Deployed to Iraq in March 2004 after the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, US Marine Michael Zacchea thought he had landed a plum assignment. His team's mission was to build, train, and lead in combat the first Iraqi Army battalion trained by the US military. Quickly, he realized he was faced with a nearly impossible task. With just two weeks' training based on outdated and irrelevant materials, no language instruction, and few cultural tips for interacting with his battalion of Shiites, Sunnis, Kurds, Yazidis, and others, Zacchea arrived at his base in Kirkush to learn his recruits would need beds, boots, uniforms, and equipment. His Iraqi officer counterparts spoke little English. He had little time to transform his troops—mostly poor, uneducated farmers—into a cohesive rifle battalion that would fight a new insurgency erupting across Iraq. In order to stand up a fighting battalion, Zacchea knew, he would have to understand his men. Unlike other combat Marines in Iraq at the time, he immersed himself in Iraq's culture: learning its languages, eating its foods, observing its traditions—even being inducted into one of its Sunni tribes. A constant source of both pride and frustration, the Iraqi Army Fifth Battalion went on to fight bravely at the Battle of Fallujah against the forces that would eventually form ISIS. The Ragged Edge is Zacchea's deeply personal and powerful account of hopeful determination, of brotherhood and betrayal, and of cultural ignorance and misunderstanding. It sheds light on the dangerous pitfalls of training foreign troops to fight murderous insurgents and terrorists, precisely when such wartime collaboration is happening more than at any other time in US history.

A touching, timely and tender exploration of refugees and migration for the youngest readers.

This heartwarming true story of one lost cat's journey to be reunited with his refugee family gently introduces children to a difficult topic and shows how ordinary people can help with compassion and hope. When an Iraqi family is forced to flee their home, they can’t bear to leave their beloved cat, Kunkush, behind. So they carry him with them from Iraq to Greece, keeping their secret passenger hidden away. But during the crowded boat crossing to Greece, his carrier breaks and the frightened cat runs from the chaos, disappearing. After an unsuccessful search, his family has to continue their journey, leaving brokenhearted. A few days later, aid workers in Greece find the lost cat. Knowing how much his family has sacrificed already, they are desperate to reunite them. A worldwide community comes together to spread the word on the Internet and in the news media, and after several months the impossible happens—Kunkush’s family is found, and they finally get their happy ending in their new home. This remarkable true story is told by the real people involved, with the full cooperation of Kunkush’s family. “Bound to be a hit with cats and kids alike.” —People.com

Abdi Nor Iftin first fell in love with America from afar. As a child, he learned English by listening to American pop and watching action films starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. When U.S. marines landed in Mogadishu to take on the warlords, Abdi cheered the arrival of these Americans, who seemed as heroic as those of the movies. Sporting American clothes and dance moves, he became known around Mogadishu as Abdi American, but when the radical Islamist group al-Shabaab rose to power in 2006, it became dangerous to celebrate Western culture. Desperate to make a living, Abdi used his language skills to post secret dispatches, which found an audience of worldwide listeners. Eventually, though, Abdi was forced to flee to Kenya. In an amazing stroke of luck, Abdi won entrance to the U.S. in the annual visa lottery, though his route to America did not come easily. Parts of his story were first heard on the BBC World Service and This American Life. Now a proud resident of Maine, on the path to citizenship, Abdi Nor Iftin's dramatic, deeply stirring memoir is truly a story for our time: a vivid reminder of why America still beckons to those looking to make a better life.

‘To the outside world looking in—indeed, to most countries that deal with tens of thousands of refugees annually—it may have seemed outright puzzling. When John Key stepped up to the lectern of his press conference and announced he was introducing mandatory group detention for ‘mass’ boat-arriving asylum seekers to Kiwi shores, there was one confounding detail missing. New Zealand has never had a boatload of asylum seekers in modern history. None.’ Why would a country that has never had a boatload of asylum arrivals in modern history suddenly legislate for mass detention? Geographically isolated and previously a world leader in fair treatment of refugees, New Zealand has abruptly changed tack. Treading across the refugee camps of Burma and Thailand, to Australia’s detention centres and back to New Zealand, columnist Tracey Barnett looks hard at this controversial new policy. She speaks to asylum seekers, refugees, NGO workers and migrants – people on the move and on the ground. Their lives and stories reveal a reality far more complex than the political rhetoric, and one that questions just how fair and ethical New Zealand really is on the world stage today.

