--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Also – for there had been more than a few…" description: "\"“Also – for there had been more than a few migrants aboard, yes, quite a quantity of wives who had been grilled by reasonable, doing-their-job official..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73a/salman-rushdie-153_immigration_also-for-there-had-been-more-than-a-few_494142.jpg" --- # Also – for there had been more than a few migrants aboard… ![“Also – for there had been more than a few migrants aboard, yes, quite a quantity of wives who had been grilled by reasonable, doing-their-job officials about the length of and distinguishing moles upon their husbands’ genitalia, a sufficiency of children upon whose legitimacy the British…” quote by Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73a/salman-rushdie-153_immigration_also-for-there-had-been-more-than-a-few_494142.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73a/salman-rushdie-153_immigration_also-for-there-had-been-more-than-a-few_494142.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73a/salman-rushdie-153_immigration_also-for-there-had-been-more-than-a-few_494142.jpg) > ““Also – for there had been more than a few migrants aboard, yes, quite a quantity of wives who had been grilled by reasonable, doing-their-job officials about the length of and distinguishing moles upon their husbands’ genitalia, a sufficiency of children upon whose legitimacy the British Government had cast its ever-reasonable doubts – mingling with the remnants of the plane, equally fragmented, equally absurd, there floated the debris of the soul, broken memories, sloughed-off selves, severed mother-tongues, violated privacies, untranslatable jokes, extinguished futures, lost loves, the forgotten meaning of hollow, booming words, land, belonging, home.”” [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A chaotic tableau of displaced people highlights how migration shatters identity, language, and personal histories, leaving behind fragmented selves and uncertain futures. **In simple terms:** Migration fragments identity and belonging. Key Takeaway Recognize and honor the hidden stories of migrants. Themes migration identity displacement memory belonging Mood melancholic reflective somber Type narrative critical poetic When to use this quote - refugee resettlement - immigration policy debates - community integration programs - personal storytelling workshops Key Concepts postcolonialism fragmentation cultural loss psychological trauma Questions to Reflect On - How do we preserve cultural identity amidst displacement? - What responsibilities do host societies have to restore belonging? A Different Perspective The description may overgeneralize migrant experiences, ignoring resilience and agency. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Immigration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/immigration/) [Longing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/longing/) [Loss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loss/) [Memories Sloughed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memories-sloughed-3577651/) [Migrants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/migrants/) [Migrants Aboard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/migrants-aboard-4222314/) [Mingling Remnants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mingling-remnants-4222316/) [Moles Husbands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moles-husbands-4222315/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“mingling with the remains of the plane, equally fragmented, equally absurd, there floated the debris of the soul, broken memories, sloughed-off selves, severed mother…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/mingling-with-the-remains-of-the-plane-equally-fragmented-equally/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [All migrants leave their pasts behind, although some try to pack it into bundles and boxes-but on the journey something seeps out of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/all-migrants-leave-their-pasts-behind-although-some-try-to-pack-it/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [A thing that happens to migrants is that they lose many of the traditional things which root identity, which root the self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/a-thing-that-happens-to-migrants-is-that-they-lose-many-of-the/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“He knew that his father had finally run hard enough and long enough to wear down the frontiers between the worlds, he had run…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/he-knew-that-his-father-had-finally-run-hard-enough-and-long-enough/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [The library (in the migrant community) I grew up in was my only link to the outside world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-valdez/the-library-in-the-migrant-community-i-grew-up-in-was-my-only-link-to/) [Luis Valdez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-valdez/) > [“These are immigrant times And the lines are long, The signs for jobs few, The songs sadder, the air meaner. Everyone is hungry. Everyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-r-os/these-are-immigrant-times-and-the-lines-are-long-the-signs-for-jobs/) [Alberto Ríos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-r-os/) > [When I left home after graduating high school, I left as a migrant agricultural worker with a Modern Library edition of Plato in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallas-willard/when-i-left-home-after-graduating-high-school-i-left-as-a-migrant/) [Dallas Willard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallas-willard/) > [People are talking about immigration like it is a disease. In fact migrants pay more in than they get out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-kendall/people-are-talking-about-immigration-like-it-is-a-disease-in-fact/) [Liz Kendall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-kendall/) > [“Many of the people who left the South never exactly sat their children down to tell them these things, tell them what happened and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-wilkerson/many-of-the-people-who-left-the-south-never-exactly-sat-their/) [Isabel Wilkerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-wilkerson/) > [The influx of migrants must be stopped.