Why a Booktrail?
The refugee crisis from an African point of view
The Gurugu Pledge
What you need to know before your trail
By Night the Mountain Burns. On Mount Gurugu, overlooking the Spanish enclave of Melilla on the North African coast, desperate migrants gather before attempting to scale the city’s walls and gain asylum on European soil. Inspired by first-hand accounts, Juan Tomás Ávila Laurel has written an urgent novel, by turns funny and sad, bringing a distinctly African perspective to a major issue of our time.
Travel Guide
Africa – Mount Gurugu
The mountain looks over the Spanish enclave of Melilla and acts as the eyes and ears of the African experience of immigration. The men sit by a campfire there and share their personal stories as each one has a unique story to tell. A different background, different religions and belief systems, but all with a personal goal of getting to Europe.
Spain – Melilla
The Spanish enclave which sits in the distance calls to them like a beacon of hope. They hope to get here as by reaching Spain, they of course, reach Europe and freedom.
Booktrailer Review
Susan: @thebooktrailer
This is quite a unique novel, but in fact it’s more than a novel as the author himself, Juan Laurel, immigrated to Spain in search of a new life when he came up against the government in Equatorial Guinea. His personal views and way of writing must surely touch upon the emotions and situations that no one apart from those involved could ever realise. We’ve all heard the stories of asylum seekers but when you get the voice of one of them raw like this, it’s quite moving if not difficult to read at times. The men in the story might all share the same fate but the group of immigrants is very divisive which causes its own set of problems, also outlined in the novel. They do all however share the fear of what their new homeland will be like. This is a story where the journey is more important that the destination and looking at it through African eyes was a touching and emotional experience.
Booktrail Boarding Pass: The Gurugu Pledge
Destination: Morocco, Melilla Author/Guide: Juan-Tomas Avila Departure Time: 2000s
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