Isvahn the Illegal Iraqi Immigrant
A Cautionary Tale
by Christop Booth


This is Isvahn. He is six. He lives in Mosül with his mummy and daddy and his brothers and sisters.
Isvahn’s mummy and daddy are worried because the Americans are coming.
‘We have to leave,’ says Isvahn’s daddy.
Isvahn and his family catch the train to Umm Qasr, where a Nice Man lets them onto his boat.
‘Where are we going?’ Isvahn asks his mummy.
‘To a Better Place,’ says Isvahn’s mummy, ‘a long, long way from the Americans.’
Isvahn and his family cross the sea in the Nice Man’s boat. There are lots of other people on the boat. There are also lots of rats. Are they scared of the Americans too? Isvahn thinks they’re probably more scared of him, because it’s almost lunchtime.
‘We are nearly in the Better Place,’ says Isvahn’s mummy.
‘Oh good,’ says Isvahn. ‘Are there any rats there?’
The Australian Navy launch a missile at the Nice Man’s boat, which sinks to the bottom of the Arafura Sea.
‘Is this the Better Place?’ Isvahn tries to ask his mummy, but his mouth is full of water.