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A review by paperbacksandpines
The Unwanted: Stories of the Syrian Refugees by Don Brown
4.0
This book was a heartbreaking take on the Syrian refugee crisis. Aimed at young adult readers, the subject matter lays out the events leading up to the refugee crisis in a clear and straightforward manner so that anyone without background knowledge won't be left in the dark. The book reads as a collection of anecdotes from a host of different people.
The anecdotes form a cohesive narrative. I was left with important questions such as what responsibility does humankind have for victims of political oppression and what point do countries stop accepting refugees. The countries surrounding Syria have undergone extreme financial hardships after allowing large amounts of refugees to enter their country. Refugees encounter prejudice, religious persecution, and xenophobia. Unlike similar subject matter books I've read, the author was careful not to lay any blame from the persecution at the feet of any specific religious groups.
Unfortunately, the countries surrounding Syria that have shouldered the majority of the refugees have only undertaken a small percentage of the Syrians in crisis. The U.S. only took in 6 Syrian refugees in one year! In many other refugee crises in the past, the government took in numbers of people in vastly larger quantities. I was deeply saddened, but not surprised, to read that the world has essentially turned their backs on these people in crisis.
The anecdotes form a cohesive narrative. I was left with important questions such as what responsibility does humankind have for victims of political oppression and what point do countries stop accepting refugees. The countries surrounding Syria have undergone extreme financial hardships after allowing large amounts of refugees to enter their country. Refugees encounter prejudice, religious persecution, and xenophobia. Unlike similar subject matter books I've read, the author was careful not to lay any blame from the persecution at the feet of any specific religious groups.
Unfortunately, the countries surrounding Syria that have shouldered the majority of the refugees have only undertaken a small percentage of the Syrians in crisis. The U.S. only took in 6 Syrian refugees in one year! In many other refugee crises in the past, the government took in numbers of people in vastly larger quantities. I was deeply saddened, but not surprised, to read that the world has essentially turned their backs on these people in crisis.