Necessity

Throughout his novel, Alameddine explores the human desire to feel needed and significant, along with the moral questionability of using the tragedies of others to give one’s own life meaning. Emma points out that many of the younger volunteers are in Lesbos for a sense of validation. An additional example of reflection on this type of behavior appears in an anecdote Mina narrates about Francine’s cousin Pete Jones, who did humanitarian work in Malawi as a way of dealing with the psychological pain of losing his leg while serving with the U.S. military in Iraq. Mina describes how he began to eventually be uncomfortable in Malawi, realizing that he needed the people there “to suffer [...] in order to feel needed, in order to reinforce his privilege” (232). Pete acknowledges jokingly that his identity as a Black American may play into his awareness of this...