In the Country of Men by Hisham Batar

Aung San Suu Kyi once said, “Within a system which denies the existence of basic human rights, fear tends to be the order of the day”. This is the basic reality for the citizens of Libya living under Qadaffi’s repressive regime. Pressured to conform to the societal and partisan desires of the government, citizens live in constant fear. The foundation of terror Libya’s society is built on creates an unstable setting that leads people to commit acts of betrayal. Suleiman betrays his best friend Kareem when he attempts to take out his frustration on his lack of understanding of his home life. Baba and Mama ultimately betray Suleiman when they send him to Egypt in order to protect him from Libya’s totalitarian and militaristic government. In the novel, In the Country of Men by Hisham Matar, the author illustrates betrayal as a ramification of grave surroundings rather than an inveterate flaw of human nature.

Suleiman’s capricious home life and resentment towards his family’s secrecy leads him to betray his best friend Kareem by calling his father a traitor. Suleiman is afflicted with frustration and anger as his mother conceals the truth about his father’s whereabouts, and the stability inside his home crumbles. Suleiman’s annoyance with his home life and his mother who “always lies” to him, leads him to take out his anger on his friend Kareem during a game of My Land, Your Land (98). When playing the game, Suleiman antagonizes Kareem, taunting him in front of the other boys, and exposing his secret “beloved” Leila (Matar 106). Suleiman continues to provoke Kareem insinuating that “everybody” knew that his father was a “traitor”(Matar 107). When Suleiman divulges Kareem’s secrets and calls his father a traitor, he is betraying Kareem...

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...essive regime. Though Mama and Baba betrayed Suleiman by forcing him to grow up without his parents, their actions were an implication of their countries turbulent environment and an endeavor to protect him.

In the narrative In the Country of Men, Hisham Matar illustrates betrayal as an effect of an anarchic environment, rather than an intrinsic fault of ones character. Though Suleiman betrayed his best friend Kareem by calling his father a traitor, his actions stemmed from his unstable home and frustration with his parents. Baba and Mama betrayed Suleiman by sending him to Egypt and forcing him to grow up without parents; however, their actions were an attempt to save Suleiman from a dictatorial Libya. Though the characters in this novel have their imperfections, their exhibition of infidelity is the consequence of Libya’s instability rather than their character.