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marine-le-pen/the-influx-of-migrants-must-be-stopped/) [Marine Le Pen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marine-le-pen/) > [In Italy there are 5 million legal migrants. They're integrated, and they're welcome. The problem of the Muslim presence is increasingly worrying. There are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matteo-salvini/in-italy-there-are-5-million-legal-migrants-they-re-integrated-and/) [Matteo Salvini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matteo-salvini/) > [I have a very powerful sense of place, but I have a very powerful sense of being a migrant, so it's both. It seems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/i-have-a-very-powerful-sense-of-place-but-i-have-a-very-powerful/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [The cars of the migrant people crawled out of the side roads onto the great cross-country highway, and they took the migrant way to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/the-cars-of-the-migrant-people-crawled-out-of-the-side-roads-onto-the/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [Sham marriages have been widespread; people have been allowed to settle in Britain without being able to speak English; and there have not been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theresa-may/sham-marriages-have-been-widespread-people-have-been-allowed-to/) [Theresa May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theresa-may/) > [I want to thank the Greek people publicly for their humanitarian response to the crisis of so many migrants and refugees seeking safety in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/i-want-to-thank-the-greek-people-publicly-for-their-humanitarian/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) ## More by Salman Rushdie > [If my child had prejudice in his head, I'd be ashamed. I would see it as my failure as a parent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-my-child-had-prejudice-in-his-head-i-d-be-ashamed-i-would-see-it/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [It's a terrible thing that your life turns into a good story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/it-s-a-terrible-thing-that-your-life-turns-into-a-good-story/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [Sometimes by a woodland stream he watched the water rush over the pebbled bed, its tiny modulations of bounce and flow. A woman's body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/sometimes-by-a-woodland-stream-he-watched-the-water-rush-over-the/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I want to write novels. I want to write stories. I want to do the stuff that I became a writer to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-want-to-write-novels-i-want-to-write-stories-i-want-to-do-the-stuff/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [If you want to be a serious writer, then you have to write what there is to write about. If you're going to pull…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-you-want-to-be-a-serious-writer-then-you-have-to-write-what-there/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“Después de exigir mi marcha, ya no posees jurisdicción en lo concerniente a mi salud.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/despu-s-de-exigir-mi-marcha-ya-no-posees-jurisdicci-n-en-lo/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [If there is a choice between absolute safety and freedom, then freedom must always prevail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-there-is-a-choice-between-absolute-safety-and-freedom-then-freedom/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I'm not a prophet, but I always thought it was natural for dictatorships to fall. I remember in 1989, two months before the fall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-m-not-a-prophet-but-i-always-thought-it-was-natural-for/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I'd wanted to create a storm so that I could become more famous and richer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-d-wanted-to-create-a-storm-so-that-i-could-become-more-famous-and/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [Who what am I? My answer: I am the sum total of everything that went before me, of all I have been seen done,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/who-what-am-i-my-answer-i-am-the-sum-total-of-everything-that-went/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“...proving once again that there was no escape from recurrence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/proving-once-again-that-there-was-no-escape-from-recurrence/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“information, in a stream-of-consciousness soliloquy that revealed the extent to which he had internalised the adversarial fragmentation of American culture and made it a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/information-in-a-stream-of-consciousness-soliloquy-that-revealed-the/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [A little bit of one story joins onto an idea from another, and hey presto, . . . not old tales but new ones.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/a-little-bit-of-one-story-joins-onto-an-idea-from-another-and-hey/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I'm a novelist. Fortunately I don't have to rule the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-m-a-novelist-fortunately-i-don-t-have-to-rule-the-world/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [The First Amendment defends all forms of speech including hate speech, which is why groups like Ku Klux Klan are allowed to utter their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/the-first-amendment-defends-all-forms-of-speech-including-hate-speech/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) [Explore all 1,087 Salman Rushdie quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) ## More Immigration quotes > [That's what this country is. It's made up of immigrants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bria-vinaite/that-s-what-this-country-is-it-s-made-up-of-immigrants/) [Bria Vinaite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bria-vinaite/) > [Throughout our history, the words of the Declaration have inspired immigrants from around the world to set sail to our shores. These immigrants have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/throughout-our-history-the-words-of-the-declaration-have-inspired/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [Europe is creating the flight of refugees that's tearing it apart politically, and leading rightwing nationalist parties to gain power to withdraw from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hudson/europe-is-creating-the-flight-of-refugees-that-s-tearing-it-apart/) [Michael Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hudson/) > [We need to fight to prove to people that it is possible to form an E.U. migration policy that is in line with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-orban/we-need-to-fight-to-prove-to-people-that-it-is-possible-to-form-an-e/) [Viktor Orban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-orban/) > [All of us take offense to anyone who reaps the rewards of living in America without taking on the responsibilities of living in America.