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A review by serendipitysbooks
Hakim's Odyssey: Book 2: From Turkey to Greece by Fernando Scheibe, Fabien Toulmé
adventurous
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
Last year I read volume 1 of Hakim’s Odyssey, a graphic memoir which traced the journey of one refugee from Syria to Turkey. I’ve now been able to read volumes 2 and 3, which trace his journey across the Mediterranean to Greece and then through numerous European countries to France where his family settled. So many things struck me about his journey - the difficult decisions that had to be made, the stress of making potentially life altering decisions under time pressure and with little information, not knowing who to trust but having to trust someone regardless, the physical, mental and emotional toll of the journey, and the number of times his journey could have had a very different outcome. Xenophobia and being financially ripped off were sadly common experiences but there were small kindnesses from strangers and camaraderie from other refugees which helped sustain him. The differences in the way refugees were treated in Austria compared to Hungary was startling. After such an arduous journey with many setbacks I can only imagine the relief Hakim must have felt when he and his young son finally arrived in France and were reunited with his wife and in-laws. And yet the hardships were not over. Building a life from scratch in a foreign country isn’t easy and Hakim still lives with the reality of being separated from much of his family, many of whom remain in Syria.
We’ve all seen the media images about recent refugee experiences in Europe. The value of books like these is in focussing on one person and showing their journey, which began as a happy, normal life not so far removed from one many of us in the west live. It enables readers to identify with a refugee as an individual, and makes it harder to demonise and “other” them. It leads readers to wonder “what if” and think about what they would do if faced with similar circumstances and impossible decisions. I hope Hakim’s story gets the readership it deserves, that it helps develop understanding and empathy which translates to better treatment of refugees. I’m so grateful that Hakim was willing to share his story with the author, and have him share it with them world.
We’ve all seen the media images about recent refugee experiences in Europe. The value of books like these is in focussing on one person and showing their journey, which began as a happy, normal life not so far removed from one many of us in the west live. It enables readers to identify with a refugee as an individual, and makes it harder to demonise and “other” them. It leads readers to wonder “what if” and think about what they would do if faced with similar circumstances and impossible decisions. I hope Hakim’s story gets the readership it deserves, that it helps develop understanding and empathy which translates to better treatment of refugees. I’m so grateful that Hakim was willing to share his story with the author, and have him share it with them world.