Empathy: the ability to understand and share the feelings of another.  

The creative power of words to build empathy, and the power of empathy to make the world a better place.   Miranda McKearney

Here in New Zealand we are a long way from the troubles and conflicts that people face in war-torn lands, such as Syria. We can follow the news stories, but we can have little understanding of the hardship, fear and suffering experienced by those who have lived in desperate and terrifying conditions. Nor can we know what it is like to be part of a mass exodus from a besieged yet beloved homeland, and to start again, in a very different country among alien people. Some of us can meet refugees and talk with them about their experiences, but until we do how else can we become empathetic and put ourselves in other people’s shoes?

Neuroscience research shows that reading fiction helps people to develop empathy. Miranda McKearney, social entrepreneur and co-founder of the UK-based Reading Agency and the new start-up EmpathyLab, recently visited New Zealand to share her passion for how reading changes lives. She talked about research “which shows that when we read fiction, our identification with book characters enables us to empathise more readily in real life.” Writer Neil Gaiman has also spoken about how empathy grows when you read: “You get to feel things, visit places and worlds you would never otherwise know. You learn that everyone else out there is a 'me', as well. You’re being someone else, and when you return to your own world, you’re going to be slightly changed.”

Refugees’ stories are often told most powerfully in fiction written for children. These stories can feature memorable young characters: the innocent victims of corrupt or violent regimes, or those who have lost their homes and families and have to travel over unknown territories on their own. Many of us will remember classic historical children’s novels, such as I am David by Anne Holm and The Silver Sword by Ian Serraillier, or Judith Kerr’s semi-autobiographical novel When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit, all set in Europe, and read aloud in classrooms for a generation. Those books made the horrors of the twentieth century real and personal. Sadly, the world has not improved; as the UNHCR reported last year, there are now more displaced people than during World War II, and over half of those refugees are children. 

Many contemporary children’s writers have responded to the plight of 21st-century refugees and often base their work on true stories. Below are some recent stories written to help today’s children gain empathy for refugees; they range from picture books to novels. They can be read by children and adults alike.

Azzi in Between. Sarah Garland.

A picture book, which tells Azzi’s story, of leaving her homeland and her struggle to learn English and make friends at school.

Teacup. Rebecca Young. Illustrated by Matt Ottley. 

An unnamed boy with a boat and a backpack leaves his home to find another.

The Island. Armin Greder. 

A dark tale that tackles xenophobia head on.

Flight.Nadia Wheatley. Illustrated by Armin Greder. 

A tale of escape to a refugee camp; the images bring to mind the story of Mary and Joseph escaping to Egypt with their baby.

Ali’s Story: A Real-life Account of His Journey from Afghanistan. Retold by Maldonado Salvador.

Part of a new non-fiction series of picture books; each tells the story of a child escaping conflict in their home countries.

Home and Away. John Marsden. 

A fictional war begins in Australia and a boy’s family must escape by boat. The children face death and detention camps.

On Two Feet and Wings: One Boy’s Amazing True Story of Survival. Abbas Kazerooni. 

The author’s own experience of being forced, at the age of ten, to leave his parents and friends to escape Tehran.

Little Cricket. Jackie Brown. 

Kia, a Vietnamese girl, escapes with her Hmong family to America.

Refugee: The Diary of Ali Ismail. Alan Sunderland. 

The fictional diary of an Afghan boy held in a detention camp in Australia.

Mahtab’s Story. Libby Gleeson. 

Also set in an Australian detention centre.

Zafir. Prue Mason. 

Set in Syria, when the present conflict was beginning to escalate.