Drift, written by Caroline Bergvall, is a fictional novel that showcases the stories behind the background of the migrants who have had to leave behind everything they had ties within their native home to journey across the waters for a new place to settle in, however, only a few survived the journey in the end (Bergvall 71). Drift walks its readers through a series of events that ultimately portrays the cruelty shown from the lack of help that migrants often face throughout their journey in finding a better lifestyle. Drift tells the narrative of many migrants who had lost their lives at sea, trying to seek a better place of living. However, the details of the migrant’s journey on sea, highlights the lack of empathy that bystanders have towards a boat of lost migrants who are in need of aid to survive. Instead, these migrants are subjected to nature’s whims and have had nothing that they could possibly do but to be patient and to endure the harsh conditions that follow them throughout their journey. The migrants’ only chance at survival was to wait and in a way deceive themselves to keep holding onto hope, which is something that continues to dwindle as time passes. It is important that this story is told to bring awareness to the cruel laws and leadership that allow for this to happen.
Surrounded by nothing but water, it is the water that dictates who lives and who is kept undersea. Drift forms a critique on the governments who were not only aware of the refugee’s situation but had the ability to help - yet callously ignored the pleas of help from those in need solely based on where they came from. These narratives serve to address the uncertainty of a stable life that people would have had to be subjected to if they did not leave to find a better place to be in.