Resisting Resilience in Neoliberal Times: Rawi Hage's Cockroach

Abstract

The precarity and vulnerability of refugees have contributed to the rise of populist discourses of fear that prompt aversion to, and therefore the abjection of, displaced people, namely refugees, asylum seekers, and undocumented migrants. This situation not only diminishes them as human beings but also excludes them from the social, political, and economic system of the countries where they seek refuge. This article offers an analysis of Rawi Hage’s 2008 novel Cockroach, focusing on the resilience of destitute migrants and their resistance to adapt to the demands of the hegemonic discourse of multiculturalism in Canada. The novel’s protagonist metaphorically transforms himself into a cockroach in an attempt to subvert a neoliberal regime that construes him—and others like him—as passive, vulnerable or dangerous. This article suggests that the novel challenges the dominant and optimistic understanding of resilience, and points to an alternative understanding of the concept based on the experience of refugees.