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WORK TITLE: Cast Away
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: http://www.cmcdonaldgibson.com/
CITY: Brussels
STATE:
COUNTRY: Belgium
NATIONALITY:
http://www.cmcdonaldgibson.com/about/4573362771
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Female.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Journalist. Independent, deputy foreign editor, two years; AFP, staff correspondent, four years. Also works as a reporter for TIME and Monocle magazine.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
Charlotte McDonald-Gibson has worked for several years as a journalist in the European Union (EU) and Middle East, and her first book, Cast Away: True Stories of Survival from Europe’s Refugee Crisis, examines the refugee crisis through the accounts of refugees. Taking a human interest angle, the book profiles a Nigerian man named Majin and an Eritrean woman named Sina. Each details their reluctance to leave their homes and the challenges that awaited them when they did so. Other refugees include a pregnant woman as well as a mother who was asked to drug her infant to keep it quiet (thus protecting her and her fellow refugees from detection and capture). Each tale tracks the uncertainty and chaos of life as a refugee. From there, McDonald-Gibson explains how the EU has failed refugees, and how it has struggled to handle a humanitarian crisis of historic proportions.
Reviews of Cast Away were largely positive, with critics stating that the book offers a compelling exploration of refugee life from a compassionate perspective that avoids political rhetoric. For instance, a Kirkus Reviews Online contributor announced that “McDonald-Gibson successfully humanizes them and provides readers a much-needed inside look at a significant problem.” The result is “a powerfully written, well-documented account of a humanitarian crisis of epic proportions.” Echoing this assessment in the online International Business Times, Peter Carty declared: “The migrant crisis has dominated the media during the past few years, but the human stories behind the headlines are rarely heard. McDonald-Gibson has interviewed a group of migrants in depth. Her book re-humanises individuals who are often treated as statistics, if not demonised. Her subjects include Syrians, a Nigerian and an Eritrean couple. The first parts of the case studies are harrowing, their aftermaths after arrival in Europe less so: they descend into stories of gaming immigration laws to reach the more affluent EU states. But McDonald-Gibson’s does provide an invaluable reminder that most migrants are people not so very different from us.”
As Hazel Rochman put it in her Booklist assessment, readers “will be caught by the desperate stories behind today’s images of families driven apart in search of home.” Kaitlin Malixi, writing in Library Journal, was also impressed; she found that Cast Away is “well-composed and well-researched, with the satisfaction of human interest stories. Thus, “this title belongs in all collections for its . . . historical and political significance.” Indeed, a Publishers Weekly critic advised: “This book will be illuminating for every reader who wants to better understand the human side of a complex, wrenching issue.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, August 1, 2016, Hazel Rochman, review of Cast Away: True Stories of Survival from Europe’s Refugee Crisis.
Library Journal, August 1, 2016, Kaitlin Malixi, review of Cast Away.
Publishers Weekly July 25, 2016, review of Cast Away.
ONLINE
Charlotte McDonald-Gibson Home Page, http://www.cmcdonaldgibson.com (May 9, 2017).
Kirkus Reviews Online, https://www.kirkusreviews.com/ (June 30, 2016), review of Cast Away.
International Business Times, http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/ (May 11, 2016), Peter Carty, review of Cast Away.*
Based in Brussels, I cover the EU and general European news for The Independent, TIME, Monocle magazine and others, as well as writing features on travel, food & drink and the arts. My areas of expertise include foreign policy, migration, human rights, the rise of the far right, and security and defence. I am also the author of the critically-acclaimed book about the refugee crisis, Cast Away: Stories of Survival from Europe's Refugee Crisis.
My 13 years’ experience covering world affairs includes two years as The Independent’s Deputy Foreign Editor, four years with AFP as a Staff Correspondent in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Southeast Asia, and freelance work in Europe, Latin America and Asia.
I am also available for radio and television interviews, and regularly comment on European affairs for outlets including the BBC, Monocle 24, France 24, CBC and ABC Australia. TV and web production experience includes freelance work at CNN and Channel 4 News.
Cast Away: Stories of Survival from Europe's
Refugee Crisis
Hazel Rochman
Booklist.
112.22 (Aug. 1, 2016): p5.
COPYRIGHT 2016 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist_publications/booklist/booklist.cfm
Full Text:
Cast Away: Stories of Survival from Europe's Refugee Crisis. By Charlotte McDonaldGibson. Sept. 2016. 352p. New
Press, $25.95 (9781620972632). 325.2.
