Ciren Scene Magazine - Establishing Local Connections
A Good Read Patsy by Nicole Dennis-Benn
Patsy grew up in an impoverished town in Jamaica and struggles to make ends meet, raising her 5-year-old daughter, Tru. But she has a dream. A dream that lies across the ocean in a city that never sleeps, watched over by Lady Liberty. She isn’t the only one. Many have left Ja- maica for America, sending home details of their new lives. But you can’t just leave Jamaica and head to the US. When Patsy is finally granted a visa, it is only a visitor one. And just for her, not Tru.
And so, leaving her daughter behind with her previously absent father, she begins her life as an undocumented migrant. It soon becomes clear that life in New York is not what she thought it would be.
Dennis-Benn has created an engrossing novel showing the reality of the plight of migrants. Spanning a decade, it switch- es between Patsy and her new life and
Tru’s childhood as she grows up without her mother. It says something about her skills as a writer that she has created a central character that is so flawed and yet like- able at the same time. The dialogue switches effortlessly between English and Jamaican Patois, leaving you, the reader, as an inhabitant of the two worlds that Patsy her- self occupies. Will she ever be reunited with her daughter and how does a decision taken so long ago affect the two of them as life moves on around them in two vastly different countries?
The Boy at the Back of the Class
by Onjali Q Rauf In a similar vein we have a story for children about what it is like to be a stranger in a strange land. The difference here is that Ahmet is not an economic migrant, but a refu- gee, fleeing civil war in Syria.
He arrives one day at the start of term and sits in a chair
at the back of the class and carries a tattered old red back- pack. He is quiet and spends break and lunchtime in Seclu- sion. The 9 and ¾ year old narrator and their friends don’t know why he stays apart and are deter- mined to find out why. When they finally learn of Ahmet’s story, they are deter- mined to help him and seek the help of the one person in the country that they know can help: The Queen.
A moving story this directly challeng- es attitudes towards refugees and the children encounter adults who are sympathetic towards his plight, but also those who are not. Simple events show the kindness of strangers (the gift of a pomegranate) and gives hope that this next generation can be the one to bring in a change of attitude and a realisation that we are all one humani- ty. All too often we are quick to judge – and Rauf uses a very clever technique to bring this to the fore, leaving the reader re-evaluating everything they have read with just a few pages to go – rather than accepting. Ahmet’s story is sadly not just a story created in an author’s imagination but is one that too many children are experiencing – tattered backpack and all.
A Good Day for Climbing Trees by Jaco Jacobs
Don’t let anyone tell you that you are too young to take a stand. Sometimes all it takes is one simple, spur of the moment decision, to change your life forever.
Marnus was fed up. No one seemed to notice him. His older brother acts as if
he is in charge, and his younger brother seems to know everything. But a single knock on the door, a petition, and a tree under threat, will ensure that everyone notices him.
This charming novel from one of South Africa’s most popu- lar and prolific children’s authors will hook you in straight- away. It will make you laugh and will make you think about
grabbing those opportunities that life gives you.
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