A Man of Good Hope

There is none so honest and sober like a Jonny Steinberg book. A Man of Good Hope did not disappoint, in fact it was a welcoming chance to see myself as part of a community once on the receiving end of the cruel Apartheid system and later complicit and a silent spectator to the senseless Xenophobic attacks by South Africans on African foreign nationals. I never felt more convinced - (albeit in an idealistic naive way) - that Africa should be a country and not a continent. The author's account of Asad's story is a powerful narration and may be a contender for many literature awards.The story is of Asad, the Somalian young man forced from his home on a journey to escape poverty, suffering and perhaps violent death through various countries enroute to Cape Town. The Somalia that he describes, gives the reader a clear understanding of the culture, politics and economic realities in Somalia. Asad begins his story when he is a witness his mother's brutal murder. He tells the story of the a Somalia gripped in power struggles, violence and poverty and where families have been destroyed, leaving in its wake, orphan children to fend for themselves.Asad's flight from Somalia is fraught with danger and the unknown - leaving the reader at times with a bitter taste - when you recognise the opportunistic scavengers at border posts and who calls themselves "smugglers". The journey through many borders, to South Africa gives one an idea of the difficulties refugees experience in their desperation to find "safe places". The refugee is vulnerable and easily exploited.Every stretch of this journey pays tribute to Asad's amazing and consistent Hope - attesting to the title A Man of Good Hope.Many South African's became silent witnesses as the other half seemed to have lost their minds in the xenophobic attacks. For a long time since 2008 and 2010, I have tried to make sense of these senseless attacks and never have I read a clearer, considerate view then the one Jonny Steinberg offers "Perversely xenophobia is a product of citizenship, the claiming of a new birth right. Finally, we belong here, and that means that you do not. Some say that the perversion runs deep, that black South Africans are re-enacting the rules of the old apartheid state. Apartheid, after all, was an endless system of measuring and categorising. All human beings had to be sorted into those who belonged in South Africa's cities and who did not. Behind this frenetic sorting lay a persistent fear: that the cities were too full, too dangerous, that there were always people walking the streets who did not belong. Everyone must thus be measured and counted and put in his allotted place, for if all were to merge into an indistinguishable mass there would be no control" .I wonder how long and how many generations later will this wound be healed or would be simply evolve into forming other ways of "measuring and sorting" each other as a people? Sadly, this human behaviour is not limited to South Africans, but all over the world today, we are witnesses to conflict, violence, wars and genocides which at some point had begun with the herd mentality of measuring, sorting and excluding.Ultimately, Asad takes responsibility for his life, and never throughout the book do I sense that he thinks of himself as a victim of circumstances, mainly because he chooses not to see himself as such "For the first time I saw that my life was a series of decisions. I saw that each decision decided who I was going to be from now on. That is a big realisation, brother. I felt dizzy and had to sit down. It is the sort of realisation that can make you fall over".I enjoyed reading the book because it stimulated discussion with others, but mostly it forced me to re-examine many pre-conceived thoughts about life in general, reminding me that we all have a common reason for being - The author says "At the back of all of our thought s and actions, I think, stands an image of a completed life, a sense of who we will have been at the moment of our deaths." There is none so honest and sober like a Jonny Steinberg book. A Man of Good Hope did not disappoint, in fact it was a welcoming chance to see myself as part of a community once on the receiving end of the cruel Apartheid system and later complicit and a silent spectator to the senseless Xenophobic attacks by South Africans on African foreign nationals. I never felt more convinced - (albeit in a idealistic naieve way) - that Africa should be a country and not a continent. The author's account of Asad's story is a powerful narration and may be a contender for many literature awards.The story is of Asad, the Somalian young man forced from his home on a journey to escape poverty, suffering and perhaps violent death through various countries enroute to Cape Town. The Somalia he describes gives the reader a clear understanding of the culture, politics and economic realities in Somalia. Asad begins his story when he witness his mother's brutal murder. He tells the story of the a Somalia gripped in power struggles, violence and poverty and where families have been destroyed, leaving in it's wake orphan children to fend for themselves.Asad's flight from Somalia is fraught with danger and the unknown - leaving the reader at times with a bitter taste - when you recognise the opportunistic scavengers at border posts and who calls themselves "smugglers". The journey through many borders enroute to South Africa gives one an idea of the difficulties refugees experience in their desparation to find "safe places". The refugee is vulnerable and easily exploited.Every stretch of this journey pays tribute to Asad's amazing and consistant Hope - attesting to the title A Man of Good Hope.Many South African's became silent witnesses as the other half seemed to have lost their minds in the xenophobic attacks. For a long time since 2008 and 2010, I have tried to make sense of these senseless attacks and never have I read a clearer, considerate view then the one Jonny Steinberg offers "Perversely xenophobia is a product of citizenship, the claiming of a new birthright. Finally, we belong here, and that means that you do not. Some say that he perversion runs deep, that black South Africans are re-enacting the rules of the old apartheid state. Apartheid, after all, was an endless sytem of measuring and categorising. All human being had to be sorted into those who belonged in South Africa's cities and who did not. Behind this frenetic sorting lay a persistent fear: that the cities were too full, too dangerous, that there were always people walking the streets who did not belong. Everyone must thus be measured and counted and put in his allotted place, for if all were to merge into an indistinguishable mass there would be no control" .I wonder how long and how many generations later will this wound be healed or would be simply evolve into forming other ways of "measuring and sorting" each other? Sadly, this human behaviour is not limited to South Africans, but all over the world today, we are witnesses to conflict, violence, wars and genocides which at some point had begun with the herd mentality of measuring, sorting and excluding.Ultimately, Asad takes responsibility for his life, and never throughout the book do I feel that he is a victim of his circumstances, mainly because he chooses not to see himself as such "For the first time I saw that my life was a series of decisions. I saw that each decision decided who I was going to be from now on. That is a big realisation, brother. I felt dizzy and had to sit down. It is the sort of realisation that can make you fall over".I enjoyed reading the book because it stimulated discussion with others, but mostly it forced me to re-examine many pre-conceived thoughts about life in general, reminding me that we all have a common reason for being - The author says "At the back of all of our thoughts and actions, I think, stands an image of a completed life, a sense of who we will have been at the moment of our deaths."

