Author, activist, and asylee Edafe Okporo shares his experience seeking asylum in America with readers in a way that is accessible and direct. I think many Americans live oblivious to the cruelty and dehumanizing process asylees are faced with when they arrive in our country. Edafe left Nigeria because he was no longer safe after being mobbed for being gay, which is illegal there. After leaving everything behind in a hurry, Edafe arrived in America only to be detained in a private prison for 6 months. Upon release, Edafe realizes he now feels unsafe in America for being Black. This book is about belonging just as much as it is about the exhausting and lonely process of immigrating to America. Oftentimes, he finds solace through houses of worship and the people there. I've always struggled with the idea of a god that hates gay people; it's affected my faith in many ways that are hard to describe. A line that I want to carry with me from this book is, "Transcendent experiences do not have to happen exclusively in churches, the world offers us many opportunities to broaden our world views and expand our perspectives, doing so I believe, is similar to the experience of finding faith in a higher calling or an extraordinary power you cannot define." Edafe never lost faith in himself and humanity--his faith that there are good people in the world and his need to connect with them is what keeps him going.We read this book for the library's LGBTQ book club for teens (Book Queeries). The teens in attendance expressed so many emotions about Edafe's story and shared that much of the information about asylees' experiences in America they did not know about and they're eager to learn more. Read this book, and then talk about it with the people in your life.
Publisher's description:
A poignant, moving memoir and urgent call to action for immigration justice by a Nigerian asylee and global gay rights and immigration activist Edafe Okporo. On the eve of Edafe Okporo's twenty-sixth birthday, he was awoken to a violent mob outside his window in Abuja, Nigeria. The mob threatened his life after discovering the secret Edafe had been hiding for years -- that he is a gay man. Left with no other choice, he purchased a one-way plane ticket to New York City and fled for his life. Though America had always been painted to him as a land of freedom and opportunity, it was anything but when he arrived just days before the tumultuous 2016 Presidential Election. Edafe would go on to spend the next six months at an immigration detention center in Elizabeth, New Jersey. After navigating the confusing, often draconian, US immigration and legal system, he was finally granted asylum. But he would soon realize that America is exceptionally good at keeping people locked up but is seriously lacking in integrating freed refugees into society. Asylum is Edafe's eye-opening, thought-provoking memoir and manifesto, which documents his experiences growing up gay in Nigeria, fleeing to America, navigating the immigration system, and making a life for himself as a Black, gay immigrant. Alongside his personal story is a blaring call to action -- not only for immigration reform but for a just immigration system for refugees everywhere. This book imagines a future where immigrants and asylees are treated with fairness, transparency, and compassion. It aims to help us understand that home is not just where you feel safe and welcome but also how you can make it feel safe and welcome for others.