Reimagining Disillusionment: A Re-evaluation of Return Migration in Nuruddin Farah's Crossbones

Abstract

This paper critically examines the phenomenon of return migration among African subjects who, having established lives in Western contexts, voluntarily repatriate to their ancestral homelands. Conventional scholarship often frames return migration through a prism of failure, positing that returnees are individuals unable to realize aspirations in the West and consequently seek refuge from frustration and disappointment in their countries of origin. However, this study diverges from such interpretations by focusing on the experiences of African returnees who, despite achieving a degree of comfort and integration in the West, encounter profound disillusionment upon re-entry into their home societies. These returnees frequently confront a complex nexus of challenges, including but not limited to, socio-cultural reintegration deficits, economic precarity, persistent issues of insurgency and terrorism, governance deficiencies, systemic corruption, and overwhelming societal pressures. The recurrence and exacerbation of these antecedent conditions, which often served as initial impetuses for outward migration, lead to a profound re-evaluation of their decision to return. Employing migration theory as its guiding analytical framework, this study undertakes a novel re-reading of Nuruddin Farah's Crossbones. This approach aims to elucidate the multifaceted dimensions of disillusionment experienced by these return migrants, thereby offering a counter-narrative to prevailing scholarly interpretations of the primary text. Ultimately, this research posits a direct correlation between the challenges faced by returnees and the broader developmental trajectories of their home countries. It contends that pervasive issues such as economic and political instability, terrorism, corruption, and unfulfilled social expectations significantly impede successful return migration and, by extension, national development.