senstvt

I have been living abroad, now for almost 25 years in Holland. Our daughter likes to write, and last year she expressed her feelings of growing up abroad: ... As many diasporic souls will understand, memories of what was, and imaginations of what could or will be, only amplify a certain longing for return. We did not leave Indonesia out of political or economic danger, yet the kind of longing and piercing sense of displacement that one might be reminded of when listening to iconic Lebanese singer Fairuz, linger in the background of everyday life. A sense of “temporariness” and collective nostalgia is instilled within the souls and minds of younger generations who are raised abroad. Every time elders gather; they speak of their imaginations of “home”. Retiring, “back home”. Being buried, “back home”. Sending hard-earned wages, “back home”, to build houses that further fuel their hopes of return. A twin two-story townhouse, with seven bedrooms for the children and grand-children, two k