Internment by Samira Ahmed Book Analysis

The act of putting one's race below other races through force and power isn’t something new to America. Muslim-Americans have been looked down on and Samira Ahmad shined a light on this problem in her book Internment. Internment is an imaginary situation where Muslim-Americans are captured by The Director and his guards and dehumanized in an internment camp. Throughout the story, there are moments where the main character Layla and also others, are treated with the most disrespect by the higher-ups in the camp. Ahmed’s novel demonstrates that when people unite to resist problems, then they will create hope to effect change.

When faced with problems, resistance is needed to make a change. Throughout Internment, Layla, and others resisted against the Director and all of Mobius to make a change. In chapter 22, Soheil is shouting out in the dining area to the Director and  Red Cross members in attendance. “We are being held here without trial”(Ahmad 243). Soheil speaks out loud to interact with this conflict. After he said this out loud, The Director became nervous. Layla believes that Soheil shouting aloud caused The Director to  “lose” this battle. Earlier in the book, in chapter 5, Layla, and her family were being moved into Mobius and were in line to be given barcodes. “The Suit grabs my left hand and tries to pull it forward, but I snatch it back, a natural reaction to his unwelcome touch” (Ahmad 50). Layla doesn't feel like giving up her identity to this camp, but can’t overpower her parents' decisions. There is an ounce of foreshadowing displayed to show how Layla could resist other forms of dehumanization, as said before in the first example. Layla isn’t trying to bow down to be less of a human to anyone, so she’ll put effort to make a change. Soheil and Layla believed that what they were doing together would make a change for the greater good. When they resisted, and when they stuck together with the plans set in place they allowed themselves to be freed. 

With resistance, to make a change to major problems, people need to unite to further impact the situation. Layla was able to gain support from others and unite to face the Director. Late in the book Internment, in chapter 34, there was a face-off between Layla and The Director. “Dozens of Exclusion Guards rush over, but there’s confusion...But Jake and maybe six or seven other guards stand by me and the other internees, facing their fellow soldiers… I sense the cameras on me and feel the desperate hope of everyone who stands with me today”(Ahmad 358). Throughout the story, Layla persuaded others to be on her side through the struggles she experienced. By the end of the story, she and the others were able to stand up to The Director as a group of people, not just one. A bit earlier in the book, Layla gets her first bit of help from an Exclusion Guard named Jake. He helps her to first call her boyfriend, David, and to help her see him while she's in the camp. “The door opens, Jake is standing there. I can’t imagine what the two of us look like. What I look like. Face wet with tears, eyes swollen”(Ahmed 157). A major part of this story is impacted by Jake starting to help Layla while she's in the camp. Jake allowed Layla to be able to give out information about Mobius to David, so he could give it out to the public. Jake makes this decision to help Layla, and it ended up being the smartest decision he could’ve made. Layla bringing people together to join her side for a probable cause and make a change in Mobius showed that people united can resist creating change. 

Throughout the unity and resistance against problems faced in Mobius, Layla and others were given hope that there’s going to be light at the end of the tunnel. The hope Layla and the others in Mobius caused major change overall to the story. At the early stages of Mobius, Layla meets Soheil and Ayesha. They are all talking in chapter 6. “Good. I want people to scare people. We should be scared. Then maybe people will rise up and do something”(Ahmad 85). Soheil’s character expanded and developed, because he believed that using fear as fuel to fight back and give them a sense of hope, was the best and only option to survive. The fear of what the future could hold in the camp caused Layla to want to take action against The Director and his plans. Soheil saying this to Layla gave her an understanding of the impact she could make by taking a stand and trying to create a sense of relief by the end of the camp. Later in the book, in chapter 28, Layla is talking to Jake’s friend Fred. “Fred? Aren’t you scared? I mean, the cameras in here? ‘The IT guy on the security feed now is with us… It might not seem like it, but there are a lot of people who are fighting this’”(Ahmed 313). Layla is given a sense of hope, from the struggles she’s faced, because of what Fred has told her. She wasn’t a believer in being able to fully make a change until she heard the words that told her that people believe in her all-around Mobius. Fred, being a worker at Mobius, was able to be persuaded to want to help Layla because of his connection with Jake. They both became important parts of the outcome of Layla’s plans. Layla realized there was a needed change in Mobius. By her taking action and giving others hope, she was able to gain the support of others to back her in the camp. 

To create hope and effect change, people need to unite to have resistance against the main problem. Samira Ahmad had Soheil and Layla unite to go on a food fast, and because of what Soheil shouted out to the people in attendance, there was attention brought to the camp. Also in Internment Layla was able to persuade a lot of people, who were internees at the camp, to join her fight against The Director and his plans at the camp. Samira Ahmad had Soheil and Layla unite to go on a food fast, and because of what Soheil shouted out to the people in attendance, there was attention brought to the camp. The amount of dehumanization different races in America have experienced over the course of time, goes to show how much of an impact people with power can cause. There shouldn’t be any type of discrimination in America, but it takes us all to make a real change to that.