Refugee Hotel

by Juliet Linderman, Gabriele Stabile (Photographs)

The Refugee Hotel is a groundbreaking collection of photography and interviews that documents the arrival of refugees in the United States. A lavishly designed book, its stunning images are coupled with moving testimonies from people describing their first days in the U.S., the lives they’ve left behind, and the new communities they’ve since created. Among the

PSAW WAH BAW, who was forced to flee her village in Burma amidst armed conflict. She describes how her family left their village with just five cups of rice, beginning an arduous journey toward resettlement that would take them through Bangkok, Tokyo, Illinois, and Texas.

PASTOR NOEL, who fled the civil war in Burundi in 1972 for a refugee camp in Congo. When war erupted in Congo in 1996, Noel was once again forced from his home. He now lives in Mobile, Alabama, and is a central figure in the African refugee community.

FELIX, a South Sudanese man who joined the rebel army as a teenager but eventually fled to a refugee camp in Kenya. Felix now lives in Erie, Pennsylvania, where he works with Habitat for Humanity to assist African refugees in purchasing their own homes.

Genres: Nonfiction

296 pages, Paperback

First published March 13, 2012

Reviews

[Leonard · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really neat book with information about refugees in the US. There are a lot of great photos which are dark and shadowy, much like the places where low-income refugees must reside. The text is first person accounts from numerous refugees telling the reader how they became refugees and came to the USA. They all fled dangerous and life threatening circumstances and came looking for a safe place for them and their families. None were criminals seeking new victims, or people trying to slip pass the regulations and become economically wealthy like the critics try to claim.

I was especially interested in the refugees from Myanmar, formerly Burma, who now live in Amarillo, TX, near the part of town I lived in for 5 years in the late 60s and 70s.

The book contains valuable information about resettlement and brief histories of the countries the refugees come from. Very useful.

[Judy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Refugees entering the United States from Asian and African countries in the 21st century number 64,000 a year. After often years, even decades, in refugee camps, their first experience of America is a night in an airport hotel until they are flown to their destination city. Hence the title.

Half the book is photos of these people in the hotels and in their new homes. Many end up in high-rise projects but they are given services to help them adjust, learn English, find jobs and become citizens.

The rest of the book relates the immigration stories of many of these people. Heartbreak, broken families, and lost nationalities combine with determination and hope. The 64,000 a year are the lucky ones. Millions more are still in the refugee camps, underfed, barely housed, and dying.

The book moved me and opened my eyes to the realities of the countries from which these people come. We live in a world of intense upheaval and I wonder at the disparity between my safe, secure, and prosperous life and the desperation of so many. It is hard to fathom.

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a collection of photographs of refugees in their first day in the US and later in the resettlement process as well as stories from the refugees themselves. It is a good overview of refugee resettlement and brief backgrounds of the countries from which refugees come. However, the stories were so brief that I felt like I couldn't actually connect with the refugees interviewed. The pictures were all so dark that I felt like they lost all meaning. Perhaps it was supposed to be artistic, but I just felt like it made the pictures lifeless. I did enjoy getting a glimpse of resettlement in other cities and was interested to see the similarities and differences between my own work. Even though I didn't love this book, I may still end up buying a copy of it. It is a very accurate representation of the resettlement process and its brevity may make it a good training tool for new staff at my office (or family and friends) unfamiliar with refugees and the resettlement process.

[Dylan Stoepel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I see what people are saying about the photos being dark. It was obviously intentional but I think the paper it was printed on made it harder to see. A few of them really reminded me of Nan Goldin.

[Jeanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not what I was expecting, I guess. The photographs don't tell a story and are often so dark it's difficult to see what it's about. The actual people's stories are too brief to really get much of a feel. I liked that it's the people themselves talking, but really would have gotten more out of this book with some mediation.

[Hans · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume shares a few representative stories and images to tell individual stories which reflect some of the shared experiences of the 15 million registered refugees around the globe. I appreciate the work behind the volume, the presentation of the photos, and the succinct presentation of both the refugee process and the histories of countries that refugees used to call home.

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

The photography is amazing and the personal narratives makes the book even better.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read my review here:

http://statorec.com/criticism/