IN SEARCH OF SAFETY Voices of Refugees

Five young people represent the voices of refugees, sharing their desperate real-life journeys to Nebraska. The three men don't dwell on horrific details, so narrator Josh Bloomberg often sounds friendly or hopeful. When he tells the story of Fraidoon, an Afghani translator, Bloomberg captures the man's certainty that the U.S. will rescue him. Narrator Deepti Gupta delivers the tragic stories of Nyarout and Shireen. Gupta stoically portrays Nyarout's sufferings in a refugee camp, joyfully exclaims over her discovery of indoor showers, and determinedly recounts her transition to self-sufficiency. Shireen's account of torture by ISIS in Iraq is difficult to hear. In a flat voice, she says, "I've seen women sold for as little as one dollar. I was sold five times." Vivienne Leheny delivers the captions for the accompanying photos. Note: There are disturbing depictions in these stories. L.T. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine [Published: AUGUST 2020]