Rating: 10/10

This book is in my top 10 reads of 2022.

The Naked Don't Fear the Water has got to be one of the most heartwrenching books that I've ever read (right after The Kite Runner & A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini).

Matthieu Aikins, a Canadian-American Journalist that was reporting the war in Afghanistan, was inspired to write this story after his good friend, Omar, an Afghan refugee, told him he was leaving Afghanistan for Europe in search of a better life.

In order to join Omar (a pseudonym), Matthieu had to disguise himself as an Afghan named Habib. The two took the route most refugees in the area frequented: Afghanistan to Turkey, Turkey to Greece, and finally from Greece to their desired European country.

The Naked Don't Fear the Water isn't a book about Aikin's journey; it's a book about the story of Omar and the millions of other refugees that risked facing death in the process of searching for a new life.

**After being tricked by a smuggler in Turkey, Aikins and Omar (against their will) end up in Lesbos at Camp Moria, which is infamous for its poor living conditions, overpopulation, and recent fire riots.

During their journey, Aikins uncovers the horrors that he & many refugees seeking asylum have had to face: long days of walking & waiting; lack of proper food, water, & sanitation; thieves & scammers trying to exploit their helplessness; poor living conditions in refugee camps, that are unsafe and unsanitary; fake documents, racism, discrimination, s*xual assault, manipulation, and finally, the deadly risk of crossing the Mediterranean Sea from Turkey to Greece.

Furthermore, Aikins also goes into depth to explain the political, economic, and social situation of each country that he and Omar migrated to. This helped put into context the hostility and barriers that many refugees faced, which in turn made their journey a lot more difficult than Aikins had anticipated

Overall an incredible read that I think everyone should read at least once in their life.