A Place Of Refuge

A Country of Refuge is a poignant, thought-provoking and timely anthology of writing on asylum seekers from some of Britain and Ireland’s most influential voices. Compiled and edited by human rights activist and writer Lucy Popescu, this powerful collection of short fiction, memoir, poetry and essays explores what it really means to be a refugee: to flee from conflict, poverty and terror; to have to leave your home and family behind; and to undertake a perilous journey, only to arrive on less than welcoming shores. These writings are a testament to the strength of the human spirit. The contributors articulate simple truths about migration that will challenge the way we think about and act towards the dispossessed and those forced to seek a safe place to call home.

Thirteen-year-old Elsje Van Der Zuiden was content with life on her family's farm near Pella, Iowa--a place of refuge for her parents and other Dutch immigrants. Forced to leave the land of their birth, these natives of the Netherlands faced many hardships building homes on the prairie.Suddenly, Elsje is confronted with the possibility of moving away from the home she's always known. She is excited about seeing a treeless wilderness of northwest Iowa--yet she knows she will miss her beloved trees. Come join Elsje as she faces adventures such as milking, berry picking with friends, a surprise birthday party, and even becoming an aunt.Author Renae B. Vander Schaaf has always enjoyed reading history. When she discovered the special background behind Orange City, Iowa, she knew it had to be shared with others.A columnist and writer for agricultural papers, Renae has been blessed to share life on the farm with her husband Dave and six children.

A Powerful Story Set Against the Backdrop of Today's Israel Nothing in Abigail MacLeod's life as a wife, a mother, and a teacher has prepared her for what she will experience during her summer in Israel. At forty-two, her life is in chaos, even before she leaves home--her marriage is dissolving before her very eyes, her faith is in shambles. This pilgrimage to Israel was supposed to be a new beginning for her. But by the end of the first day, she is forced to board an Israeli jetliner in spit of a bomb threat, and watches helplessly as a kind, fatherly gentleman she befriended on the plane dies in her arms. This is a summer Abby will spend learning about archaeology, delving into the past. And it's a summer that will change her life in ways she never imagined.

Five years ago, Tobias Jones and his wife set up a woodland sanctuary for people in a period of crisis in their lives. Windsor Hill Wood quickly becomes a well-known refuge, and a family home is transformed into a small community. Most people arrive because of a desperate need - bereavement, depression, addiction or homelessness - while others come simply because they are dismayed by modern life. A Place of Refuge is the story of an evolving community: the characters and conflicts, the miracles and mistakes. As the seasons turn in the bustling woodland, an ever-changing group of people try to share their money, their meals and ideals; making furniture, growing vegetables and rearing livestock. Encountering both violent antagonism and astounding generosity, the family open up not only their house, but also themselves, to the most demanding of judgements and transformations. This book is not about a retreat from the world, but about a deeper engagement with it. Living alongside troubled guests, Jones examines the consequences of our way of life - seeing up close the scars of war, abuse and loneliness - and contemplates the ways in which nature and stillness offer solace to those in torment.

In the spring of 1983 Terry Tempest Williams learned that her mother was dying of cancer. That same season, The Great Salt Lake began to rise to record heights, threatening the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and the herons, owls, and snowy egrets that Williams, a poet and naturalist, had come to gauge her life by. One event was nature at its most random, the other a by-product of rogue technology: Terry's mother, and Terry herself, had been exposed to the fallout of atomic bomb tests in the 1950s. As it interweaves these narratives of dying and accommodation, Refuge transforms tragedy into a document of renewal and spiritual grace, resulting in a work that has become a classic.

"As an Indigenous scholar researching the history and archaeology of his own tribe, Tsim D. Schneider provides a unique and timely contribution to the growing field of Indigenous archaeology and offers a new perspective on the primary role and relevance of Indigenous places and homelands in the study of colonial encounters"--

The law on the "cities of refuge" contained in Numbers 35:9-34 is almost universally seen as a simple repetition of legal content that is basically already present in the legislation of other biblical books. Francesco Cocco demonstrates that we find ourselves here before a case of reformulation instead of simple repetition, the implications of which are extremely interesting for the understanding of biblical penal legislation. In this particular fragment, it exhibits traces of modernity so surprising as to be as good as the defence of civil liberties in the legal systems currently in force in the majority of democratic states. The author's enquiry takes its starting point and develops, therefore, from the novel contribution which the legislation in Numbers 35:9-34 confers on the entire biblical law of a penal character. --

Written by scholars and practitioners, this work consists of 20 multidisciplinary chapters addressing the law, policy and management aspects of the problem of places of refuge for ships in need of assistance. Specific chapters focus on the experiences and approaches of Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, United Kingdom and United States.