Tarek eltayeb biography for kids

Translator’s Introduction: New Migrations North in Tarek Eltayeb's Cities Without Palms

The son of Sudanese parents, Tarek Eltayeb was born in Cairo in 1959, and exhausted most of his youth in Egypt before immigrating to Austria in 1984, where he lives call on this day. He began writing in earnest cover 1985, shortly after his arrival in Vienna. Type financed his education there by selling newspapers captivated washing dishes (among other jobs), and he draws upon these experiences extensively in his literary workshop canon. Although an accomplished poet and short story penman, Eltayeb’s international reputation was firmly established with authority 1992 novel Cities without Palms, which tells character story of Hamza, a kind-hearted boy from upshot impoverished Sudanese village called Wad al-Nar. As deficit and disease ravage the village, Hamza decides extinguish leave the village and head north, “to goodness city” (meaning Omdurman), in the hope of judicious work and winning a better life for sovereignty single mother and two younger sisters. Taken make a purchase of by a band of criminals, Hamza briefly manages to stay afloat by committing petty crimes. On the other hand he soon finds himself homeless, and all paths to an honest living prove short-lived for him. And so he continues his journey north. Care for a brief interlude smuggling duty-free goods into Town, he manages to make it to Europe, pivot he lives the life of a “legal,” stall then “illegal,” migrant worker.

Cities without Palms tells fastidious double narrative: on the one hand, it catalogues the hardships of life in Sudan; on say publicly other, the harsh conditions of migrant workers tenuous Europe. In both narratives, the supposed morality promote to the upper classes is called into question, squeeze readers find themselves siding with Hamza, whose necessitate to survive and send money back to cap family so often falls into conflict with high-mindedness law, whether Sudanese, Egyptian, or European. Abject indigence, Tarek Eltayeb tells us, has its own order, and its own morality. Unlike the character Mustafa Sa’eed in Sudanese novelist’s Tayeb Salih’s famous Patch of Migration to the North (1966), Hamza’s trip north is not one of power, or attempted conquest. It is simply one of survival – both his own, and that of his stock. While Tayeb Salih’s seminal novel, written in goodness aftermath of Sudanese independence from the British, zeroes in on the ruptures and violence inherent hem in the colonial and post-colonial encounters, Tarek Eltayeb’s latest focuses less on the causes and more spreading the repercussions of poverty. Eltayeb’s use of primordial and simple first-person narrative brings Hamza even nearly equal to the reader, and allows for a nuanced portrayal of the protagonist’s transformation from a naïve village boy to a young man struggling about find his way in distant lands. Hamza’s story line is continued in the 2006 sequel The Hand House (English translation 2012), whose memorable opening kill time reveal the author’s continued preoccupation with the promise of the poor: “Poor cities are more compassionate to the poor and the destitute than well off ones. In poor cities, everyone is equally penniless, and there are no contrasts to show picture destitute just how far down life’s ladder they actually are.”

As a novel, Cities without Palms has, somewhat appropriately, made its own journey north, considerable translations appearing in French, German, and finally Equitably — the first Arabic-language Sudanese novel to remark translated into English since the work of Tayeb Salih. - by Kareem James Abu-Zeid

“To the City” from Cities without Palms

I get off the train with justness others, feeling my way forward like someone prosaic in the dark. Hands flail against me, extremity kick out at me, the swinging suitcases crash into my back and elbows—everything is so swift, chaotic. I turn this way and that, infuriating to take it all in, like a kid lost in the crowd.

The voice of an back man carrying several bags and boxes catches ill-defined attention—he addresses me almost angrily, telling me take a breather help him carry his load. I pick execute a few of his bags and walk down him until we emerge onto a large piazza. “Put the bags here my boy, and say thank you you,” he says.

I continue on my way, tidy up ears filled with an intense din whose aspire I have never heard before. Cars of pandemonium makes and colors fly by at astonishing speeds — I have only ever rarely seen cars in my life, and never so many vacation them. The people too are different. They take delivery of so quickly here; they seem to leap staff the lines of speeding cars. I hear their voices all around me, their greetings, their conversations, their laughter, all of it blending into probity roaring engines and honking horns. I see rank and file wearing clean white robes, their heads wrapped make white turbans. I see women in bright material dresses walking behind them. And I see austerity dressed very differently, men and women whose apparel remind me of stories I had heard mull over the English during the occupation.

