McKenzie
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Alecia McKenzie was born in Kingston, Jamaica. She started writing while at high school, and her poems were published in local newspapers The Gleaner and The Star. Her first collection of short stories, Satellite City, won the regional Commonwealth Writers Prize for Best First Book.
Her other published books include Stories from Yard, Doctor’s Orders, When the Rain Stopped in Natland and Sweetheart. Her work has also appeared in literary magazines and various anthologies such as Stories from Blue Latitudes, Global Tales and the first Girls’ Night In. Sweetheart was the 2012 Commonwealth Book Prize Caribbean Regional Winner.
Her other published books include Stories from Yard, Doctor’s Orders, When the Rain Stopped in Natland and Sweetheart. Her work has also appeared in literary magazines and various anthologies such as Stories from Blue Latitudes, Global Tales and the first Girls’ Night In. Sweetheart was the 2012 Commonwealth Book Prize Caribbean Regional Winner.
"Gone with the Dogs (Madame)"
Gone
to the dogs
Comment
Gone to the dogs is a short story by the Jamaican writer and journalist Alecia Mckenzie which belongs to her book Stories from Yard, first published in 2005. In it, we recall the events through the narrative voice of Tshana, an “illegal” immigrant from African origin.
Comment
Gone to the dogs is a short story by the Jamaican writer and journalist Alecia Mckenzie which belongs to her book Stories from Yard, first published in 2005. In it, we recall the events through the narrative voice of Tshana, an “illegal” immigrant from African origin.
Knowing who the main
character is, we may assume some of the topics which will be addressed in the
story, everything which might have to be with immigrants and their relations. Besides
being immigrant, our main character is a black female, so life is not easy at
all for her. She works as a housemaid for Monsieur and Madeleine Lasotte, to
whom she has to call “Madame”. The fact that she is supposed to address her
employer as “Madame” is a clear indicator of the power relations that are
established between employer-employee or native-immigrant in this text as well
as in many others of the kind. Not only is Tshana an employee but also an
immigrant, and a black female one too, so we could say she is placed in a
position of inferiority in all possible ways. However, she is brave enough so
as to challenge Madeleine’s superiority when she decides to stop calling her
“Madame”, being this a great example of the main character looking for her agency.
Nevertheless, one of the issues we need to pay especial attention is also heart-breaking. Of course, this is the way in which immigrants are not only portrayed but also treated. For instance, when we are being told about the World Expo, which had taken place in Belgium, we read how a hospital was built for the African visitors, more likely a poor-quality hospital indeed, since seven Africans died. What this shows us is that black people were totally dehumanized, not being allowed to go to the already existent hospital, as if being black were a serious and infectious condition. Similarly, when the issue of having an ID in the text is brought up, Tshana makes a shocking though somehow accurate statement. She says “I’m getting tired of being a non-person.” This happens because having an ID means you are legally a citizen, and that way you are free to move inside the country without the fear of being caught and sent back to the country where you were born. The fact that she uses the term “non-person” gives us an idea of how these people must feel when they are deprived of the basic essence of a human being, that of being a person. All throughout the story, the main character is in a liminal space, she is in-between Africa and Belgium, she was not in Africa, but neither in Belgium because if she were caught being there without an ID or permit, she would be expelled.
All things considered, Mckenzie depicts accurately in this story not only how hard is the life of any immigrant and especially for those who don’t have a residence permit or ID, but also, it shows us ways in which natives treat the outsiders in ways which only worsen their already tough conditions. At the same time, she also addresses issues which deal with race and gender, making her work a very relevant picture of current serious matters.
Nevertheless, one of the issues we need to pay especial attention is also heart-breaking. Of course, this is the way in which immigrants are not only portrayed but also treated. For instance, when we are being told about the World Expo, which had taken place in Belgium, we read how a hospital was built for the African visitors, more likely a poor-quality hospital indeed, since seven Africans died. What this shows us is that black people were totally dehumanized, not being allowed to go to the already existent hospital, as if being black were a serious and infectious condition. Similarly, when the issue of having an ID in the text is brought up, Tshana makes a shocking though somehow accurate statement. She says “I’m getting tired of being a non-person.” This happens because having an ID means you are legally a citizen, and that way you are free to move inside the country without the fear of being caught and sent back to the country where you were born. The fact that she uses the term “non-person” gives us an idea of how these people must feel when they are deprived of the basic essence of a human being, that of being a person. All throughout the story, the main character is in a liminal space, she is in-between Africa and Belgium, she was not in Africa, but neither in Belgium because if she were caught being there without an ID or permit, she would be expelled.
All things considered, Mckenzie depicts accurately in this story not only how hard is the life of any immigrant and especially for those who don’t have a residence permit or ID, but also, it shows us ways in which natives treat the outsiders in ways which only worsen their already tough conditions. At the same time, she also addresses issues which deal with race and gender, making her work a very relevant picture of current serious matters.
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