Praise

These stories illustrate how even democratic states are not able to protect those in danger.

– Toronto Star

We can be indifferent until we see the individual faces of the families and the children. We have no choice but to engage when we hear their stories. This is a unique compilation of the stories of thirty individual refugees who escaped to Canada in recent years … a must-read for anyone with a deep interest in refugees generally and for Canadians who are coming to understand the significant contribution of refugees to our diverse society. These stories are a key to understanding what makes modern Canada great.

– The Hon. Ron Atkey, former Minister of Immigration, Government of Canada, responsible for the program for 60,000 Vietnamese refugees

Ask almost any Canadian “how did your family get here?” and you will hear an extraordinary tale – very often a tale of flight from a faraway conflict. We are, to a large extent, a nation of former refugees. Ratna Omidvar and Dana Wagner have looked beyond the statistics and the political crises to reveal the human texture of the refugee experience at the heart of Canada. At a moment when refugees are too often seen as an abstract threat, this book reveals them, in moving detail, as our neighbours, doctors, leaders, professors, business owners, and colleagues: the people who, when permitted to settle in Canada, become essential to the fabric and life of the country.

– Doug Saunders, author of Arrival City and The Myth of the Muslim Tide

So many emotions tumble out after reading this rich collection of accounts of the suffering, determination, and resilience that is the refugee journey. These awe-inspiring journeys begin at different times and from places around the world, and they all end in Canada. This book is a very special reminder of the generosity and diversity of Canada. It is also a timely and urgent call to action to turn back the recent refugee laws and policies that have focused instead on restrictions and punishment.

– Alex Neve, Secretary General of Amnesty International Canada

Omidvar and Wagner research and interview refugees who have fled to Canada from all over the world, gathering their stories into a poignant, beautiful book of hardship and hope.… An important read.

– Publishers Weekly

These powerful stories show how Canadian society has benefitted from our county’s generosity towards those fleeing “climates of terror”. To me this is the essence of Toronto. For generations, that spirit of reaching out to refugees and the exceptional contributions they make have combined to shape our city making it the envy of the world. We must never stop.

– Barbara Hall, former Mayor of Toronto

Every one of the 30 Canadians portrayed enrich, inspire and engage‎ in a way that reflects their courage, honesty and profound humanity; what and where they escaped to come here is part of who they were and are. And what they were and are makes Canada a better, richer, more humane and robust human community. No book tells the modern story of Canada with more texture, honesty or poignance—a must read!

– Hugh Segal, fifth Master of Massey College

Giving migrants a voice, thus acknowledging their individuality, is the first step towards helping them fight for their rights and to facilitate their access to justice. We need to transform our own perceptions of migration, rejecting nationalist populist fantasies, myths, threats, and stereotypes. “They” do not bring unemployment, illnesses, or criminality with them. The voices of Randy, Tarun, Humaira, Sabreen, and the other migrants in Flight and Freedom should help us to find the sensitivity necessary to appreciate the traumatic choices each of them had to make, to be “in awe of their strength,” and to recognise their individual displacement as a dignity-seeking journey.

– François Crépeau, Faculty of Law, McGill University, and United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants

This is a book that must be read to understand that no matter how different the circumstances or reasons for the need to escape, refugees share remarkable resilience and strength, and have made enormous contributions to our country. Each story makes the reader both humble and proud to be Canadian. May our doors continue to be open to refugees for the benefit of us all!

– Naomi Alboim, School of Policy Studies, Queen’s University

It is a privilege to learn, through these moving personal stories, both about people who helped build Canada into one of the world’s most welcoming societies and the deliberate policies that made that possible. This book is also an important warning, however, that we not take these people and policies for granted and that vigilance is required to ensure Canada remains a country people in need can call home.

– Alison Loat, co-founder of Samara Canada

Giving migrants a voice, thus acknowledging their individuality, is the first step towards helping them fight for their rights and to facilitate their access to justice. We need to transform our own perceptions of migration, rejecting nationalist populist fantasies, myths, threats, and stereotypes. “They” do not bring unemployment, illnesses, or criminality with them. The voices of Randy, Tarun, Humaira, Sabreen, and the other migrants in Flight and Freedom should help us to find the sensitivity necessary to appreciate the traumatic choices each of them had to make, to be “in awe of their strength,” and to recognise their individual displacement as a dignity-seeking journey.

– François Crépeau, Faculty of Law, McGill University, and United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants

A riveting collection of refugee experiences.

– Radio Canada International

Flight and Freedom presents a vivid picture of Canada as seen by the refugees who have found a new home here. You’ll see your country anew, when you read their tales, but you will also ask yourself: would they still get in today? This wonderful book is both a hymn of praise to a great tradition of Canadian generosity and a quietly scathing critique of how we have let this tradition decay. It’s a celebration, but also a call to action.

– Michael Ignatieff, Shorenstein Center, Harvard Kennedy School

This is a remarkable book, a strong reminder that no one chooses to be a refugee. Each individual story is a quest to reach safety and freedom, and shines a revealing light on the incredible courage and perseverance of refugees. The distinct horrors of refugees’ flights and loss, combined with the hopes for a better future, humble the reader and bring out an inner desire to help and do more to alleviate the plights of refugees. Flight and Freedom will make people understand why refugees need our help.

– Furio De Angelis, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees representative in Canada

The individual refugees whose stories are so poignantly told in Flight and Freedom arrived in Canada at different times, from different parts of the world, and often under very different circumstances, but taken together their stories serve to remind us that Canadian readiness to provide sanctuary to those under threat is not just a legal obligation. It is a measure of our collective humanity. We should not be found wanting.

– Harold Troper, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto, and co-author of None is Too Many

In Flight and Freedom, Ratna Omidvar and Dana Wagner give a human voice to what has become a political issue. An issue that has been lost in a barrage of incomprehensible statistics and photos of faceless crowds crammed into boats. They weave together a narrative of the common themes faced by many refugees. But the authors still maintain the distinctiveness and uniqueness of each individual’s experience.… Canadians are struggling to decide how best to respond to the plight of refugees. Flight and Freedom is an invaluable resource to assist us in coming to an informed decision.

– Kathryn Teeluck, The Catalyst

Flight and Freedom is an excellent book that benefits from the years of expertise of its co-writers and contributors. The 30 stories, which span two centuries and 25 countries of origin, are compellingly told, partly because they are extraordinary stories, but also due to the compassion and clarity brought to them by its curators.

– rabble.ca

A timely and well-needed counterpart to much of the rhetoric around refugees, highlighting the remarkable personal stories of thirty refugees who have contributed and continue to contribute to Canada. These stories make a compelling case for a more generous approach, reminding us of the potential cost of more restrictive approaches.

– Andrew Griffith, former Director General of Citizenship and Multiculturalism, Government of Canada