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In an astonishing, revelatory original debut, Caine Prize for
African Writing winner Brian Chikwava tackles head-on the realities
of life as a refugee When he lands in Harare North, our unnamed
protagonist carries nothing but a cardboard suitcase full of
memories and an email address for his childhood friend, Shingi.
Finessing his way through immigration, he spends a few restless
weeks as the very unwelcome guest in his cousin's home before
tracking down Shingi in a squat. This shocking, powerful first
novel is the story of a stranger in a strange land--one of the
thousands of illegal Zimbabwean immigrants seeking a better
life--with a past he is determined to hide. From the first line the
language fizzes with energy, humor, and not a little menace. As he
struggles to make his life in London (the "Harare North" of the
title) and battles with the weight of what he has left behind in a
strife-torn Zimbabwe, every expectation and preconception is turned
on its head. The inhabitants of the squat function at various
levels of desperation: Shingi struggles to find meaningful work and
to meet the demands of his family back home; Tsitsi makes a living
renting out her baby to women defrauding Social Services; Alex
claims to have an important job in Croydon. Fearlessly political,
laugh-out-loud funny, and with an anti-hero whose voice is
impossible to forget, this novel is an arresting account of London
as it is experienced by Africa's dispossessed.
The fifth volume in the Voice of Witness series presents the
narratives of Zimbabweans whose lives have been affected by the
country's political, economic, and human rights crises. This book
asks the question: How did a country with so much promise-a stellar
education system, a growing middle class of professionals, a
sophisticated economic infrastructure, a liberal constitution, and
an independent judiciary-go so wrong? In their own words, they
recount their experiences of losing their homes, land, livelihoods,
and families as a direct result of political violence. They
describe being tortured in detention, firebombed at home, or beaten
up or raped to "punish" votes for the opposition. Those living
abroad in exile or forced to flee to neighboring countries recount
their escapes, of cutting through fences, swimming across
crocodile-infested rivers, and entrusting themselves to human
smugglers. This book includes Zimbabweans of every age, class and
political conviction, from farm laborers to academics, from artists
and opposition leaders to ordinary Zimbabweans: men and women
simply trying to survive as a once thriving nation heads for
collapse.
The fifth volume in the Voice of Witness series presents the
narratives of Zimbabweans whose lives have been affected by the
country's political, economic, and human rights crises. This book
asks the question: How did a country with so much promise-a stellar
education system, a growing middle class of professionals, a
sophisticated economic infrastructure, a liberal constitution, and
an independent judiciary-go so wrong? In their own words, they
recount their experiences of losing their homes, land, livelihoods,
and families as a direct result of political violence. They
describe being tortured in detention, firebombed at home, or beaten
up or raped to "punish" votes for the opposition. Those living
abroad in exile or forced to flee to neighboring countries recount
their escapes, of cutting through fences, swimming across
crocodile-infested rivers, and entrusting themselves to human
smugglers. This book includes Zimbabweans of every age, class and
political conviction, from farm laborers to academics, from artists
and opposition leaders to ordinary Zimbabweans: men and women
simply trying to survive as a once thriving nation heads for
collapse.
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