After Tomorrow

"Most of the refugee stories we see are stories about someone else making a journey to where we are. These books are great because they put us in someone else’s shoes. They give us a window through to someone else’s world. But After Tomorrow does something else. And it’s really very clever. After Tomorrow doesn’t put up a window, it puts up a mirror. It asks us to consider what if this happened here, in Britain? In this story the banks have collapsed. Food is being hoarded. Law and order has largely broken down. We join the family at this point. It is a terrifying read. If I was a child I would feel that this could happen. Yes, and it comes back to trying to look after your family. How do you look after those around you? The family have to get on a truck and go on a dangerous journey, ending up in a refugee camp with the villagers looking on with contempt. Feeling unwanted, yet having no choice but to ask for the kindness of others. It’s a poignant book and, while terrifying, is full of hope and some great characters. One I particularly liked is a kind of earth-mother type who generates a sense of togetherness. It is a powerful book that asks important questions of the reader. Simple things like, when it starts raining how do you keep dry? Which queue do you get into? There’s a sense of urgency, yet you have no control. Others have control over you. I think this creates an atmosphere of unease throughout the book – a fear of losing your identity. You don’t know if you’ll ever be able to return home, or to any kind of familiarity. The broader picture is knowing how fragile freedom is. How easy it is to take this for granted. Yet, when you look historically, it is easy to see that we haven’t always been so lucky. I am aware that the next generation needs to understand that freedom needs protection. These books show what a complicated web the world is today. We have a global responsibility for the displacement of people. The need for certain resources can cause tragedy and create war. In my book Gorilla Dawn I explore how the global demand for certain minerals, that are key components in the manufacture of mobile phones, has perpetuated civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo. We have a global responsibility to ensure that our supply chains are conflict free. If we want a safe world we have to take these steps. “We have a global responsibility to ensure that our supply chains are conflict free” One of the ways to ensure a safe future for your family is through education – books are very much at the heart of education. There are so many threads and factors about the refugee crisis and all of them affect us directly. Books are often a child’s first glimpse of the outside world. Education is central to empowerment – as are safety and love. Children, all children deserve this."