The Refugee Abyss

The Refuge Abyss is a one of those rare books which come along and name the world with such exquisite precision, theoretical acum and methodological discernment, that they are genuinely paradigm-shifting. In this necessarily painful articulation of the abyssal state to which people labelled ‘refugees’ are condemned, Hyab Yohannes offers a sublimely theoretical voice and a poetics of relation and decoloniality. Alison Phipps, UNESCO Chair for Refugee Integration through Education, Languages and Arts, University of Glasgow If you are interested in the refugee condition, this is the book you should read. Not only inspired by but also reminiscent of seminal contributions to postcolonial theory, its dark and gripping narrative draws its urgency from lived experience. Few scholars today have the courage to write so poetically, and few books manage to combine theoretical sophistication with emotional depth. In the myriad of academic publications on the subject, The Refugee Abyss stands out! Katja Franko, Professor of Criminology, University of Oslo. This deeply moving book demands our commitment from the start. We learn from people who have experienced some of the worst that humans can inflict on one another. We are invited to listen, to see, and to feel. It is a profound and ultimately uplifting experience, despite the horrors described. Mary Bosworth, Professor of Criminology, University of Oxford. This book plumbs the depths of some of the darkest places in human experience. But rather than leaving us there, it offers to lift us from the pit by gathering the poetic traces through which we can find restoration and relation. It is essential reading for anyone who cares about human relationships. Fergus McNeill, Professor of Criminology and Social Work, University of Glasgow