The Lightless Sky

After Gulwali Passarlay's father and grandfather were killed by U.S. troops for allegedly cooperating with the Taliban, he fled Afghanistan with his brother in the middle of the night with only a hastily packed rucksack and little more than two hundred dollars in his pocket. He was twelve years old, and this is his story. Told in unflinching and unforgettable detail, The Lightless Sky is at once an utterly absorbing personal history and the defining story of the modern refugee experience, a stunning testament to the power of the human spirit; the triumph of faith, courage, and determination; and the undeniable universal right to life, liberty, and security of person.Trafficked by an international cartel of smugglers through Pakistan's treacherous Waziristan and Peshawar regions and the desolate outposts of Iran, Gulwali eventually reached Izmir, Turkey, then on to Bulgaria, where he disembarked for Greece on a dangerously overcrowded boat that spent two days being battered and nearly capsizing before Gulwali and the more than one hundred other refugees onboard finally touched ground?soaked, starving, and exhausted. From Athens, Gulwali trekked through Italy, Belgium, Germany, and finally France, where he was stranded for a month in the Jungle, a notorious makeshift refugee camp outside the port city of Calais, while waiting to cross the Channel for England, his final destination. The first book to tell the modern refugee crisis from a firsthand perspective, The Lightless Sky is an unforgettable chronicle of Gulwali's yearlong odyssey from Afghanistan to England, during which he traveled more than twelve thousand miles, escaped internment in Turkey and Bulgaria, negotiated passage with shadowy agents in the smuggling trade, and struggled to settle mentally and emotionally in England long after his physical journey came to an end. By sharing his story, Gulwali brings to life the plight of the sixty million refugees and internally displaced people around the world who continue to risk their lives in pursuit of freedom, equality, and a better life, despite innumerable and unimaginable hardships and endless humiliations, because, as the poet Warsan Shire reminds us, ?no one leaves home unless home chases you.??A heart-rending read that illuminates the plight of unaccompanied minors forced to leave their homes and loved ones. It is beautifully written in simple, accessible prose. Rarely does Passarlay display self-pity and his fierce intelligence is apparent throughout. He also sheds light on the nefarious world of the smugglers who treat their human cargo with so little compassion....A testament to the courage of all those fleeing conflict in search of safety.??The Independent?A powerful account of a yearlong journey....[a] life that was almost snuffed out so prematurely is now bursting with promise.??The Times (London)?Be brave. This is for your own good.? And then my mother said something that froze my heart. ?However bad it gets, don't come back.?