Jonny Steinberg draw me into the tragic story of a boy from Somalia and Africa. From the outset his beautiful writing skills kept me locked in. As an African and one who lived through Apartheid, its demise and then the exciting post-Apartheid period I was attracted to this book in order to personally and 'safely' experience the xenophobic attacks against Somalians and violence of my own South Africa. This booked allowed me to better understand how and why 'the Men of Good Hope' came down to South Africa. It gave me an insight into the Somalian story back home in their country, their amazing sense of community and also their own tragedy and destruction. I also wanted to gain a better insight into how colonisation and racism had played its role once again in mutilating Africa. I was provided an insightful glimpse into our own democratic evolution and why it had failed these people and itself. As a 'white' South African in particular I appreciated all the insights provided by Jonny Steinberg but mostly just his uncanny ability to tell a story.

As a white South African, I lived through the attacks on foreign nationals happening within the city I lived. I assisted with food aid for a few days in one of the tented camps, but I never allowed it to get too personal.This book is the story of the eyes that gleamed back at me as I stood dishing out 'Pap & Wors' to a long line of hungry, angry, broken people. It is the story I was too afraid to ask, or too ashamed to acknowledge.Jonny did a hauntingly good job writing this book. The places are vividly described, and the characters come to life as if they had lived through your very own memory.It is a sad but accurate tail of so many refugees who live in this country. It is a story I wish never repeats, but is almost guaranteed to be happening to many others right now on African soil.

