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Martin Petersen

Exit Sugartown

Published 2014 by Høst&Søn, publishers, part of Rosinante&Co.

Exit sugartown

The novel Exit Sugartown tells the story of 17-year-old Dawn’s dramatic fight for survival and a decent life, and it offers the reader a look inside some of the people from “the poor world” who enter our countries to get a better life. Or simply to save their lives.

Where is all this taking place? She won’t tell us. The story is “told” by “Dawn” (which isn’t her real name) and out of fear for authorities and others, all names of characters and places are anonymized. And could therefore be anyone, anywhere.

The young migrants of today who set off on life threatening journeys, who throw themselves in the arms of traffickers and get tempted to enter prostitution or crime, have the same dreams of a good life as European teenagers: Friendship, love, having fun, education, nice stuff to eat, a beer on Saturdays, a job they like, and the prospect of a good family life.

SAXO

Migrants? You can meet them down at the corner ...

Exit Sugartown is based on research in Malta and London and on studying journalist accounts from the UK, France and Italy. Almost every week insanely overcrowded boats loaded with migrants arrive at the Italian island of Lampedusa near Tunisia. Every month some of these boats do not arrive …

The real “Dawns” and “Didis”, though, you won’t find solely far south, you can meet them right down the corner: The dishwasher girl in the Chinese Take-away, the guy who was allowed to join the football training, sent here as he was by his parents, without passport, the au pair on the playground with the kids of some wealthy family, and, if you happen to be early at school one morning: The woman who does the cleaning.

It’s important to study and discuss migration in the school of today.

Read the novel and discuss how it describes the conditions and dreams of the characters, seach about migration in your home country and the rest of Europe, read non-fiction and newspapers, debate the issue with each other and do dare walking through the back-door of your China-joint and have a chat with the Dishwasher there.

Teaching, meeting up, materials:

Watch this short video by Maria Feck from Hamburg –

– and learn what a group of African migrants, now in Hamburg, think and say.

Teaching, meeting up, materials:

After finishing “Exit Sugartown” I have been on Lampedusa myself to see and hear how the situation is regarded from there, and as a research for a possible follow-up-novel for “Exit Sugartown”.

I do visit for example schools in order to tell about and show photos about migration in Europa and how this novel was made. This might inspire to debating and discussing.

If you happen to find supplementary sources, texts or movies, you are very welcome to email me links and ideas in order to upload them here..

Links:

Teaching:

http://www.redcross.org.uk/What-we-do/Teaching-resources/Lesson-plans/Migration

In the newspapers:

http://www.theguardian.com/uk/immigration

Non-fiction:

3 very important books by journalist Hsiao-Hung Pai:

http://www.amazon.com/Hsiao-Hung-Pai/e/B0063IXXWU

Fiction:

My youth novel “Lille fisk” (Little Fish”)

  • on the Morecambe tragedy. (So far not translated).

Films:

“Like a man on earth”, trailer english subtitles:

http://vimeo.com/22302038

“Like a man on earth”, full version: (Italian subtitles) Very impressive

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icV7wzHwhNQ

“Behind this sea”, trailer, English subtitles.

https://shootingpeople.org/watch/99576/behind-this-sea

“Lampedusa in Hamburg” – a short video by Maria Feck.

http://vimeo.com/87879781

Homepage

Jeg har skrevet 8 romaner og 1 digtsamling for voksne – og 11 romaner for børn og unge, bl.a. de prisbelønnede ‘Med ilden i ryggen’, ‘Adams fest’ og ‘Exit Sugartown’.

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© Martin Marius – 2023 ⁄⁄ Af: Aveo – web&marketing

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Historikerne om Sven E

En af danmarkshistoriens store kongeskikkelser

Overordentlig lærd og dannet


Sven Estridsen er den første danske regent der er blevet interviewet til en bog, nemlig Adam af Bremens “Den hammaburgiske kirkes historie”. Adam skriver bl.a:

“Jeg besluttede derfor at opsøge ham og blev – ligesom alle andre – meget venligt modtaget. Fra hans mund har jeg hørt meget af det, jeg har samlet i denne bog. Han var nemlig en overordentlig lærd og dannet mand og velvilligt indstillet over for fremmede …”

Den tyske historiker er dog ikke ukritisk:

“Den berømte danskerkonge havde kun problemer med afholdenhed i forbindelse med kvinder – det skyldes dog ikke, tror jeg, hans egen vilje, men en medfødt last hos dette folk. Det tog ham vor herr ærkebiskop meget ilde op, og han lod gennem udsendinge den vanvittige konge kraftigt kritisere for denne syndige handling og truede ham til sidst med bandlysningens våben, hvis ikke han kom til fornuft igen.”(ca. 1072, oversat fra latin af Allan A. Lund)

Overlegen personlighed – uden evne til at sejre

Historikeren Hal Koch skriver:

“Kong Sven er sikkert en af de dygtigste og betydeligste mænd, som har båret kongenavn i Danmark… Krigerisk dygtighed og evne til at sejre synes han ganske vist ikke at have siddet inde med … Men han havde andre egenskaber, der gjorde ham egnet til hersker … en overlegen personlighed …

Skarpt brød han med sine forgængeres opfattelse af kongens stilling som en fører på vikingetog, opgav i hvert fald foreløbig den engelske erobringspolitik og stræbte i stedet efter at udforme den danske kongemagt til en for hele landet gældende øvrighed, hvorved riget gradvist omdannedes til en virkelig stat i europæisk forstand.” (1941)

Et janushoved

Historikeren Aksel E. Christensen sammenfatter sin beskrivelse af Sven Estridsen således:

“Kong Svends personlighed træder klarere frem fra kilderne end de fleste andre danske konger fra ældre middelalder. Han antager form af en Janus-skikkelse, idet man kan aflæse en ejendommelig dobbelthed i hans fysiognomi og fremtræden. Man ser ham snart med et ansigt, der vender bagud og viser os høvdingen fra vikingetogenes tid, snart med et fremadrettet ansigt, som det passer sig for regenten, der leder sit folk og sit rige ind i det vesteuropæiske kulturfællesskab under Romerkirkens åndelige førerskab.” (1977)

Sendte han virkelig paven en fugl?

Historikeren, Aksel E. Christensen skriver i “Danmarks Historie”, bind 1: “I alle tilfælde opnåede kong Svend intet til gengæld for den tamme og talende fugl, der ifølge (pave) Leo IX’s “Vita” indgik i en kongelig gave til paven; men notitsen herom godtgør, at den danske konge havde opnået direkte kontakt med pavekurien.”

Ebbe Kløvedal Reich oplyser i en af sine danmarkskrøniker at fuglen, en dompap, kunne sige “Ad papam, ad papam.” (“Til paven, til paven!”)

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