The books I read are relevant to the stories I am writing. Some of them are science fiction, and they inform me of what other authors have done with the subject matter and educate me about the many facets of the structure of their stories. The nonfiction books show me the many realities of current and historical events and people's motivations for their actions.
The New Odyssey by Patrick Kingsley is an excellent book. I feel that I learned a lot about the refugee situation in Europe. The situation in Europe was on the news for several weeks a few years ago, and that only gave me a small and incomplete view of the situation. Friends in Spain tell me these events are described in the news occasionally, but the dilemma is ongoing.
The book describes two main streams of refugees. One is the coast of Africa. People are coming from Egypt and Libya. The smugglers’ business is described, and the author interviews the smugglers and some of the people being smuggled. The people coming through Africa can be Syrians, Afghani, Nigerians, and from other countries on Africa’s east and west coasts.
The journey across the Sahara Desert is in small pick-up trucks stuffed with as many people as possible. They travel with the fuel and water that they can carry. The desert can seem like an expanse with no landmarks to guide travelers through it. Getting lost or running out of fuel or water is a definite possibility for the inexperienced. People can also fall off the trucks, become lost, and die quickly.
Once on the northern coast, the refugees and smugglers wait until they can take people across the Mediterranean. The author details the acquisition of boats, the inflatable boats, and other larger and sturdier boats, and the detention, torture, or occasional rape of some refugees. There is the waiting for payment from relatives so that the journey can continue for the traveler. The system functions through the collaboration of police or political systems, governments, and militias, who look away so that smuggling continues with occasional efforts to provide an illusion of border control.
Crossing the Mediterranean has cost the lives of hundreds. Boats have sunk. When the boat is closer to its destination in Italy, smugglers provide a satellite phone to the refugees to call for help and have the coast guard or other ships come to their aid. The Italian authorities rescue the refugees and provide some basic and essential resources like food and shelter and legal processing of refugees. The legal requirements can take years.
The author focused on the refugee experience of one individual in particular. He was a Syrian who followed the route through Africa across the Mediterranean. He arrived in Italy. He traveled on a train through Germany and then went north to Denmark. He was eventually given asylum.
Another stream of refugees moved through the countries of Turkey toward Greece and then north through several European countries. The author followed a few families and individuals on their journey. The author described people who were sympathetic and helpful to the passing refugees in different places. Initially, this route had few who traveled it. Later, the information was shared with specific instructions on social media so that others could follow this accurately described route. The flow of people escaping from their countries of origin grew into the thousands. Eventually, in some places, borders were closed, and the refugees were forced to go through a neighboring country.
In many cases, the motivations were to escape civil wars, conflicts, oppression, and for economic reasons. It seems the majority are attempting to escape violent situations. They seek a safe place for themselves and their families and an opportunity to work and improve their lives. They are looking for hope.
I have a science fiction novel and a novella that I have worked on, and in both, there is or will be a situation where people find that they need to abandon their homes and move to a far away, safe place. The danger will be catastrophic, like the end of a world or the destruction of a city, a kingdom, or an empire. They will need to be welcomed to the place to which they flee, and the hosts’ response varies. The flow of people is inevitable as they are moved by their desperation and great need.