Why Did I Not Die with My Family? offers an intimate and unflinching account of the so-called European refugee crisis, told first and foremost through the voices of the people who endured it. Refugees from Syria, Afghanistan, West Africa, and beyond describe in their own words the impossible conditions that drove them from home, the perilous journeys across the sea, the desert, and along the Balkan route, and the harsh reality of confinement in camps on the Aegean islands. Their testimonies speak of fear and violence, but also of dignity, humor, friendship, and resilience in the face of systemic neglect.
Alongside these personal narratives runs a critical analysis of how European governments responded to the largest forced displacements since World War II. Instead of offering safe passage or honoring international obligations, the EU pursued a so-called Fortress Europe policy whose primary aim was deterrence. Overcrowded camps where asylum seekers were detained in inhumane conditions for years, violent pushbacks at sea and on land, the criminalization of sea rescue, and agreements with countries with dubious human rights records: All were designed to keep people out. These policies, framed using terms like “security” and “national sovereignty,” often amounted to violations of refugee and human rights law.
By weaving lived experience together with historical and political context, the book exposes the deeper legacies of colonialism, inequality, and global extraction that continue to drive displacement. It challenges the comforting myths of European humanitarianism, revealing how wealth and security are preserved at the expense of human lives. At the same time, the book insists on hope: the persistence of solidarity networks, the courage of refugees themselves, and the possibility of a more just response. It is both a record of suffering and a call to remember that behind every statistic lies a human story.
