In this list, we will take you on a journey, in which imagination defeats sufferings. Here are 8 books written by refugee authors and are sold at the Cairo International Book Fair 2022 from 26 January to 6 February.
Book covers of the eight refugee books that are being sold during the Cairo International Book Fair.
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step; no matter how hard the journey, a single step matters. Seeking asylum in a foreign country is not a choice, but a tough journey that millions are forced to take to seek international protection.
In this list, we will take you on a journey, in which imagination defeats sufferings. Here are some of our favorite refugee writers who have taken a single step towards being who they are today after fleeing war, conflicts, and persecution.
Khaled Hosseini
“The desire to return to your roots is a universal one,” said the Afghan-American novelist and the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, Goodwill Ambassador Khaled Hosseini in an interview about his latest book Sea Prayer.
Hosseini’s family was forced to flee their home country and seek international protection in 1980, when Hosseini was only 15 years. He published his first novel The Kite Runner in March 2003, that became the root of his successful journey as one of the bestselling authors in over 70 countries.
All of Hosseini’s four books discuss the cause of asylum-seekers from different perspectives and reflects the sufferings of those who were forced to flee.
Malala Yousafzai
“We must recognize that among today’s refugee children are tomorrow’s leaders, on whom we will all depend for peace,” said the Pakistani activist and Nobel Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai in a UNHCR message about the importance of education for refugees.
Malala and her family were granted asylum in Britain after she was shot by a bullet in the head in her home country Pakistan in 2012. She decided to document her journey in an autobiographical book titled I Am Malala in 2013.
Nadia Murad
“I still think that being forced to leave your home out of fear is one of the worst injustices a human being can face. Everything you love is stolen, and you risk your life to live in a place that means nothing to you,” the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and UNODC Goodwill Ambassador Nadia Murad wrote in her New York Times Bestselling memoir The Last Girl.
Murad is an Iraqi human rights activist, who was kidnapped and abused for three months in her home country. She was able to escape and sought asylum in Germany in 2015. In 2018, Nadia decided to take action and support sexual violence survivors, by founding Nadia’s Initiative that advocates for women’s rights in crisis.
Ishmael Beah
“In the sky, there are always answers and explanations for everything: every pain, every suffering, joy, and confusion,” says the Sierra Leonean author and human rights activist Ishmael Baeh in his published memoir A Long Way Gone.
Beah was only 12 years of age when he was forced to be a soldier in his home country. He never chose to be one of them, but he had always believed that the sky will guide him to a new beginning. At 13, he was released and was able to move to the United States, where he sought and was granted asylum. Baeh’s book is about child soldiers, what they face, and how to never lose hope in having a better future.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
“Nobody is ever just a refugee. Nobody is ever just a single thing,” says the Nigerian-born writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie during World Humanitarian Day 2016.
Adichie is born to refugee parents who were forced to flee their home country and seek asylum. In her novel Americanah, Adichie describes the lives of refugees who were forced to flee their home countries, searching for safety and peace in the United States. The book raises a discussion on the African diaspora and the feeling of belonging.
In 2013, Americanah won the U.S. National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction to prove that nobody is ever just a refugee.
*All refugee books mentioned in this article are available at Diwan bookstore and are sold at the Cairo International Book Fair 2022 from 26 January to 6 February.
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