Reluctant Refuge: The Story of Asylum in Britain by Edie Friedman and Reva Klein
19 June 2008
Publication date: 10 June 2008
On 10 June 2008, the British Library publishes Reluctant Refuge: The Story of Asylum in Britain. Authors Edie Friedman and Reva Klein explore the many complex issues surrounding asylum, highlighting the realities behind applications for asylum, dispelling popular myths about asylum in Britain today and challenging received notions of British tolerance and generosity.
For many centuries, people fleeing religious, ethnic and political persecution have sought asylum in Britain. Reluctant Refuge examines the reasons why people have fled their homelands as well as the social, political and economic influences on attitude and policy in Britain that have made asylum seekers' reception here complicated.
Reluctant Refuge includes first hand accounts from refugees who have sought asylum in Britain, illuminating the uncertain and often challenging future they face in Britain and giving voice to those who have made the most difficult of journeys, leaving their former lives behind.
Edie Friedman comments: “Refugees and asylum seekers are among the most vulnerable and disempowered people in the world. In Britain, they are also the most vilified. Anti-asylum media campaigns have exercised enormous influence on government policy and political discourse, resulting in the belief that we are sinking under the weight of refugees clambering onto our island. The facts show otherwise: two-thirds of the world's refugees are in the Middle East and Africa, whilst Britain's hardening stance means that the numbers entering now are negligible and steadily declining. Reluctant Refuge attempts to show how current attitudes reflect a centuries-old tradition of ambivalence towards the world's dispossessed, fuelled by economic protectionism and the perceived need to maintain social cohesion.”
For further information, images or review copies, contact Ruth Howlett at the British Library Press Office: +44 (0)20 7412 7112 or ruth.howlett@bl.uk
Notes for Editors
Reluctant Refuge: The Story of Asylum in Britain by Edie Friedman and Reva Klein, is published in paperback by the British Library, 10 June 2008, price £14.95 (153 pages, 216 x 138mm, ISBN 978 0 7123 0887 8). Available from the British Library Shop (tel: +44 (0)20 7412 7735 / e-mail: bl-bookshop@bl.uk) and online at www.bl.uk/shop as well as other bookshops throughout the UK.
Edie Friedman is a regular speaker and writer on race and asylum issues. In 1976 she founded the Jewish Council for Racial Equality (JCORE), of which she is now the director.
Reva Klein is an award-winning freelance journalist and the founding editor of the International Journal on School Disaffection. Reva also teaches journalism at Goldsmiths College, University of London.
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