“At the Border, 1979” by Choman Hardi: A Critical Analysis

·  🌍 Theme of Borders and Division
In “At the Border, 1979” by Choman Hardi, one of the central themes is the artificiality of borders that divide people and landscapes. The poem vividly shows how political boundaries contrast with the continuity of nature: “the autumn soil continued on the other side / with the same colour, the same texture. / It rained on both sides of the chain.” Here, the thick iron chain is a human-made barrier that interrupts the natural unity of the earth, highlighting the absurdity of separating identical lands and communities. This theme emphasizes that while borders are socially and politically enforced, they cannot alter the shared essence of humanity and nature.

·  🏠 Theme of Home and Belonging
In “At the Border, 1979” by Choman Hardi, the idea of home emerges as both an emotional and physical space. The mother’s words—“We are going home”—reveal the deep longing for return, belonging, and reconnection with one’s roots. Yet, the children’s perspective complicates this sense of belonging, as their perception of home is shaped through comparisons of “roads,” “landscape,” and “kindness of people.” The repeated emphasis on returning “home” reflects both nostalgia and idealization, suggesting that exile intensifies the desire for a purified vision of homeland.

·  👧 Theme of Childhood Innocence and Perception
In “At the Border, 1979” by Choman Hardi, the child narrator filters political realities through playful imagination. The sister’s remark—“my right leg is in this country / and my left leg in the other”—illustrates how children interpret borders as sites of curiosity and play, rather than conflict. The narrator’s age, revealed in “I was five years old / standing by the check-in point,” underscores the innocent lens through which the divisions of nations are perceived. This theme demonstrates how childhood innocence contrasts with adult anxieties, providing a unique perspective on migration and displacement.

·  😢 Theme of Exile, Displacement, and Longing
In “At the Border, 1979” by Choman Hardi, the emotional weight of exile and displacement permeates the poem. The lines “Dozens of families waited in the rain. / ‘I can inhale home,’ somebody said. / Now our mothers were crying” highlight the collective trauma and emotional yearning tied to return. The act of “a man bent down and kissed his muddy homeland” symbolizes reverence and attachment to a land left behind, even when scarred by political upheavals. This theme captures both the pain of forced migration and the deep, almost sacred connection individuals feel toward their homeland.

·  ❓ How does “At the Border, 1979” by Choman Hardi highlight the artificiality of national borders?
In “At the Border, 1979” by Choman Hardi, the artificiality of national borders is made visible through the imagery of continuity in nature. The speaker observes that “the autumn soil continued on the other side / with the same colour, the same texture. / It rained on both sides of the chain.” This imagery dismantles the notion that political divisions alter the essence of the land. The “thick iron chain” symbolizes man-made separation imposed upon a naturally unified world. The child’s perspective of comparing both sides emphasizes the futility of believing that borders can fundamentally change shared human and environmental realities.

·  🌿 In what ways does the poem address the theme of home and belonging?
In “At the Border, 1979” by Choman Hardi, the concept of home is presented as both nostalgic ideal and emotional anchor. The mother insists, “We are going home. / She said that the roads are much cleaner / the landscape is more beautiful / and people are much kinder.” These words embody the longing of exiles who view their homeland through the lens of memory and hope. Yet, the poem complicates this idea, as the child narrator notices the sameness of the soil and the rain on both sides, questioning whether home is as different or superior as adults claim. The theme of belonging is therefore interwoven with both longing and disillusionment.

·  👧 How does the child’s perspective shape the representation of migration in the poem?
In “At the Border, 1979” by Choman Hardi, the child narrator frames migration through innocence and curiosity. The sister’s playful gesture—“my right leg is in this country / and my left leg in the other”—captures how children perceive political divisions not as threats but as opportunities for imagination. The line “I was five years old / standing by the check-in point” emphasizes that the memory is filtered through youthful observation. This childlike lens provides both emotional distance and ironic clarity, exposing the absurdity of human-made boundaries while also underscoring the vulnerability of families caught in geopolitical struggles.

·  😢 What role do emotions of exile and displacement play in the poem?
In “At the Border, 1979” by Choman Hardi, exile is portrayed as a shared experience of grief and longing. The image of “Dozens of families waited in the rain” underscores the collective suffering of displaced people. Emotional intensity heightens with “Now our mothers were crying” and the symbolic act when “a man bent down and kissed his muddy homeland.” These gestures reveal the pain of separation, the reverence for homeland, and the emotional burden migration carries. The poem thus captures displacement as more than physical movement—it becomes a profound psychological rupture, one that deeply marks individuals and communities.