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4.5
This book is a compendium of stories about 11 refugees from various corners of the globe who, after incredible struggles, wind up in the United States. As explained in the Introduction, a “refugee” (as opposed to an “internally displaced person”) has been forced to leave his or her country because of persecution, war, or violence, usually for reasons related to race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a disfavored group.Although the refugees endure horrendous hardships, their stories are surprisingly uplifting. As a group, the stories exemplify how hope, hard work, and often luck have provided the refugees with a chance at a better life. You cannot read this book without recognizing just how ignorant and misguided the current Administration’s aggressive mistreatment of refugees is, both for the poor unfortunates who flee their native lands in order to survive and for our own country that benefits by taking in immigrants of character who are determined to do good for their families and this country. The refugees whose stories are told in this book really do exemplify what the American experience is supposed to be.The book has a unique format. It has a separate chapter for each refugee. The chapter starts with an overview quote from the refugee who is featured in the chapter. Then the author gives an historical overview and current narrative of the circumstances that forced the refugee to leave his or her homeland. The story is told through a summary provided by the author deftly interwoven with well-chosen excerpts from what obviously was a much longer interview of each refugee. When I finished one chapter, I couldn’t wait to get to the next.The stories were all compelling, but I had a few personal “favorites,” meaning that they touched me the most.A refugee grew up in a poor family in Guatemala City. Her father was a shoemaker, and her mother worked in a school, until a 7.5 earthquake closed the school. The mother was able to move to Torrance in Southern California, where she worked two menial jobs and saved her money with the hope of bringing her children from Guatemala to join her. While she was gone, the subject’s 14-year old brother was kidnapped by the police while playing basketball at a playground, and she recounts the tortuous experience to escape the police herself, get her brother back, and eventually relocate with her mother in America, where they suffered discrimination. Now, she and her husband are American citizens. They own a house and a business that employs others, and she is active helping other refugees.The chapter about the oldest refugee tells the story of her survival in the Warsaw ghetto. She was starving and eating from trashcan leftovers, getting no vitamins for several years. Her father heard that someone was illegally selling apples so he did what any father would do -- he went in search of an apple for his daughter, but he never returned. As she told her story, she said she lost her father for an apple, and she now remembers him every time she eats an apple. She has led tours of Auschwitz and Birkenau to show where she ended up before emigrating to America, to point out the bunk she shared and tell them of the horrors. When she speaks to groups, before she tells her story, she displays an apple to commemorate her lost father, who never returned from his quest for an apple to feed his daughter.This book is a must-read for anyone with a heart, a social conscience, or preferably both. Every native-born American will say, “There but for the grace of God go I.”
