Monthly Archives: June 2018

It’s World Refugee Day

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I can’t imagine being displaced from the safety and security of my home. I can’t even fathom what it’s like  to survive without food, friends, family and shelter. I can’t visualise being surrounded by so much hate, gunfire, shelling and death. I can’t contemplate a fear so chilling that I’m forced to take an incredible risk to get out of a dangerous situation.

Yet one person on the planet every two seconds flees on foot, by vehicle or boat to escape and seek sanctuary elsewhere. I wonder why anyone would risk a buffeting sea until I actually consider the environment of where they’ve come from.

June 20 is World Refugee Day. There were 51.2 million refugees reported in 2013 which exceeded the numbers after WW2. This has grown to an extraordinary and record number of 68 million refugees in 2017. While  conflicts in Syria, South Sudan, Afghanistan, Myanmar and Congo areas continue,  the numbers of displaced people will grow.

According to the United Nations Refugee Agency’s (UNHCR) recent report, one in every 110 people on our planet is a refugee, internally displaced or is seeking asylum. It’s a staggering figure but what is even more tragic is that 25 million are under the age of 18.

Most of us in the Western world are very fortunate and we all have a responsibility to do something whether it’s to support organisations who help refugees such as the UNHCR (http://www.unhcr.org/uk/), agitate our own government and elected officials or simply take the time to reflect and change our attitude and mindset about our fellow human beings.

Many of us would no doubt have relatives or ancestors who were refugees. Indeed, within my own family there are refugees from WW2 and the Greek Civil War.

Refugees don’t choose to run because they want to, they’re put into a position where they simply have to.

Book Review: The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris

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I’m still recovering from reading this phenomenal story about a boy who meets a girl and how they fall in love. Simple. Yes, it’s the sort of story told many times over the ages. Except for one thing. This tale is set in the most horrific place ever conjured up in the world – a concentration camp of pure hell. What makes this even more incredible is that this is not make-believe – it all happened. How Heather Morris painstakingly researched and put together this story is incredible. She manages to take Lale and Gita’s story and weave a thing of beauty, survival, drama and love.

Lale is a survivor with wit and determination whose job is to tattoo numbers on the arms of each prisoner as they are brought in to Auschwitz. He meets Gita when he tattoos her arm. Against all odds their love grows as they both survive numerous scrapes and almost death. Lale gains trust from his captives and uses his position to not only survive but help as many as he can.

Heather Morris leads us into the camp and gives a tour of brutality, death and inhumanity. At times, it’s almost too much and then she deftly gives us the relief of Lale’s antics – sneaking a kiss from Gita or using a dopey SS officer to smuggle letters to her. There are tears and smiles as we quickly grow to love this couple.

We are reminded however that history has a habit of repeating itself as with all wars since, continues to cause insurmountable misery and grief for so many. Only a week ago refugees were adrift on the Mediterranean Sea fleeing from war.

Lale and Gita’s story needed to be told and I’m grateful to Heather Morris for persisting and bringing it to us. This is a book which will stay with me for a very long time and is highly recommended.

Book Review: Castle of Dreams by Elise McCune

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Title Pic from Goodreads

Castle of Dreams is an intriguing story about two sisters who fall in love with the same American soldier during WW2 against the  backdrop of a tropical rainforest of a northern Queensland castle. That was more than enough enticement to make me read this book. Coupled with family secrets, regret, loss and lies, Castle of Dreams is a fast paced and enjoyable story which spans the 1930’s to 2009.

Using split time lines, Elise McCune’s descriptive writing transports the reader to the Castle in Northern Queensland which is known by Australians as Paronella Park. I remember driving past it a few years ago wondering how and why it was there. A castle plonked in the middle of the rainforest seems so incredibly out of place. Yet Elise McCune builds a story around it and its history. Additionally, the historical facts around American soldiers who were stationed in Northern Queensland during the war and the animosity by the Australian servicemen was well portrayed.

The mysterious family secret unravels slowly and when you think you know what it is, a twist takes you on an unexpected path. The mainly female characters are well drawn and the portrayal of unwed mothers in the two timelines is contrasted well.

Overall,  very satisfying and if you’re looking for a holiday read or one to transport you to another time and place then grab this one.

Book Review: The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

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A lot has been said about this much lauded book. Its resurrection from the 1980’s with the well-known mini- series has found a greater appreciation and a fresh audience and is relevant in its message today as it was then.

I read it many years ago in my twenties and having read it again for the second time found a new appreciation. This dystopian novel puts us in an oppressed world where women whose rights and freedoms are stripped away are forced into specific roles – Handmaids are to breed; Martha’s are domestic workers etc. Offred is one of those Handmaids who gives us snippets of her life before the takeover by the Gilead regime and what led her to her present predictament.

The writing style, as with all Margaret Atwood novels is exquisite.
“We learned to whisper almost without sound. In the semi-darkness we could stretch out our arms, when the Aunts weren’t looking, and touch each other’s hands across the space. We learned to lip-read, our heads flat on the beds, turned sideways, watching each other’s mouths. In this way we exchanged names, from bed to bed.”

We know from the turn of page one that all is not right in a regime most of us could barely imagine. Yet some of the ideas about the treatment of women are not a forecast but I’d suggest a probable reality somewhere in the world. Who could forget the kidnapping of two hundred girls in Nigeria by the Boko Haram and what life those survivors endure? Oppression and religious zealotry is still rife in many parts of the world. Margaret Atwood does a great job of showing us how this feels through the voice of Offred. Yet, it’s telling is also reminiscent of our past and how far we have to go for women everywhere to have true choice.

The Handmaid’s Tale is profound and disturbing yet thought provoking. If you haven’t read it, it’s time you did.

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