Donald Trump’s 2017 travel ban initially affected seven nations, and a writer from each contributes to this slim collection, which features phantom limbs, pharaohs, coconut oil, graveyards and fake passports. The short stories were commissioned in response to the ban: dislocation and danger hang heavy in the air.
Rania Mamoun, from Sudan, writes about a woman marooned by fear in an unknown airport, subsisting on water from the bathroom and her memories of the birds of paradise that used to visit her village. From Libya, Najwa Binshatwan’s vision of a village that floats around the globe offers hope, despite the brutish men patrolling its borders. Syria’s Zaher Omareen tells of a fraught journey from Greece to Sweden, counterfeit documents and a few words of backstory offering a thin shield against the suspicion of the authorities.
Five contributors are women, and some have been directly affected by the ban – Iraqi-born Anoud was in New York when it was introduced, and feared to leave lest she could not return. It’s a compelling project and, while not every story sparkles, the highlights – such as Ubah Cristina Ali Farah’s account of a nanny consumed by trauma – are potent and sad.
- Banthology is published by CommaPress.
