How does a fellow human being become a refugee? What is life like for him or her after fleeing home? Check out these staff offerings–some of our favorites–for insight.
Recommended Books
These are books that our staff highly value or are currently reading. (All links are to Amazon, for more details.) Book club, anyone?
After the Last Border: Two Families and the Story of Refuge in America (2017) by Jessica Goudeau link
City of Thorns: Nine Lives in the World’s Largest Refugee Camp (2017) by Ben Rawlence link (See also his PBS News Hour interview about the book link)
My Fourth Time, We Drowned: Seeking Refuge on the World’s Deadliest Migration Route (2023) by Sally Hayden link
The Middle of Everywhere: Helping Refugees Enter the American Community (2003) by Mary Pipher link
Welcoming the Stranger: Justice, Compassion, & Truth in the Immigration Debate (2019) by Matthew Soerens & Jenny Yang link
We Thought It Would be Heaven: Refugees in an Unequal America (2023) by Blair Sackett & Annette Lareau link
When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty without Hurting the Poor…and Yourself (2014) by Steve Corbett & Brian Fikkert link
Recommended for Reading & Discussing with Children
These books are wonderful for a classroom or for reading with your child.
What Is a Refugee? by Elise Gravel link
Refugees & Migrants by Ceri Roberts link
When Stars Are Scattered by Omar Mohamed & Victoria Jamieson (graphic novel) link
Where Are You From? by Yamile Saied Méndez link
Thank you, Omu by One Mora link
A Different Pond by Thi Bui & Bao Phi link
Wishes by Mượn Thị Văn link
Lubna & Pebble by Wendy Meddour link
Recommended Films
Laura highly recommends each of these films. While not “easy” to watch, they help us understand both the human toll of the global displacement crisis and what it means to be “resettled.” Film and discussion night, anyone?
This is Home: A Refugee Story (2018) – An important documentary following the story of four Syrian refugee families as they navigate the cultural differences and challenges of settling into a new life in Baltimore, Maryland. “THIS IS HOME goes beyond the statistics, headlines, and political rhetoric to tell deeply personal stories, putting a human face on the global refugee crisis” (Gidalya Productions, link for more information). Winner of the 2018 Sundance Film Festival’s Audience Award: World Cinema Documentary and a duPont-Columbia Award in 2019. (Check Amazon Prime for availability. May be temporarily unavailable.)
God Grew Tired of Us (2006) – A powerful documentary that follows the resettlement experience of three Sudanese “Lost Boys” in different parts of the U.S. It also provides their backstory of fleeing Sudan and living in a refugee camp in Kenya. ”[F]ilmmaker Christopher Quinn spent four years following them on their journey in a new and unfamiliar land…as they struggle to build new lives for themselves, acquaint themselves with the ‘American’ way of doing things, the difficulties of being black in a primarily white culture, and try to track down the friends and family they were forced to leave behind” (Got the Shot Films overview). (Presently available to watch at this link.)
Refugee (2020) – A raw documentary that follows the excruciating struggle and long journey of displaced people, many of whom are children, traveling over land and sea to try to find safe refuge in Europe. It focuses, in particular, on the challenges and heartache of a Syrian family – the mother who makes it to Germany and her husband and two young children trying to be reunited with her, but trapped by closed borders and stuck in camps and bureaucratic processes. (Available to watch at this link.)
4.1 Miles (2016; short film: 24 min) – A hard-hitting, Oscar-nominated short documentary providing a glimpse into the harrowing boat ride thousands of asylum seekers and migrants take desperate to reach European shores. It does so while following a Greek coast guard captain’s efforts to rescue thousands at sea before they drown. (Available to watch at this link.)
Refugee (2016; short film: 27 min) – The story of a refugee/mother, the heartache and cost of leaving children behind to seek asylum and a better future for her family in the U.S., and the longing for and meaning of reunification. (Available to watch at this link.)
Other Interesting Resources
Recipes for Refuge Cook Book: Culinary Journeys to America by Refugee Women’s Alliance link
Nations To Neighbors Montana 