Text-In-Context Final

Viewing Exit West as Immigration Through London

Mohsin Hamid’s Exit West has many stories that intentionally paints the world with open borders and the affect they have on individual lives, but specifically follows the journey of two immigrants. The story reveals the lives of individuals traveling from one part of the world, separated by different cultures, finding difficulties within their lives. However, Hamid uses this platform of the novel to expose the realties of immigration and the difficulties faced by immigrants within London itself. The notion that immigration is a one-sided story of immigrant or “native” is not reasonable, since immigration issues arise from acceptance and rejection viewing it through both lenses changes the way the world can begin to approach the crisis.

Mohsin Hamid uses London as a backdrop for one of the cities that his main character’s, Saeed and Nadia live in, and through their eyes explains their view of how immigration moves around them. “Nigerians were initially the largest among many groups of residents, but every so often a non- Nigerian family would relocate out of the house, and their place would almost always be taken by more Nigerians, and so the house began to be known as a Nigerian house” (Hamid, 147). This scene pictured within the book described the environment that Nadia and Saeed were living in, but also primarily subjected the reader to visualize the environment of real immigrant neighborhoods, where communities build with increasingly more migrants from different countries and demonstrates the integration of many cultures within one neighborhood, as immigrants are limited to certain neighborhoods. While Hamid explains the immigration story within London through Saeed and Nadia’s migrating journey, the reality within London sees many similarities with the story being told, making the immigration issue in Exit West real to his reader. The biggest population of migrating countries within London is estimated to be Poland, India, and Pakistan (Migration Observatory). Within London the local reaction to this is documented by The Migration Observatory through the University of Oxford, states that many British natives believe that the Nigerian population migrating to the UK is the most unwanted (Migration Observatory). This deals with how Hamid uses specifically Nigerian characters to contrast Nadia and Saeed’s migrant story and how the Nigerian people within the story represent the migrating majority that cast fear into British populace making the immigrant issue hit close to home displaying how these people live their lives as immigrants in London.

Along with depicting specific immigrant cultures within London, Hamid also brings up a good point of how many immigrant families or people stay within the country and city they have migrated to. The novel then lends itself to more intimate conversations between its main characters, “That night he asked her what the life of her dreams would look like, whether it would be in a metropolis or in the countryside, and she asked him whether he could see them settling in London and not leaving, and they discussed how houses such as the one they were occupying might be divided into proper apartments, and also how they might start over someplace else, elsewhere in this city, or in a city far away” (Hamid, 136). This scene between Nadia and Saeed demonstrates the difficulties that people who have immigrated into a different country feel, as they do not feel at home, but make the best of their situation and must begin to think of making a home for themselves within the new country they are in even if they are unwelcomed they start to behave like any human wanting to set roots. By the numbers taken by GOV.UK it is known that in 2017, 57,553 people were granted a permanent residence within the UK based on several different statuses’; study, work, family, and asylum. Though within the same year 9% of people who applied were refused, though reasons of refusal are unknown within these officially documented statistics (GOV.UK). This raises the question of how many people arriving unofficially in London stay permanently?

Lastly, Hamid uses scenes of resistance of the London native to display violence against immigrant squatters. “The operation to clear the migrant ghetto in which Saeed and Nadia found themselves began badly, with a police officer shot in the leg within seconds as his unit moved into occupied cinema near Marble Arch, and then the flat sounds of a firefight commenced, coming from there but also from elsewhere, growing and growing, all around… They heard helicopters and more shooting and announcements to peacefully vacate the area made over speakers so powerful that they shook the floor… while they saw smoke and smelled burning, and then it quiet, but the smoke and thee smell lasted a long time, particularly the smell, lingering even when the wind direction changed” (Hamid, 162). Hamid’s scene of violence depicts the unsettling unrest and anger erupted by increasing immigration within London and displays the intense relationship British natives have with immigration within this story. This is a real reaction to immigration within London, as this demonstrates the extreme violence projected at immigrant communities by London locals. Hamid makes good use of current events within London and real London immigration issues to make his novel, Exit West, a true reaction to immigration within London.

Hamid does an amazing job at using current immigration in London to support his own reaction to the view of immigration, but he also depicts a great deal of hostile reaction to show the anger towards immigration by local London populace. “The mob looked to Nadia like a strange and violent tribe, intent on their destruction, some armed with iron bars or knives, and she and Saeed turned and ran, but could not escape” (Hamid, 134). This is a true reaction of how British natives view immigrants in their homeland, they fear them, and they fear the unknown, which the immigrant represents as someone from a different country and someone with a different culture (Brookings). “After the riots the talk on the television was a major operation, one city at a time, starting in London, to reclaim Britain for Britain, and it was reported that the army was being deployed, and the police as well, and those who had once served in the army and the police, and volunteers who had received training… that nativist extremists were forming their own legions, with a wink and nod form the authorities, and the social media chatter was of a coming night shattered glass” (Hamid, 135). The resources that are excessively exhausted to protect the native land is displayed within this scene where the people are arming and protecting themselves with much government support to contain the pure British nativist agenda.

