Amjad Nasser was unable to physically come to NYU because he was detained at Heathrow in London. While there he was put through rigorous questioning to which the American homeland security agent who he was talking to over the phone already knew the answers to. Because he was on the blacklist as a result of some political agitation that his works caused, he was unable to fly to America as the American homeland security agent told him. American dominion presided on British soil. As Amjad put it in his essay on the matter, he was unable to come to New York, but corrupt government officials, thieves and drug lords can fly to New York. The injustices he faced need to be recognized by the community. I think that his speech through Skype relates to our class because he spoke through a new media technology, Skype. Without the invention of this technology, we would not have gotten to hear him speak and see the way he read his poetry so passionately. The way his body moved with his poems and the cadence in his voice all conveyed his devotion to his work.
Technology has increased the awareness of political dissent as it creates a widespread distribution of ideas. In Amjad’s case this had negative consequences and he was unable to fly to America because of the perceived threat of his ideas. Although Amjad was unable to physically come to NYU, I was still able to experience his poetic brilliance through Skype.
His novels and poems detail the riveting wars and divides among Arab nations. Specifically in his novel Land of No Rain, he describes what it is like to be an exile of a country and how one forms his identity through this. Being an in-betweener or a “ghost” who doesn’t fit in anywhere, the protagonist is forced to create his own new identity. Giving insight into the strict regimes in places such as Jordan, Amjad creates political sentiment while describing the effects of a split land. His poetry has inspired many to think outside the lines that they are used to. This led to a rise in questioning of authority. Amjad was put on the blacklist because he made people think. He made them question their authority and who they trusted the power to. He did not commit a crime or harm anybody, he simply made people think. How come our world has come to this where freedom of expression isn’t truly freedom?
