(Re)-Thinking Ecological Vulnerability: Expatriates In Watson’s Tiny Sunbirds, Far Away

Abstract

This study investigates the portrayal of expatriates vis-à-vis environmental exploitation and ecological vulnerability of the Niger Delta region in Christie Waston’sTiny Sunbirds, Far Away. Waston, a British writer in her novel, Tiny Sunbirds, Far Away, delves into the of retelling the Niger Delta travails from the lenses of an outsider patriotic and brave enough to tell her side of the disheartening oil exploitation story. The images of white expatriates in Nigerian literature vis-à-vis Niger Delta concerns are almost stereotyped. These expatriate oil workers are recreated as predators that laid siege over the entire region feeding on the impoverished and vulnerable Niger Delta women. These expatriates, aware of the poverty in the region, prey on the Niger Delta girls who are seeking nothing but love, comfort, survival, and some sense of humanity. Against this backdrop, the study argues that Waston reconstructs the images of the white expatriates in a bid to challenge stereotypes. With the character of Dan, who is everything the male Niger Deltans undoubtedly are not, the paper surmises that Waston succeeds in presenting another side of the expatriate story which begs for further studies and insights regarding the activities of the white expatriates and the Niger Delta women amidst oil exploitation, pollution, and devastation.