Millions of children are on the move, both within and between countries, with or without their parents. The conditions under which movement takes place are often treacherous, putting migrant children, especially unaccompanied and separated children, at an increased risk of economic or sexual exploitation, abuse, neglect and violence. Policy responses to protect and support these migrant children are often fragmented and inconsistent and while children on the move have become a recognised part of today's global and mixed migration flows they are still largely invisible in debates on both child protection and migration.

Deadly Voyages: Migrant Journeys across the Globe explores the burdens and impact of perilous migration, while considering which laws, policies, practices, and venues might establish empathy and protection for migrants. This interdisciplinary volume envisions and calls for a transformation in migration policy, motivated by the common goal of drastically reducing the peril migrants face when compelled to make their treacherous journeys. All contributors to this volume agree on the inadequacy of current approaches and the dire need for change in global migration law and policy. Therefore, the book seeks to inform, educate, persuade, and facilitate newer or less-heard perspectives, toward wider participation and influence within the forced migration policy debate. Guided by the famous advice of Karl Marx that the point should be changing the world rather than merely analyzing or interpreting it, the contributors suggest practical measures to fix the current gap in responses to migrant peril, along with strategies for diagnosing, countering, and promoting human dignity and social justice, with the aim of preventing future deaths and injuries in migrant journeys across the globe.

According to a UN tally, more than 1 million people fled violence and persecution in 2015. Of these, more than half were children. Thousands died along the way. The Syrian civil war as well as armed conflicts in Nigeria, Afghanistan, Yemen, Somalia, and the Central African Republic contributed to the continuing exodus of people into Europe and North America. Learn more about these modern mass exoduses, what is fueling them in the 21st century, how nations are addressing the crises, how refugees contribute to and strain communities, and what kinds of solutions could help. Along the way, you'll meet actual refugees and the people who are trying to help.

The voices Australia should hear This beautifully illustrated book captures the stories of those who have lived the experience of seeking asylum. In their own voices, contributors share how they came to be in Australia, and explore diverse aspects of their lives: growing up in a refugee camp, studying for a PhD, changing attitudes through soccer, being a Muslim in a small country town, campaigning against racism, surviving detention, holding onto culture, dreaming of being reunited with family. There are stories of love, pain, injustice, achievement and everything in between. Accompanied by beautiful portrait photographs, they show the depth and diversity of people’s experience and trace the impact of Australia’s immigration policies. Seeking Asylum also includes a foreword by Liliana Maria and an essay by Abdul Karim Hekmat on the human, social and political impact of Australia’s treatment of people seeking asylum over the last fifty years. With an afterword by Kon Karapanagiotidis and supporting material demystifying Australia’s current policies from Julian Burnside, Seeking Asylum redefines assumptions about people who have sought asylum and inspires readers to take action to create a more welcoming Australia. 100% of the proceeds from Seeking Asylum: Our Stories will be reinvested by the ASRC to fund projects that build people’s capacity to tell their story in their own way and provide opportunities to amplify their voices. One area of investment will continue to be the ASRC’s Community Advocacy and Power Program (CAPP). The CAPP training program, offered nationally, provides participants with skills in advocacy, community organising / mobilising, public speaking and effective media engagement.

'A vital book for our times' ROBERT MACFARLANE 'Unflinching, complex, provocative' NIKESH SHUKLA 'A work of astonishing, insistent importance' Observer Aged eight, Dina Nayeri fled Iran along with her mother and brother, and lived in the crumbling shell of an Italian hotel-turned-refugee camp. Eventually she was granted asylum in America. Now, Nayeri weaves together her own vivid story with those of other asylum seekers in recent years. In these pages, women gather to prepare the noodles that remind them of home, a closeted queer man tries to make his case truthfully as he seeks asylum and a translator attempts to help new arrivals present their stories to officials. Surprising and provocative, The Ungrateful Refugee recalibrates the conversation around the refugee experience. Here are the real human stories of what it is like to be forced to flee your home, and to journey across borders in the hope of starting afresh.