Beyond Words, the UK’s charity for visual literacy and emotional wellbeing, has released the latest in its series of evidence-based, co-created picture resources, A Refugee’s Story. The book, which follows the perilous journey of two brothers from their war-torn home country to safety, is the full-length update to the short draft version that was published during the crisis in Afghanistan in 2021.
A Refugee’s Story, which has no words and is entirely composed of pictures that can be ‘read’ in a group or individual setting, has already had a profound impact on the asylum seeker and refugee groups who have trialled it. Reading the story has provoked tears and joy – from moments of laughter as people identify with confusion over a Pot Noodle to emotional disclosures of ongoing struggles with mental health.
“There were moments in the pictures that just clutch your heart. Especially where the man was going in the van, because I remembered my time when I was taken to a place where I wasn’t sure where I’m going and what’s happening.” |“Most of the story I can relate to. It’s quite close to my heart.” | “It’s a true story. All of us here have seen it and have felt it and have gone through it ourselves. That’s why we feel so connected. We feel like it’s our story being told.” – Refugee women sharing their experiences after reading the book.
One refugee in a group brought together by Rochdale Council said: “This story is about me,”, another group reported: “There was lots of discussion: talk about their own families, children, people they met and people they lost. Help was sought for several families following the session.” The book was identified by several groups and service providers as a key factor in helping refugees begin to talk about their experiences, meaning they have been referred to ongoing support services they would otherwise not have been identified as needing.
Authored by poet and child psychoanalyst and psychotherapist Dr Valerie Sinason and Professor Sheila the Baroness Hollins, with contributions from Pakistani poet and St Augustine’s and Sisters United member Hina Gillani and award-winning children’s author Elizabeth Laird and illustrated by Mike Nicholson, A Refugee’s Story has been carefully crafted to invoke the struggles, hopes and feelings of displaced peoples as they leave their homes and settle into a new life elsewhere.
UNHCR statistics from mid-2021 show over 130,000 refugees currently in the UK, with another 83,000 pending asylum applications and nearly 4,000 stateless persons. With the ongoing war in Ukraine, it is vitally important that we have the resources to support often-traumatised people to begin to recognise and process their stories. Picture-based resources are interpretive and accessible to everyone, whatever language they speak, with each picture meaning something different and personal to the person reading it. They can also be used in schools to educate children and build empathy about the experiences and struggles of refugees and asylum seekers.
The book is also directly aimed at local organisations and interpreters working with disabled refugees. Being forced to flee your home and leave behind everything you know is terrifying and confusing. For someone with learning disabilities or autism the situation is amplified beyond comprehension. Our word-free A Refugee’s Story will facilitate more effective 2 way communication.
Lead author Dr Valerie Sinason said: “Almost every country in the world is built from the courage and resilience of centuries of refugees and the devastating hurdles they have faced . Daniel Defoe powerfully illustrated this in his satire on the true-born Englishman . Children and adults who have fled terror, death and starvation in the hope of safety , peace and love deserve to have their narrative expressed and contained in our culture. As the grandchild of immigrants I wish this book had been available for them when they arrived in the UK.”
Professor Sheila the Baroness Hollins, co-author and founder of Beyond Words, said: “Millions of people become refugees every year with one in seven being disabled children or adults. Many refugees and asylum seekers will have no words to describe their traumatic experiences and memories, even in their own language; let alone in the language of the strange new country they find themselves in. Word-free stories can be particularly helpful for many people in refugee communities because they are not language-dependent.”
A shortened version of A Refugee’s Story will be made available for free download for charities and aid organisations, alongside When the War Came, a short resource produced following the outbreak of war in Ukraine in 2022.
A Refugee’s Story is available in paperback and ebook format from Beyond Words. Guidance on how to use word-free picture stories is included for anyone unfamiliar with their practical application.