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/all-of-us-take-offense-to-anyone-who-reaps-the-rewards-of-living-in/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [A lot of Broadway has that immigrant narrative of America as a place where you can become something else against all odds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-kass/a-lot-of-broadway-has-that-immigrant-narrative-of-america-as-a-place/) [Deborah Kass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-kass/) > [Ed Koch once said that New York City is where immigrants come to audition for America. That's what happened to my parents; that's what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lin-manuel-miranda/ed-koch-once-said-that-new-york-city-is-where-immigrants-come-to/) [Lin-Manuel Miranda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lin-manuel-miranda/) > [“If all the developed countries would let in just 3% more immigrants, the world’s poor would have $305 billion more to spend, say scientists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutger-bregman/if-all-the-developed-countries-would-let-in-just-3-more-immigrants/) [Rutger Bregman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutger-bregman/) > [“...the haunted always take refuge in stillness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-dodd/the-haunted-always-take-refuge-in-stillness/) [Christina Dodd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-dodd/) > [These men of many nations must be taught American ways, the English language, and the right way to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ford/these-men-of-many-nations-must-be-taught-american-ways-the-english/) [Henry Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ford/) > [Let's be honest, if the Democrats didn't support ignoring our nation's immigration laws, there is no way they could win the presidency or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nugent/let-s-be-honest-if-the-democrats-didn-t-support-ignoring-our-nation-s/) [Ted Nugent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nugent/) > [I think what Democrats need to do is they need to work for the country and make sure that not only the southern border…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-tester/i-think-what-democrats-need-to-do-is-they-need-to-work-for-the/) [Jon Tester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-tester/) > [We need to remain a nation that doesn't just welcome but that celebrates legal immigrants who come here seeking to pursue the American Dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-cruz/we-need-to-remain-a-nation-that-doesn-t-just-welcome-but-that/) [Ted Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-cruz/) > [The Chinese describe themselves as political refugees. Many base that claim on China's strict population laws, which allow them to have only one child.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-koch/the-chinese-describe-themselves-as-political-refugees-many-base-that/) [Ed Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-koch/) > [“The next morning, the refugees rose from their agitation to the realization that they were slowly being erased from the world, from its history…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-next-morning-the-refugees-rose-from-their-agitation-to-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 4,018 Immigration quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/immigration/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Also – for there had been more than a few migrants aboard, yes, quite a quantity of wives who had been grilled by reasonable, doing-their-job officials about the length of and distinguishing moles upon their husbands’ genitalia, a sufficiency of children upon whose legitimacy the British Government had cast its ever-reasonable doubts – mingling with the remnants of the plane, equally fragmented, equally absurd, there floated the debris of the soul, broken memories, sloughed-off selves, severed mother-tongues, violated privacies, untranslatable jokes, extinguished futures, lost loves, the forgotten meaning of hollow, booming words, land, belonging, home.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Salman Rushdie" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/also-for-there-had-been-more-than-a-few-migrants-aboard-yes-quite-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Immigration" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/also-for-there-had-been-more-than-a-few-migrants-aboard-yes-quite-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73a/salman-rushdie-153_immigration_also-for-there-had-been-more-than-a-few_494142.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73a/salman-rushdie-153_immigration_also-for-there-had-been-more-than-a-few_494142.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73a/salman-rushdie-153_immigration_also-for-there-had-been-more-than-a-few_494142.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Also – for there had been more than a few migrants aboard, yes, quite a quantity of wives who had been…” — Salman Rushdie", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Salman Rushdie", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Also – for there had been...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/also-for-there-had-been-more-than-a-few-migrants-aboard-yes-quite-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/also-for-there-had-been-more-than-a-few-migrants-aboard-yes-quite-a/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```