ABSTRACT

Refugee studies have emphasised the precarious condition of those who are forced to flee from their ‘home’ country, yet unable to end their flight by gaining the right to settle in another country. Such concern has generated a critical scholarly narrative of refugees’ displacement in a situation of rightless ‘permanent temporariness’ characterised by uncertainty, stasis and meaninglessness. This analysis of Abdul’s story of his refugee life explores how he, by foregrounding his pursuit of specific objectives, or ends, defined by personal, social or existential concerns, highlighted achievements and endings that engendered a sense of purpose, agency and empowerment despite his failure to reach the final end to his unsettled state as a refugee. This underscores the importance of not being blinded by powerful teleological narratives preoccupied with a final end that never comes, but recognising more specific, variegated ends and endings giving life direction and meaning even under difficult conditions.

摘要

难民研究强调了那些被迫逃离“祖国”但又无法通过获得在另一个国家定居的权利来结束逃亡的人的不稳定处境。这种担忧产生了一种批判性的学术叙述，即难民在一种以不确定、停滞和无意义为特征的无权利“永久临时性”情况下流离失所。这篇对阿卜杜勒难民生活故事的分析探讨了他如何通过突出他对由个人、社会或存在主义关注所定义的特定目标或目的的追求，突出成就和结局，尽管他失败了，但这些成就和结局产生了一种使命感、能动性和赋权感最终结束他作为难民的不稳定状态。