Comments on: Book Review – Home Again stories of migration and return http://dominichen.com/book-review-home-again-stories-of-migration-and-return/ Discovering The Nature Island Commonwealth of Dominica Sat, 11 Feb 2012 06:42:21 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: Starting the process of reverse mitgration | History, heritage, lifestyle of the Commonwealth of Dominica http://dominichen.com/book-review-home-again-stories-of-migration-and-return/#comment-17 Starting the process of reverse mitgration | History, heritage, lifestyle of the Commonwealth of Dominica Thu, 19 Aug 2010 18:44:23 +0000 http://www.dominichen.com/?p=358#comment-17 [...] the book Coming Home there is one story of a man who lived in the UK and moved back to Dominica. I like reading these [...] [...] the book Coming Home there is one story of a man who lived in the UK and moved back to Dominica. I like reading these [...]

]]> By: DianeCorriette http://dominichen.com/book-review-home-again-stories-of-migration-and-return/#comment-16 DianeCorriette Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:08:07 +0000 http://www.dominichen.com/?p=358#comment-16 If the book was set up to break down the "wall of silence" it definitely did that on the Dominican Diaspora site! The thought of being born in the UK and treated badly because of it really bothered me. What I found really terrible though was the fact that people left Home, came to England to be treated badly, had to fight just to win the right to walk down the street and not get beaten to death. Then they had to go home years later and have to fight again. If the book was there to break down a wall then giving alternatives and solutions was needed. I personally saw it as a sharing of stories, like many great West Indian story tellers letting us know how it was and I loved the fact that it was informal and gave every contributor the freedom to express their story in their own unique way. I would hate for one story to read similar to the next one because a structure was put in place. For people in Dominica it will provide a little glimpse into what really happened to their family when they went to the "Motherland" - although there wasn't a huge focus but people can get an idea. For those of us here thinking about going to live in the Caribbean, it provides an insight into the kind of treatment we may (or definitely may not) receive. The one message that was very evident was this - however they are treated Dominica is home and no one is going to tell them otherwise - now that's the Dominican fighting spirit I am learning how to embrace and love :) Home Again - Stories Of Migration and Return is an easy read, a light read, eye opening and worth reading. The only problem is that it may leave you with more questions than answers as Darren and Dawn rightly point out. I was lucky, I got to vent my questions on the forum and got some answers but not everyone reading it will have that opportunity. If the book was set up to break down the “wall of silence” it definitely did that on the Dominican Diaspora site! The thought of being born in the UK and treated badly because of it really bothered me. What I found really terrible though was the fact that people left Home, came to England to be treated badly, had to fight just to win the right to walk down the street and not get beaten to death. Then they had to go home years later and have to fight again.
If the book was there to break down a wall then giving alternatives and solutions was needed.

I personally saw it as a sharing of stories, like many great West Indian story tellers letting us know how it was and I loved the fact that it was informal and gave every contributor the freedom to express their story in their own unique way. I would hate for one story to read similar to the next one because a structure was put in place.

For people in Dominica it will provide a little glimpse into what really happened to their family when they went to the “Motherland” – although there wasn’t a huge focus but people can get an idea.

For those of us here thinking about going to live in the Caribbean, it provides an insight into the kind of treatment we may (or definitely may not) receive.

The one message that was very evident was this – however they are treated Dominica is home and no one is going to tell them otherwise – now that’s the Dominican fighting spirit I am learning how to embrace and love :)

Home Again – Stories Of Migration and Return is an easy read, a light read, eye opening and worth reading. The only problem is that it may leave you with more questions than answers as Darren and Dawn rightly point out. I was lucky, I got to vent my questions on the forum and got some answers but not everyone reading it will have that opportunity.

]]> By: Celia Sorhaindo http://dominichen.com/book-review-home-again-stories-of-migration-and-return/#comment-15 Celia Sorhaindo Tue, 01 Dec 2009 05:37:31 +0000 http://www.dominichen.com/?p=358#comment-15 Darren - Many Thanks for taking the time to write such a detailed review of "Home Again stories of migration and return". Just to clarify, the stories are transcriptions from recorded interviews with the returnees and although substantial editing and proofreading were undertaken we deliberately chose not to overly edit the accounts. Dominica has a rich storytelling tradition and we wanted to document the contributors’ stories in their own words & dialect so it would be as if each individual was telling their story personally to the reader. The aim was to document these real life stories, showing both the positive and the negative aspects of the migration and return experience. Hopefully the continued honest dialogue will eventually lead to greater understanding & tolerance. Regards Darren – Many Thanks for taking the time to write such a detailed review of “Home Again stories of migration and return”.
Just to clarify, the stories are transcriptions from recorded interviews with the returnees and although substantial editing and proofreading were undertaken we deliberately chose not to overly edit the accounts. Dominica has a rich storytelling tradition and we wanted to document the contributors’ stories in their own words & dialect so it would be as if each individual was telling their story personally to the reader. The aim was to document these real life stories, showing both the positive and the negative aspects of the migration and return experience. Hopefully the continued honest dialogue will eventually lead to greater understanding & tolerance.
Regards

]]> By: Maureen http://dominichen.com/book-review-home-again-stories-of-migration-and-return/#comment-14 Maureen Mon, 30 Nov 2009 17:09:09 +0000 http://www.dominichen.com/?p=358#comment-14 I found this book Home Again to be very inspiring. I learnt alot about people various experiences of migrating back to Dominica & their life during the Windrush years. I will definitely take the positives out of Home Again, which will help me alot in the future, if I ever eventually decide to migrate back home. I am glad that the compilers of the book didn't correct improper grammar or dialect because this allowed the characters of the people to come through. While I was reading the book it's like the people are in my home talking directly to me. The bottom line each & everyone of the returnees are happy that they made the move back to Dominica & have a much better lifestyle. I found this book Home Again to be very inspiring. I learnt alot about people various experiences of migrating back to Dominica & their life during the Windrush years. I will definitely take the positives out of Home Again, which will help me alot in the future, if I ever eventually decide to migrate back home.

I am glad that the compilers of the book didn’t correct improper grammar or dialect because this allowed the characters of the people to come through. While I was reading the book it’s like the people are in my home talking directly to me.

The bottom line each & everyone of the returnees are happy that they made the move back to Dominica & have a much better lifestyle.

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