letter to my brother
Dear Lokhin,
‘What is a Margin?’ I asked a friend recently. “You know what a margin is†she replied “It’s outside the body of the text. It’s what holds the page together. “Also,†she added, “It’s where you write your notes.â€
(Berland, Jody. ‘Space at the Margins: Colonial Spatiality and Critical Theory After Innis’. Topia 1 (Spring 1997): 55-82.)
How are you? Holidays are coming up. I was reminded of your blog entry, when I was reading an article writing about virus and marginality. The article reminds me of migrants being a form of cultural virus to the host society. In the margins, breeding creativity, transforming yet at the same time unclear about its own identity. As a migrant, self-reflection, uncertainty, cultural negotiation, distance, and questions of identity and belonging come naturally, and are perhaps not easily answered.
But, do you also recognize that, with /marginality/uncertainty/distance/mobility/, comes emancipation? In a flux, boundless futures, limitless possibilities. Do not be constrained by the terms set and decided for you by them. Refuse to be reduced. Expand. Create, find your own voice. One only needs the imagination, to write a new story, to set a new stage – to be your own hero.
with a wink to Selmin who once told me one of her favorite words is liminality.
Best,
Lokman
December 19th, 2005 at 9:46 am
Thanks for the link, and I like your challenging idea of migrants being a cultural virus.. I might steal it from you, one day
December 19th, 2005 at 11:23 am
die allochtonen stelen ook alles tegenwoordig
December 19th, 2005 at 3:51 pm
yes, the identity is something what time will tel..
December 20th, 2005 at 10:24 am
en dat terwijl Verdonk het nog zo duidelijk gezegd heeft: “in Nederland zitten we gewoon niet aan elkaars spulletjes” (ter verdediging van de vrouw die een Marokkaan doodreed omdat hij haar tasje wilde stelen)…
December 20th, 2005 at 10:31 am
alleen in nederland!
December 21st, 2005 at 2:55 pm
Thanks, ‘Liminality’, like that a lot!
December 21st, 2005 at 10:34 pm
*sratch head* everytime I read your blog I need a dictionary. Why?!!!! Migrants as cultural virus? I like to think that migrants is like the icing of a cake.We make the place look more interesting and colourful simply because we are different from the host society.
December 22nd, 2005 at 10:07 am
hey anon, who are you? i assume you are a migrant too, since you use ‘we’ in the sentence?
ps nothing wrong with using a dictionary.
December 23rd, 2005 at 8:53 pm
sorry…anon was me.Forgot to log in with my name.I’m writting my comment using your computer…ain’t that cool? muahahahahah.