A Land of Permanent Goodbyes

Atia Abawi

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2018

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Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Epigraph-Chapter 5

Part 1, Chapters 6-10

Part 1, Chapters 11-14

Part 2, Chapters 15-16

Part 3, Chapters 17-21

Part 3, Chapters 22-25

Part 3, Chapters 26-29

Part 3, Chapters 30-33, Epilogue

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

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Discussion Questions

Themes

The Refugee Experience

The refugee experience and the trauma that such displacement brings with it is the central theme of A Land of Permanent Goodbyes. By explicating some of the geopolitical reasons for the unrest in Syria, the book makes it clear how little control everyday people like Tareq have over their situations when they become refugees. It’s a trickle-down impact of decisions made by political and religious leaders. Tareq cannot control the evolution of Daesh. He cannot control the bombs that seek to destroy the militants—but might strike civilians like himself instead. He cannot control what is happening to the country he loves so much—in fact, he can’t even pinpoint the cause for the chaos around him. He reflects on how people in Syria are looking for answers and thinks of an article shared by his family and friends who support the government of President Bashar al-Assad on Facebook. The article traces the current violence back to an anti-government revolt in 2011, a response to a loss of fertile land. Destiny notes, however, “In reality, there were many sparks that started the inferno that burned a great civilization into the ashes—there always are” (30). Tareq’s confusion regarding what has happened to his family and his country—and just why it has happened—speaks to a tough fact that the book revisits repeatedly: Bad things happen to good people. Refugees, with no control over their situation, epitomize this fact.

Within the theme of “the refugee experience,” the book carefully delineates a separate section for “the female refugee experience.” In multiple instances, Tareq notes that it is the women refugees who have the hardest time. In Istanbul, for example, desperate Syrian women are regularly exploited. It’s suggested that women are in greater danger of rape or assaulted. Then, there are the Syrian sisters, Shams and Asil, who flee because their parents fear Daesh will force them to become brides of militants. Then, there are the Afghan sisters Najiba and Jamila, who flee the Taliban. The sisters also serve as a connection to another character that the novel only briefly mentions: Muzhgan, a girl whose Turkish smuggler repeatedly rapes her.

The Universal Nature of Trauma

Trauma is inherent to the refugee experience of forcible displacement from one’s home. Tareq and Salim are the most obvious examples, and the book highlights some of the consequences they experience as a result—both brothers have trouble sleeping and experience nightmares. There are many other causes for trauma, however. It can occur whenever a person experiences a deeply distressing or disturbing event, such as war, rape, or the death of a loved one. Trauma is a universal human experience that can impact anyone, anytime, and anywhere.

While not every person on earth will become a refugee in his or her lifetime, every person is bound to go through some kind of traumatic event, be it a car accident or the death of a close loved one. Almost every character in the book, even those that are not refugees, experiences some sort of trauma. In Chapter 15, for instance, Anis describes a Greek fisherman, an acquaintance of hers, who took his boat out to look for people in the water who might need help. He found a cluster of bodies—of dead babies. This is a highly distressing event and one that will very likely be traumatic for the man. By highlighting other instances of trauma at large—and showing trauma’s far-reaching impact—the book strengthens its argument for universal empathy towards other humans. Other helpers experience trauma as well. Alexia, for example, thinks mostly of the people she didn’t save rather than the many refugees she was able to save.

The Destructive Nature of Human Greed

A Land of Permanent Goodbyes brings to light the ways human greed—specifically for money and power—results in human destruction. In Syria, a struggle between President Assad and the forces of Daesh, each one vying for control of the country, is at the root of the violence. In Chapter 7, however, Musa explains how this conflict is in fact much larger, as Daesh is supported by the Salafi ideology birthed in Saudi Arabia, and Assad is backed by Shia Muslims in Iran. There is not only a hunger for political power within Syria at play but also broader concerns regarding religious clout. Especially troubling is the fact that it’s frequently the “decision makers” at the top (politicians, governments, political leaders) who let their need for power or money drive them—resulting in decisions that are ultimately destructive for “everyday” people like Tareq. This sentiment appears most prominently in Anis’s statement that she’s disappointed in the “ten people who rule the world” (122).

The book also presents numerous instances of how human greed for money results in exploitation and destruction. Anis criticizes aid organizations that see the refugee crisis as a “money game…a big, black game,” raising millions of dollars in funding without doing much good (115). On a smaller scale, there are the smugglers who charge desperate refugees exorbitant rates to cross the Aegean Sea, often providing them with faulty boats or life jackets. In these instances, human greed often leads to the destruction of human life, as refugees cross the dangerous water in unsafe conditions.