But are we not all refugees from something? Whether we stay or go or return, we all need refuge from the world beyond our fingertips at some time. When I was asked by a woman at the pub, "Have you come from Africa, away from that wicked Amin?" I said, "No, I am an explorer on a voyage of discovery," as I imagined my Mr. Salgado would have replied. The smoke was thick and heavy like a cloud of yeast spread everywhere. She laughed, touching my arm and moving closer in the dark. A warm Shetland jumper. A slack but yielding skin with patchouli behind the ears. I was learning that human history is always a story about someone else's diaspora: a struggle between those who expel, raid or curtail - possess, divide and rule - and those who keep the flame alive from night to night, mouth to mouth, enlarging the world with each flick of a tongue.
Romesh Gunesekera
"Reef"