The Lightless Sky

The title gives away that this is no easy, fuzzy-feeling read.

It’s heart-wrenching, all-consuming and as shocking and real as today’s world has become for so many.

I needed to learn more about one of today’s biggest world crises. Reading this book added another dimension to my understanding of what it must be like to be so desperate in your home country that you end up leaving everything and everyone that is familiar to you behind, without knowing what is awaiting you at the end of your journey.

I left my home country, a long time ago, due to career choices and I ended up living far away from my family, friends and my youth. I was not threatened, nobody forced me to so this, yet still, it sometimes makes me ponder… I have no idea what it must feel like inside to be unbearably far away from your loved ones, in a foreign country, speaking a foreign language, having to adapt to a foreign culture, surrounded by people who point their finger at you and treat you like a criminal – expected to fit in and flourish.

It must be one of the hardest situations the human spirit can conquer.

 
The Lightless Sky tells the story of such a strong human being. He is only 12 when he is sent away by his mother who fears for her son’s life so much, that she’d rather lose him to a more promising life than to risk him suffering by her side.

His journey is long, unbelievably long, and so hard that I wonder how any person can survive such inhumane conditions.

It took me a long time to read this because it was so real, I could only handle it in small dosages. However, I recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in this humanitarian issue. It is very well written, hugely informative and extremely powerful.