With the overwhelming images of refugees and migrants fleeing war in North Africa and the Middle East in search of
safe home in Europe, this stirring contemporary account roots the mythic perilous journey in the heartbreak of personal
stories. The catastrophic numbers are overwhelming (number of refugee and migrant asylum seekers entering the EU
in 2015: 1,004,356), and the big stories are appalling: for example, 800 refugees locked in the hold of a doomed
fishing vessel die when the boat sinks. But it's the personal stories, like those collected here, that bring the appalling
headlines and numbers to vivid, individual life: the rescue of a young mother about to give birth; another young mother
asked to drug her newborn baby into silence to avoid capture. Throughout these accounts, one theme emerges: men,
women, and children never sure whetherat the end of their journeysthey will be welcomed or cast aside, whether
police will guide them to safety or use tear gas on them. The details cut through the politician's rhetoric: cell phones
keeping separated parents and children informed of where they areuntil there are no more messages.Hazel Rochman
YA: Many teens will be caught by the desperate stories behind today's images of families driven apart in search of
home. HR.
Source Citation (MLA 8
th Edition)
Rochman, Hazel. "Cast Away: Stories of Survival from Europe's Refugee Crisis." Booklist, 1 Aug. 2016, p. 5. General
OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA460761532&it=r&asid=cfca16aa9567a7d6117e0f58299328d9.
Accessed 9 Apr. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A460761532
4/9/2017 General OneFile Saved Articles
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/marklist.do?actionCmd=GET_MARK_LIST&userGroupName=schlager&inPS=true&prodId=ITOF&ts=1491791580507 2/3
McDonaldGibson, Charlotte. Cast Away: True
Stories of Survival from Europe's Refugee Crisis
Kaitlin Malixi
Library Journal.
141.13 (Aug. 1, 2016): p112.
COPYRIGHT 2016 Library Journals, LLC. A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution
permitted.
http://www.libraryjournal.com/
Full Text:
McDonaldGibson, Charlotte. Cast Away: True Stories of Survival from Europe's Refugee Crisis. New Pr. Sept.
2016.256p. maps, notes, index. ISBN 9781620972632. $25.95; ebk. ISBN 9781620972649. SOC SCI
Journalist McDonaldGibson goes beyond mere statistics to write an incredibly compelling, indepth look at five
European refugees as they escape civil war and carnage as a result of political uncertainty. From being forced out of
Syria to landing on the unwelcoming shores of Italy and Greece having lived through a tortuous journey, these firstperson
accounts collected from countless interviews offer a fresh perspective and fervent call to action on a subject that
has increasing global interest and impact. As the author points out, no one should be turning a blind eye. There is a lot
of detail, including maps and sources for further reading, yet sometimes the information is overwhelming and difficult
to follow. Without some background knowledge or seeking out the sources provided, portions of the text could prove
challenging, despite Gibson's effort to make this work accessible to all. In the same vein, the topic of how to aid
refugees is a controversial one; this moving story may only interest those already on the side of the issue Gibson is
promoting. VERDICT Wellcomposed and wellresearched, with the satisfaction of human interest stories, this title
belongs in all collections for its timeliness and historical and political significance.Kaitlin Malixi, formerly at
Virginia Beach P.L.
Malixi, Kaitlin
Source Citation (MLA 8
th Edition)
Malixi, Kaitlin. "McDonaldGibson, Charlotte. Cast Away: True Stories of Survival from Europe's Refugee Crisis."
Library Journal, 1 Aug. 2016, p. 112. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA459805106&it=r&asid=a0a166a1e6f24b45c968cc3321ba8710.
Accessed 9 Apr. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A459805106
4/9/2017 General OneFile Saved Articles
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/marklist.do?actionCmd=GET_MARK_LIST&userGroupName=schlager&inPS=true&prodId=ITOF&ts=1491791580507 3/3
Cast Away: True Stories of Survival from
Europe's Refugee Crisis
Publishers Weekly.
263.30 (July 25, 2016): p65.
