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Reviewed by Scarlett Jensen for Readers' Favorite
My Name is Yemane is the true and heartbreaking story of Yemane, who, as an asylum seeker from Eritrea, had to endure unsettling events on his journey to Norway. Now, as a 17-year-old, he gives his side of the experiences that are often reduced to numbers and statistics by negative news reports focusing on problems that may arise from increased immigration, as opposed to problems the refugees themselves face, and the horrors they may endure. Yemane didn't want to leave his home country, but to stay was a death sentence for him. Author Paul Wennersberg-Løvholen resides in Norway and has been working with teenage refugees from different countries. He wants to give these children a voice and a better understanding of how to be safe when seeking refuge in Europe. Yemane had a passage to Libya, where young refugees were locked up, chained, forced to work, beaten, and starved. He continued his journey to Europe in an overcrowded boat where the only sounds aboard were of tears and mothers trying to soothe their children.
My Name is Yemane draws the reader in with the professional and sympathetic way in which the author describes the sad events. Artwork depicting the pain, hope, and sacrifices of an asylum seeker forms a perfect symbiosis of text and pictures in the book. Yemane says his native land, Eritrea, is beautiful, with amazing people, food, nature, and wildlife, which are conveyed in the pictures. Affiliated organizations doing exceptional work on behalf of refugees can use this book to open discussions. I hoped for an ending of safety, love, and warmth for Yemane. My wish is that Paul Wennersberg-Løvholen considers a follow-up book where each element can further deepen this and other stories. As a reader, I was touched by the saddening and inhumane circumstances Yemane had to fight through to survive the ordeals. He never lost hope while he struggled to find a “forever home.” I hope he is safe now.
