Book Review: Goat Days

Goat Days is a novel by Benyamin, a Malayali author. The novel has been translated by Joseph Koyippally. This novel is about a man named Najeeb who moves to the Gulf in order to flourish economically but the path of fate meanders into a murky, gloomy world of slavery per se.

Why do they go?

The initial point of focus that is an inciting point in the story's narrative is the lack of proper jobs and the absence of hope to break the socio-economic hierarchy. Najeeb used to dive in ponds, lakes, and rivers for his living. He has to bear the expense of a pregnant wife and they know that their expenditure will skyrocket once the child is born. The couple initially wasn't looking for a life spoiled with riches but rather a one where they'll have security, a safety net to fall on to as Najeeb planned to return after making a considerable amount of money.

The fact that the author wrote there was a 'visa for sale' itself sounds like something that would almost certainly lead to a scam. Visa applications require months to go through and a plethora of checks are carried out. Dodging all of it and going to another country regrettably assures one of a level of state-backed security. Laborers who travel to foreign lands do so for plenty of reasons and often, bypass the regulations and in turn, sacrifice the acknowledgment and security otherwise offered.

Immigrant issues: Stuck in a rat trap.

When actually the protagonist, Najeeb lands in his coveted land of promise, the first thing he sees resembles the slave trade. The Arabs are lingering all over the airport, looking for the workers they want, almost resembling a slave market of yesteryears. Throughout the duration of his servitude, he was subjected to uncountable lashes of whips and slaps and blows, something that Najeeb and the millions of others like him don't dream of when they leave their motherland in search of affluence It is difficult to say how many of those workers, who were picked up that day, had actual contracts and were guaranteed labor rights. While Najeeb's service period, there were plenty of instances where people from abroad with no security, quality of life, or even basic rights were present so the question remains, the dream that appears so alluring here turns out to be something different in reality altogether. It is a sensation of constant push and pulls, the push of desire and the pull of promise.

In the goat farm, where Najeeb had loose sand as his bed and pebbles to clean himself after defecating, clothes were a luxury. However, the basic necessity of life is water and even that was denied by his master when he was in need of it. The indentured laborers without any documentation didn't have the 'luxury' of fleeing from where they were trapped to work. Even if they do, they are mostly captured and then tried with severe punishments beckoning for them.

Many laborers still take the chance as they believe they'll not be worse off in prison. In the novel, Najeeb, a devout Muslim, yells at his master and then lies down in anticipation of a fatal assault by him. He declares to God that he will never commit suicide but has given up the hope and will to prolong his existence and is ready to embrace the end if it so comes. It is a very vivid and conspicuous portrayal of the consequence of how slavery breaks a man's body and spirit. The person who came to a foreign land in search of money to keep his child and wife content is now languishing on a goat farm in the middle of a desert with no basic amenities and quality of life.

"Every prison had its own aura of safety"

When the narrator finally fled and landed in the prison, he was happier than he was outside. He was provided with all the basic needs and the man who had dreams and people to tend after was now satisfied with this paltry and confined way of living. In the prison, there were different sections for prisoners of different nations and Najeeb feels at home in this new place, the 'new India' so to speak. There were people born in the same place and suffered the same fate as Najeeb, which made them even more comfortable and homely. They understood that whatever happens, their fellow inmates know of their sufferings without them having to tell anyone anything. Most of them suffered the same fate but prison, although a 'safe haven' for them, was not the ultimate escape. The masters often came looking for their escaped workers and if found, they were taken back to the hell they escaped with so much effort. 'Every prison has its aura of safety', Benyamin says and that is why, after spending a considerable amount of time being locked up, it absolutely shatters the ones who are spotted by their masters and dragged back. They get a hope of return when the immigration officers come every weekend and in front of their eyes, many are arranged to be sent back to their motherland. This fall, this heartbroken feeling completely kills whatever is left in their spirits.

Holding on to the culture

A very little yet noticeable gesture the narrator, and in turn many indentured laborers do is to carry their culture, their past with them. They carry it in their mind and in their thoughts but also in small gestures. Najeeb was completely alone with only the goats for company. He began to name the goats, people, and events from his last found a place in this foreign land through these beings who were his only company. This was a way to feel familiar in this alien land and also an attempt to not forget his bygone days, the days that made him, the land that calls him back.

Indentured laborers languishing in faraway land leave either by bond or with dreams but almost always face tremendous suffering in the initial generations at least. With time and effort, these people rise up the rank of social hierarchy with a lot of effort but the bloody past, the past that made them and defines them in that land remains very much pertinent.