Later that same day, an old man stands with a Naval officer on the perimeter of his own property, staring at his house in La
Jolla,
California, which is surrounded by other soldiers. The old man himself used to be in the Navy, but the officer standing next to him pays little attention to him, brushing off his questions when he asks whether Mexicans or Muslims are the ones coming through The officer tells him that he can’t answer such queries, and the old man asks what he can do to help. Ill let you know the officer says, offering to take the old man to stay with relatives or friends. Ashe goes to answer the question, the old man realizes he has nowhere to go.
The third vignette in Exit West
, this scene demonstrates thecultural ignorance displayed by people who seek to fortify theirborders and keep people out. When the old man asks the officer ifthe people coming through are Mexicans or Muslims he reveals aculturally insensitive—or culturally lazy—perspective, one thatprioritizes keeping people out overtaking the time to learn who theyare in the first place. Such an attitude, Hamid implies, leaves aperson alone in life, for the old man has nobody to turn to now thathis house has been taken over by both the Navy and whomever it isthat is coming to America through his house.Not long after the stock exchange siege, the militant radicals start taking over and holding territory throughout the city.”
Nobody knows how these fighters are arriving in such vast numbers and so quickly. The city finally institutes a curfew and installs checkpoints with razor wire and infantry fighting vehicles On the first Friday of curfew, Saeed goes with his father to a communal prayer while his mother stays and prays at home, newly particular about not missing a single one of her devotions.”
Saeed’s mother’s new spiritual habits exemplify the ways in whichpeople turn to religion in times of uncertainty. For his mother, “notmissing a single devotion is away of controlling her life in anShare with your friends: