Safdar Ahmed

Representation: Asian characters
Trigger warnings: Death of people in a boating accident, domestic violence and self-harm mentioned, torture, implied physical and sexual assault and injury, attempted suicide, sexist and other slurs, military violence and war themes, refugee experiences, deportation, racism
Score: Eight points out of ten.
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I saw Still Alive hiding on the library shelf, so after glancing at it I convinced myself to pick this one up. Soon enough, I read and finished it, and what a compelling read it was. Still Alive is a collection of genuine refugee experiences from an authentic author and not like other novels I've read like Zenobia or Illegal.

It's difficult to judge Still Alive because it's unlike other stories, but I'll try my best. It starts with the author, Safdar Ahmed, visiting a detention centre in Sydney in 2011, asking people what their stories were and how they got here. Thus begins the refugee accounts: they came from war-torn countries, like Afghanistan or Myanmar and escaped to other nations like Australia or the United Kingdom, but even then, their journey is not over yet for most; they face systemic and casual discrimination. One person left the detention centre to reunite with his family, but others don't have a fate as fortunate as him.

There are some other topics Still Alive deals with, but they mess the narrative's flow and it would be better if there were separate sections. Safdar goes on to report Australia's immigration system--an atrocity. The state is the only one that has indefinite detention. It's challenging for a refugee to apply to permanently reside in Australia, much less be an Australian citizen, because of bureaucratic laws including temporary visas approved by racist government officials. It's such a shame that the process is like this. The asylum seekers in Villawood are still alive, which doesn't apply to those who lost their lives. It was intriguing to see Australia weaponise the term 'boat people,' referring to Vietnamese people who came by boat fleeing from the Vietnam War and now those from Afghanistan and Myanmar. I never knew that word had a negative connotation until now. The author's note also added to Still Alive.… (mer)