Against the Loveless World

Nahr’s family are important secondary figures within the narrative. Each family member speaks to the experiences of the Palestinian diaspora. They also illustrate the importance of family within Palestinian culture, especially as many families live scattered across both the Middle East and the West.

Nahr’s mother, called “Mama” within the story, is born in Palestine and forced to flee after the Nakba (See: Background). She and her husband settle in Kuwait as refugees. Mama has a stronger sense of Palestinian identity than Nahr initially does, and remains closely connected to her heritage. Like Nahr, she is fiercely devoted to her family, even though some of those relationships are difficult. She lives with her mother-in-law after her husband dies. Mama is a gifted seamstress, sewing thobes, traditional gowns, for women in exile. In this way, she remains connected to her own family’s heritage while also helping other women to maintain their own connections, especially through providing traditional Palestinian wedding dresses.

Nahr’s grandmother, Sitti Wasfiyeh, is also strongly shaped by her experiences in both Palestine and in the diaspora. Nahr’s grandmother witnesses Israeli soldiers destroy her family’s home, and although she is forced to flee as a refugee, Nahr observes that, in her heart, the old woman has never truly left Palestine. Sitti Wasfiyeh’s trauma also becomes a source of strength and resilience: When the family is forced to immigrate to Jordan, Sitti Wasfiyeh and Nahr’s mother find the move less jarring than Nahr does because they have already had the experience of being refugees.

Jehad, Nahr’s brother, shares with Nahr a keen intellect and an acute sense of injustice. He joins the resistance before Nahr does and remains committed to it throughout the novel. He is strong and resolute, and unafraid of difficulty. During the period of heightened tension following Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait, Nahr observes that, although he has become the target of government surveillance, “Jehad refused to leave or go into hiding” (93). Although his role in the narrative decreases as the action builds, he is the force behind the resistance website used by Bilal, Nahr, and the rest of the dissidents.

Um Buraq is an Iraqi woman living in Kuwait, whom Nahr meets at a party. She is almost 40 and married but, because she cannot bear children, her husband has taken another wife. Since she lives alone and sleeps with other men, her community regards her as scandalous and often gossips about her. Um Buraq introduces Nahr to the world of sex work.

Um Buraq is a complex, dynamic character. Nahr recognizes that Um Buraq initially deceived her into sex work and that their relationship was, at least in part, predatory. Despite this exploitation, Um Buraq also cares deeply for Nahr. Both women learn to defy the gendered norms of their society, with Um Buraq insisting to Nahr, “Every man is shit. The sooner you accept this truth, the easier your life will be” (65). Um Buraq urges Nahr to use men for her own advantage, teaching her to extract what she can from them to make her own life easier. Um Buraq does not view sex work as exploiting women: For her, sex work is a way to exploit men. Therefore, she regards introducing Nahr to sex work as an act of kindness: Nahr is a woman with few other options, and Um Buraq helps her to find a new way to survive.

Their friendship ultimately survives many years of imprisonment, as both women are incarcerated separately. As older women back in Jordan, the two rekindle their friendship and understand each other on a deep level. Their relationship illustrates the complexity of friendship, especially as it is shaped and re-shaped by forces, like war and conflict, which are outside of individual control. Although Nahr does form other friendships, the bond she shares with Um Buraq is unique and special to them both.