NUJEEN by Nujeen Mustafa and Christina Lamb. Born with cerebral palsy, 18-year-old Nujeen (whose family is Kurdish) fled the war in Syria in 2014, pushed in her wheelchair by her older sister. The two made the hazardous journey, crossing seven borders and the Mediterranean Sea to reach Europe. When they arrived in Germany, where she now lives, Nujeen said she felt like a movie hero who had completed a dangerous adventure. What she hadn’t yet realized, however, was that the biggest battle was yet to be fought: fitting in, “when everything you are is strange and foreign”.
CITY OF THORNS: Nine Lives in the World’s Largest Refugee Camp. Situated hundreds of miles from any other community, deep within the hostile desert of northern Kenya where only thorn bushes grow, Dadaab Refugee Camp is a city like no other. Over the course of four years, author Ben Rawlence became a first-hand witness to a strange and desolate land, getting to know many of those who have come there seeking sanctuary.
A HOPE MORE POWERFUL THAN THE SEA: One Refugee's Incredible Story of Love, Loss, and Survival by Melissa Fleming, who reminds us, “The simple truth is that refugees would not risk their lives on such a dangerous journey if they could thrive where they were" If you want to put a face to the Syrian refugee crisis, read this book. It's a rare, close-up into the life of a Syrian refugee, Doaa, a brave young woman who survived insurmountable odds. Melissa Fleming's TED talk on Doaa.