Seasons of sacrifices

Author's name: Saleh Dima

This is a novel whose chapters we witness every day, a story whose details we are part of, whether we realize it or not. The story of those who were rejected by their homelands and became nomads.

From Somalia, Saleh Dima's journey begins in a text that transcends all traditional metaphors about migration and asylum (the metaphor of the suitcase, the fence, the passport, etc.). Here, what migrates is not just a displaced person, but an entire homeland, an identity that has continually been embodied in migration. It is a novel about the homeland—the body, torn apart. From Kismayo to Nairobi to Jeddah, Saleh Dima paints in his novel the eternal image of the refugee, where times and places differ, yet the refugee remains the same: roots in the air, carrying his ghosts wherever he sets foot and offering his sacrifices. It is not enough for a refugee to settle down somewhere to escape the smells, tastes, sensations, and sounds that cling to his body...

It is a melody of sorrow and the eternal pursuit of the unattainable, but it is also a carnival of pleasure, because refugees also have the right to love, friendship, play, dance, and celebration...

Seasons of Sacrifices won the Asma Siddiq Award for First Novel in its second edition in 2024.