By the Sea

The mahogany casket of ud-al-qamari incense is a symbol of Saleh Omar’s connection to his lost homeland and the complex history he carries into exile. The incense is a sensory relic that contrasts sharply with the sterile, bureaucratic environment of the interrogation room at Gatwick Airport, as well as Saleh’s otherwise paltry (and impersonal) items. Its confiscation by the immigration officer, Kevin Edelman, under the pretense of having it “tested,” is a pivotal act in illustrating The Dehumanizing Process of Seeking Asylum. This theft represents the stripping away of personal history and identity that defines the asylum process, where a life’s precious mementos are treated as contraband and an individual is rendered placeless and placeless.

The casket’s significance deepens through its origin story, which serves as a metaphor for the novel’s thematic core. Saleh recalls that the beautifully scented resin is produced only by an aloe tree that has been infected by a fungus. He reflects on this irony, noting that “A healthy aloe tree was useless, but the infected one produced this beautiful fragrance” (18-19). This detail connects the symbol directly to The Intergenerational Burdens of Betrayal and Inheritance, suggesting that beauty, value, and meaning—like Saleh’s and Latif’s sorrowful narratives—can emerge directly from histories of damage and trauma.