Dar es Salaam, Tanzania – The awarding of the Nobel Prize in literature to Zanzibar-born writer Abdulrazak Gurnah has drawn celebration and sparked lively debate over identity.
Many in the country acknowledge the recognition of Gurnah’s work among the handful of African novelists to have won the prestigious prize, but others question whether Tanzanians can truly claim the England-based writer as their own.
 |
| Gurnah's photo. |
Gurnah, whose body of work includes 10 novels, left Tanzania’s archipelago of Zanzibar as a refugee for United Kingdom in late 1967, three years after a revolution which sought to end the political dominance of the minority Arab population over the African majority. The following months and years were dominated by deep division, tensions and vengeance.
Recounting his story, Gurnah said he managed to get only a one-month tourist visa that allowed him to travel to Britain where he enrolled for A-level studies at a technical college in Canterbury, southeast England.
In its announcement on Thursday, the Swedish Academy said the 73-year-old was honoured “for his uncompromising and compassionate penetration of the effects of colonialism and the fate of the refugee in the gulf between cultures and continents”.
Both the presidents of Tanzania and semi-autonomous Zanzibar were swift in hailing Gurnah’s achievement.
“The prize is an honor to you, our Tanzanian nation and Africa in general,” Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan tweeted. For his part, Zanzibar leader Hussein Ali Mwinyi said, “We fondly recognise your writings that are centred on discourses related to colonialism. Such landmarks, bring honour not only to us but to all humankind.”
Meanwhile Gurnah, in an interview with AFP news agency, stressed his close ties to Tanzania.
“Yes, my family is still alive, my family still lives there,” the retired University of Kent professor said. “I go there when I can. I’m still connected there … I am from there. In my mind I live there.”
Back home, Gurnah’s award sparked long and passionate online discussions about belonging and identity, invoking – rather unexpectedly – politically charged debates about the union between Zanzibar and the mainland, whose relationship has not always been rosy – even though Zanzibar is semi-autonomous, with its president and parliament, there continues to be aspirations for more independence from the union government.
“The debate about the “Tanzanian” identity of Abdulrazak Gurnah should be an awakening call & a trigger to our government to think of the following: (i)Justice; (ii) Dual Citizenship; (iii)Union matters; (iv) quality education and teaching – how do we do in writing & literature?” tweeted social scientist Aikande Kwayu.
Dual-citizenship has been a long-debated issue, with more and more Tanzanians – especially those in the diaspora – advocating for its implementation. Successive governments have steered clear of it, often citing constitutional restrictions.
“One of the reasons Tanzania can’t allow dual citizenship is the fear that Abdulrazak Gurnah & his grandparents, who fled Zanzibar to escape the persecution of Arabs during the Zanzibar Revolution, would return and claim their stolen assets. And we’re shamelessly celebrating his victory?” Erick Kabendera, a journalist, wrote.