Novelist Viet Thanh Nguyen weighs the costs of speaking against injustice | Arts and Culture News

In May 2021, for instance, a 22-year-old Associated Press staffer, Emily Wilder, was fired after right-wing media resurfaced pro-Palestinian statements she made while in college.

More recently, in March, the administration of President Donald Trump detained Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish PhD student studying at Tufts University, and stripped her of her visa.

Her supporters say she did little more than co-write an op-ed critical of the university’s refusal to “acknowledge the Palestinian genocide”. Though she has been released from government custody, she continues to face deportation proceedings.

One culture writer and critic, speaking to Al Jazeera on condition of anonymity, explained that he fears that speaking out on issues like the war in Gaza could jeopardise his work visa status in the US.

In addition to his work as a writer, he has a background in film and television, having taken on roles as a director, screenwriter and editor for several international projects.

“In the last couple of months, I’ve felt this overwhelming guilt, like I’m choosing my own safety over speaking out. It’s the first time I’ve really felt that way,” he said.

“I’ve done a couple of on-camera interviews for the BBC, where I wore a Palestinian keffiyeh and was very outspoken. But I don’t see myself doing that in the near future.”

He added that he has friends with green cards who were unexpectedly interrogated upon re-entering the US, despite their status as permanent residents.

“After Trump’s re-election, I told myself, ‘This time, I’m not going to stay angry and frustrated. I’m just going to put my head down and keep moving forward,'” he said.

Celine Parreñas Shimizu, the dean of the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, believes voices like Nguyen’s can help break the silence that results from such crackdowns and threats.

“Critical acclaim”, she explained, “enables creativity in response to the forces that seek to silence us”.

But she, too, warned that no amount of accolades could fully protect an author from damage to their reputation or lost opportunities.

“Critical or professional acclaim offers no true shield against racism’s fundamental dehumanisation,” Parreñas Shimizu said.