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Book Reviews -
Final Flight From Sanaa
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Wednesday, 26 October 2011 20:58 |
The style of the writing is captivating to say the least.
However the beginning dwells a bit too long on the preliminaries until one gets to the main plot, as for example, Tareq Hakim's exploits with Magda which does not add to the story, except in what one assumes to show the status of women in Kuwait, and in turn the need for the women also to have double standards like the males. Were the intricate details of the physical meant to attract a certain segment of the western population and also gain acceptance by indicating "I am the same like you " cause in the conservative Yemeni society it is not usual in literary writings?
The writer has cleverly juxtaposed the two cultures , i.e.,western and Islamic/Arab , in his attempt to show the negative and positive sides of both in his various conversations with different people, particularly Colin who through his naïve questions elicits a lot of information from Hakim. Through this the writer shows the double standards of western politics vis-à-vis the third world. Colin's reaction to Hakim was at first typical of a certain type of white, aloof, cold and patronizing towards the non-whites. The writer tries to give him the excuse of the fact that Colin's wife ran away with a brown guy without success because it appears to be Colin's nature as Colin seems to like the "brown creatures" in his law firm just because they do not challenge him as the whites do, and he never took the trouble to find out what makes them tick until Hakim managed to break the ice and change his perception. Again Colin condescended to talk to Hakim only because he had a look of respectability about him, and also he was educated and drank his favourite wine, again revealing another side of prejudice, not only to non whites but also to the working class per se.
Hakim presents as a man not without his inner conflicts; as a man who has lived in the west since his teens and despite his brief interlude in Sanaa in between, when he became disillusioned , he feels more at home with his life in the west. He cherishes his earlier life in Aden, with its bitter sweet experiences, but his attempts to present the best part of the Yemeni culture does not succeed in this book. No doubt he defends the muslim world in his examples of the Lebanese war, or for that matter causes of so-called terrorism as the struggle between the haves and the have-nots, even if religion formented it in the first place, and he draws a parallel with the Irish problem as a religious war between protestants and catholics . In defeating all Colin's arguments and dispelling his preconceptions about the Arab world, he shows the fact that it is all about power and money everywhere; implying that western interference in the Arab politics is also all about power and money and nothing to do with reinstating a nonexistent democracy since they support the dictators. The example of the pen was shocking, as he was denied a pen and paper while in prison in Yemen as the power of the pen was dangerous, and he was also denied a pen while attending a session in the Canadian parliament, despite the prophessed democracy in the latter! Again the negative side of socalled democracy, when he was falsely accused by his white patient of harassement, when in reality the kind of treatment he was giving necessitated the baring of her breasts. It was his word against hers; again is it because he was a non white Canadian? He was not given the opportunity to defend himself in the perfunctory rather harsh meeting with the college management, suffering penalties and also, as he says, never attaining the promotion or position he coveted simply because he was brown.
Having said all that, when he came back to Yemen for the consultancy on inspection of medical equipment, he could not quite fit into the environment, and try as he might to show the good side of Yemeni culture, i.e. hospitality, informality, etc, he did not speak as a Yemeni with passion but was rather circumspect about everything, starting with his explanation of the qat session to Boris, to his describing the much admired "qamariyas" as "those typically yemeni multicoloured glass panes". He was also quick to tell Boris to go easy on the qat and that it could just give him a headache, and in the process not allowing Boris to have the experience and judge for himself, like most westerners who enjoy the ambiance of the qat sessions. He was also quick to judge his old friend Farooq's invitation to lunch to be purely for ulterior motives the moment Farooq started to say he wanted to ask a favour of him. Farooq obviously could afford expensive medical consultations but he valued his friend's opinion more. All this and his obvious discomfort in the qat session shows a kind of subtle disowning of his origins, and despite his declaring that yemen is a beautiful country and has a lot to offer the tourist, it again sounds like words in a tourist guide book, rather than those of a Yemeni promoting what he genuinely believes in. Irrespective of the negative effects of qat, he fails to mention the negative effects of daily social drinking which permeates the entire book; maybe because of the seemingly primitive package of qat as opposed to the sophisticated packaging of alcohol. He tries so much to be accepted as he makes a great show of going through the motions of sniffing and turning the wine bottle as was expected by the waiter. While he defends islam and muslim countries in politics, his words "Tareq knew that the wet patches on the Libyan's dishdasha was all because of that ritual of ablutions that muslims have to perform before prayers" again speaking like an orientalist not like a muslim, and even his irritation with the cacophony of the call to prayers. Yet strangely, when he knew he was about to die in prison, he started to recite verses from the Quran which he remembered from his adolescence, in his fear and discomfort, despite his declared belief in religious polytheism.
