Redefining the Australian Narrative for Migrants
When Australian politicians announce tough new immigration policies, author Yumna Kassab sees a dystopian vision emerging. In a profound examination of national identity, Kassab questions the traditional Australian narrative of mateship and a fair go, revealing a more complex reality for migrants and their children.
The Search for an Australian Title
Kassab's journey to title her second novel, Australiana, mirrors the broader struggle of migrant identity. Initially considering My Face is Nameless as a reference to James Baldwin, she found inspiration in Don DeLillo's approach to Americana. As the daughter of Lebanese migrants, Kassab hesitated before claiming the title Australiana, questioning whether she could authentically represent a country whose narrative often excludes migrant experiences.
Her book, set in a regional community during bushfires, drought, and floods, ultimately became an engagement with Australia's self-portrayal. This creative process led Kassab to deeper reflections on how nations construct their identities, typically emphasizing positive aspects while omitting historical violence, war crimes, and dispossession.
The Conditional Belonging of Migrants
While Australia's national narrative celebrates mateship and egalitarianism, Kassab identifies a very different story for migrants. The migrant narrative demands gratitude, economic contribution, and invisibility. Belonging becomes conditional, granted when migrants achieve exceptional success like winning medals or curing diseases, but easily revoked at the first sign of trouble.
This conditional status manifests in multiple ways. When migrants protest government policies, need social support, or encounter legal troubles, their overseas origins become convenient explanations. Their Australian identity, carefully built over years or generations, can be instantly questioned and undermined.
Dystopian Immigration Policies
As a fiction writer, Kassab interprets tough immigration policies through a dystopian lens. She envisions a system where people are sorted by country of origin, with some deemed desirable and others not. Beneath these policies, Kassab suspects hidden criteria based on culture, appearance, and skin tone.
"I am sure there are certain politicians that would love a machine that sorted people into two groups: these ones good and these ones bad," Kassab observes. This binary thinking simplifies complex social issues, allowing politicians to avoid difficult questions about housing crises, growing homelessness, and global inequalities in human rights and dignity.
The Simplicity of Binary Thinking
In Kassab's hypothetical dystopia, the migrant-sorting machine creates artificial simplicity. Rather than addressing why a wealthy nation like Australia struggles with housing affordability or why human rights remain inaccessible to most people worldwide, policymakers prefer straightforward narratives and simple solutions.
This avoidance of complexity extends to national storytelling. Countries maintain simplified self-portrayals that ignore historical violence and contemporary inequalities. For migrants living within these narratives, the gap between national ideals and lived experience creates profound tension and conditional belonging.
Beyond Simple Narratives
Kassab's examination challenges Australia to move beyond simplistic national stories. As the inaugural Parramatta Laureate in Literature and author of multiple acclaimed works including The House of Youssef and Politica, she brings both literary insight and personal experience to this crucial conversation.
Her upcoming book, Goodbye, My Love, continues this exploration of identity and belonging. Through her writing, Kassab invites Australia to confront the complexities of migration, identity, and national narrative, moving beyond binary thinking toward more inclusive and honest storytelling.
