6,000 Miles to Freedom: Two Boys and Their Flight from the Taliban
Written by Stephane Marchetti
and Hannah Chute (Translator)
Illustrated by Cyrille Pomes
Published by Graphic Mundi - Psu Press
Two boys. One war-torn country. A world away, freedom.
Twelve-year-old Adel and his cousin Shafi try to lead a normal childhood in war-torn Afghanistan. But when Adel’s father dies, everything changes. His uncle, a religious fundamentalist, sends Adel to study at a madrasa run by militants, where he is trained as an insurgent and chosen to carry out a suicide bombing. When his moment of martyrdom arrives, Adel’s detonator fails, and he is forced to flee the country or risk being killed by the Afghan police or the Taliban themselves.
Together, Adel and Shafi set out to seek refuge in England, where Shafi’s brother now lives and where a new life awaits. With that hope, the two boys begin the perilous journey of 6,000 miles to freedom, crossing mountains on foot and squeezing into crowded trucks with other refugees. The two become separated only to find each other again in the Calais Jungle encampment, their last, hellish stop.
Based on numerous testimonies from refugee youth, this poignant, timely, and well-documented story brings to life the traumatic experiences faced by Afghan children fleeing war and poverty, as well as the isolation they often feel as refugees in the West.
Primary ISBN: 9781637790212
Publication Date: May 2022
Available As: Hardcover
Graphic Novel, Young Adult , Age 16 or older
Community Represented: Afghan/Afghan American
Themes: Graphic Novel, Human Rights Violation: Child Soldiers, Loss of Childhood, Refugee Camp, Refugee Journey, Refugee: Persecution, Refugee: War/Conflict, Religious Background: Muslim, Starred Review, Trauma & Healing, Unaccompanied Minors
Setting: Afghanistan, France (Calais)
Character’s New Arrival/New American Status: Refugee
Book Creator(s) Connection to the Community Represented: Written with Cultural Advisors
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