Flight and Freedom: Stories of Escape to Canada by Ratna Omidvar and Dana Wagner is a non-fiction collection of 30 refugee stories, featuring people who came to Canada as far back as 1814, to as recently as October 2013. They are true and gripping stories of escape. The book includes a closing chapter by Peter Showler, lawyer and former chairperson of the Immigration and Refugee Board, to answer the question “Would they get in today?”

“We have to run — now.” A mother sweeps her children into her arms and treks for days to a safe country. Anwar Arkani’s mother used those words as their family, Rohingya Muslims, a persecuted minority in Burma, fled to Bangladesh in 1978. He was 11 and one of five children. But the urgent command — “we have to run, now” — is familiar to many refugees. After months or years living in fear and oppression, the single thought becomes: escape.
– Toronto Star

Flight and Freedom: Stories of Escape to Canada is the book containing a riveting collection of refugee experiences, written by Ratna Omidvar and Dana Wagner. The idea originated at the Maytree Foundation, where Omidvar was president until the end of the summer. Currently the book is undergoing a final edit and a publisher will soon be chosen to allow for an early 2015 release date. Carmel Kilkenny spoke with Dana Wagner about the project.
– Radio Canada International

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