The ongoing Syrian civil war is a fight against the
entrenched dictatorship of Bashar al-Assad and splintered rebel factions. The destruction
and massacres of the war have led to a flood of refugees to other countries. The Unwanted is the story, told through
graphic novel, of these people who have lost their homes, and often everything
else, as they try to survive.
Some Syrians fled to Europe on boats provided by smugglers.
Others found rest in shanty towns and apartments in Lebanon and Turkey where
conditions are so crowded that sometimes 15 people must share a small
apartment.
Brown’s illustrations are sharp and sketch-like as if taken
directly from the artist’s notebook made right in the middle of a camp. And
some of them likely were, as Brown visited several camps in Greece to get a
better understanding of the refugee’s lives. This deliberately rough style actually
helps the reader empathize with the refugees. This is not a collection of
maudlin stories to tug at the heartstrings- a tactic that can backfire and
turn away readers who feel like it’s emotional manipulation. Instead, it is more
like a news report. A description of the refugees’ lives and what they go through
daily. Brown himself explains: “I decided The Unwanted would focus on the refugee
experience and disregard information beyond that constraint except when
necessary for context. I was determined to keep the attention on the refugees.”
He shows young children who must become the sole breadwinners for families where
the adults are sick or dead. He shows opportunists who seize on the refugees
and the conflict for their own interests, such as ISIS jihadists who use the
instability to seize territories and predatory smugglers who take people’s
life savings as payment for passage.
He also shows the backlash refugees face from the citizens
of host countries as services like food, electricity, and water become strained, and displaced people become convenient scapegoats for the country’s anxieties.
Yet there are also moments of resilience and adaptation in
the worst circumstances, such as the Zaatari refugee camp in the middle of the Jordanian
desert which has become a permanent settlement with its own growing economy. Or
families who have settled in other countries and adapted to new ways of life
while still finding ways to hang on to their own culture.
An extensive bibliography at the end provides opportunities
for further reading.
The Unwanted is an important book during these times of increased
global hostility towards refugees from all countries. It seems obvious to say
that refugees are people too, but it is all too easy to see them as the
faceless Other polluting their host countries without reminders like this book.
You can get a copy of The Unwanted at Bookshop.org
