Afghan boy's migration saga a must read

Gulwali Passarlay. Photo supplied
Gulwali Passarlay. Photo supplied

THE LIGHTLESS SKY:<br>An Afghan Refugee Boy's Journey of Escape to a New Life in Britain<br><b>Gulwali Passarlay, with Nadene Ghouri</b><br><i>Atlantic/Allen & Unwin</i>
THE LIGHTLESS SKY:<br>An Afghan Refugee Boy's Journey of Escape to a New Life in Britain<br><b>Gulwali Passarlay, with Nadene Ghouri</b><br><i>Atlantic/Allen & Unwin</i>

Gulwali Passarlay's The Lightless Sky is a terrrific book that is gripping and extremely moving, reviewer Mike Crowl finds.

 

After the murder of his father and grandfather at the hands of the US Army, 12-year-old Gulwali and his slightly older brother, Hazrat, are forced to make their way from Afghanistan to England at the insistence of their mother, who didn't want any more of her male family members to die.

The two brothers were separated early in their journey, and for the next year Gulwali travelled with various friends he made along the way, being shunted from one country to another, and sometimes back again, always at the mercy of an incredible network of people-smugglers, many of whom offered false ''guarantees'' and failed to fulfil their part of the bargain.

That he reached England at all is a testament to his endurance, and to the courage of people who did act compassionately towards him along the way. Many of the hardships and trials he suffered seem too incredible.

Are some of these stories made up?

There's a temptation to think so, but in reality what he goes through is the norm for hundreds of thousands of migrants and refugees, many of whom don't make it to their destinations.

Gulwali's ''ghost-writer'', Nadene Ghouri, does a superb job of bringing together his experiences and memories.

She admits at the back of the book not everything may be exactly how it happened, because Gulwali was under huge stress and frequently ill during his 12-month journey.

Nearly 10 years later he continues to suffer from horrific nightmares and bouts of depression.

Plainly many of the conversations are invented; nevertheless they typify what was actually said, and don't have that forced feeling about them that ''as told to'' biographies often do.

With the world going through the biggest migration in human history, it is necessary to have at least some idea of what most of these people have to deal with, and this book gives a huge insight into their struggles.

We all need to read it.

Whatever our level of ability or means to help refugees, this will give us a greater compassion for the suffering they go through to make a new life for themselves.

 Mike Crowl is a Dunedin writer, musician and composer.

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