The Power of Welcome by Bamyani, Jusic, Kaadan, Ramzee, & Zhurenko

I’ve been absolutely terrible at making the time to review on this blog for the last year. Eye-ball deep in an archaeology degree and a writing mentorship (I actually won the Kelpies Prize!) I’ve been reviewing what I’ve read in short-form over on Twitter because I just haven’t had the time to write anything longer.

Now that the mentorship is over, and we’re in the middle of the summer break, I’ve got some time to spare and wanted to begin reviewing again by highlighting this absolutely brilliant book.

The Power of Welcome: Real Life Refugee and Migrant Journeys, written by Marie Bamyani, Ada Jusic, Nadine Kaadan, Ramzee, and Sonya Zhurenko, and illustrated by Ada Jusic, is a fantastic example of why everyone who says that comic books aren’t ‘real books’ is wrong.

The Power of Welcome tells true stories from Ukraine, Somalia, Bosnia, Syria and Afghanistan, and doesn’t shy away from detailing the difference in the type of welcome a person receives, based on their origins (i.e. in Germany and the UK, those from the Ukraine have been more readily accepted than those from Afghanistan, for example). It also discusses the preconceptions of people from the destination countries – comments from Londoners about the fact they hadn’t expected swimming pools to exist in Syria, for example, say everything.

The line, ‘people are kinder to animals that people who are different to them’ stood out to me especially.

Format-wise, the book offers the context to each story in a prose introduction, usually detailing the history of the author’s place of origin and the reasons why someone might have to leave. The stories told through artwork can stand alone, so even if you have a child who absolutely won’t engage with prose, they’re still going to get a lot out of this. It’s also a really good way to engage as a family – the adult could read the national histories aloud, then let the child read the graphic novel sections alone.

I’ve heard so often, whilst volunteering at a library, or working in a bookshop, that comics ‘aren’t real books’ but nothing could be further from the truth. The quantity of art included in each graphic novel is impressive, and is a really accessible, hard-hitting way to present vital information. And refugee stories truly are vital information in a time when the UK is actively seeking to create a hostile environment for those fleeing violence. The more we can counter the misinformation currently being pedalled by those in power to distract from their own failings and corruption, the better hope we have as a nation of doing better – of meeting the very minimum requirements of compassion to our fellow human beings.

Do you know of any other graphic novels which deal with non-fiction topics like this? I’d love to hear about them and try to get a copy.

With much love,

Farn ❤