The Crisis of Climate and Immigration in Amitav Ghosh’s Gun Island

Year 2021, , 473 - 489, 06.12.2021

Trina Bose , Amrita Satapathy

https://doi.org/10.26650/LITERA2021-871879

Abstract

Human migration, a socio-political phenomenon in contemporary times, refers to the journey of people across international borders or within their own country. Such journeys arise from varied ecological, social, political, religious, and economic factors. “In this globalize (sic) world, where everything seems to be global, migration is also changing its nature and forms which it takes” (UKEssays, 2018, para. 4). Even though human migration is not new, “undocumented, unauthorized, or illegal migration is a recent phenomenon” (Donato & Massey, 2016, p. 9). Illegal immigrants who undergo political unrest and social turmoil during migration are often sufferers of identity crisis, imprisonment, torture, and exploitation through bonded labour. Falsification of identity papers, drug and arms trafficking, forced prostitution, and human trafficking are some salient features of undocumented migration throughout the world. Amitav Ghosh’s Gun Island (2019) undertakes an exploratory journey into the present globalized world of anthropogenic climate metamorphoses that trigger excruciating illegal migrations from the Indian Sundarbans, the mangrove region. It is also the saga of many other undocumented migrants from various developing countries, who illegally migrate to the West in search of employment and opportunity but miserably fall victims to human trafficking, xenophobia, and imprisonment. The paper focuses on the socio-economic, political, and climatological reasons for, and the consequences of, the illegal migrations of the underprivileged people portrayed in the text under discussion, by situating them within the framework of the contemporary era of capitalist globalization.

Keywords

Climate, employment, globalization, human trafficking, illegal migration

References

• Baldwin-Edwards, M. (2008). Towards a theory of illegal migration: Historical and structural components. Third google scholar
• World Quarterly, 29(7), 1449-1459. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/20455119 google scholar
• Clark, A. (2019, June 5). Gun island by Amitav Ghosh review- climate and culture in crisis. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/jun/05/gun-island-amitav-ghosh-review google scholar
• Crush, J., & Ramachandran, S. (2009). Xenophobia, international migration and human development. Human Development Reports, Research Paper 2009/47. 1-104. Retrieved from https://scholars.wlu.ca/cgi/ viewcontent.cgi?article=1013&context=samp google scholar
• Diamond, S. (1996). Right-wing politics and the anti-immigration cause. Social Justice, 23(3 (65)), 154-168. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/29766959 google scholar
• Diaz, R. J., & Rosenberg, R. (2008). Spreading dead zones and consequences for marine ecosystems. Science, 321(5891), 926-929. google scholar
• Donato, K., & Massey, D. (2016). Twenty-first-century globalization and illegal migration. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 666, 7-26. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/ stable/24756125 google scholar
• Gemenne, F. (2012). Environmental migration. In Martiniello M. & Rath J. (Eds.), An introduction to international migration studies: Europan perspectives (pp. 237-258), Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press. google scholar
• Ghosh, A. (2019). Gun island. India: Penguin. google scholar
• Ghosh, A., Schmidt, S., Fickert, T., & Nüsser, M. (2015). The Indian Sundarban mangrove forests: History, utilization, conservation strategies and local perception. Diversity. 7 (2), 149-169. doi:10.3390/d7020149 google scholar
• Kartiki, K. (2011). Climate change and migration: A case study from rural Bangladesh. Gender and Development, 19(1), 23-38. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/41305970 google scholar
• Last, J., Trouton, k., & Pengelly, D. (1998). Taking our breath away: The health effects of air pollution and climate change. Vancouver, BC (Canada): David Suzuki Foundation. google scholar
• Martin, P., & Miller, M. (2000). Smuggling and trafficking: A conference report. The International Migration Review, 34(3), 969-975. doi:10.2307/2675952 google scholar
• Martinez, et al. (2015). Evaluating the impact of immigration policies on health status among undocumented immigrants: a systematic review. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 17(3), 947-970. doi.org/10.1007/ s10903-013-9968-4 google scholar
• Massey D. S. (2010). Immigration statistics for the 21st century. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 631(1), 124-140. doi.org/10.1177/0002716210373329 google scholar
• Molinari, N. (2017). Intensifying insecurities: The impact of climate change on vulnerability to human trafficking in the Indian Sundarbans. Anti-Trafficking Review, 8, 50-69. doi.org/10.14197/atr.20121784 google scholar
• Moretti, M. (2011). Globalization of mobile and wireless communications: Bridging the digital divide. In Prasad R., Dixit S., van Nee R., & Ojanpera T. (Eds.), Globalization of mobile and wireless communications (pp. 19-29). Dordrecht: Springer. google scholar
• Radha, S., & Sankhyan, A. S. (Eds.). (2002). Environmental challenges of the 21st century. New Delhi: Deep and Deep Publications. google scholar
• Ramakrishnan, J. R. (2019, September 10). ‘Gun island’ is a surreal novel about climate change and migration. Retrieved from https://electricliterature.com/gun-island-is-a-magical-realism-novel-about-climate-change-and-migration/ google scholar
• UKEssays. (2018, November). Effects of globalization on migration. Retrieved from https://www.ukessays.com/ essays/cultural-studies/migration-in-the-era-of-globalization-cultural-studies-essay.php?vref=1 google scholar
• Vayrynen, R. (2003). İllegal immigration, human trafficking, and organized crime. WIDER Discussion Paper (No. 2003/72). The United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER). Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/10419/52839 google scholar
• Yahya, A. M. (2020). Irregular migration or human trafficking? The realities of cross-border population mobility in western Sudan. Sudan Brief. Retrieved from https://www.cmi.no/publications/7174-irregular-migration-or-human-trafficking google scholar