Dhananjaya “Danny” Rajaratnam

Dhananjaya “Danny” Rajaratnam is the novel’s protagonist. He is originally from Sri Lanka, and he is Tamil, which is an ethnic group native to Sri Lanka. When Danny was in his twenties, his father compelled him to travel to Dubai and work there to make some money. Danny worked in a hotel for a year before returning to Sri Lanka. Upon arriving, Danny was detained by Sri Lankan officials, who suspected Danny of being part of a Tamil rebel group. Danny was detained and interrogated for a long time. The officials even resorted to physical torture, such as burning him with a cigarette. Danny was released, but he feared for his life, both from the government and from the decreasing stability of the country.

Danny decided to relocate to Australia with a student visa. Once there, he was denied protected refugee status by the Australian...