His love affair with Gita, under the very nose of her husband, nay ,with the approval of her husband who professes to love his wife, is a bit unnatural and maybe uncommon even in the west, and illicit affairs behind the spouses back might have been more convincing. This reminds me of Simon De Beauvoir's book "She came to stay", about the young girl who disrupted her life with Jean Paul Sartre and even though she had to accept her being with them in a strange threesome, she expresses her real feelings of pain which seems more natural, unlike Gita's husband who takes the whole affair with amusement. Gita in the end, during the final parting with Hakim, declares she has to go back to her husband whom she loves and who loves and needs her. Hakim is a disorientated person and alienated from his earlier surroundings and in his brief trip to Yemen, he does not make any contact with any relative or seeks to revive any memory even before his unfortunate encounter with Mona's story which lands him in prison. He seems adrift, cut off from roots, and the journey to Yemen held no other meaning except in serving as the main plot in the intrigue' exposing the corruption of the powers that be in yemen.
The way Hakim dealt with Muna's case as a doctor was to effect a miracle cure by his thorough examination leading to his conclusion about the possibility of psychological reasons for her ailment, but by divulging to Muna's husband the facts of her trauma with the rape case he certainly took the wrong action knowing well the culture in Yemen. For in doing so, he opened a pandoras box he could not control which landed him in prison, as well as causing the family great distress and humiliation in their failed attempts to obtain justice from the security. Yet throughout, Hakim appears to be a kind and ethical doctor, who did not care so much for money as much as the love of labour, taking his Hippocratic oath seriously at all times. This rests side by side with his otherwise supercilious western way of analyzing phenomena, medical or otherwise.
In talking about women in Yemen, he was extremely limited and one sided, i.e. in showing the negative side of a patriarchial society. While it is true a normal scene of breakfast with cornflakes may not draw any attention, and it is the always the negative that warrants exposure, one has to be balanced in presenting the realities of a society. Whereas a lot of things may happen under cover in these conservative societies, and women may suffer deprivations in different ways, there are also positive aspects that go unnoticed. Whereas the protective attitude towards women may seem patronizing, it is in my opinion preferable to being presented in the media purely as soulless sex symbols. Moreover, both men and women suffer in these societies, not excepting Yemen and are dispossessed by those in power. The answer at this time is not to initiate a struggle between the sexes, but for an attempt for upward socioeconomic mobility of civilians irrespective of gender. As evidenced by the Arab spring, men and women are side by side in this struggle to affect change, and in fact women are in the forefront, which indicates powerful spirits underneath the veil, even in the villages. Any kind of change in women's status in yemen should be uniquely Yemeni and a deliberate process, otherwise the tables will turn upon the very people we wish to promote. Maybe in a future novel the writer may dwell more intensively on these issues. Even if it is fiction and there have to be a lot of imaginary situations, but good fiction must also be a true window into social realities.
In general I must say I enjoyed reading the novel immensely and would recommend it to anyone, as it makes easy reading and conversation flows naturally and is not boring. It is interesting reading on the Twain between the East and West, that somehow do not meet despite the efforts of the writer to bridge the gap. |
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