Damaging Traverses: Decolonizing Trauma and Migration through the Lens of the Syrian Refugee Crisis in Layla Alammar's Novel Silence is a Sense

The present paper explores the representation of the Syrian refugee crisis in Layla Alammar’s novel Silence Is a Sense. It interrogates the traumatic experience that undergirds the physical crossing of Europe through the exploration of the main character’s silence. Placing the refugee at the center of focus, the paper troubles the established trauma model and its concomitant notions of memory, testimony, and the unspeakable. It argues that the embodied experience of the refugee, the socio-historical context, and the institutions with which she interacts shape the way the event is lived, interpreted and signified to others. The dynamics of silence, speech, writing and interpretation showcase the ambivalence of the refugee experience, the intensity of her trauma, the institutional constraints the main character faces, and the ethical necessity of story-telling in bringing about the recognition of the other.