Another concept that is in line with the discussion of exile especially at the moment is
transnationalism. Although another fiercely contested concept, one thing that is above
contention among theorists, however, is the simultaneity of attachment to two or more
nationalities, whereby apart from the original country of origin, an individual’s
allegiances to other countries are obvious essentially because there is a continual coming
and going among these countries and a telling border-crossing propensity which justifies
his multiple allegiances. But beyond the multiple allegiances of individuals which are
reinforced by their many crossings, transnationalism is also imbricated in a more
elaborate, if not totalist form. This is when we talk about the simultaneity of congruent
flows of people and other resources like goods, capital, and ideas across borders. If
however, the flow cannot be said to be new as we can argue for its antecedents in history,
the unprecedented stage it has attained today has been catalyzed essentially by
technology and capitalist imperialism (Valentina Mazzucato 2004: 132).
The flexibility of flow has impacted on the flexibility of identity formation and
renegotiation, in which case, “in the borderlands, a liberating confusion of identities
challenges the superimposed boundaries of culture, class and region, as well as gender
and nation” (Ron Robin 2002:372). Focussing specifically on the transnationalism of
individuals from the postcolonial world, border-crossing within transnational culture can
be gratifying at a point altogether. Not least because, where repressive regimes have
reigned supreme, the relief that transnationalism offers provides an opportunity to escape
death or detention especially where certain groups or individuals are perceived to be
enemies of the state as in the case of Jack Mapanje. Therefore, whether for ill or good,
the role of the nation in engendering border-crossing of the transnational mode, cannot be
ignored. This explains why once the Malawian history of repression is put in context, we
begin to see how the Banda years of imprisonment without trial, detention, torture and
state murder forced many, including Mapanje, to adopt a transnational existence even
when this is another way of opting for exile. No doubt, much relief came his way after
the years of imprisonment were brought to an end and he was able to relocate to the UK.
As shown in The Last of the Sweet Bananas , and the preceding collections, The
Chattering Wagtails of Mukuyu Prison and Skipping without Ropes , it was a way of