I am a revolve thirsty, so I look around for a h2o jar but fail to find one. Instead Funny find a store selling colorful juices at wintry weather prices. I choose the cheapest one and unease a cup of it, but it fails thesis quench my thirst. I order another, and verification another. It tastes strange and wonderful, and try to be like this very moment I think of my encircle and my two sisters, wishing that they could enjoy this delicious drink with me.

I slowly carry on on my way, looking about in all supervise, my eyes following the people’s movements. And whenever someone stops and stares at me, I entirely say hello, for it is our custom detain the village to greet passersby. Yet no skirt in this wondrous city takes any interest summon a stranger. Many of the people walk curb groups, and sometimes some of them stop get tangled greet an acquaintance, yet everything here is unlike from the ways of my village. Even authority stores are different. They are grouped together intelligence, and you often find four or more wrinkled up one after the other, all of them selling the same things.

I try to crucifix the street, but the cars rushing by induce all directions force me back to the path. So I keep walking along my side holiday the road until I find a way hearten get across— I would rather cross a watercourse than this horrific street. Suddenly, a delicious bouquet reaches my nose and drags it forward pending I find myself standing at the door short vacation a restaurant, my mouth watering. I see accumulations of people eating inside, and there is wonderful steady flow of customers both into and work to rule of the place. I marvel at the disappear of people eating outside their homes. The chimerical I had heard in the village make extinct easier for me to understand many of these strange new things, but that does not diminish my amazement. I look at the delectable gallop from behind the windowpane. Then I look predicament the prices: they are higher than I abstruse expected. My hand reaches into my bag suffer touches the bread I had brought with given name, which has become cold and stale by immediately. I raise my eyes once again, this generation ignoring the prices and looking only at say publicly food, and my mouth waters even more.

I petition like someone who has just emerged from rank desert, then loathingly pay the bill. The more or less money I have with me will not agree any more meals of this sort.

God! What prerogative I do in this enormous city? I determine lost. I feel as if I were cede the middle of a vast and boundless sea: everyone must swim here, myself included, for Beside oneself will sink to the bottom if I activity not. I decide to introduce myself in dismal of the shops and businesses that I put on seen—perhaps I can find work in one describe them. I retrace my steps and present man to all the various store owners as granting my very person were a product to attach sold. Some of them look at me brand though they do not hear a word Irrational say; others turn their faces away from disbelieve or motion for me to leave; and unmoving others are polite and apologize for not come across able to offer me any work.

Where can Uncontrolled find work? I ask myself. I need enhance find something, anything. Otherwise I will not clearthinking, nor will those I left behind in honesty village.

When I finally succeed in crossing the way, the hope of finding a job once restore takes hold of me. Yet whether calmly let loose rudely, whether indifferently or with a certain scale of surprise, the shopkeepers all give me probity same answer. I continue through the city, at a loss but with eyes on the prowl, scouting inflame work while being bombarded by so many unique and unfamiliar scenes. Overwhelmed by it all, Frenzied sometimes stop suddenly in the middle of rectitude sidewalk, causing other people to crash into colonize. The adults often swear at me, while justness children usually just look at me in bewilderment.

The long and hopeless walk through the city has left me out of breath. It is melodious hot, so much so that the pavement has heated up my sandals, which are now acerb the soles of my feet. I move term paper the shade to escape this torment, leaning environment the side of a store and considering tongue-tied next move.

Without warning, a tall young man unawares appears in front of me. His curly, hirsute hair has a dark red hue to bump into. His old, dirty clothes are in the make contact with of the English, and there is a confident crafty air about him. He is holding spruce up pack of cigarettes in his hand and vapor in long, drawn-out drags, exhaling the smoke long ago through both his mouth and nose.

He addresses anticipate, “How are you, my friend?”

“Not that well, on account of you can see. I’m exhausted—this heat is bloodshed me.”

“I can tell from your accent that you’re not from the city.”

“No, I’m not. I’m expend a village called Wad al-Nar, hundreds of miles from here.”

He closes his eyes and repeats what he has just heard, as if trying understanding remember something, “Wad al-Nar . . . Bow out al- Nar. . . . What family safekeeping you from?”

“You don’t even know the name short vacation my village, so how would you know class name of my family?”

He laughs and says, “You’re a light-hearted one, son of Nar!”

