FROM COLLECTIVE MEMORY TO NATIONALISM: HISTORICAL REMEMBRANCE IN ADEN A Thesis submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences of Georgetown University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Arab Studies By Kevin Alexander Davis, B.A. Washington, DC April 31, 2014 Copyright 2014 by Kevin Alexander Davis All Rights Reserved ii FROM COLLECTIVE MEMORY TO NATIONALISM: HISTORICAL REMEMBRANCE IN ADEN Kevin Alexander Davis, B.A. Thesis Advisor: Rochelle Davis, PhD. Abstract In Aden, the former capital of the People’s Democratic Republic of South Yemen, a popular nationalist movement has emerged demanding a rescinding of the unification agreement that joined north and south Yemen in 1990. This paper explores the way in which history is being remembered, framed, and utilized to create a sense of coherent national identity rooted in historical understandings in Aden. This study draws upon ethnographic research and interviews conducted in Aden, Yemen and analyzes the social, political, and economic forces that have influenced this nationalist awakening. I focus on the concept of collective memory to explore how southerners are framing their understandings of a national past in light of current everyday realities and how new conceptions of Aden’s colonial and socialist past are invoking new senses of nostalgia for remembered notions of liberal urban lifestyles. Drawing on theoretical works in the fields of collective memory and nationalism, I also examine the power structures that allow for certain narratives to become accepted while others are silenced, both in the context of a unified Yemen and within the south itself. I attempt to build upon the established link between collective memory and nationalism by exploring not just how collective memory can function as a vehicle for historical reimagining but also the diverse vectors that shape Adenis' national consciousness. I argue that Aden’s remembered history has led to a reimagining of national borders and a sense of belonging in the larger Yemeni nation. iii Keywords: nationalism, collective memory, history, Yemen, Aden, colonialism, socialism, South Yemen, invented tradition, colonialism, nostalgia, socialism, anthropology, ethnography iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost I would like to extend my thanks to Sanad Anis for his continued support and contribution to my research. Without his assistance and hospitality, this project would not have been possible. I would like to also thank all the Adenis who so generously agreed to speak with me, let me hear their stories, and directed me in my research. Names have been omitted here for security reasons, but you know who you are. I am eternally indebted to you. Shukran jazeelan to the Saba Institute for Arabic Language and the Yemen College for Middle Eastern Studies who housed me, fed me, and provided me with the paperwork I needed to do my research. A special thanks is extended to Sabri Saleem whose thankless support helped me overcome many difficulties. Those who gave me the language skills to even attempt this project must also be acknowledged. They include Belkacem Baccouche, Abdul Aziz al-Jebzi, Nabil al-Jebzi, Mohammed al-Shadadi, Nasser al-’Araqi, and Salah Serour. A special thanks is due to Ali Azzaidi, whose constant company on dark powerless Sana’a nights kept me vigilant in thinking about anthropology, history, and my own positionality as a Westerner in Yemen. I would also like to extend a special thank you to Rochelle Davis, whose intellectual guidance for well over a year kept me on track and inspired me to this final product. May I never struggle with “this” again. I would also like to thank Fida Adely for her hours of reviewing drafts and constant feedback. Thanks also to Hannes Baumann, Joseph Sassoon, and the rest of the faculty at the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies at Georgetown University. Thanks as well to Kelli Harris whose tireless logistical support made my summer research possible. This research was made possible by the financial support of the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies which gave me the platform to write this. I also owe much to my fellow thesis and methods cohort who helped me brainstorm ideas, develop my topic, and write a final product. They include Zachary Cuyler, Xiauyue Li, Sarah Mousa, Reena Nadler, Ahmed Hammam, Alberto Ramos, Berenike Schott, Adelaide Bryan, Hannah Beswick, and especially Alex Schank. Thanks are also due to the friends and family who read drafts, provided feedback, and gave me the encouragement I needed to write this. I want to highlight the involvement of Jessica Chandras for her patience in reading endless drafts as well as my mother, without whom I would never have made it this far to begin with. v LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS FLOSY - Front for the Liberation of Occupied South Yemen GCC - Gulf Cooperation Council GPC - General Popular Congress NDC - National Dialogue Conference NLF - National Liberation Front PDRY - People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen UAR - United Arab Republic YAR - Yemen Arab Republic YSP - Yemeni Socialist Party vi TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................ 1 Collective Memories of Aden ......................................................................................... 1 Aden as Place .................................................................................................................. 4 Researching Memory ....................................................................................................... 7 Memory and the Formation of Nationalism .................................................................. 10 Memory, Nationalism and Identity ................................................................................ 12 Ethnography and Historiography, and Writing ............................................................. 13 A Question of Culture ................................................................................................... 15 An American in Aden .................................................................................................... 17 Chapter Outline ............................................................................................................. 18 CHAPTER 2: FROM COLONIALISM TO UNIFICATION: TRACING COLLECTIVE MEMORIES ...................................................................................................................... 20 Prosperity, Decay, and Aden’s Built Environment ....................................................... 20 Aden as Colony ............................................................................................................. 23 Infrastructure as Memory .............................................................................................. 27 The Materiality of Memory ........................................................................................... 30 Conceptualizing a Cosmopolitanism Past ..................................................................... 33 The End of the British Era ............................................................................................. 38 Old Colonialism, New Occupation ................................................................................ 41 Independence and the Making of a New State .............................................................. 42 Tribalism and the Modern Citizen ................................................................................. 44 Locating and Transmitting Collective Memories .......................................................... 50 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 55 CHAPTER 3: FROM UNIFICATION TO THE PRESENT: REIMAGINING NORTH AND SOUTH .................................................................................................................... 58 Yemen: Ancient Origins, Modern Manifestations ........................................................ 58 A Unified Yemen: From Dream to Reality ................................................................... 61 Post-Unification Realities and the Beginnings of a New Southern Nationalism .......... 66 The Failure of Unification: Yemen’s Civil War ............................................................ 70 Strong State vs. Weak State ........................................................................................... 73 Collective Memories as National Founding Myth ........................................................ 75 The Modern Counter-Nationalist Movement ................................................................ 76 Women and the Movement ........................................................................................... 77 Death and Martyrdom .................................................................................................... 83 Southern Culture as Invented Tradition ........................................................................ 87 The Silencing Power of Nationalism ............................................................................. 90 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 92 CHAPTER 4: CONCLUSION .......................................................................................... 94 Recent Events and the Making of a Space for Resistance ............................................