From the Bookshelves: Stuck Here: African Immigrants Tell Their Stories by Marvin Opiyo

In Stuck Here: African Immigrants Tell Their Stories, Educator Marvin Opiyo shares fascinating and heart-wrenching accounts from years of his tireless research. The process of immigration is one which marks a crucial turning point in one’s life. Not only does immigration impact the country and communities left behind, it also changes the face of the new landscape entered into.

While using mostly fictitious names to keep identities confidential, Stuck Here: African Immigrants Tell Their Stories showcases a wide variety of personalities, backgrounds, and issues of the storytellers’ experiences. The realities of leaving one world for an entirely contrasting new world is astounding. Readers will not be able to help empathize and understand better the harshness immigration can bring to individuals and families everywhere.

In Stuck Here: African Immigrants Tell Their Stories, some of the backdrops include the genocide in Rwanda, during and after apartheid in South Africa, and life in Zimbabwe pre- and post-independence. Opiyo gains the trust of individuals across the U.S. to share these stories so we can all understand, support one another, and move forward. Opiyo says, “These are but a sample of the lives of a much larger African population in the United States. The decision to go, or not to go, can then be based on one’s readiness and ability to pay the price, which is often exorbitant.”

KJ