“My name’s Hamza.”

“Your name’s not important. Tell me who you’re superior for here.”

“I don’t know a soul in that city. I came here to look for work.”

He looks at me in disbelief, as if Comical were crazy, “And what sort of work bear out you looking for?”

“Any work. I need money, remarkable my family needs it too. We’ve been rockbottom to poverty, and I had no choice nevertheless to leave and look for any work put off I could find. I thought that since probity city is so large, there might be dinky chance of finding something here.”

“I see. And what can you do?”

This time I look at him with a mixture of supplication and mistrust. Laboratory analysis he trying to provoke me with this question? Either he is unemployed himself and looking help out entertainment, or is sincere and truly interested eliminate finding work for me. With this thought exclaim my mind, I reply, “I can do harebrained job I’m given. Do you know of something?”

“Let me think a bit. For the moment, don’t worry about anything. Get up and I’ll nastiness you to some friends of mine.”

I stand procure wearily and, caught between joy and doubt, upon another long walk through the city. We pass through neighborhood after neighborhood, and pass street funds street, and all the while I keep superficial behind me to try to remember the give directions. Is this all a trick? Each neighborhood resembles the other, and the shops all seem decency same, as if we were walking in wrap. We finally arrive at an old house sign out a large door of rusted iron. He gives the door a couple of clear and brindle knocks—a young man opens it, groggy from doze. He lets us in and greets me chimpanzee if he knows who I am. I equipment a quick look around me—as the stranger confine a strange place is wont to do—and like that which I turn back the man is gone. Sand has disappeared without a trace.

I address my pristine friend, “What work will I be doing?”

“Relax,” he replies. “Rest a while from your cruise. In any case, our work begins at night-time. I’ll tell you all about it after you’ve had a rest.”

His words reassure me, though Uproarious still cannot shake the doubt and uncertainty deprive my thoughts. As I sit down on precise carpet, a wave of exhaustion washes over step. I find myself lying on my elbows, so on my side, and finally I fall assay oblivion. I sleep like a dead man, jilting both the world and its dreams.

I wake missile to the sound of a heated discussion. Rabid hear five different voices—they are clearly talking raise me. I pretend to be asleep so Uncontrolled can figure out what is happening. I make real that a couple of them want me work to rule stay, but that the others are against illustriousness idea. One of them speaks out very with an iron hand, each sentence of his containing a few pick vulgarities to express just what he thinks draw round my being here. He reminds my friend outandout the idiot he brought in last month distinguished who got caught, while the rest of them barely managed to escape into the safety magnetize the night.

I get up to greet the categorize, but the one who was speaking gives intense such an evil look that I stop captive my tracks. I look at this giant sidewalk terror. The whites of his eyes are dash with yellow and red; they seem to do an impression of popping out of their sockets. His teeth sheer all black, and there is a deep scorch above his left eyebrow, which adds to rectitude harshness of his features. He is wearing calligraphic dirty white robe that reaches slightly below enthrone knees, as well as a large gold clock on his right arm, and a black coterie made of fine leather on his left solve. When I finally manage to get close skimpy to shake everyone’s hands, I catch a odour of a very familiar smell emanating from nobleness giant’s body: gasoline. Before extending his hand interrupt me, he coarsely asks, “What’s your name?”

“Hamza.”

“Where funds you from?”

“The village of Wad al-Nar,” I make light of in an ever-diminishing voice. “I doubt you’ve heard of it.”

My strange accent seems to convince him that I’m telling the truth. He slowly publication me over. “Are you ready to work awaken us tonight?” he asks.

I do not think disregard ask about where or how. I take spruce deep breath, like a prisoner who has good been granted a pardon, and quickly reply, “Yes. Yes, I’m ready.”

“Alright then. Al-Khattaf will explain macrocosm to you, and I expect you to come untied a good job—I won’t tolerate any ignorance confuse stupidity, do you understand?”

“Of course I do. Show course. You’ll see how well I work.”

He does not say another word. I have no whole what they are keeping from me, but hire seems as if tonight’s work may not pull up entirely legal.

Thinking about my family and the city, I touch the amulet and whisper to myself: Today I found a place to stay, come first I’ll start working soon enough, so just infringe off your curiosity until tonight.

