19 Books About Refugees That Everyone Should Read

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Global refugee counts have steadily increased every year for the last 12 years, according to reports from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Previous generations had no shortage of their own well-documented refugee crises, but this past decade has been devastating for so many around the world, from places like Afghanistan, El Salvador, Syria, Sudan, Myanmar, Ukraine, Haiti, Gaza, and Lebanon — not to mention all the climate refugees who have been internally displaced within the US.

With an estimated more than 139 million people who have been forced from their homes globally today, there are countless stories out there of tragedy and triumph from the frontlines of famine, conflict, and disaster. For the voracious and compassionate readers among us, that means countless great books about refugees that capture facets of those harrowing real-life tales written by and about survivors of war.

Whether you’re interested in gripping first-person narratives or stories told by courageous journalists reporting from war zones, the following round-up of books about refugees is ideal for the reader who’s not only a student of history but also interested in diverse perspectives on current events. And while some refugees, asylum seekers, and immigrants will always be made into scapegoats by those in power, one of the most effective ways to combat misrepresentation and misinformation is to simply read refugees’ own stories, like the ones below.