The Dream of Return in Ghassan Kanafani’s Returning to Haifa

Abstract

Home is the place where we are supposed to feel the most secure, comfortable and safe. However, such are the vagaries of human existence; that it is this sanctuary which comes under threat from various forces. Gassan Kanafani, in his fiction, has repeatedly highlighted this problem as it was (and continues to be) faced by several Palestinians in the face of Israeli extremist atrocities. Even while highlighting the problem, Kanafani staunchly advocates the need to hold on to one’s home, even in the face of extreme adversity. Returning to Haifa, on which this paper specifically focuses, is a powerful case in point. This paper attempts to analyse how through the trials of one displaced family, Kanafani has tried to show the need to fight for one’s homeland; because once it is given up, even if we do return later to try to pick up the threads, the narrative often changes beyond our control by then.