2024 the best asylum story review
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The first comprehensive, in-depth book on the Trump administration’s assault on asylum protections
Arnovis couldn’t stay in El Salvador. If he didn’t leave, a local gangster promised that his family would dress in mourning—that he would wake up with flies in his mouth. “It was like a bomb exploded in my life,” Arnovis said.
The Dispossessed tells the story of a twenty-four-year-old Salvadoran man, Arnovis, whose family’s search for safety shows how the United States—in concert with other Western nations—has gutted asylum protections for the world’s most vulnerable. Crisscrossing the border and Central America, John Washington traces one man’s quest for asylum. Arnovis is separated from his daughter by US Border Patrol agents and struggles to find security after being repeatedly deported to a gang-ruled community in El Salvador, traumatic experiences relayed by Washington with vivid intensity.
Adding historical, literary, and current political context to the discussion of migration today, Washington tells the history of asylum law and practice through ages to the present day. Packed with information and reflection, The Dispossessed is more than a human portrait of those who cross borders—it is an urgent and persuasive case for sharing the country we call home.
Publisher : Verso (April 3, 2020)
Language : English
Hardcover : 352 pages
ISBN-10 : 1788734726
ISBN-13 : 978-1788734721
Item Weight : 2.31 pounds
Dimensions : 5.75 x 1.05 x 8.58 inches
Reviewer: Roman1
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: A Story of Our Times
Review: Tragedies described in numbers, no matter how large, fail to provide us with sufficient understanding of the problem. Illustrating a tragedy through the eyes and life of an individual, as John Washington has wonderfully done, gives us both greater understanding and empathy.
Reviewer: gypsy rose
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Excellent and very important read
Review: I canât recommend this book enough. It is a really well researched, well written book, using the story of one man, but weaving in the history, laws and historical contexts about Asylum and Refugees. Very readable, unlike a lot of jargon filled legal paper and academic research.John Washington is passionate, knows his subject and was immersed in it.âThere are walls behind the walls.â Ursula K. Le Guin
Reviewer: Peg Bowden
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Washington walks the walk
Review: It's no secret to those in the borderlands that seeking asylum is a draconian labyrinth of confusing, murky laws. Welcoming the dispossessed is next to impossible. Most end up in limbo and thousands remain stranded trying to get to the USA. Washington captures the marathon journey of Arnovis, a wise, courageous man from El Salvador. The author traces his footsteps and captures the obstacles Arnovis faces on his journey to el norte. The author and I worked for a time at an aid station in Nogales, Sonora; his compassion and heart come through in this book.
Reviewer: Peggy S
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: A life-altering book
Review: John Washington's humanity shines through and guides us to resuscitate our own. He gives both crucial historical context and a human face to THE issue of our time. His soft-spoken and intimate conversations with migrants, his immersion in the communities from which they flee, his taking us along their migration routes and into the detention centers makes it impossible for us to look away, impossible for us not to know. A life-altering book.
Reviewer: Amazon Customer
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Quite an education
Review: This book, more than anything else I've ever read, caused me to realize what an incomplete education I, and most in my circles, have had about international asylum laws and the people they hurt. I consider myself a fairly informed person (I hold a PhD and do a lot of reading and sifting through the news), but I was unaware of the detailed and fascinating history of asylum across the globe and through the ages. Learning that alone was money well-spent on the book, but the harrowing and heartstring-tugging stories woven throughout opened my eyes to the plight of many whose names I hope I don't soon forget. I finished the book amazed at the author's ability to mix story with education and touch me in a way that will directly, and permanently, impact my views about the border, asylum, immigration and "the other" and arm me with the information necessary to awaken those around me.
Reviewer: Raja Raghunath
Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Good summary of the history of asylum
Review: I will admit that all the jumping around in time may have served the narrative but was confusing, given the extensive information that was provided.
Reviewer: Kent K.
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Storytelling interwoven with current events and a deep understanding of border politics
Review: This book lays out the facts and stats of migration and how the US is currently treating migrants within a historical context. The book does not rely on that though, it is the story of one mans journey and the writer was bold to follow him on that journey.
Reviewer: Roland L.
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Good book!
Review: Washington is an excellent story teller. The book was a pleasure to read. It's sad that concern for others' fears has given way to fear of "others".