Hamid knows that not all of London opposes immigration, so he adds in the odd hospitable hand that Nadia and Saeed encounter in their life as immigrants, “And yet while all this occurred there were volunteers delivering food and medicine to the area, and aid agencies at work, and the government ad not banned them from operating, as some of the governments the migrants were fleeing from had, and in this there was hope. Saeed in particular was touched by a native boy, just out of school, or perhaps in his final year, who came to their house and administered polio drops, to the children but also to the adults, and while many were suspicious of vaccinations, and many more, including Saeed and Nadia, had already been vaccinated, there was such earnestness in the boy, such empathy and good intent, that though some argued, none had the heart to refuse” (Hamid, 137-8). This scene specifically reveals the volunteerism and humanity that can still be seen in the lives of British locals, who do not support the nativist movement and know helping the immigrant in their country is the plan that makes sense as a human being. An instance of this is an article written by the Guardian in 2017 stating their initiative to join in with other organizations to provide care and assistance to refugees and immigrants within Britain (The Guardian).  “Perhaps they had grasped that the doors could not be closed, and new doors would continue to open, and they had understood that the denial of coexistence would have required one party to cease to exist, and the extinguishing party too would have been transformed in the process, and too many native parents would not after have been able to look their children in the eye, to speak with head held high of what their generation had done” (Hamid, 166). This passage from Exit West was interesting in how it displays this sense of humanity even within the most brutal anti-immigrant person, that they fear the consequences of going to far, knowing that at some point pushing back on these people fleeing their country is immoral.

The novel, Exit West, written in 2017 seems to be a response to Brexit in the sense of immigration and how the increase of immigration in London lead to the decision of breaking away from the EU. Between the years 2015 and 2016 when the EU referendum was being brought to the forefront of the British public, immigration was seen as one of the most important issue to the people by 56% (Migration Observatory). With this idea of keeping people out brought up within the 2016 referendum, Hamid seems to be responding, “And so, irrespective of the reason, decency on this occasion won out, and bravery, for courage is demanded not to attack when afraid, and the electricity and water came on again, and negotiations ensued, and word spread, and among the cherry trees on Palace Gardens Terrace Saeed and Nadia and their neighbors celebrated, they celebrated long into the night” (Hamid, 166). The idea that Hamid poses within this passage is that coexistence and acceptance of immigration is possible. The pure cohabitation between natives and immigrants is the only reasonably human thing to do and he makes it seem that doing anything but, is the most ridiculous response to immigration. In the end it seems that rethinking how one views protection and safety within their borders is in fact an expression of fear of the unknown. When people flee their country they are fleeing danger, finding safety in desirable countries that can provide protection. The world view on immigration is a shifting issue, but the idea is that talking about it in terms of humanity and acceptance is a start for those countries in need of help. 

Works Cited

Blinder, Dr. Scott and Richards, Dr. Lindsay. “UK Public Opinion Toward Immigration: Overall Attitudes and Level of Concern”. The Migration Observatory. University of Oxford. 07 Jun 2018 Web. http://migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/resources/briefings/uk-public-opinion-toward-immigration-overall-attitudes-and-level-of-concern/#kp1.

Bullen, Poppy. “How You Can Help Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Britain”. The Guardian. 3 Mar 2017. Web. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/03/how-you-can-help-refugees-asylum-seekers-britain.

Hamid, Mohsin. Exit West. Riverhead Books. New York, NY. 2017.

Karasapan, Omer. “Refugees, Migrants, and the Politics of Fear”. Brookings. 12 Apr 2017. Web https://www.brookings.edu/blog/future-development/2017/04/12/refugees-migrants-and-the-politics-of-fear/.

 “National Statistics: How Many People Continue Their Stay in the UK?” GOV.UK. Immigration Statistics. 24 Aug 2017. Web. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-april-to-june-2017/how-many-people-continue-their-stay-in-the-uk.

Rienzo, Dr. Cinzia and Vargas-Silvia, Dr. Carlos. “Migrants in the UK: An Overview”. The Migration Observatory. University of Oxford. 21 Feb 2017. Web. http://migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/resources/briefings/migrants-in-the-uk-an-overview/