In Tanzania, Gurnah’s Nobel Prize sparked joy and debate | Art Culture News

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania—— The Zanzibar-born writer Abdulrazak Gurnah won the Nobel Prize in Literature, which caused celebration in Tanzania and sparked heated debates about identity.

Many people in China admit Recognition of Gurnah’s work Among the few African novelists who have won the award, others question whether Tanzanians can truly call the British writer their own.

Gurnah’s works include 10 novels. He left the Zanzibar Islands in Tanzania at the end of 1967 and went to Britain as a refugee. Three years later, a revolution aimed at ending the political rule of the minority Arab population over the African majority population. The months and years that followed were filled with deep divisions, tensions, and revenge.

In telling his story, Gurnah said that he had only obtained a one-month tourist visa, allowing him to travel to the UK, where he was enrolled in an A-level course at a technical college in Canterbury, southeast England.

The Swedish Academy stated in a statement on Thursday that the 73-year-old was “affected by his uncompromising and compassionate penetration of colonialism and the fate of refugees in the divide between different cultures and continents”. Recognition.

Both the President of Tanzania and the semi-autonomous President of Zanzibar quickly praised Guna’s achievements.

Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan said on Twitter: “This award is an honor for you, our Tanzanian country and Africa as a whole.” Zanzibar leader Hussein Ali Mwinyi ( Hussein Ali Mwinyi) said: “We deeply recognize your work centered on discourses related to colonialism. Such landmarks not only bring honor to us, but also to all mankind.”

At the same time, Guna emphasized his close relationship with Tanzania in an interview with Agence France-Presse.

“Yes, my family is still alive, and my family still lives there,” said the retired University of Kent professor. “I go there as much as possible. I’m still connected there… where I come from. In my opinion, I live there.”

Back home, Gurnah’s award sparked a long and enthusiastic online discussion about belonging and identity, sparking-quite unexpectedly-a political debate about the alliance between Zanzibar and the mainland, even though Zanzibar is Semi-autonomous, but the relationship between the mainland is not always good. In its president and parliament, people still hope to gain more independence from the coalition government.

“The debate about Abdulrazak Gurnah’s’Tanzania’ status should be a wake-up call and prompt our government to think about the following issues: (i) justice; (ii) dual citizenship; (iii) trade union affairs; (iv) quality education and teaching— —How are we doing in writing and literature?” Social scientist Aikande Kwayu wrote on Twitter.

Dual citizenship has been a long-debated issue, and more and more Tanzanians-especially those living in the diaspora-are advocating dual citizenship. Successive governments have avoided it, often citing constitutional restrictions.

“One of the reasons that Tanzania does not allow dual citizenship is that Abdulrazak Gurnah and his grandparents, who fled Zanzibar during the Zanzibar Revolution to escape Arab persecution, will return and claim their stolen assets. We are still shamelessly. Celebrating his victory?” wrote reporter Erick Kabendera.

One of the reasons that Tanzania does not allow dual citizenship is that Abdulrazak Gurnah and his grandparents, who fled Zanzibar during the Zanzibar Revolution to escape Arab persecution, will return and claim their stolen assets. Are we celebrating his victory shamelessly? https://t.co/4Xwfhj51LY

-Eric Carbonella (@kabsjourno) October 7, 2021

But others believe that the long time he spent abroad should not deprive him of his roots.

“Gurnah considers himself a Tanzanian of Zanzibar descent. Living overseas, being exiled or even feeling disconnected from his country does not deprive him of his heritage and identity. This is part of him,” London East and Africa Said Ida Hadjivayanis, Lecturer in Swahili Studies at the Research Institute.

“There are a lot of people living among the diaspora, their children are of foreign nationality, but they think of themselves as Tanzanians-this is their homeland.”

After Gurnah arrived in the UK as a refugee, he established a 35-year acclaimed career in colonialism and immigration.The Nobel Prize winner was born in Zanzibar in the Indian Ocean in 1948 and began writing after immigrating to the UK as a refugee, where he now lives [Tolga Akmen/AFP]

Hadjivayanis is from Sanguibari herself, and she said she was extremely excited about Gurnah’s victory.

“Gurnah is a writer who tells the truth,” she said, describing his work as honest. “Their experiences (the characters in the book) are familiar, and their connection with their hometown (Tanzania, especially Zanzibar) often resonates.”

Hadjivayanis first read Gurnah’s work in 2003 and is currently translating his 1994 novel “Paradise” into Swahili. She pointed out that many people in Tanzania have not read the author’s book, and she called on the government to include his work in school curricula.

Mkuki Bgoya, director of one of Tanzania’s largest independent publishers, agrees that Gurnah is not a household name in Tanzania. He recalled the situation in the past when his books took a long time to sell, and he hoped that this situation would change quickly after winning the Nobel Prize.

He said that the reason may be the writing language used in the book or the generally poor reading culture in Tanzania. But after winning the award, Bgoya said that he believes that it will not only inspire the creative inspiration of local fiction writers, but also stimulate local readers’ interest in reading novels.

“Our reading culture is heavily inclined to non-fiction books. Many people read inspirational books,” Bgoya said.

“Tanzania’s book industry is dominated by textbooks, and most publishers focus on textbooks. This leaves very little room for other genres such as poetry, novels and short stories,” he added.

“Now, we are paying a lot of attention to this award, and we are having an enthusiastic conversation about it-the significance of this work is that it validates works of fiction, especially issues inspired by Tanzania or Tanzania.”