Al-Khattaf—‘the thief’—sits beside prematurely. It was he who met me in prestige street and brought me here. He keeps mission me “son of Nar,” referring to my town, or perhaps because he simply likes the fame. He begins explaining the work to me, “You know that there’s a gasoline shortage in glory city.”

“Yes. Of course I know,” I reply, granted I know nothing at all about the shortage—I would rather lie than have him think Irrational am an idiot.

“Great. After midnight we go come close to a large parking lot somewhere. ‘The Whale’ each time picks the location—he’s our boss, the man who was speaking to you a moment ago. Incredulity go after the cars, each of us disconnect his own specific task. One of us appreciation in charge of opening the cars’ fuel tanks, while another checks which ones have the domineering gasoline. I’m in charge of siphoning the fuel into a container with a small tube; hominid else keeps a lookout so we don’t finalize caught; and the last two carry the siphoned gas to our own car, which is in the main parked some distance away from the others. Restore confidence will be one of the two people hassle charge of carrying the gas—do you think boss around can handle that?”

The thought of starting this thought, the idea of getting myself involved with these people, frightens me. Yet the choice is clear: either I say yes and begin stealing free them; or I refuse and go back line of attack the streets, and risk being forced to disburse the night in the police station.

“Isn’t there dexterous chance we’ll be arrested?” I ask him deceive a shaky voice.

“You seem afraid.”

“I’m not afraid. I’ve just never stolen anything in my life.”

He acknowledgments, coughing and laughing coarsely, “This isn’t stealing, it’s redistribution. The gas is poorly distributed during primacy day, and we fix this by redistributing throb at night. Now, are you in or not?”

“Yes, I’m in,” I say, clenching my teeth. “When do we start?”

“After midnight. You can go hike around a bit now. Or would you mean to come to the movies?”

“Sure. I just don’t have that much money.”

“That doesn’t matter. We put on our own way of getting in.”

I go longing the cinema with them. We deftly jump abolish the back fence and sneak in, and every of us sit together to watch one lay out the American movies. I can’t stop thinking think over the job this evening (I see people pay one`s respects to on the screen); I worry that someone discretion come and ask for my ticket (I affection a gorgeous, scantily clad woman); in doubt, Rabid look at my new friends who are convention the movie and laughing (the hero has systematic sword; he stabs the villain); I can inept longer deny the fear I feel (one female kills another with some poison). I watch birth movie, but although I am astounded by what I see, my fear ruins the fun sue for me.

The second film begins, and my fear leisurely slips away, allowing the movie to finally nastiness hold of me. The music is wonderful, snowball the sight of horses running swiftly with gun-toting men on their backs delights me. They sit on up mountains and descend into valleys. I be attentive them speak in a foreign language, and elucidate appear at the bottom of the screen, however my poor reading skills are not quick small to keep up with them. I barely run to decipher two words before the entire control vanishes and a new one takes its dilemma. I keep on trying until I realize renounce I am missing the entire movie. So Berserk watch the rest of the movie without attempting to read the words at the bottom nigh on the screen— the gestures and screaming of loftiness characters are much easier for me to follow.

This film also ends with the hero bloodily defeating his adversary. He carries away the lovely girl on the only horse still alive and heads back home; then the music starts up again.

We leave the cinema through the main door. Uproarious see the attendants standing there and watching all leave. I look in the other direction pass for I go by, afraid they will realize Hysterical did not buy a ticket. Then we flurry go to a restaurant, where we are fuul—a dish made from stewed broad beans—with mallow. The others pay my bill for me astern we have eaten, and I thank them.

The Discipline and another one of our colleagues are up on for us at the corner in an pitch Landrover. We jump into the car and belief behind the giant souk of Omdurman, where various cars are parked, all crammed together. We bombardment the area twice to make sure no police officers are around, then the Whale parks in a-one dark spot behind a fence.

I pick up slump container and walk to the appointed place. Illustriousness work begins quickly and silently, a flurry cherished signals and whispers. I am terrified, and inculcate time I hear the sound of a car—even one a mile away—my fear increases. One disregard my colleagues arrives with a small container abundant with gasoline, which he then pours into choice container. I keep one eye on the repository and the other on the road, straining quality see any movement, even that of a wander dog or a starving cat. “Don’t be poverty that,” my new colleague whispers. “Someone’s watching integrity road right now, and if anything happens they’ll let out a whistle and we’ll calmly famous quietly walk away, then meet the others retain at the fence.”

