The issues refugees and asylum seekers face are fertile ground for artistic interpretation; the experience of loss, displacement, finding home, and marginalisation are common human experiences that are felt in extreme by those who have been displaced. This applies to current topics of debate relating to the current asylum situation in the UK. As recent Booker Prize lists suggest (e.g. The Inheritance of Loss, The Reluctant Fundamentalist, and to some extent, Darkmans), how the stranger responds to the surrounding culture is a hot topic. Similarly, the comedy of Steven Amos, Omid Djalili, and Shappi Khorsandi poke fun at issues of immigration, but make serious points about the racism and misunderstanding that exists under the thin veneer of political correctness.

This is a long way say that art allows us to address such issues in a way that adds colour and dimension, something that debates about statistics and government policy cannot manage on their own. And while knowing the bare facts of the worldwide refugee crisis is important, a good photograph (have a look at http://www.exileimages.co.uk) can offer a narrative to otherwise abstract statistics that move our hearts in way that fosters empathy.

We’ve recently came across two very different artistic forays into refugee situation that are worth mention.

The first is a children’s picture book, The Arrival, by Shaun Tan. It is, on the surface, a simple story of a refugee who flees danger for a new land. The story is told purely through illustration. The wordless character of the story is, in my mind, what gives this book such power. The reader is drawn into the story, imagining their own dialogue and emotions when faced with the illustrations; this offers the story a certain timeless quality; as experience shapes us, our reaction to the images will also develop. The story will mature with the reader.

When the protagonist arrives in the strange land, the reader can easily identify with him: not understanding the strange script, being simultaneously in awe and fear of the fantastic surroundings, and trying to make sense of a foreign system.

The other is an American film called The Visitor, directed by Thomas McCarthy. It’s the story of a university professor, Walter, whose life is altered by becoming friends with a Syrian refugee who is illegally living in an apartment that Walter never uses. We see the professor develop as a charter, from numb and detached, to a rejuvenated joy in life, and eventuallty to righteous anger about the treatment of his newfound friend.

The film is very funny (in an understated way) and portrays characters that seem all the more realistic due to their idiosyncrasies. Importantly, the film causes the viewer to engage with moral ‘grey areas’ when immigration law is pitted against particular circumstances and personal relationship. The Visitor also captures the sense of frustration and powerlessness that Emma and I have often experienced working with refugees. Like Walter, we rail try to rail against and change the system, but in some situations we can only listen and are faced with saying goodbye to people who have become dear friends. A poignant picture of the human aspect of the asylum debate.

The Arrival and The Visitor, both worth checking out.

- Paul

The illustrations in this post come from Shaun Tan's website. More images from the The Arrival and his other books can be found via this link: http://www.shauntan.net/books/the-arrival.html