Belonging is a state of connection to culture, place or community framed by an individual’s ability to find acceptance and create or deny a secure sense of identity. ‘Migrant Hostel’ by Peter Skryzencki strongly depicts the feeling of alienation and displacement as a migrant in a new country. The uncertainty of whether one will ever belong or not. Since Shyzynecki was a migrant himself, he is able to give the audience insight on what a migrant’s perception is when they do not belong.
Belonging is to some extent a primal instinct like that of a bird; it is deeply ingrained in humans. This is further portrayed through, ‘Nationalities sought each other out instinctively- like a homing pigeon’. The use of this simile allows the audience to feel the segregation between nationalities, which in doing so isolates people who are of different nationalities, hence migrants cannot just join any group because they would feel displaced and pushed away. Skryzencki makes an exceptional contrast of human’s primal instinct to that of homing birds. Just like a bird, we will subconsciously want to be with our own in terms of…show more content… “For over two years we lived like birds,” symbolises how time has brought the migrants together as they are faced with the same problems. This is the second use of a bird simile, it is used to connect the migrants to the freedom of movement that birds possess and just like birds; there is no ‘set’ resting place. The juxtaposition Skryzencki uses to display the contrast between that of migrants and of birds successfully allows the audience to get a clear visual image of their situation. Through their shared complication the migrants develop a sense of belonging with each other. From this I developed a deeper understanding of how those who do not belong at first can go through shared experience that allows them to