COPYRIGHT 2016 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
Cast Away: True Stories of Survival from Europe's Refugee Crisis
Charlotte McDonaldGibson. New Press, $25.95 (352p) ISBN 9781620972632
In her first book, McDonaldGibson, a journalist experienced in covering the European Union, examines the last five
years of the refugee crisis in the Mediterranean. Her account is told, in large part, through the voices of refugees such
as Majid, a young Nigerian forced to flee two different homes, and Sina, an Eritrean woman who, with her husband,
did not think of leaving her home until staying became impossible. The author's note at the end of the book clarifies
some of her choicesincluding the use of pseudonyms when requestedbut might have been better placed at the
beginning. McDonaldGibson is shrewd in her presentation of the EU's failures, though she's often less pointed when
discussing northern European countries. The book shines as a portrait of the hopes and frustrations of the families and
individuals who risk so much for safer lives and the generosities and cruelties, both passive and active, that they
encounter in their travels. This book will be illuminating for every reader who wants to better understand the human
side of a complex, wrenching issue. Agent'. Charlie Winey, Yiney Agency (U.K.). (Sept.)
Source Citation (MLA 8
th Edition)
"Cast Away: True Stories of Survival from Europe's Refugee Crisis." Publishers Weekly, 25 July 2016, p. 65. General
OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA460285546&it=r&asid=a5fb42e833c80be97d9ddea7331eed90.
Accessed 9 Apr. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A460285546
CAST AWAY
True Stories of Survival from Europe’s Refugee Crisis
by Charlotte McDonald-Gibson
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KIRKUS REVIEW
Giving faces to the headline stories about the flood of immigrants seeking asylum in Europe.
McDonald-Gibson, a Brussels-based correspondent for the Independent and TIME, has covered international affairs for the past 13 years. Looking behind the headlines, she chronicles the experiences of five immigrants and their families to provide a scaffold for understanding the turmoil in sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East that has driven more than 1.5 million people to leave their homes and families since 2011. “For decades,” writes the author, “hopes of a better life had pushed people to Europe's unwelcoming shores,” some in the hope of finding work and others to escape the chaotic conditions of civil war or to avoid military conscription. McDonald-Gibson’s stories are all poignant, and she begins with Majid Hussain, from a wealthy Nigerian family. In 2011, he saw his Muslim father murdered by a Christian mob. On the run, he escaped to Libya, but as an undocumented immigrant, his situation was precarious, and he was forced to flee again, this time to a refugee camp in Italy (he gained asylum in 2013). Hussain was one of the lucky ones who escaped; many died on the way. McDonald-Gibson blames this on the failure of the European Union to give refugees the opportunity to immigrate legally and to welcome them on arrival, and she pinpoints the so-called Arab Spring as a turning point. While European politicians hailed the uprisings, they failed to come through with tangible support for those forced to flee. This helped to create the perfect environment for the development of a lucrative illegal immigration industry. Furthermore, thousands still languish in refugee camps, a situation that has provided a recruitment opportunity for the Islamic State group and other radical organizations. Skillfully weaving together the tragic stories of her subjects, McDonald-Gibson successfully humanizes them and provides readers a much-needed inside look at a significant problem.
A powerfully written, well-documented account of a humanitarian crisis of epic proportions.
Pub Date: Sept. 6th, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-62097-263-2
Page count: 352pp
Publisher: New Press
Review Posted Online: June 30th, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15th, 2016
Cast Away, by Charlotte McDonald-Gibson – migrants brave the perils of the Mediterranean
By Peter Carty Books Editor
Updated May 12, 2016 10:24 BST
Cast Away, refugee crisis
Cast Away: Stories of Survival from Europe's Refugee Crisis, by Charlotte McDonald-Gibson (Portobello Books)
Sink or swim: a shipwreck presents a stark choice. So what has driven more than a million people to risk death crossing the Mediterranean?
The migrant crisis has frequently dominated media output during the past few years, but the human stories behind the headlines are rarely heard. McDonald-Gibson is an experienced foreign correspondent who has interviewed a group of migrants in depth for her book, sub-titled "Stories of Survival from Europe's Refugee Crisis". The result is a series of portraits which re-humanise individuals who are routinely treated as statistics when they are not demonised outright.
Mohammed Kazkji is a young Syrian from Damascus who wanted to be an electrician. When civil war intensified and he was called up by the army, his family decided he had to leave the country.
And so Kazkji found himself on a massively overcrowded old fishing boat setting sail from Libya. It was attacked by pirates and a couple of passengers were shot. The vessel managed to escape, but the chase and the gunfire damage were too much for its fragile structure and it sank with great loss of life. Kazkji was lucky to be plucked from the sea by the Maltese navy.
