by Rose George
First published 2004
Rose George journeys to Liberia and Ivory Coast, then back to Britain, documenting the reality behind political rhetoric about asylum seekers and refugees. She meets people like Francis Flade Nemlin, who transformed from well-paid NGO worker to refugee with sixteen dependants in just two weeks. George records stories of Liberians who have been fleeing for fourteen years straight, rebuilding homes five times only to see them looted six times, eventually giving up on installing windows. Through direct encounters with displaced people, she reveals what actually happens when war, greed and guns uproot entire lives. The book challenges assumptions held across the political spectrum about refugees and asylum seekers, exposing how quickly anyone can lose everything and need help.
Genres: social-issues, non-fiction, biography-memoir, 21st-century, current-affairs, africa
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, social-commentary
Setting: Britain, Ivory Coast, Liberia
Period: 21st-century
224 pages · Paperback · Penguin
Content warnings: war