American Refuge: True Stories of the Refugee Experience by Diya Abdo # Emigrants & Immigrants Biographies #Publisher Steerforth Press #Book Review

MY THOUGHTS AND BOOK REVIEW

I found this book very interesting as the author has brought into light true stories of refugee experiences by interviewing them at American Guilford College who are volunteers and students hosting their stories of displacement, of waiting in limbo, of resettlement, and the author Diya's own refugee story. As an adult immigrant to the US and a child of Palestinian refugees who was born and raised in Jordan ("the alternate homeland"), the author highlights some of the challenges that are unusual the refugees faced: affording safe housing, accessing appropriate health care, and finding fulfilling and well-paying work. Barrier of language is another trauma they carry. 

Refugees have so little times to settle in and find themselves in immediate poverty and debt - including the the airfare that needs to be paid back. To secure employment is the first and foremost necessity for refugees. Thier first job would be non-commensurate with thier skills, certifications, degrees, or interests, an added obstable as many credentials and degrees from thier home countries are not recognized in the US. To find employment and successfully integrate learning english and taking time to adjust emotionally, mentally, and culturally overtakes their needs. Sometimes the payments could be too low even to afford rent, not even mimimum wage either. The commute could be long and the work exhausting and painful. 

The author of this book gives impressive and brilliant definitions and latest statistics of refugees in the world today in a detailed manner. Everybody wants to be US, with US, in US. Everything else is worse - a Eurocentric/Americentric ideology - a harmful belief. I would rate this book 4 star!

I just reviewed the book, American Refuge: True Stories of the Refugee Experience by Diya Abdo. Thanks to the author Diya Abdo and Publisher Steerforth Press, and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book for my honest review.

              About the author Diya Abdo

                                            

Diya Abdo is the first daughter and granddaughter of Palestinian refugees to be born in their country of displacement, Jordan. Raised there, Diya received her undergraduate degree in English Language and Literature at Yarmouk University in the north of the country, a short car ride from Syria. She came to the U.S. as an International student in pursuit of a graduate degree and was a student at Drew University in NJ on Sept. 11th. A dedicated Americanist at the time, Diya’s professional and personal life trajectory were altered by the events of that day. She returned to Jordan and focused on Arab women writers and Arab and Islamic Feminisms. After a freedom of speech violation at her university in Jordan forced her to leave, Diya accepted a position in the English Department of Guilford College in Greensboro, NC in 2008. In 2015, moved by Pope Francis’ call on every parish to host a refugee family, she founded Every Campus A Refuge (ECAR) calling on every college and university to do the same. The flagship chapter at Guilford College, now one of several ECAR campuses, has hosted 80 refugees so far – 34 of them children – from Syria, Iraq, Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, Colombia, Ecuador, Afghanistan, and the DRC. Diya is the recipient of several national community engagement awards. Currently a full professor of English, she writes poetry, fiction and creative nonfiction. Her public essays focus on the intersection of gender, political identity, and vocation. She lives in Greensboro, NC with her partner, two daughters, and four cats.

Book Description

A provocative, conversation-sparking exploration of refugee experiences told in their own words, for readers of Karla Cornejo Villavicencio’s The Undocumented Americans and Viet Thanh Nguyen
 
Forced to leave their homes, they came to America

In this intimate and eye-opening book, Diya Abdo--daughter of refugees, U.S. immigrant, English professor, and activist—shares the stories of seven refugees. Coming from around the world, they’re welcomed by Every Campus A Refuge (ECAR), an organization Diya founded to leverage existing resources at colleges to provide temporary shelter to refugee families.

Bookended by Diya’s powerful essay "Radical Hospitality" and the inspiring coda “Names and Numbers,” each chapter weaves the individual stories into a powerful journey along a common theme:

•   Life Before (“The Body Leaves its Soul Behind”)
• The Moment of Rupture(“Proof and Persecution”)
• The Journey (“Right Next Door”)
• Arrival/Resettlement(“Back to the Margins”)
• A Few Years Later (“From Camp to Campus”)

 
The lives explored in American Refuge include the artist who, before he created the illustration on the cover of this book, narrowly escaped two assassination attempts in Iraq and now works at Tyson cutting chicken.
 
We learn that these refugees from Burma, Burundi, Iraq, Palestine, Syria, and Uganda lived in homes they loved, left against their will, moved to countries without access or rights, and were among the 1% of the "lucky" few to resettle after a long wait, almost certain never to return to the homes they never wanted to leave. We learn that anybody, at any time, can become a refugee.

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• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Steerforth Press / Truth to Power 
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• Publication Date : (September 6, 2022)
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     Pages :176

• Disclosure of Material: I have received a review copy of this book by the publisher in the form of e-book from NET GALLEY as Advance Reader Copy. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”