Ousman Umar

Real Rating: 3.25* of five

The Publisher Says: The inspiring true story of one man’s treacherous boyhood journey from a rural village in Ghana to the streets of Barcelona—and the path that led him home.

Ousman Umar is a shaman’s son born in a small village in Ghana. Though his mother died giving birth, he spent a contented childhood working the fields, setting traps in the jungle, and living off the land. Still, as strange and wondrous flying machines crisscrossed the skies overhead, show more Ousman dreamed of a different life. And so, when he was only twelve years old, he left his village and began what would be a five-year journey to Europe.

Every step of the way, as he traveled across the Sahara desert, through the daunting metropolises of Accra, Tripoli, Benghazi, and Casablanca, and over the Mediterranean Sea aboard a packed migrant dinghy, Ousman was handed off like merchandise by a loose network of smugglers and in the constant, foreboding company of “sinkers”: other migrants who found themselves penniless and alone on their way north, unable to continue onward or return home.

But on a path rife with violence, exploitation, and racism, Ousman also encountered friendship, generosity, and hope. North to Paradise is a visceral true story about the stark realities of life along the most dangerous migrant route across Africa; it is also a portrait of extraordinary resilience in the face of unimaginable challenges, the beauty of kindness in strangers, and the power of giving back.

I RECEIVED A COPY FROM THE AMAZON FIRST READS PROGRAM. THANK YOU.

My Review: The original Spanish-language title is Viaje al país de los blancos which literally translates to "trip to the country of white people."

It is both more accurate and better reflective of the experience that the author endured. In racist white countries like ours, or like Spain, we tend not to think much about the grit and determination it takes to leave your home, your family, your culture, in order to get more stuff...like food, medical care, consumer goods...in the teeth of gale-force headwinds of hate. I'm bitterly ashamed of all y'all who voted in 2024 for an increase in this reprehensible, cruel, and ultimately futile behavior, across the globe.

Amazon Crossing only wants $2.49 for a Kindle edition. Definitely well worth such small change for a short, good read. show less

“The desert is full of corpses, scattered among the dunes."

This nail-biting, engrossing memoir sweeps you away to Ghana and the illegal human smuggling route to Italy. The horrific brutality of the conditions that Ousman had to survive are apparent from the very first sentence, including one harrowing trek through the desert where only six of the forty-six migrants survived.

Ousman is born into a small tribal village in Ghana, where his father is the shaman. He loved his son enough to save show more his life, as children whose mothers die in childbirth are usually abandoned due to fear of a curse. Yet he lied to his son about who his mother was and struggled to have any sort of connection with the child he saved. Ousman grew up hearing fantastic tales about Europe, and he became determined to go there. At age twelve, he sets out, following the migrant route through Africa, the middle east, and finally, Europe.

The author uses a matter-of-fact tone to describe his circumstances, skimming over the emotions and exhaustion the circumstances must have created. Ousman bounces from job to job, barely surviving, at one point pausing for four years in Benghazi, but each time he gets a little cash, he takes a step closer to his destination. He finds and loses his friend Musa several times along the journey.

The devastation and horror of his circumstances along the route are balanced by his joy and accomplishments once he finally settles in Barcelona, Spain. This true story shed light on a struggle I knew little about: African migrants heading to Europe. It's a riveting read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. show less

This short memoir details Umar's journey overland through Africa to Libya and then onto Spain in a small boat. The hardship and cruelty he survives at the hands of smugglers is harrowing but alleviated by the rare and brief examples of human kindness he encounters.

Umar arrived in Spain in 2005, and I wonder what his reception would be today, given the attitudes towards migrants in Europe and the US now. As it was, he was able to find a job, go to school, get an MBA, and now runs an NGO show more providing computers to Ghanaian village schools. It's a good story, though the telling of it felt rushed.

3.5 stars show less

This is a short memoir about a boy‘s following rumors to a better life in the “Land of the Whites,” and his journey from Ghana to Spain. He doesn‘t know his actual age but when he undertook the trip he was probably between 13-17. Among 46 people abandoned in the Sahara by smugglers, he was 1 of 6 who survived walking 3 weeks out of the desert. He spent the most time in Libya trying to make enough money to make it to Europe, which he finally accomplished. Along the way he spent show more significant time in prison or detention camps, and was almost raped twice. Why did he go? Having no access to media & no education, he acted only on rumors. A skilled auto mechanic at a tender age, he believed he‘d be welcomed with open arms. He was not welcomed anywhere in Africa, and more often than not he was conned. He learned about racism in Libya and how women were poorly treated. But two women likely saved his life in Spain where he was allowed to stay but had no ability to understand how to get help, sleeping on the streets. One of the women and her husband adopted him! He got his master‘s degree & started his own non-profit to educate children in Ghana. He knew all the horror he suffered was because of a lack of education and access to the world and so he is giving back. This book helps explain what motivates refugees. show less