Teenage Refugees from Somalia Speak Out (In Their Own Voices) [Hardcover]

Ikram Hussein (Editor)

Book Description

Series: In Their Own Voices | Publication Date: August 1997

Teenagers from Somalia describe the conditions in their war-torn and famine-stricken country and their experiences since coming to live in the United States and Canada.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Gr 4 Up--Seven teenage refugees relate their traumatic experiences fleeing Somalia during the country's civil war. A lengthy introduction provides a historical survey of the country from ancient times to the present. Each succeeding chapter presents a first-person narrative that describes some of the many hardships and dangers the teen went through before reaching the United States or Canada. The suffering is described in heartbreaking detail; e.g., deprivation of food, water, and shelter, as well as the many tragic deaths of relatives and friends. Clear black-and-white and full-color photos, including snapshots of five of the teenagers profiled, accompany the text. The narrators also describe their lives and challenges in their host countries. Although emotionally involving, this book is seriously flawed by the omission of important facts. There is no mention of the political roles played by the United States, the former Soviet Union, and their allies in the bloody conflicts. Somalis as well as other African peoples have been provided with huge arsenals by the super powers in attempts to influence the countries' ideologies. Dissidents have been encouraged to fight bloody and catastrophic civil wars. In failing to tell readers the whole truth, this book distorts history and glosses over the terrible responsibility the outside world bears for the horrors these teenagers so eloquently describe.

Gebregeorgis Yohannes, San Francisco Public Library, CA

Copyright 1997 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 64 pages
• Publisher: Rosen Pub Group; 1st edition (August 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0823924440
• ISBN-13: 978-0823924448
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,986,147 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Recommended Reading on Refugees, April 20, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Teenage Refugees from Somalia Speak Out (In Their Own Voices) (Hardcover)

This book is informative, and educational. It is geared to young adults to give them an idea of the concerns of teenagers who are refugees. The stories are not propaganda, they are directly from the experiences of teeneagers. I say this with full confidence, as I work at a refugee agency, and know that the stories have not exagerated or misrepresented the typical experience of Somalian refugees. I definitely recommend this book.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars response to other reviewers, June 21, 2005

By 

pereubu - See all my reviews

This review is from: Teenage Refugees from Somalia Speak Out (In Their Own Voices) (Hardcover)

The School Library Journal review depicts everything in Somalia as completely controlled by superpowers which is absurd -- the Soviet Union had broken up before the conflict in the 90's occured and controlling events in Somalia was not very important to Washington in the 90s either. The corrupt land hungry warlords are responsible and to say otherwise gives them excuses for their destructive nihilistic selfish behavior.

A "Reader" demonstrates a common attitude of Somalis towards those who get refugee status - e.g., the Bantus who left Somali are lying about their experiences just in order to get refugee status to enter the U.S., etc. This is absurd if one considers that if everything was so great in Somalia why would they have left and decided to live in dangerous, impoverished refugee camps in Kenya?

5 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Characters are heavily influenced by the civil war, June 16, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Teenage Refugees from Somalia Speak Out (In Their Own Voices) (Hardcover)

It is good to write a book but this one did not worth publishing. Most of the stories are based on fabricated lies designed to dodge the immigration interviews in order to be eligible for refugee status. Otherwise, it can be a good reading about a people from a conflict-ridden Somalia.