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TheLondoncharityFreedomfromTorture
operatesone of thelargest andmost-respected
forensictorturedocumentationservicesinthe
world.In a2016report calledProvingTorture,
its doctorsandresearcherswrotethatsome
UKasylumcaseworkers“applythe incorrect
standardof prooftothe claimant’saccount”.
Forrefugees,the lawrequires a“reasonably
likely” standardof proof. Instead,researchers
foundofficerswere usingsomethingcloserto
thecriminalstandard“beyondreasonable
doubt”,rejectingcasesonthe existenceof
remoteotherpossibilities. “They’re listening
forasingleinconsistency,”saidKatyRobjant,
FFT’s directorof nationalclinicalservices.
“Theyare trainedtodisbelieve.”
Ispoke withaformerUKHomeOffice
presentingofficer,aBritishwomanof Middle-
Easterndescent,about howshe listenedto
stories. Herjob,from2 014 to 2016,was to argue
casesonbehalfof TheresaMay’s HomeOffice.
“Noone questionedwhatourjobwas:it wasto
catchinconsistencies. Thatwasourtraining...
‘Oh, yousaid6pmhereand 7pmthere.’”
Iasked if sheever triedtoimagineherway
intothestories. It wasn’t herjob,she said.
“I foundmyselfsaying,‘He’s lying,he’s
lying...’IknowfromwhereIlivethatsham
marriagesare happening.Menfrom
AfghanistanandPakistanmarryingwomen
fromPoland,Lithuania,Romania.There’s
awholesystem.Thereare accountants,
caseworkers,solicitors,landlords.Sowhen
I’matworkandseethese individuals,Iknow
whatto ask.Iknowthey’re lying.Manyof
these guysaren’tthe brightest... Theyget
stuckin theirownweb of lies.”
Nowandthen,however,despitehertraining,
astoryrousedher imaginationandshewas
transported, thetruthof asituationapparent
onlytoher.Once,acaseworker refusedto
believe thatatwo-year romancecouldhappen
in thestreets,incars,leavingno trace:nota
singlephoto,noteor text.“ButIknowthat
in Afghanistanyouhavetohaverelationships
in secret,becauseif ourparentsfoundout,
they’dkill us.” So,she convincedthe other
officer.Wouldan Englishpersonhave triedthenext willbringmejoy. Idon’t expectone
storyto fulfilmyeveryliteraryneed.
Ireadliteraturethe wayMarcdolesout
capital:withhisimaginationon,readyto
believe,becausehe expects halfhisvisionaries
to flop.Hesaves hisscrutinyfortheportfolio.
Icareabout myintellectualresourcesashe
does hisfinancialones, butcomfortwithrisk
enrichesusboth.
Whydon’t weapplysuchwisdombeyond
ourplacesofabundance?In thewest,weteach
ourchildren howtobebelieved–wecodify
truthforthem.Wetellthemthattheycan fail
andtryagain,wipeout theirshortcomingsand
becomecredible.Butrefugees cometo us with
need andwetellthemthatthereisnoroomfor
humanerror,becausethereisnoroomfor the
flawedhuman.Theirstoriesare shornof trivial
oddities, stripped of colour,removedfromthe
fivesenses–onlythe progressionandthelogic
matters.Any discrepancywill damnthem,
so it’sbetternotto transportthelistener.
In 2017,inarefugeecampin Greece, Imet
an Isfahanitailorwhowantedtodesignhis
ownclothes. Imet apsychologistfromTehran
withan ideaforafascinatingpaper.Imet a
contractorwhosketchedbuildings.Theyhad
loftygoalsandtheytoldthemto me.AfterI
left,theyhid these aspirations.Eachsatacross
fromatired bureaucratwholistenedtoa
rehearsedseriesofeventsandticked boxes,
waitingforafumble.
Soon after,Ireadthatthebodiesofmigrant
fatherOscarAlbertoMartínezRamírez andhis
23-month-olddaughter,Valeria,were foundin
theRioGrande.Then39 Vietnamese refugees
diedinthe backof alorryin Essex. Everyone
listened. These storieshappen andwereadily
believe them,mournthemandsharethem,
becauseall riskandpromisearegone.Thereis
no morespectrumof hopeand fear,promise
andneed.Theirstoriesare finishednow,
readytobeinscribed in theliteratureweread
generouslyand believe.DinaNayeri is the authorof “The Ungrateful
Refugee”(2019) and is writinganew non-fiction
bookaboutwhogets believedto understandAfghaniyouthcodesand
cultures?Absolutelynot,she said.You’dhave
to teleportto Afghanistanto understand.Afewdaysago,IspoketoMarc,aMcKinsey
friendturnedangelinvestor.Iasked himhowhe
listenedtoentrepreneurs.Hetalked aboutthe
grandioseslaughterhouseCEO,the visionary
Broadwayproducerwhosoldhimon twoshows,
thefriendsandfamilywho trustedhimwhenhe
invitedthemto joinhim.As he spoke, Irealised
hiseveryinvestmentdecisionwasbasedon
believingin somebody, nottheirstoriesor
business plans.Onlypeople.Whydidthisseem
so rightto me?As awriter,Iknowthatgood
fictionis populatedwithcomplex, surprising
characters.Maybe thesameis trueof good
investments.“Well, thatanddiversification,”
saidMarc. “Besurewhatevermoneyyou put
in, you’re willingto loseit all.”
Thismakes sensetoo. Agoodinvestmentis
aboutfindingopportunitiesbeforeit’sobvious
to everyoneelse.So,you betonadozenand
hopeone pays off,freeingyourselffromthe
constantcalculationof eachindividual’splace
on thespectrum:promiseor need.Aslongas
your portfoliois diverse,youcan gambleon
alongshot–you canhope.
DoIlistento otherswiththismuchhope
andexcitement?Or do Ilistenwithmyguard
up becauseI’mafraidof awrong call?
Whenmydaughtertellsstories, Idig for
signsof whathashappenedatschool. Iam
afraidof asinglewrongcallandthatfear
momentarilyoutweighsmyhopes.
As ayoungconsultant,barelyout of college,
Ilistenedtoclientstoriesfor inefficienciesI
couldfix so Icouldprovemyselfastar.Icouldn’t
stomachasinglemistake.
WhenIreadnovels,though,Iamgenerous,
lookingforsubtext,for artfullanguage.
Iwantto be moved, surprised, as Iwas in my
grandfather’sgarden.ThoughIhaveafinely
tunedbullshitdetector,inthe end,I’mitching
to believe.WhenI’mreading,mymotivesare
pureand empathetic.I’mcomfortabledelving
intootherpeople’s mourning,humiliation,
need.Iacceptthatonebookwill drainme,