Review: ‘Refugee’ relevant as migrant crisis continues

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, a refugee is a person who has been forced to leave his or her country in order to escape war, persecution or natural disaster. In Alan Gratz’s “Refugee,” the story follows three different refugees in three different time periods, all fleeing their countries to escape war or persecution. 

The first refugee we meet is Josef, a German Jew fleeing the Nazi-controlled country in 1939. The second is Isabel, a Cuban girl fleeing with her family and neighbors during the Maleconazo, a series of riots and protests against the government in 1994. The third and final refugee we meet in the story is Mahmoud, a boy fleeing Syria and the Civil War with his family in 2015 during the European Migrant Crisis. 

Let’s start with Josef. He and his family are Jewish, and the Nazis have freed his father from a concentration camp on the condition that they leave Germany within the following 14 days. Josef, his sister, his mother and his father board the MS (Motorschiff) Saint Louis, which is heading for Cuba, where they then hope to get passage to the United States. 

Next, Isabel’s story, after her father is hurt by a policeman in a protest, she, her neighbors and her family finish the boat they’ve been building and set off to the United States to find their freedom. While attempting to get to Florida, they face many dangers, such as sharks, larger ships and U.S. Coast Guard vessels. 

Then, Mahmoud’s story. His family’s house is destroyed by a bomb, forcing them to flee. Mahmoud, his father, mother and his siblings — his younger brother Waleed and his infant sister Hana — start their journey. Their goal is to get to Turkey, take a boat to Greece, then go through Serbia then travel to Germany by Hungary and Austria. They face obstacles, poorly built boats, robberies and detention. 

A major theme of the book is perseverance. 

For example, Josef discovers that if the MS Saint Louis doesn’t reach Cuba before the other ships that left Germany, they probably won’t be able to get access. However, Josef still works to keep his family’s spirits up in the face of this revelation. 

During Isabel’s journey to the United States, they discover a hole in their boat and realize they are on a time limit to reach their destination. Despite this and other dangers and obstacles, she doesn’t give up hope that her family will reach safety, even if others will give up and tragedy strikes. 

Mahmoud, of all the characters, faces the most obstacles. At his lowest point, his family has given up hope, and he had almost stopped trying; however, he pushes through the troubles and obstacles he faces, knowing that things will get better as they go on their journey to Germany — where they hope to be granted asylum. 

The book overall, is enjoyable. The stories of each character are interesting. The stories of Josef, Isabel and Mahmoud are all relevant today as there are still people fleeing persecution and war, as well as the European Migrant crisis that continues. The book gives perspective to those people. Personally, I give the book an 8.5/10.