The Displaced Person’s Diaspora

      The film The Long Way Home describes the plight of Jews during the Second World War and all of the challenges they endured during the reign of the Nazis and post World War II. In the film, many Jews are referred to as displaced persons. This notion of a displaced person often refers to someone who is forced to leave his or her home, has no home to go back to, and has no alternative place to go. Jews suffered the consequences of being categorized under this category as they had no where to go after the war: they could not return to their homes as there was too much ruin and nothing left, only a few could return to their holy land of Israel, and the United States and many other countries were limiting the number of Jewish migrants. This story of forced migration is one of the most tragic in human history but it is not unique. Many nations have had to endure the same fate such as India and Pakistan during the partition of 1947. Although there are many similarities between the forced migrations of Jews and Indian’s during the mid 20^th century, they are different in that Indians had a home to go back to whereas Jews had to fight to obtain their home.  

     There are many striking similarities between Jewish migration to Israel and Indian immigration from Pakistan during Partition. The British both played very large roles in inhibiting and allowing migration for both Indians and Jews as India and Palestine were both colonial possessions. In the case for the Jewish people, the British government did not allow Jews to travel to Palestine after the Second World War, fearing that were would be a violent backlash among Palestine’s residents. After World War II, the British began to let go of its colonial possessions and they soon drew up borders of what would be known as Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. Hindus from Pakistan traveled back to India as many Muslims from India traveled to both Pakistan and Bangladesh. All of these migrations triggered violent backlashes. In Palestine, Jewish resistance fighters blew up buildings and British government and army buildings. During partition, violent clashes between Hindus and Muslims broke out in various cities as both religions fought for areas they deemed to be their home. Both Jews and Indians encountered violence and aggression when they attempted to go back home but it did not deter them from establishing their homes.

      The Indian migration differed from that of the Jewish migration because Hindus had a homeland to go to while Jews worked to establish a homeland of their own through the United Nations. After World War II, there was great debate and upheaval as to how best deal with Jews left “displaced” after World War II. Many were held in camps resembling those of Nazi prison camps in order to protect them and others, many who were captured fleeing to Palestine were housed in Cyprus, and there were also some who fled to the United States. Jewish resistance leaders had to fight tooth and nail to establish a home for themselves through the United Nations by means of a member vote. This differs from what Indians living in Pakistan had to endure because their problem was not where to go but rather how to come to terms with leaving all their possessions, businesses, and personal finances to flee to India to escape death and violence. While Jews voluntarily wanted to go back to Palestine, many Indians living in Pakistan were financially successful and resented the fact that although they had a home to go back to, they would be leaving behind their lives work behind.

     Home is a place of comfort to many but above all it’s a place of security. In both the plight of the Jewish and Indian people, their sense of security was taken away from them and they had to flee to safer and more secure areas. While Jews had to fight to establish a homeland and voluntarily wanted to go to Palestine, many Indians were forced to go back to India. Although it may have been tough to come to terms of leaving one’s home and all possessions behind, ultimately both people both felt that going back to their place of origin would be more beneficial.