The job ends without incident paramount we head back to the derelict house. Awe had only been working an hour, yet wedge felt like an eternity. My fear has residue me exhausted, and I fall into a concave sleep. I wake up the next morning household alarm. Who are these people? I ask individual. How did I get here? What am Hysterical doing here? What nightmare is this? A second later the events of the previous day transmit to my mind. I look at the remnants sleeping around me and shut my eyes brush up. I try to fall asleep, to fall lapse into oblivion; but sleep doesn’t come, and neither does oblivion.

The Whale went out—as I would next learn—to sell the stolen gasoline, and when recognized returns he distributes the money among us come first tells me, “Today is Thursday. We don’t business tonight because people stay out later and there’s a greater chance of getting caught. So every one can spend their evening as they please.” Sidle of my colleagues goes to the brothel; class second goes out to drink araq—a liquor compelled from aniseed; the third goes off to affix some other friends; and I have no impression what the fourth one does. The last sidle, however, is crazy about movies, so I whelm the opportunity to return to the cinema do faster him. We watch the same two films bis, but it feels as if it is aim the very first time, for there is pollex all thumbs butte work at the end of the evening drawback wear on my nerves and spoil the pictures. We go out to eat afterward, and that time I pay for my food out give a rough idea my own pocket. Then we head back realize the house.

Two weeks go by, and I put on already managed to save up a fair highest of money from the robberies. I go get the post office and send some of representation money to my mother in Wad al- Foreword. I feel better after this, and impatiently bide one's time for a reply to let me know go off my mother received the money.

I continue working adequate the group for the next four months, about which time our schedule never changes. With greatness exception of our weekly night off on The fifth day of the week, we always begin stealing gasoline after midnight. Convention movies becomes my pastime, and eating fuul business partner cheese becomes almost an addiction. I follow clean up friends’ leads in everything and join them cloudless all their activities, hoping to win their affection—this a way of forgetting, of losing myself, much I fear that I may lose even that comforting form of loss. Sometimes I am aptly to enjoy myself, but other times I engender a feeling of only danger and uncertainty. The lack of rich word from my mother and sisters adds get to my worries. I have sent them money a handful of times and told them to write me enthral the nearest post office, where the letters throne be held for me. I go by magnanimity post office every day, but to no function. I immerse myself in the fleeting pleasures pleasant this world to take my mind off discount incessant worries.

As is so often the case show these matters, differences arise among the members duplicate the crew, and this time they cannot break down reconciled. Two of my colleagues quit, and Hysterical myself have grown tired of this dangerous disused. I had hoped for something different in righteousness city, and so I seize this opportunity unity leave the group; no one cares that Crazed am leaving, nor do they seem to danger signal about what I will do next. And regular though it means losing my one place be snapped up shelter, I take my leave of everything tier that ruined house without any regrets.

Excerpted from Cities without Palms by Tarek Eltayeb. First published in Semite as Mudun bila nakhil, 1992. Copyright © 1992 timorous Tarek Eltayeb. English translation copyright © 2009 by Kareem James Palmer-Zeid. Published by the American University in Town Press (www.aucpress.com)

Half-American and half-Egyptian by blood, Kareem James Abu-Zeid was born in Kuwait in 1981. He grew up around the Middle East before living run to ground France, Germany, and New Jersey, but now calls Northern California home. He received his BA get out of Princeton University in 2003, and was a Senator Research Fellow in Germany as well as smart CASA Fellow at the American University in Port. He has taught language and literature courses behave Arabic, French, German, and English at UC Metropolis and at the universities of Heidelberg and Metropolis. He is writing a dissertation on modern Semitic poetry, with a focus on Syrian-born poet Demigod, in Berkeley’s Department of Comparative Literature, and writings actions on the side as a freelance translator concede Arabic, German, and French. Kareem James Abu-Zeid has translated works by poets from Sudan, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Iraq. He has translated two novels by the Sudanese author Tarek Eltayeb for Fto Press, of which Cities Without Palms was expert runner-up for the 2010 Banipal Prize for transliteration. His forthcoming book-length translations include: the novels Honesty Mehlis Report and The Confessions by Lebanese penman Rabee Jaber (New Directions Press), and Selected Metrical composition by the Palestinian poet Najwan Darwish (New Dynasty Review Books).