The Embassy of Cambodia

In this section of the short story, Badminton and other sports play a key role, and the chapter titles reflect this athletic influence, as they are formatted like a badminton score, and there are twenty-one chapters, which is how many points you need to win a game of badminton. The recurring motif of the shuttlecock, the cone-shaped birdie players volley back and forth, is introduced in this first section: “And back and forth, cresting this wall horizontally, flies a shuttlecock. They are playing badminton in the Embassy of Cambodia. Pock, smash. Pock, smash” (2). The use of onomatopoeia to describe the shuttlecock brings the otherwise silent badminton game to life, as well as capturing the limited visibility of activity at the embassy. While people are seen entering the building, the embassy is most alive through the sounds of badminton. Additionally, the whimsical nature of the badminton game juxtaposes many of the residents’ thoughts regarding the Cambodian Genocide, highlighting the theme of The Pain and Suffering of Daily Life. The game itself represents a back-and-forth game or battle that is always moving, drawing a parallel to domestic enslavement, which occurs in normal-looking homes with little visibility.

Additionally, the recurring motif of water is introduced, highlighting the theme of Self-Reliance, Independence, and Agency. Swimming at the health center is one of the few things Fatou can do for herself, and it also reminds her of the fact that she taught herself to swim on her own in treacherous water: “No, she learned by struggling through the rough gray sea […] Rising and sinking, rising and sinking, on the dirty foam” (4). This is a skill Fatou returns to frequently for peace and comfort throughout the short story, and it represents the changes in her own life: While she once navigated the rough seas of Accra, Ghana, she now navigates the seemingly pristine waters of London, not yet fully grasping the gravity of her situation. The act of swimming also captures a key element of Fatou’s spirit, as she already resists the full domestic enslavement of the Derawal family by taking their discarded guest passes and sneaking out while they are at work.

The unnamed narrator is introduced in the first chapter of the novella, immediately creating a strong sense of community: “Who would expect the Embassy of Cambodia? […] It’s a surprise, to us all” (1). By using the first-person plural point of view, Smith recreates the nosiness and gossip found in any neighborhood, and the unnamed narrator helps to animate the setting of the neighborhood itself. This role is highlighted by the fact that almost everything the unnamed narrator says is conjecture or guess. They frequently use asides and phrases like “it’s widely believed” to indicate that they are not sure of what they are saying and are simply gossiping. This foreshadows the fact that Fatou will become a source of neighborhood gossip herself by the end of the short story.

When Fatou reads the article about the enslaved woman in London, she goes to great lengths to convince herself that she is not enslaved by the Derawals, even though many attributes of the enslaved woman’s experience are similar to Fatou’s. Notably, Smith does not introduce information about Fatou’s domestic situation until the seventh chapter, instead focusing on Fatou’s love of swimming. By introducing Fatou as a swimmer before someone who is domestically enslaved, Smith shows how dynamic and human a character Fatou is regardless of the trauma she is experiencing. Further, the text presents Fatou as a person first, delving into the intricacies of her perceived occupation second as a form of liberation even within the confines of the short story.