The People Smuggler by Robin de Crespigny

This is the true story of Ali Al Jenabi, the eldest son of a middle class Iraqi family, raised while Saddam Hussein was in power. Ali's father was in the army but openly critical of Saddam. When he was sent  to Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad, Ali and his brother Ahmad had to support their large family by selling cigarettes at the market after school. Ali was always in danger of being sent to prison himself, either for failing to join the army or for his suspected opposition to Saddam.

After a long stint in Abu Ghraib, Ali worked in the resistance movement. This put his family in danger and they were all forced to flee to Iran. They then tried to find somewhere more permanent.

Ali eventually made it to Indonesia. He tried to get to Australia by boat, but he was cheated out of his money by a people smuggler. He decided that the only way to get his whole family to Australia was to organise his own boats and use the profit to pay for their passage. He was eventually captured by the Australian Federal Police and tried in Australia as a people smuggler.

This is not a happy story. It depicts the appalling reality many Iraqis and other refugees have faced. It shows the effect fear and poverty can have on people. Sometimes people risk their life for strangers and other times children turn their own parents over to the police.

The accounts of life in Abu Ghraib prison made me wonder how anyone survived. When they weren't  being tortured and beaten, the prisoners were forced to sleep on their sides, thirty to a cell, packed so close together no one could turn or get up. If they vomited or needed to defecate they had to do it where they were. Prisoners lived like this for years on end.

Some people call Ali Al Jenabi a saviour, the Oskar Schindler of Asia, others call him a criminal. Having read the book, I'll go with hero. Ali is currently living in Sydney but could be sent back to Iraq at any time. I hope the Australian government grants him permanent residency and soon.