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I Am Justice: A Journey Out of Africa
This is the true, moving and harrowing story of Justice Amin, one among tens of thousands of forgotten men who risk their lives to better themselves and their families by undertaking the perilous voyage from Africa to Europe to find work.
- GenresAfrica
256 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
About the author
Paul Kenyon
17 books8 followersPaul Kenyon was a house pseudonym used by Pocket Books for the short-lived series of espionage novels, The Baroness published from 1974 to 1975.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
September 29, 2019
I found it hard to give this book a rating. I also normally get ideas for my review while reading a book and here I was struggling to do that too.
The problem is that the first two thirds of the book is a rather dry and tepid description of Justice's life. It isn't boring but it also never feels exciting. The threat levels are high but I didn't feel connected enough to really care about his fate.
The end of the book is where the book feels more real and human. The blurb (on this website) is a spoiler for this. My review isn't. It isn't an easy read at this point. It is a lot more enthralling than previous chapters.
This is a case where the story needed to be told but the telling of it could have been a lot better. I feel that if Justice wrote a book of his adventures it would be more interesting.
The problem is that the first two thirds of the book is a rather dry and tepid description of Justice's life. It isn't boring but it also never feels exciting. The threat levels are high but I didn't feel connected enough to really care about his fate.
The end of the book is where the book feels more real and human. The blurb (on this website) is a spoiler for this. My review isn't. It isn't an easy read at this point. It is a lot more enthralling than previous chapters.
This is a case where the story needed to be told but the telling of it could have been a lot better. I feel that if Justice wrote a book of his adventures it would be more interesting.
May 12, 2023
Thank you Paul for this very important book!
January 23, 2020
"the vast majority have remained jobless. They've melted away into Europe's invisible underclass, roaming from one country to the next in search of work, begging and scavenging, sleeping rough- a wretched existence some have described as worse than what they left behind."
"He attends the job center every morning but is, at the moment, without work...Eventually he wants to return to Ghana to marry and have children"
The journey Justice takes is from a small village in Effiakuma, Ghana through Burka Faso, Niger and Algeria's scorching, merciless Sahara desert then to Libya where he finally takes the suicidal trip via the Mediterranean to Italy. In his journey he meets different people from different countries, all brought together by a desire for a better life in Europe.
"The costs of the journey -both human and monetary -match a steep sum of desperation and demand." http://www.msnbc.com/specials/migrant.... The immigrants being desperate fall prey to smugglers who send them to their death despite the huge amounts of money they pay for safe passage. This makes you realize the level of desperation one must be in to take such a dangerous journey. Reading the book made me question humanity, believe in the strength of the human spirit and also allowed myself to be heartbroken by the nature of the perilous journey, constantly wishing it would come to an end, even a sad one meant some sort of release.
"EU nations have squabbled over how to distribute asylum-seekers who arrive via the Mediterranean. Coastal nations such as Italy and Malta have accused other countries of not doing enough to help take in migrant sea arrivals and have pushed for an automatic quota system at the EU level. However, other nations, such as Finland and Austria, have rejected any binding criteria."https://www.dw.com/en/top-stories/s-9097
The Mediterranean, the Sahara is a grave yard for many immigrants taking the journey. Will stories with such sad endings stop illegal migration? NO. More and more people are taking this journey with a strong human desire that binds us all and that's the desire to survive.
"He attends the job center every morning but is, at the moment, without work...Eventually he wants to return to Ghana to marry and have children"
The journey Justice takes is from a small village in Effiakuma, Ghana through Burka Faso, Niger and Algeria's scorching, merciless Sahara desert then to Libya where he finally takes the suicidal trip via the Mediterranean to Italy. In his journey he meets different people from different countries, all brought together by a desire for a better life in Europe.
"The costs of the journey -both human and monetary -match a steep sum of desperation and demand." http://www.msnbc.com/specials/migrant.... The immigrants being desperate fall prey to smugglers who send them to their death despite the huge amounts of money they pay for safe passage. This makes you realize the level of desperation one must be in to take such a dangerous journey. Reading the book made me question humanity, believe in the strength of the human spirit and also allowed myself to be heartbroken by the nature of the perilous journey, constantly wishing it would come to an end, even a sad one meant some sort of release.
"EU nations have squabbled over how to distribute asylum-seekers who arrive via the Mediterranean. Coastal nations such as Italy and Malta have accused other countries of not doing enough to help take in migrant sea arrivals and have pushed for an automatic quota system at the EU level. However, other nations, such as Finland and Austria, have rejected any binding criteria."https://www.dw.com/en/top-stories/s-9097
The Mediterranean, the Sahara is a grave yard for many immigrants taking the journey. Will stories with such sad endings stop illegal migration? NO. More and more people are taking this journey with a strong human desire that binds us all and that's the desire to survive.
August 25, 2023
A poignant book, as relevant today as when it was written more than a decade ago!
