466.3
Reversed Migration and the Trauma of Dislocation and Injustice to the Child
Whereas the subject of migration has occupied a prime position in global discourse; it is seen as a one dimensional flow from often time economically deprived location to economically advantaged clime; from a war ravaged society to a supposedly peaceful one and also from a religious ‘upended’ place to a more tolerant place. This dimensional flow which has remained as it is from time has been the focus of migrant and diasporic discourses and writings. However, another dimension also equally important has to do with those involved in ‘reversed migration’, which also comes with some forms of compulsion that tend to dislocate, disorientate, traumatize and negate the choices of the victims from seeking the respect of his/ her preferences. The victims of this dimension of migration as shown by the third generation Nigerian novelists are children and minors who are often helpless.
This study engaging literary sociology examines Sade Adeniran’s Imagine This and When We Speak of Nothing by Olumide Popoola to x-ray the dehumanization and disenfranchisement involved in forceful or sometimes subtle uproot of minors from their land of birth without any thought about transplantation, replanting and acclimatization. The dispatch and forceful relocation therefore gives birth to a sense of dislocation and trauma. Even though reversed migration is presented as a sort of homecoming – a return by the adults or parent figures, this is without consideration for the minor whose sense of home and nativity become complicated. This study seeks to answer the following questions: What are the rights of the dislocated child that must be respected? What preparation is made to help in seeking redress when the minor matures and feels the dislocation has negative impact on his / her quality of life?