Many migrants have been forced to flee from more than one country. Teenager Majid Hussain, for example, fled sectarian violence in his native Nigeria, literally one jump ahead of a mob who butchered his father. After a hazardous journey north – which included a period of slavery after he was kidnapped – Hussain found work in Libya. But when civil war broke out Colonel Gaddafi expelled all of the country's expatriate workers, forcing many of them into the Mediterranean on small boats. After a desperate voyage Hussain arrived on the Italian island of Lampedusa.
55,528 refugees made journey
A total of 55,528 refugees and migrants made the treacherous journey across the Mediterranean in January according to the International Organisation for MigrationReuters
Large numbers of migrants are from Eritrea, a country unfamiliar to most Europeans. It has an unusually repressive government which forces its citizens into indefinite military service. McDonald-Gibson tells the story of Sina Habte, a young Eritrean woman who trained as a chemical engineer. Habte fled after the army posted her away from her husband. When she voyaged across the Mediterranean from Turkey to Greece she was heavily pregnant. She survived the sinking of her boat and later gave birth to a baby boy. Her husband was not so fortunate: he vanished in Uganda without ever reaching Europe.
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McDonald-Gibson has interleaved her case studies episodically: breaking off from one story as a boat sinks, for example, to switch to another. This detracts from the book's gravitas: there is drama enough here without ramping it up. A further issue relates to another kind of potential over-dramatisation. Essentially, each of McDonald-Gibson's stories have two parts: the lives of the migrants up to crossing the Mediterranean and their subsequent experiences in Europe.
The first parts are invariably harrowing, their aftermaths less so. There is no doubt that the treatment of many migrants in Europe has been disgraceful, notably their illegal detention in poor conditions in several countries, but this is not comparable to the mortal dangers they faced before arrival. After reaching Europe, McDonald-Gibson's case studies descend into stories of greater or lesser success in gaming immigration laws in order to reach the more affluent EU states.
Hanan al-Hasan and her four children led a prosperous life in Damascus. During the civil war the family fled and al-Hasan endured her own nightmarish Mediterranean crossing, though thankfully her boat stayed afloat and there were no pirate attacks. On arrival in Greece al-Hasan employed people smugglers to secure residence in wealthier European countries for her family, namely Norway and Austria. Many of us would do the same in al-Hasan's situation, but McDonald-Gibson errs when treating al-Hasan's strategic opportunism as part of a story of survival. Fortunately, the choices for migrants have since become more straightforward, following Angela Merkel's opening of Germany's borders to refugees last summer.
Another weakness is the unfavourable comparisons McDonald-Gibson makes between the current crisis and the supposedly superior treatment of refugees after World War Two. She appears unaware of the prolonged chaos back then. As late as 1953 – eight years after the cessation of hostilities – there were still 250,000 displaced people scattered around Europe. She is more credible when pointing out that the victors were ashamed about their failure to host Jewish refugees in the run-up to the war and vowed to avoid the same situation arising again. In this context the refusal of the UK to take in no more than 20,000 Syrians looks dismal.
In the main, McDonald-Gibson's compilation is both timely and a cause for serious concern, particularly given that Europe's migrant crisis shows no sign of receding. Indeed, in the longer term the human flows attempting to enter Europe may substantially increase, as the benefits of residence in developed countries become ever more apparent to the victims of global strife and economic inequality. In the meantime McDonald-Gibson's painstaking research is an invaluable reminder that most migrants are people who are really not so very different from us.
Our verdict
Cast Away: Stories of Survival from Europe's Refugee Crisis
The migrant crisis has dominated the media during the past few years, but the human stories behind the headlines are rarely heard. McDonald-Gibson has interviewed a group of migrants in depth.
Her book re-humanises individuals who are often treated as statistics, if not demonised. Her subjects include Syrians, a Nigerian and an Eritrean couple. The first parts of the case studies are harrowing, their aftermaths after arrival in Europe less so: they descend into stories of gaming immigration laws to reach the more affluent EU states. But McDonald-Gibson's does provide an invaluable reminder that most migrants are people not so very different from us.
Cast Away: Stories of Survival from Europe's Refugee Crisis is available now in paperback; £14.99
This article was first published on May 11, 2016