Description
Book SynopsisSHORTLISTED FOR THE SALTIRE SOCIETY FIRST BOOK OF THE YEAR
Remzije Sherifi worked as a journalist with Radio Gjilan in Kosova. She lost her job, and almost her life, as the Milosevic regime steadily tightened its grip on the Albanian people who lived there.
In Shadow Behind The Sun she recounts her family’s history, shining a new light on the terrible events of the 1990s. Beside the history of the Kosovar people she describes the plight of Asylum Seekers in the here and now. The shadow of past events stands behind the sunrise of every new constitutional or social development. Can they be forgotten? Should they be forgotten? Now a British citizen Remzije has made her commitment to Asylum Seekers and other refugees, working with the Maryhill Integration Network in Glasgow. Through her story, Remzije Sherifi is revealed as a compassionate and visionary presence in difficult and changing times.
Trade Review‘The first substantial book to emerge from the wave of new Scots who have arrived here in the last decade from war zones across the world. Sherifi is a woman younger than me, who has already seen more suffering and trauma than anyone should have to see in a lifetime. But she is still learning, changing and growing here in Scotland, building a new life which is not the same as the old one, but which still brings new challenges and fulfillments.’
‘An enthralling read. The refugees lack of a voice means that not only is their experience in the UK largely unheard and misunderstood... The most moving and intriguing sections of her well-written and carefully assembled story deal with this former journalist's life as an Albanian woman in Yugoslavia and then, unluckily, in Greater Serbia. ’
‘The commitment to those hurt, traumatised, exiled and derelict is both universal and personal, just as the account that follows this is. A face emerges out of the turbulent waters of history and speaks to us of where it has been.’
Table of ContentsAcknowledgements Author's Note and Pronunciation Guide Map of the Kosova Region Foreword by George Szirtes 1. Above the Drop-In Cafe. 2. Looking to the Future. 3. The Kitchen Project. 4. Grandmother Hamide. 5. Carmen Unwrapped. 6. Out of the Mountains. 7. Father and Child. 8. Dreaming of Albania. 9. Refugee Week Celebration. 10. Ko-so-va! Re-pub-lic! 11. Migrant. 12. Eluding Catastrophe. 13. Voluntary Action. 14. A Deteriorating Situation. 15. The Lincoln Star. 16. Beautiful House, White House. 17. The Last of the Clan. 18. Under Attack. 19. Just an Old Book. 20. Border Crossing. 21. Beginning Again. 22. Making a New Life. 23. Framework for Dialogue. 24. News from Friends. Charlotte. Nuna. Rahim. Amel. 25. Going Home. Appendix One: Interview with Janet Andrew and Elinor Kelly Appendix Two: Interview with Nick Hopkins. Glossary