I was reminded of these words, attributed to the late Nelson Mandela when reading the story of Asad... It is a story of surviving in spite unimaginable odds - its the story of kind people and cruel people and people in whose narrow little worlds there simply isn't space for the 'other' and the 'different' and the 'not us' people... But the true charm of this story is in the telling of it : well done Jonny - your humble honesty and unapologetic telling of the story as it unfolded in front of you, is unique - it takes a special kind of person to tell a story without giving in to the temptation to express your opinion - to colour an event with your perspective. Its not a easy read - but then, it was not an easy or comfortable story to tell...

A book that strikes the heart and brings to the fore the immense difficulties that refugees endure in Africa in their quest for peace and security. The fact that the protagonist, together with millions of others, chose South Africa as the place to find these qualities of life has especial resonance and irony, given the disgraceful xenophobic violence wracking the country at present - triggered by, of all people, the Zulu king.The author gets into the being of the "man of good hope" and quotes him extensively, so one gets the impression of being in Asad's presence.Would that the mobs running amok at present throughout South Africa had the sensitivity to read and digest this moving account.

This book demonstrates the shear determination of an African to survive no matter what. Sometimes lost to the white western eye is the innovative skills in apparently uneducated people to create wealth out of nothing and against all odds. This is a "must read" for all South Africans. What must also be understood and not missed is the fact of the leaky borders of a South Africa and the corrupt officials that extract huge benefit from these unfortunate victims of conflict on the continent.

This a staggeringly good book. A brilliant reflection on the meaning of life, filtered through the story of one man's single-minded and unflinching search for a better life. This account opens up debates about the Political (globalisation, migration, African politics, social inequality), the Social (xenophobia, the Muslim faith and African family networks) and the Personal (love, loyalty, marriage, friendship, determination in impossibly difficult settings).The author is admirably frank about the complex ethical issues at stake in the relationship between the privileged researcher and the ambivalent research subject. The book illustrates, with often agonising clarity, both (I) Asad's willingness to engage, but also (ii) his reluctance, as he strove to balance the personal and financial rewards against the pain and immense emotional effort of his participation.Parts of the book are over burdened with unnecessary detail and perhaps too many historical facts. It could have done with a good edit. Having said that, these parts were easy to skim, and by no means detract from the overall rewards for the reader. And what was missing was more factual background about xenophobia in South Africa, which would have scaffolded parts of the story a bit better.I finished reading this some weeks ago, but am still carrying the weight of it, the pendulum of hope and despair, and a profound sense of awe at the stubborn beauty of the spirit which drives some exceptional people to 'keep on keeping on' and to refuse to relinquish hope that a better life is possible.

I found this book absolutely fascinating. I learned a lot about the historical and "current-historical" background of Somalian society and about what's going on in other parts of Africa, but most importantly I was learning about it as from the viewpoint of someone very heavily impacted by what was happening, and struggling with very limited options. It's a very different viewpoint from what might be given by a historian or journalist safely ensconced in a comfortable in Europe or the USA. At the same time it is, in the end, a positive and hopeful story because Asad never gives up. Jonny Steinberg's research approach seemed very respectful and empathic, and I felt grateful both to him and to Asad for sharing his story.

Fascinating book very well written without bias. fabulous example of social and cultural diaora. Unlike other reviewers I could not warm to Asad as he left a relatively happy life in Addis and believed it to br his right to move to any country he wished yet showed no interest in becoming part of the local community other than the Somali network. He showed little understanding regarding why The Xhosa resented him. He seemed affronted when people tried to rip him off regarding visas yet the irony was that most of his travel movements where illegal. A great insight into xenophobia and refugees. Would love to read more from this author.

3 because I don't know how much of the book I believe3 because I felt the author was patronising3 because it was stretching and duplicating points I felt to in order to fill awkward breaksThe good parts:It gets better the more you read. The author has a great way of writing and uses words in a way I wish I could.I was hooked into the book because of his story.I'm a Somali and I've been sheltered from these stories, from the toughness of growing up there and the tough journey's people make to get out. I have more respect for him than I do for any millionaire.

Jonny is a truly gifted writer. I felt Asad's pain and his loss, as well as his puzzlement at being treated badly in South Africa. I couldn't put this book down - a riveting read