers.be/marokkaanse-literatuur-een-collectie-samizdatboeken/
[11] Nijborg, M. Literaire grensbewegingen. De weerslag van de Marokkaanse diaspora in de literatuur van Nederland en Vlaanderen 1994-2010. Amsterdam: University of Amsterdam (2015).
[12] Rath, J.; Penninx, R.; Groenendijk, K.; Meyer, A. Nederland en zijn Islam (The Netherlands and its Islam). Amsterdam: Het Spinhuis(1996).
[13] Snepvangers, M. A. J.. Migrantenliteratuur, oude en nieuwe garde (Migrant Literature, Old and New Guard). Faculty of Humanities, Tilburg University (2014).
[14] Werf (van der), S. Allochtonen in de multiculturele samenleving: een inleiding (Immigrants in a Multicultural Society: An Introduction). Bussum: Coutinho(2002).

Electronic Sources
[1] Kif Kif Cultural Organization, Berchem: https://kifkif.be
[2] El Hizjra, Center for Arab Art and Culture, Amsterdam: https://www.elhizjra.nl/
[3] Du Perronprijs, University of Tilburg: https://www.tilburguniversity.edu/nl/over/schools/tshd/duperronprijs