Migration and Genealogies of Rupture in the Work of Najat El Hachmi

This essay examines the autobiographical essay Jo tambe soc catalana [I am Catalan, Too] by Najat El Hachmi, a critically acclaimed author born in Nador (Rif, Morocco) who migrated to Vic (Catalonia, Spain) at age eight. While acknowledging her distance from her birthplace, the author in Jo tambe soc catalana remains ambivalent about her positioning in Catalonia. El Hachmi articulates a generative, genealogical rupture through a stunning panorama of symbols, specifically, allusions to fog, non-reproductive sexual acts, and impossible familial relations. Instead of craving lost origins or an unknown future, El Hachmi rallies against these flawed ideals and opts to thrive in presence, an embodied reflection of the now that recalls Sylvia Wynter's theory of autopoeisis, or self-construction. El Hachmi's essay offers a unique vantage point from which to assess current migratory flows and the theoretical paradigms that examine the dispersal of African peoples throughout the world and attendant intercultural relations.
Immigration is a unique and recently unprecedented phenomenon in Spain. During the Franco dictatorship (1939-75), political persecution and economic hardship compelled Spaniards to migrate. In 1986, when Spain joined the [...]