Alieu Khan, a former reporter and What's On columnist with the Daily Observer on April 25th, launched a book called 'Within a Year: An African Immigrant on the Aland Islands'. The book is the first true memoir of an immigrant on that island.

Åland Islands is a Swedish speaking autonomous region in Finland. It is a well known tourist destination and one of the most respected autonomous regions in the European Union. They have their own government and parliament that is responsible for managing their internal affairs.

Alieu moved to this island in April 2008 and it didn't take him long to be involved in community initiatives. He is a member of the island's multicultural society, Red Cross and Save the Children. He also made history by becoming the first African to write a column on the island's main newspaper, Ålandstidningen.

In September last year, with the assistance of the Gambian High Commission in UK, Alieu held a successful Gambian Cultural Evening on the Åland Islands. This evening was geared towards exposing The  Gambia to the islanders and also attracting potential tourists. With the immigration of Africans to the island being a new phenomenon, the former Daily Observer reporter and Coordinator of Children against AIDS, felt it would be interesting to put his one year experience in a book.

According to a newspaper review, Alieu's story will inspire a  lot of immigrants both in Finland and outside. He wrote about his difficulties to secure a job and also integrating in a community with traditions and cultures that are completely different from his own. In his book, Alieu also mentioned the need for African immigrants to start eyeing decent jobs. Being a father of a biracial child, he also encouraged his fellow immigrants to stand firm and avoid anything that can disconnect them from their children abroad.

The launching ceremony was presided over by the mayor of the island's main and only city, Mariehamn. Gambians from Helsinki and Stockholm graced the occasion. The ceremony was entertained by a music performances by a Gambian Djembe group in Helsinki, a musician from Latvia and an eleven- year-old singer from Sweden.

Alieu left The Gambia in 2007 to pursue an intensive Master's Degree program in Peace and Conflict Transformation at the European University Centre for Peace Studies in Austria.