February 24, 2011
I am Justice
A journey out of Africa
There was a boy his name was Justice Amin this boy lived in Africa, in Ghana there is no mercy from any one, people there suffer and suffer from everything around them. In Ghana there is a lot of resources but there main problem is that they don’t know how to use their recourses well in order to gain money to help people that live in Africa. From this point the problems begin. This boy lived with his father his mother died since he was ten years old. He had three brothers. Justice and his brothers didn’t have any place to live in or to go except their uncle’s house. They went to their uncle’s house. Amin’s uncle treated him very god he played all of the roles that could be played, his uncle was a father mother a friend. Justice went to a school, schools in Ghana is not like any other place schools in Ghana is worse than a jail. Kids were forced to go to school to learn Quran and to learn their language. Schools were without a roof either window so when it is winter time rain drops over their head and when it is summer then there is Africa’s hot sun. Justice chooses to get out of school and to work with his uncle as a woodman. His uncle was tough on him because he wanted him to know something that will help him through his rest of his life. Justice target was different then his uncle. Justice wanted to do like any Ghanaian after he gains some money he will travel to Europe. After Justice gained money he went to a place where there is bunch of cars. He went with them this people travel to Libya and in Libya they travel through the sea to Europe. He went with them and the trip was one of the hardest trips that anyone could make, because you sit in a car for a long time. The driver stopped in morocco and he didn’t continue because there was certain problem. He told them if they want to pass then they have to walk through a mountain through morocco then they will arrive to Libya. Yet, they can’t make it through day they have to walk through night. While they were walking Justice was caught in Morocco and he was put in prison. When Justice went there he realized and he was made as a slave. He worked to earn his freedom for days and months and then he earned his freedom and he traveled to Europe as he wanted to do. He lived there very peacefully he works very hard. He wakes up from 5:00 am through 8:00 pm because he wants to get a good living.
My opinion
I really enjoyed this book because this book talked about different things it showed me that there are people not living. They suffer to just eat anything but they also live and they laugh and nothing stops their desire. Sometimes when people see other people’s problems he feels that he lives’ a nice life a great live and he thanks God for everything, thousands of Africans die every year because they don’t have a life.
A journey out of Africa
There was a boy his name was Justice Amin this boy lived in Africa, in Ghana there is no mercy from any one, people there suffer and suffer from everything around them. In Ghana there is a lot of resources but there main problem is that they don’t know how to use their recourses well in order to gain money to help people that live in Africa. From this point the problems begin. This boy lived with his father his mother died since he was ten years old. He had three brothers. Justice and his brothers didn’t have any place to live in or to go except their uncle’s house. They went to their uncle’s house. Amin’s uncle treated him very god he played all of the roles that could be played, his uncle was a father mother a friend. Justice went to a school, schools in Ghana is not like any other place schools in Ghana is worse than a jail. Kids were forced to go to school to learn Quran and to learn their language. Schools were without a roof either window so when it is winter time rain drops over their head and when it is summer then there is Africa’s hot sun. Justice chooses to get out of school and to work with his uncle as a woodman. His uncle was tough on him because he wanted him to know something that will help him through his rest of his life. Justice target was different then his uncle. Justice wanted to do like any Ghanaian after he gains some money he will travel to Europe. After Justice gained money he went to a place where there is bunch of cars. He went with them this people travel to Libya and in Libya they travel through the sea to Europe. He went with them and the trip was one of the hardest trips that anyone could make, because you sit in a car for a long time. The driver stopped in morocco and he didn’t continue because there was certain problem. He told them if they want to pass then they have to walk through a mountain through morocco then they will arrive to Libya. Yet, they can’t make it through day they have to walk through night. While they were walking Justice was caught in Morocco and he was put in prison. When Justice went there he realized and he was made as a slave. He worked to earn his freedom for days and months and then he earned his freedom and he traveled to Europe as he wanted to do. He lived there very peacefully he works very hard. He wakes up from 5:00 am through 8:00 pm because he wants to get a good living.
My opinion
I really enjoyed this book because this book talked about different things it showed me that there are people not living. They suffer to just eat anything but they also live and they laugh and nothing stops their desire. Sometimes when people see other people’s problems he feels that he lives’ a nice life a great live and he thanks God for everything, thousands of Africans die every year because they don’t have a life.
February 24, 2013
Paul Kenyon is a BBC journalist who has also produced pieces for the well known Panorama programme. This book chronicles the story of Justice Amin, a young man from Ghana who leaves an unpleasant life with an abusive Uncle to find better fortunes. His goal is to secure passage to Europe from Libya, requiring a journey that takes him through Ghana, Burkina, Niger, Algeria and then to Libya. The journey and its dangers will be familiar to anyone who has read about refugees and asylum seekers who hit the shores of Italy and Spain. While the chronicle of Justice's travels and experiences does provide detail, based on interviews with Justice and his friends who survived the journey, it feels detached and distant or cold in places. My previously reviewed Hinterland, while a novel based on refugee stories, provides a much better insight and compelling narrative. The one dimension of Kenyon's book that does provide greater insight is at the end -- the actual water passage from Libya to Italy. Nevertheless, there are better accounts than this book provides, and my suggestion is to find those and give this one a miss.
April 24, 2010
I wish the story was longer:)
December 18, 2012
I'm sure it's a good story, what I've read so far is quite compelling, but the journalistic style of writing is grating on me & I can't bring myself to keep reading it. I've managed about 6 chapters,
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews