Asylum. It is, according to the Oxford Dictionary, either “the protection granted by a state to someone who has left their native country as a political refugee” or “an institution for the care of the mentally ill”. Both definitions play their part in the remarkable and original Tale of Ahmed, written in verse and illustrated by Henry Cockburn. Tale of Ahmed is a fictional account of how a 14-year-old Afghan boy sets out from Kabul, after his father has been killed by a warlord, aiming to seek asylum in Britain. By land and sea, through Iran, Turkey, Greece, Italy and France, Ahmed and an ever-changing crew of fellow refugees experience all the dangers and disappointments of the road, but also the highs of optimism and comradeship.
