In the years of 2015 and 2016 the European Union saw an unprecedented influx of refugees and migrants, something which in European politics was often termed ‘Migration Crisis’. Although the refugees were not all Arabs, many came from countries experiencing violence and conflict after the Arab spring such as Syria and Libya. This influx also let to the further development of Arab(ic) literature written and published on the European continent. See for more examples: See for more examples M: Movement: (E) migration, Refugees and Return: (E) Migration: Migration (Refugee) literature to Europe) and W: Outside the Arab World: Europe).
- Rashā ʿAbbās’ (1984-, Syria) short story collection Kayf tamm Ikhtirāʿ al-Lughah al-Almāniyyah (‘The invention of German grammar’, 2016). With an ironic tone of writing, this collection describes experiences of settling as a refugee in Germany, such as the difficulties of learning the German dialect, the particularities of the German people, and dealing with German’s bureaucratic system, experiences that are at times so harsh and bizarre, that they become surreal (reference) (W: Outside the Arab World: Europe: Germany).
- Nathīr al-Zuʿabī (?, Syria) – Yūrū (‘Euro’, 2016). Story of this novel is narrated by a Greek Euro and then by a young man who slowly turns into steel and joins the society of the Euro coins and other metal objects (reference) (also in M: Movement: (E) migration, Refugees and Return: (E) Migration: Migration (Refugee) literature to Europe).
Refrences:
In order of appearance
- Nāʾilah Manṣūr. “Kitābāt Rashā ʿAbbās aw al-Tʾanuq Yawm al-Qiyāmah.” www.aljumhuriya.net, 28 November 2019, https://aljumhuriya.net/ar/2019/11/28/%D9%83%D8%AA%D8%A7%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%B1%D8%B4%D8%A7-%D8%B9%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B3-%D8%A3%D9%88-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D8%A3%D9%86%D9%82-%D9%8A%D9%88%D9%85-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%82%D9%8A%D8%A7%D9%85%D8%A9/ (last accessed 14 December 2023).
- Johanna Sellman. 2018. “A global postcolonial: Contemporary Arab(ic) literature of migration to Europe.” Journal of Postcolonial Writing 54(6): 751-765, p. 761