Migrant Crisis

Abstract

AbstractThis chapter on refugee and asylum seeker narratives includes both fiction and nonfiction. Examining the migrant condition in relation to concepts such as gratitude, empathy, and dignity emerge as central, since they not only highlight the personal experiences of migrants but also place them in a wider societal and political context. The material analysed includes the Refugee Tales series, Refugee Tales III (2019; edited by David Herd and Anna Pincus) in particular, which has seen the publication of four volumes to date with stories about the asylum seeker experience, told to for example authors, journalists, and academics, advocating for an end to indefinite detention in Britain. The second section focuses on Dina Nayeri’s memoir The Ungrateful Refugee: What Immigrants Never Tell You (2020). The personal narrative intersects with accounts of other asylum seekers in more recent times, and Nayeri offers criticism of current asylum politics in Europe throughout her book. The third section examines Exit West (2017) by Mohsin Hamid, a novel which embarks on a path of advocacy that is less direct, leaving the reader with the task of finding a sustainable solution.