Hope Not Fear by Hassan Akkad
Hope Not Fear: This memoir from refugee, film maker and activist Hassan Akkad traces his campaigns for justice, from protesting the Assad regime in Syria to winning greater rights for cleaners in the NHS. Akkad draws from his own experiences to raise awareness and bring people together through the empowering message of kindness and unity. Akkad describes his dangerous journey to the UK and his life in Syria before the war, as well as detailing how he fought for better rights.
The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri
The Beekeeper of Aleppo: This novel follows the story of Nuri, the beekeeper, and his wife Afra, an artist. When their lives are suddenly overturned and all they care for destroyed by the war they must embark on a perilous journey as they undertake the Syrian refugee trail to Europe. Afra also loses her sight and is only sustained by the hope that they’ll reach her cousin in Britain. The Beekeeper of Aleppo is a testament to the triumph of the human spirit.
Conversations From Calais edited by Mathilda Della Torres
Conversations from Calais: Conversations from Calais documents the conversations between volunteers and migrants in Calais. The book’s aim is to rehumanise those affected by the refugee crisis through sharing refugee stories. The ever-growing collection of conversations focuses on capturing the diversity of experiences and avoids creating new stereotypes of refugees as villains, heroic figures or helpless victims.
The Broken Circle: A memoir of escaping Afghanistan by Enjeela Ahmadi-Miller
The Broken Circle: Following the journey of Enjeela Ahmadi as her life is thrust into chaos amidst the rumble of invading Soviet tanks. They undertake an epic, reckless and terrifying five year journey of escape. The Broken Circle is an emotional and sweeping memoir of love and survival—and of a committed and desperate family uprooted and divided by the violent, changing landscape of Afghanistan in the early 1980s.
Against The Loveless World by Susan Abulhawa
Against the Loveless World: As Nahr sits, locked away in solitary confinement, she spends her days reflecting on the dramatic events that landed her in prison in a country she barely knows. This novel follows a young Palestinian refugee as she slowly becomes radicalized whilst searching for a better life for her family throughout the Middle East. The US invasion of Iraq makes her a refugee, as her parents had been. After trekking through another temporary home in Jordan, she lands in Palestine, where she finally makes a home, falls in love, and her destiny unfolds under Israeli occupation.
The Ungrateful Refugee by Dina Nayer
The Ungrateful Refugee: Dina Nayeri fled Iran alongside her mother and brother aged eight. After being granted asylum in America she settled in Oklahoma, then made her way to Princetown University. This book weaves her own story with the stories of other refugees and asylum seekers in recent years, bringing us inside their daily lives and taking us through the different stages of their journeys, from escape to asylum to resettlement. Nayeri confronts notions like “the swarm,” and, “good” immigrants. She calls attention to the harmful way in which Western governments privilege certain dangers over others.
Limbo (Mubi and Amazon Prime)
A comedy-drama set on a fictional remote Scottish island where a group of new arrivals await the results of their asylum claims. It centres on Omar a young Syrian musician who is burdened by his grandfather's oud, the king of Arabic music instruments, which he has carried all the way from his homeland. Limbo is wry and poignant observation of the refugee experience
His House (Netflix)
A horror thriller film written and directed by Remi Weekes from a story by Felicity Evans and Toby Venables. The film tells the story of a refugee couple who flee from war-torn South Sudan. However, they struggle to adjust to their new life in an English town. It’s easy to miss on first glance but there is an evil lurking beneath the surface of the house they move into. The film navigates difficult themes whilst building and maintaining an emotional and uneasy atmosphere. Despite its ‘horror’ theme the film comments on guilt, grief, assimilation and the refugee crisis - there are without a doubt layers of interpretation to unpick.
The Swimmers (Netflix)
A biographical film that follows the story of teenage Syrian refugees Yusra Mardini and her sister Sarah Mardini as they flee the conflict in their country. Both talented swimmers coached by their dad, the sisters are forced to flee whilst leaving their dad and embark on a harrowing journey as refugees. But this doesn’t dull Yursa’s dreams of Olympic glory as both sisters compete in the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Midnight Traveller (2019)
A documentary filmed on three smartphones by Hassan Fazili, his wife Fatima Hussaini, and their daughters. After Fazili’s 2015 documentary is aired on national television the Taliban out a bounty on his head. Thus, Fazili is forced to flee with his wife and two daughters, from their home in Afghanistan to Europe in search for Asylum. What follows is a three-year journey, a failed claim for Asylum resulting in their deportation to Afghanistan, displays of the dangers facing refugees seeking asylum and the love shared between a family on the run. Midnight Traveler puts a harrowing personal face on the modern refugee crisis.
Exodus: Our Journey
Exodus: Our Journey was shot partly by BBC crews and partly by refugees who were given camera phones to secretly film their journeys to Europe. It documents the last 12 months in the shoes of people escaping war and poverty as they try to cross Eurpe. They capture every intimate detail from the grim negotiations with smugglers to overcrowded boats with men, women and children capsizing in the sea. The refugees are able to film scenes and places where no one else can go, no news reporter or aid worker etc. The result is a terrifying, intimate, epic portrait of the migrant crisis.
Stateless (Netflix)
An Australian television series that is partly inspired by Carnelia Rau who was unlawfully detained under the Australian Government's mandatory detention program. The series centres on four strangers in an immigration detention centre in the Australian desert: an airline hostess escaping a suburban cult, an Afghan refugee fleeing persecution, a young Australian father escaping a dead-end job and a bureaucrat caught up in a national scandal. When their lives intersect they are pushed to the brink of sanity, yet unlikely and profound emotional connections are made amongst the group.
Experts by Experience podcast
The Experts by experience network is a national group formed of people seeking asylum and those with refugee status. The groups are supported by Refugee Action. In this podcast members discuss various issues from their authentic perspectives, strengthening understanding, building bridges and breaking down the stigma toward refugees and asylum seekers.
In my Country
In My County won Best Interview at the 2020 Australian Podcast Awards. We hear a lot ABOUT refugees and asylum seekers, but we don’t hear a lot from the people directly. In My Country aims to give a platform to people who came to Australia as refugees or asylum seekers, through the chance to share their stories and uplifting their voices.
Asylum Speakers Podcast with Jaz O'Hara: Stories of Migration
This podcast will take you on a journey across the world where you’ll hear from people who have left their homes and everything behind them. You’ll also here from the volunteers working alongside them. This podcast will show you the people behind the statistics and headlines. Transcend borders, nationalities, religions and languages to hear from the people with which we share this world.