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Title details for Between Everything and Nothing by Joe Meno - Available

Between Everything and Nothing

The Journey of Seidu Mohammed and Razak Iyal and the Quest for Asylum

by Joe Meno
Dion Graham
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available
Joe Meno brings a novelist's eye to the true story of two young men from Ghana and their journey from the unjust political system of their homeland through the chaos of the United States' failing immigration system
Long before their chance meeting at a Minneapolis bus station, Ghanaian asylum seekers Seidu Mohammed and Razak Iyal had already crossed half the world in search of a new home. Seidu, who identifies as bisexual, lived under constant threat of exposure and violence in a country where same-sex acts are illegal. Razak's life was also threatened after corrupt officials contrived to steal his rightful inheritance. Forced to flee their homeland, both men embarked on separate odysseys through the dangerous jungles and bureaucracies of South, Central, and North America. Like generations of asylum seekers before, they presented themselves legally at the U.S. border, hoping for sanctuary. Instead they were imprisoned in private detention facilities, released only after their asylum pleas were denied. Fearful of returning to Ghana, Seidu and Razak saw no choice but to attempt one final border crossing. Their journey north to Canada in the harsh, unforgiving winter proved more tragic than anything they had experienced before.
Based on extensive interviews, Joe Meno's intimate account builds upon the international media attention Seidu and Razak's story has already received, highlighting the harrowing journey of asylum seekers everywhere while adding dimension to one of the greatest humanitarian concerns facing the world.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    June 2, 2020

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9780593340455
      • File size: 246723 KB
      • Duration: 08:34:00

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      March 23, 2020
      Novelist Meno (Marvel and a Wonder) delivers a suspenseful account of two Ghanaian refugees’ quest for political asylum. Flashbacks reveal 24-year-old Seidu Mohammed and 32-year-old Razak Iyal’s reasons for fleeing Ghana (Mohammed’s illicit bisexuality is discovered; Iyal’s life is threatened by politically connected relatives), their perilous travels through South and Central America to reach the Mexican border, and their detainment after trying to enter the U.S. legally. Facing deportation after their asylum pleas were denied, Mohammed and Iyal met in December 2016 in a Minneapolis bus station and walked for 10 hours across snow-covered fields to apply for asylum in Canada. Meno waxes poetic on patterns of human migration and contrasts America’s melting pot mythology with private prisons that “call into question the ethics of an industry that benefits from an inefficient immigration system.” The book’s most poignant sections reveal just how vulnerable migrants are to the whims of strangers, including the taxi driver who lied to Mohammed and Iyal about how far they were from the border, exposing them to life-threatening frostbite and hypothermia. Meno’s well-written story of survival and friendship puts individual faces on the plight of millions of refugees around the world. Readers will be equal parts outraged and inspired by this novelistic account.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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