SCPL Online NonFiction Book Club discussion

Throughout the book, Nayeri explores the concepts of truth and storytelling. She learns through her meetings with other refugees and asylum seekers that the outcome of an asylum interview is not based on whether or not the individual is telling the truth, but rather if they are telling a story the officers will believe.

Nayeri explains that truth and facts are often doubted because the interviewers cannot imagine the reality that the refugees describe. She exposes a system that is flawed and biased against those who need it most. The story has to be told the right way. Nayeri says, “To satisfy an asylum officer takes the same narrative sophistication it takes to please book critics” (p. 229). This is an impossible task for many, especially when you consider that the trauma and hardships refugees are being asked to describe may be difficult to revisit or recall. As Ahmed Pouri explains to Nayeri, “Showing someone the truth of your past is so complicated […] Memories are full of inconsistencies” (p. 256).

How did you feel after reading all these stories about individuals who had not been believed, who were rejected, or left in limbo?

Did the book change your opinion or perspective about anything? Do you feel different now than you did before you read it? Did the book clear up any misconceptions?

Thank you for joining me in our discussion of The Ungrateful Refugee. Please feel free to leave any final thoughts here or add to previous discussion topics.

Please join us in March as we discuss Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Perez.

Thanks!
Jen