QuoteProject
Emigration is no longer a solution; it's a defeat. People are risking death, drowning every day, but they're knocking on doors that are not open.
Tahar Ben Jelloun
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote reflects on the harsh realities of emigration, highlighting it as a desperate act rather than a solution.

Tahar Ben Jelloun's quote underscores the grim situation faced by many emigrants today, suggesting that the act of leaving one's homeland is often not a viable solution to problems but a sign of defeat. It speaks to the desperation that drives individuals to risk their lives in search of opportunities, only to find barriers that prevent them from finding refuge or hope in new lands.

Themes

EmigrationDefeatDesperationRiskHope

In practice

Example use cases

In a discussion about immigration policies, this quote can highlight the urgency and peril faced by emigrants.

More from Tahar Ben Jelloun

Poetry is not only a set of words which are chosen to relate to each other; it is something which goes much further than that to provide a glimpse of our vision of the world.
Tahar Ben JellounRead
I came to poetry through the urgent need to denounce injustice, exploitation, humiliation. I know that's not enough to change the world. But to remain silent would have been a kind of intolerable complicity.
Tahar Ben JellounRead

Similar quotes

Global warming is a matter of national security. Will we live in a world where we must fight our neighbors for fresh water and food? Or will we take the lead now and leave to our children and grandchildren a world better off than the one we inherited from our parents?
Wesley ClarkRead
The only person you are fighting is yourself and your stubbornness to engage in new circumstances.
Jon KrakauerRead
The women's movement was always going to work in two parts. With one part, we'd break open the doors that were closed to women, and with the other part, we'd walk through, transforming society for men and women. Turns out it was a lot easier to open the doors.
Ellen GoodmanRead
Black people are the magical faces at the bottom of society's well. Even the poorest whites, those who must live their lives only a few levels above, gain their self-esteem by gazing down on us. Surely, they must know that their deliverance depends on letting down their ropes. Only by working together is escape possible. Over time, many reach out, but most simply watch, mesmerized into maintaining their unspoken commitment to keeping us where we are, at whatever cost to them or to us (Bell).
Derrick BellRead
Break the Shell”: “Child, it’s time to break the shell Life’s gonna hurt but it’s meant to be felt You cannot touch the sky from inside yourself You cannot fly until you break the shell.
India.ArieRead
Whilst so much is being done in the world, to ameliorate the condition of mankind, and the spirit of Freedom is marching with rapid strides and causing tyrants to tremble, may America awake from the apathy in which she has long slumbered.
James FortenRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.