Review of 3 Books

​New Book & Publication Review Section

This is a new book & publication review section where anyone can review something of interest to the Asylum Seeker Community and we will post here.
The 1st one is a review of 3 books assembled by Veronica from web sources. Veronica is a  BRIJ Volunteer. It is Veronica who has suggested this section and we are very grateful for it and her efforts in the 1st review.

​Read any good books lately?
Tell us about them!
​Here are some about people who have travelled to new countries.

 

 
1.  Available from Cork City Library:

​In The Sea There Are Crocodiles
by Fabio Geda, translated by Howard Curtis
 
This short book tells the story of young Enaiatollah's travels, with a lot of quotations from the lad himself (sometimes very funny).  
 
Enaiatollah Akbari's journey begins when his mother leaves him at a refugee camp in Pakistan.  She fears for his life if he stays with her in Afghanistan, so she is forced to do the most difficult thing a mother can do. From here Enaiatollah uses his wits and the help of fellow 'illegals' as he struggles to survive in search of a better life. This search takes him through Iran, Turkey and...  Well, read to the end and find out.

On the way he does all kinds of jobs from selling sweets on the roadside to working on building sites in terrible working conditions, and he travels in various dangerous ways, under lorries, in inflatable dinghys and walking across mountains. He meets all sorts of people – some who try to stop him, a few who help him on his way – and we learn the methods of people trafficking and the industry that has built up around it.
 
(Adapted from https://www.booktrust.org.uk/book/i/in-the-sea-there-are-crocodiles/) 

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​2  May be borrowed from BRIJ:

​Crossing the Sea with Syrians
Written by Wolfgang Bauer, photos by Stanislav Krupař, translated by Sarah Pybus
  
Award-winning journalist Wolfgang Bauer and photographer Stanislav Krupař were the first undercover reporters to document the journey of Syrian refugees from Egypt to Europe.
 
Posing as English teachers in 2014, they were direct witnesses to the brutality of smuggler gangs, the processes of detainment and deportation, the dangers of sea-crossing on rickety boats, and the final furtive journey through Europe.
 
Combining their own travels with other eyewitness accounts in the first book of reportage of its kind, Crossing the Sea brings to life both the systemic problems and the individual faces behind the crisis, and is a passionate appeal for more humanitarian refugee policies.
 
https://www.andotherstories.org/crossing-sea-syrians-exodus-europe/

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3  If anyone buys this book, would you be willing to lend it?

The Boy Who Never Gave Up: ​A refugee's epic journey to triumph
by Emmanuel Taban, Andrew Crofts
 
In 1994, sixteen-year-old Emmanuel Taban walked out of war-torn Sudan with nothing, and nowhere to go. In the preceding months he had been abducted and then tortured by government forces, who falsely accused him of spying for the South Sudanese rebels.

He managed to flee, hoping to be reunited with his family, but ended up going on a long and arduous journey through many African countries to South Africa. For many months Taban lived mostly on the street and faced many dangers, but he refused to give up.

He arrived in South Africa penniless, and with only five years of schooling. Determined to get a proper education, Taban first completed school and then his medical studies. After specialising as a pulmonologist in 2018, he recently made a ground-breaking discovery around the treatment of hypoxemic COVID-19 patients.

Taban overcame extreme poverty, racism and xenophobia to become the man he is today. Heart-warming and inspiring, his life story is one of survival against all odds.

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