Kooshyar Karimi

This book is the memoir of an Iranian doctor and his perilous journey to escape persecution in Iran and eventually find a new life in Australia. With a Muslim father and a Jewish mother he is despised by Muslims as a Jew and by Jews as a Muslim. But as a doctor in Iran he performs abortions and repairs hymens in order to save the women who would be killed by their families or executed by the state. As a consequence, he becomes an enemy of the religiously intolerant state, and is imprisoned and tortured by the Iranian intelligence service. He manages to escape Iran using a false passport only to meet his young family in Turkey where they struggle to survive while playing a torturous waiting game with the UNHCR and the Turkish police. Eventually, he and his family are accepted as refugees by Australia.

The book destroys the myth that refugees are only economic migrants. This man risked his life to save the lives of others and was persecuted for it. He then risked his life again and that of his family to find a way out of the persecution to a new life. He has become a model citizen and valued member of his new community in Australia. The tortures he endured along the way should not be practised on anyone.

It seems that there is little tolerance for refugees in many countries. The fact that Australia has taken in this man and his family does not show that Australia is any better than any other country. Events over the last 15 years have shown that Australia’s treatment of refugees, especially those that arrive by boat, is regrettable. There are no “illegal refugees” as the UN Convention on the Status of Refugees says that the mode of arrival is irrelevant, i.e. all refugees should be treated equally by signatory countries.

I applaud Dr Kooshyar Karimi for bringing the attention of the world to the plight of refugees. Let’s hope we can do better. I give this book 4 stars out of 5.… (plus d'informations)

I found this to be a very moving story but I did have reservations.Whilst horrified by the Taliban's treatment of women in Iran , I found story of Leila's seduction a little far fetched. I could understand why she acted like a 12 year old because of her secluded existence but even so could not believe that she would succumb to having sex with a stranger so easily. Likewise the story of the doctor Karimi. I do not believe that he would have been able to perform illegal operations for so long without the authorities finding out and then when he was arrested he seemed to get off so lightly. Surely he would have been executed for his crimes. Nevertheless it is a story written in the first person by the doctor who now lives in Australia. and well worth reading.… (plus d'informations)