Papers

by Violaine Schwartz, Christine Gutman (Translator)

Assembled from testimonials and interviews with current and former asylum seekers in France, as well as hearing records, administrative letters, and newspaper articles, Papers is a quietly monumental work of documentary art, a harrowing and enlightening portrayal of the modern refugee experience. Gathered here are the voices of men and women from around the world, united by the urgent need to leave their native country, risk their lives to make it to Europe, and begin the often bewildering process of securing the papers that will affirm their right to stay. Related without melodrama or self-pity, these are stories about the absurdity of bureaucracy, the agony of waiting, the pain of leaving everything behind and the courage to do so anyway. They are a testament to the brutal indignities of war and corruption and exile, and the resilience of the human spirit in the face of it all. A fearless, candid, compassionate book for our troubled global times.

167 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2019

Reviews

[victoria marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

DICTATION
The passport is the noblest part of a human being period
Moreover comma a passport is not as easy to make as a human being period
A human being can be made anywhere comma in the most impulsive of ways and with no sound reason semicolon
A passport comma never period
Therefore comma we recognize the value of a good passport comma
Whereas a human being comma however good comma
Will not necessarily be recognized period

—By Bertolt Brecht spelled as it sounds

(page 39)

*

so incredibly powerful. if you were moved by Delecroix’s Small Boat, you absolutely NEED to read this. just speechless. so urgent & crucial to read.

[Keisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Je l'ai placé dans non fiction! Un livre qui chamboule, qui éclaire, que j'ai lu par chapitres, fallait digérer.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

À travers de sa poésie et les témoignages des demandeurs d’asile, Schwartz illustre la vie d’un migrant en France. « Papiers » fait références aux documents demandés par l’administration française, ainsi que les papiers nécessaires dans la vie que les réfugies n’ont toujours pas – le passport, le visa. Or, Schwartz fait vivre les témoignages en employant la poésie comme un fil qui guide le lecteur. À lire à lire à lire

[Olga Zilberbourg · Rating 5 out of 5]

A many-voiced story from asylum applicants in France. Each story is more devastating then the next; and a heartbreaking portrait of the bureaucracy that fortifies the cultural and political status quo. This book also works as a challenge to the reader, an appeal to make room for others among ourselves.

[M · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an incredibly moving book, and smartly written in verse form, almost like one long poem except broken into different chapters for different people. People from all over the world who have gone through horrific circumstances to get to France for a better life. Hell, for a shot at a better life. "I was just looking for a country where I could live. Start to live," one person writes (96). Death, crossing the sea, sleeping under bridges, rejection from one asylum center to another, leaving children behind, smugglers beating them to death before they even made the passage through one country out of four just to even see France from afar. Incredibly harrowing stories, capturing the refugee experience. The system is completely broken, and human beings are treated as chattel. My heart broke for every person represented in this deeply important collection. We need to treat each other all like fellow citizens, fellow human beings. One person says: "You can't live your whole life in secret" (31). I hope sharing this story gives voice to these stories and keeps these stories less buried. And props to the journalist that compiled and wrote these stories, providing a safe space: "Yes, I have a lot of stories in my head. That's what we're here for too. To listen." (60).