From Under a Leaky Roof: Afghan Refugees in Australia by Phil Sparrow

Book Description

Secondhand. Very good condition. Minor edgewear.

Afghan refugees, Asylum seekers, Detainees. Who are these men and women, the mothers, fathers and children, behind the news headlines and the politics, where are they from, and what really happens to them here in Australia?

Phillip Sparrow, an experienced UN aid worker, has talked with the people themselves, and tells their stories, of life in Afghanistan, of their journey to Australia, and of their experiences of detention and trying to start a new life in a new country.

In this excellent book, he strips away the prejudices that have tainted Australia's attitudes towards Afghan refugees. He attempts to explain that the Federal Government has been grossly misrepresenting the refugee situation and that, with very few exceptions, the Afghans who arrived in Australia only to end up on Nauru, Manus Island or in Woomera or Baxter were genuinely fleeing Taliban persecution.

"There is a cool, quiet logic about this book. Sparrow maintains a compassionate argument by demonstrating his deep knowledge of the Afghan culture and referring to statistics that make the Government's claims absurd". (The Age, 22 February 2006).