exclusionary measures are taken to prevent the form of “civilization” they too like First
World migrants of imperialism did during the era of colonialism can achieve for their
own homeland. This is worsened all the more by the circumstance of the people in the
postcolonial nation-states: “they represent the cutting edge between the totalizing powers
of the social and the forces that signify the more specific address to contentious, unequal
interests and identities within the population” (Homi Bhabha 1991: 297). This condition
accounts in the first place for the movement of people from homeland in Africa. But it is
also an experience that has notoriously pushed Third World nations to the margins of
existence. This is illustrated in “Voices of Silence” where:
Still
there are voices of silence in God’s council chambers
and in our backyard there are moans
disturbing beyond the gurgling sounds of slashed throats (34)Nevertheless, the prospect of an adopted home for the Third World migrant in the West is
as exhilarating as it is challenging. Therefore, “the stinking glory of these States” must be
left behind; if not for anything, at least for the the rays of hope that flash “amidst the
hopelessness of armed revolts”. Moreover, it is needful perhaps to escape the apocalypse
of the West that is animated by technological machinations:
Leaving here where there’s need only for production
There’s no longer need for creation
except perhaps in secret labs
of our planet’s suicide squad ( “Bad Debt”, 35)Yet before return, there is need to celebrate the beauty of diaspora and cosmopolitanism,
if only to show that there are, after all, occasional streaks of pleasure in the psyche of
exiles. In “Bloomington” there is an illustration of this assertion. Memory at this point
navigates more practically into the realm of nostalgia such that “a narrative of loss and
eventually a celebration as what was once lost is covered” (Roy 65). This is why “Today
the memory comes back still/ and sets a warning flow of kindliness” (37). The question
then is how has this been achieved? It is simply in the community of exiles who “bring