The concept of survival in diasporic journeys: an application of Maslow's hierarchy of needs on Jean Arasanayagam's "The Journey"

This research paper aims at looking at a diasporic journey portrayed in the short story "The Journey": which is one of the nineteen short stories from the war-ravaged Sri Lanka written by Jean Arasanayagam and published under the title All is Burning as a compilation. It is a story which deals with the description of an illegal diasporic journey taken up by a group of migrants from Sri Lanka to reach Berlin, in the guise of asylum seekers. The members of this migrant group belong to two different ethnic groups, namely Tamil and Sinhalese, who are looked as strangers and enemies in their homeland. By using the textual analysis method, and the application of Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, the research paper aims to look at the concept of 'Survival' in this diasporic journey and how this concept helps in strengthening the ethnic relationships between the migrants. It is identifiable that this important concept plays an essential role in enabling this ethnic relationship within.