Review by Frank Plowright
Immigration is a political hot potato in both the UK and the USA, with powerful voices continually demonising any immigrants, seizing on any criminal act committed by one to demonise refugees fleeing war, persecution or extreme poverty. For so many people it’s the generalisations and plain lies that stick in the mind, which makes Our Stories Carried Us here a positive addition to the bookshelves of any establishment attended by children.
It’s inspirational stories pairing immigrant writers with immigrant artists, providing a brief biography before each recollection noting country of birth and current place of residence. Their experiences supply a flavour of life as it once was before dealing with circumstances motivating their change of residence, and even those whose life is relatively peaceful reflect low standards of living unimaginable to most westerners. In the opening story Zaynab Abti notes the rarity of a birthday present in her Yemen neighbourhood, and that her mother winning the US immigration lottery meant accepting the good fortune only if she left her children behind. It’s presented without comment, but transmits as an extremely petty policy, and thankfully it’s not a situation mentioned elsewhere, although having to leave children in the care of older relations to work abroad is common to several strips. Zaynab later lived through a violent uprising in Yemen, then also fled Egypt when a revolution began.
The priority for well-intentioned anthologies is to ensure information is transmitted, and that takes precedence over technical ability. Some of the writing is stilted, but presumably an authentic voice was important. However, Our Stories Carried Us Here features a number of accomplished artists working in different styles. Not everyone is polished, but the likes of Mike Centeno, Toufic El Rassi, Sunshine Gao (sample left), Cameroonian art collective Hop (sample right), and Hamid Ibrahim all have tidy, but very different styles that effectively tell a story. In comics terms the most recognisable name is editor Tom Kaczynski, born in Poland and publisher at Uncivilized Books, who illustrates Alex Tsipenyuk’s experiences, needing greater interpretation for being one of the youngest contributors. His narration encompasses an explanation of the lottery immigration system responsible for 50,000 relocations to the USA every year, although it’s stressed the lottery is no guarantee of residence, just an opportunity to apply.
Quite apart from the experiences of immigration, Our Stories Carried Us Here offers glimpses of lives in other countries. By Western standards many conditions shown would be considered poor, yet almost everyone remembers their birth country fondly. Zurya Anjum’s story is enlightening for her already being a US resident in 2001 and noting how racial intolerance greatly increased afterward as people’s attitudes to Muslims changed. Racism is a matter raised by almost every contributor, some in passing others more overtly. Your heart goes out to the young Mary Anne Quiroz being welcomed to her US school by classmates spitting on her. She and husband Sergio Cenoch’s story differs for concentrating primarily on their community work and struggles, and reinforced throughout all inclusions is just how much the creators have contributed to their new home and the lives of others.
Ultimately these are success stories, but all writers have to overcome prejudice and disappointment, something that unites them with a large proportion of Americans. Those blaming immigration for their situations are unlikely to be convinced otherwise, but the hope would be that Our Stories Carried Us Here reaches enough library shelves to influence still-developing minds.
