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Bed 26: A Memoir of an African Man’s Asylum in the United States
My life, as you will read, has taken me from one place to another. Bed 26 is the story of how I fought my way out of constant persecution and reclaimed my freedom. It is my hope that by sharing my experience and my pain, you will begin to understand why people are forced to immigrate.
This is a revealing memoir and empowering manifesto, with contributions from other asylees, refugees, and Nigerians.
Nong Richie was born in one country and came of age in another more visible placeNigeria. In a strange world where he was continually persecuted, living soon became a personal nightmare of constant mob attacks and deaths of his friends to HIV. Nong escaped into the world of his mind from the expository details of the war he suffered as a child and high-profile attacks against gay Nigerians. Every detail of his personal life became public, and the realities of an inherently unlawful society emerged with every script of this book. The detention center packaged his trauma as a bombshell, hijacking his image and identity and making profit from every night he spent in it. Bed 26 is his raw, honest, and poignant accounta no-holds-barred, pull-no-punches account for the persecution of him and his community. He was a fearless activist and an unstoppable force for change who was determined to expose the truth.
The target demographics of this book are clients of Immigration Equality, immigrants, refugees, asylum seekers, attorneys representing Immigration Equality, clients and volunteers of First Friends, Eat Offbeat clients, and the network of mine from the United Nations department of NGOs.
This is a revealing memoir and empowering manifesto, with contributions from other asylees, refugees, and Nigerians.
Nong Richie was born in one country and came of age in another more visible placeNigeria. In a strange world where he was continually persecuted, living soon became a personal nightmare of constant mob attacks and deaths of his friends to HIV. Nong escaped into the world of his mind from the expository details of the war he suffered as a child and high-profile attacks against gay Nigerians. Every detail of his personal life became public, and the realities of an inherently unlawful society emerged with every script of this book. The detention center packaged his trauma as a bombshell, hijacking his image and identity and making profit from every night he spent in it. Bed 26 is his raw, honest, and poignant accounta no-holds-barred, pull-no-punches account for the persecution of him and his community. He was a fearless activist and an unstoppable force for change who was determined to expose the truth.
The target demographics of this book are clients of Immigration Equality, immigrants, refugees, asylum seekers, attorneys representing Immigration Equality, clients and volunteers of First Friends, Eat Offbeat clients, and the network of mine from the United Nations department of NGOs.
- GenresMemoirNonfiction
90 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 8, 2018
31 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 25, 2019
The interesting thing with this is it's not a polished memoir or something carefully slotted together by a major publishing house. It isn't going to win writing awards; it isn't focused on the writing itself except as a technical exercise, a way to literally tell the the story. But that story is such an important one! And I think it's important that these stories are also told - the ones by people who aren't professional writers or artists, who didn't come into book deals and whose narratives won't be reviewed in the Times. The stories happening to regular people, who so rarely get a chance to have those stories told.
Told in a stream of consciousness style, with repetition, random interludes and a sometimes-shaky grasp of grammar, but nevertheless told well - with bravery and mourning and heart. At times it was dry and I wished for more detail, but I don't doubt the urgency of what Edafe Okporo experienced.
A good (and at $3.99 on Amazon, affordable) jump-off point into understanding the struggles of LGBT people in Nigeria.
Told in a stream of consciousness style, with repetition, random interludes and a sometimes-shaky grasp of grammar, but nevertheless told well - with bravery and mourning and heart. At times it was dry and I wished for more detail, but I don't doubt the urgency of what Edafe Okporo experienced.
A good (and at $3.99 on Amazon, affordable) jump-off point into understanding the struggles of LGBT people in Nigeria.
September 9, 2018
America - Lifeline for Refugees
The author is not a seasoned writer, and the story jumps back and forth a bit, but he relates truths that most Americans need to understand about how critical it is for our country to continue to represent a land of welcome
E and refuge from countries steeped in traditionalism and violence.
The author is not a seasoned writer, and the story jumps back and forth a bit, but he relates truths that most Americans need to understand about how critical it is for our country to continue to represent a land of welcome
E and refuge from countries steeped in traditionalism and violence.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews