歸屬何錯之有？反思哈尼夫．庫雷希《郊區佛陀》中之離散

What’s Wrong with Belonging? Rethinking Diaspora in Hanif Kureishi’s The Buddha of Suburbia

阿芙塔．布菈（Avtar Brah）在討論離散政治學時，強調離散呈現的是關於在本國以外的另一地方建立居所的旅程歷史敘事。在旅程中面臨著階級與種族間充滿不平等之關係，實有必要考慮到離散社區內不同形式之連繫與離散的各種經歷 （Brah1-9）。對於散居此社區內的個人，「歸屬慾望」之承認不僅限於「返回家園」，還包括在他們選擇定居的國家被宣布為公民的想望，而這點則可被視為對歸屬感的需求。以布菈的論述為框架，本文討論在哈尼夫．庫雷希（Hanif Kureishi）所著《郊區佛陀》（The Buddha of Suburbia）中離散的表現形式。本小說為南亞社區在倫敦南部所觀察到的各種跨界現象提供了啟示性的觀點。這些跨界現象是指 20 世紀 70 年代來自南倫敦郊區流動移民（mobile immigrants）暨當地出生的混血兒（hybrid born locals）與抗拒他們存在的本地白人之間的連續衝突，而流動移民和當地出生的混血兒追求融入國際大都會的努力，並沒有得到政府當局的全力支持。然而，這種衝突並不能阻止移民及當地出生的混血兒藉著創造與呼籲國人對其成為英國人之新方式的認可，來表達自己的需求。英國曾是帝國體系中的主導國家，但後來發現自己是其許多前臣民的新家，因此，歸屬議題可能為英國離散的當代意義提供重要的關鍵。

Avtar Brah, while discussing the politics of diaspora, stresses that it represents a historical narrative of journeys concerning establishing residence in another place outside the home country. Faced with such journeys full of unequal relationships between classes and races, it is necessary to consider different forms of relations within diasporic communities and various experiences of exile (Brah 1-9). For individuals within a diasporic community, the recognition of a “homing desire” is not restricted to “returning homeland” but also includes being declared citizens in the country they have chosen to settle in, and this can be seen as needs for a sense of belongingness. Following Brah’s framework, this article discusses the representation of diaspora in HanifKureishi’sThe Buddha of Suburbia. This novel offers illuminating perspectives on the diverse cross-boundary phenomena observed by the South Asian community in South London. These phenomena are shown as continuous conflicts between the mobile immigrants and the locals born hybrid who come from suburban South London, and the white locals who resisted their presence in the 1970s. The mobile immigrants and the hybrid born locals’ pursuits of being integrated into a cosmopolitan community have not been fully supported by the government authorities. However, such conflicts do not prevent the immigrants and hybrid born locals from expressing their needs to belong, by creating and calling for the recognition of a new way of being British. Hence, the issue of belongingness may offer an important key to the contemporary meaning of diaspora in Britain, which was once the dominant country in an imperial system, but then found itself the new home of many of its former subjects.