It would be wrong to allow oneself to be misled by the title that The Villawood Express and other stories is all about immigrants - detention, dislocation, exploitation, and other similar miseries of the migrant experience. The author, Samantha Sirimanne Hyde, is certainly well qualified to write of such matters, having worked for several years in departments that dealt with migrants at many levels. Yet, it is not that aspect of her work - confronting though it is - that holds one’s attention.
Rather, it is her ability to present a range of credible characters usually enmeshed in emotionally or physically perilous situations from which there is no escape. That she does this with a remarkable degree of empathy with her variously tormented people, while retaining the detachment that marks a disciplined writer, is perhaps her most impressive achievement. It is so easy to fall into the trap of advocacy or polemic when dealing with such emotionally charged subjects, both of which may have their rightful place, but Sirimanne Hyde avoids both.
Her characters - the exploited Thai woman Sucharitha; the tragic ‘illegal over-stayer’ Tommy Murugesu; sad, Prufrock-like Harold; even Dot and George, a typical middle-aged, loving, Aussie couple, to pick just a few - are individuals, yet they simultaneously represent thousands of others, trapped in situations and lives over which they have little or no control. However, they must all learn to live with whatever life dishes up to them, while around them a mostly indifferent and occasionally malign world goes about its business.
Reading their stories, one is outraged, appalled, disgusted or saddened, but not because the author has gone overboard - she never does. While the fate of her characters may rouse our indignation, the author’s style is restrained, understated and ironic, as she observes how some of our fellow human beings live out their sad, unfulfilled lives. Frustrated ambitions, fractured relationships, cruel deceptions, all feature in these stimulating, if sometimes harrowing tales. Yet, they mostly relate ordinary human experiences, not contrived, synthetic scenarios with improbable or melodramatic conclusions.
Many are recognisable characters we might see in the street, without ever knowing what their lives are like. With clear-sighted honesty and compassion, the author tells their stories - reminding us of that ‘infinitely small, infinitely suffering thing’ - that is our common humanity.
In a literary environment in which there is a lot of self indulgence and pseudo-psychoanalysis, The Villawood Express is a refreshing contribution - about some of our fellow human beings - from a writer with an interest in people other than herself.
Claudette Taylor has been a teacher of English Literature, a writer, reviewer, and librarian in both Sri Lanka and Australia. In addition, she continues to maintain a keen interest in the work of Sri Lankan and other writers, especially those who can move outside the literary ghetto of ‘the migrant experience’ and establish relationships and share experiences with other individuals in the community. She enjoys classical music and gardening, and lives in Canberra.