Migrants are in the spotlight, again
Welcome to This Week, Those Books, your rundown on books new and old that resonate with the week’s big news story.
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Exciting news: We have an interview with Sam Miller, friend, former BBC colleague and author of the brilliant new book Migrants: The Story of Us All.
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Yours,
The Big Story:
Britain’s highest court decides on the government’ policy of sending asylum-seekers to Rwanda. The issue of refugees and migrants is politically fraught in many parts of the world.
- Germany, Italy, Austria and Denmark want to outsource uninvited migrants to countries willing to take them for a fee.
- America’s Republican party blames President Joe Biden for an “open borders” policy with Mexico amid soaring numbers of migrants and asylum-seekers.
- Pakistan began evicting undocumented Afghans on November 1, but says 1.4 million registered refugees can stay until year-end.
The Backstory:
- The United Nations estimates that the number of international migrants worldwide — people residing in a country other than their country of birth — reached 281 million in 2020.
- Most international migrants reside in Asia and Europe (31% each), followed by northern America (21%).
This Week, Those Books:
- A new global history of human migration.
- A novel about a migrant who returned to his home in Sudan.
- A television journalist explores a world with more walls than ever before.
