Ghorba Chronicles

About the project

The Arabic word 'ghorba' loosely translates to estrangement, exile, and longing for home. 

Nadeen Dakkak (2023: 1) defines it as:

'It is at once the fact of being physically distant as a foreigner far away from home, a psychological and emotional state of alienation and estrangement, and a reference to the foreign place itself, the land where one becomes a stranger and suffers the challenges that accompany this position, be they mundane, everyday struggles of adaptation, or the deeper strains of homesickness.'

As part of her Humanity in Action Fellowship, Mouna Chatt is creating a zine about the 'ghorba', exploring how young working-class Muslims navigate feelings of estrangement, belonging, and home in a European context. 

Who can submit a pitch/piece?

The zine welcomes submissions from people who are:

• between 18 and 30 years old,
• live in Europe,
• have a working-class background, and
• self-identify as Muslim and have a migration background. 

What's the prompt for the zine?

The prompt for the zine is: 

What would you tell or show the ghorba if it invited you for tea?

Please use the prompt as a starting point, guide, and source of inspiration. Feel free to interpret the prompt however you see fit. 

Requirements for submission

• Any format/medium/genre is welcomed as long as it is less than 600 words long.
• You can contribute a visual piece, but please include some descriptions of the illustrations.
• Pieces that include both text and images are welcomed.
• Collaborative pieces are welcomed.

While discussions about identity are welcomed, I encourage contributors to move beyond identity as the core locus of discussions about belonging and estrangement. Think about how the 'ghorba' relates to other matters, e.g., education, labour, borders, nations, music, environment, technology, and so on.

Where can I submit my pitch/piece?

You can submit your pitch/piece via the form below:

Submit your pitch here. 

Deadline for submissions: 

26 November 2025 12pm GMT

Questions:

Please contact Mouna Chatt, mchatt@ed.ac.uk, if you have any questions about the project. 

The project is supported by the Alwaleed Centre at the University of Edinburgh.

Bibliography:

Dakkak, N. (2023) ‘Introduction’, in Dakkak, N. (ed.) Narratives of Dislocation in the Arab World: Rewriting Ghurba. 1st edition. Abingdon, Oxon; New York, NY: Routledge: 1-22.