PositiveThe NationOmar presents a brutally honest account of the impact of conflict and war on ordinary human lives. The story his book sets out to tell is that of human suffering, the desire to survive, and the intense wish for a better life in a new land. Through his characters, Omar delves into the complexity of the unpredictable relationships between refugees and the host society, an arrangement that is often hostile and rarely compassionate, but the newcomers encounter both ... A defense of immigration in literary form, the book attempts to humanize the refugee ‘other’ as it presents the precarious life of being a migrant in turbulent waters and beyond. Omar captures the predicament of the displaced and stateless subject and the uncertainty that is woven into the person’s very existence ... The novel ends leaving behind some deep impressions of human relationships in a setting of a global humanitarian crisis. What is tragic about this story is that it reflects the short lived nature of outrage, which dies as soon as the lens of the media shifts away to another front-page global issue ... What Omar achieves with his novel is to make the reader understand the urgency of the refugee crisis. His work speaks to the global citizen, helping to create a sense of empathy and compassion for the most vulnerable and bruised selves.
