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Sarah McAllister
We Are Displaced
Malala Yousafzai
January 2019
Nonfiction
Assorted Countries, Religions, and Cultures
Summary: In this memoir, Malala Yousafzai briefly details her life before the attempt on her life by the Taliban in Pakistan, and talks about what has helped her to continue to advocate for the right for women to be educated in countries where beliefs and outdated traditions, along with extremism and violence, are overshadowing the ability for women and girls to be educated. Yousafzai notes that while she had taken peace for granted before the Taliban invaded every aspect of her family’s life, when she became an internally displaced person, that view of peace changed. The girls that share their stories in the second part of the memoir have this same view of peace after being displaced due to violent conditions caused by extremist and terrorist organizations, as well as corruption and political instability within their home countries. Each of these girls have unique experiences from each other, but sharing in the same sense of fear of potentially losing their lives in the struggle for a better life. These girls moved from instability to slightly more stable instability, except this time personal instead of a shared experience between their respective villages or religious communities. Each of these girls have fought for what they have, and are receiving education, and helping other girls in the same situation of displacement to receive an education to better their lives.
Reflection Questions:
This memoir indicates that the cultures of these countries have extremely unstable political states, which forces men, women, and children to move out of their homes, and to different portions of the country, or in some cases, flee the country entirely. Violence encased every aspect of their lives, from living in constant fear of bombings, to a generalized fear of the Taliban and their force, and wondering who would be next in the massacre of innocent civilians. The countries that have succumbed to the violence that these girls have had to endure are rich in culture, but unfortunately the violence is what the world sees, and overshadows the rich culture and the beautiful scenery that their home countries have. These countries are going through their own political crisis which sparked the extremist violence and the fear that many people lived in.
Parallels that I found between these stories of refugees and what they have experienced and my culture are few. Some of the girls now live in the United States currently, and they have been experiencing the current political state of the United States a little more harshly than I have been. However, from their home countries, we both face a constant threat of unwarranted shootings that are killing so many innocent people, and the trauma and recovery that these people have to go through. As I write this, on August 5th of 2019, we, as a nation, are recovering from two mass shootings in less than a span of 12 hours from each other. In El Paso, Texas, the shooter had a detailed manifesto that was extremely racist and filled with hateful speech and mirrored rhetoric commonly used by the president when describing the immigration and refugee issues. In Dayton, Ohio, the shooter’s manifesto was unknown, but he had a history of threatening women and treating them like animals. These girls faced these threats from either family members, gangs, the Taliban, or revolutionaries. Shooting marred the otherwise peaceful sounds that had surrounded their environments; the sound of shooting demolishes public places in America at a staggering rate. Lives become torn apart by senseless violence that impacts innocent people, who are then lost and looking for help. These girls have gone through much worse than the mass shootings that happen to frequent America, but the violence impacts everyone.
In this memoir, I connected the most with Marie Claire, a refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo, who then moved to Zambia, and then finally to Pennsylvania. Quite recently, my family lost my maternal grandfather, who is still a large inspiration to all of us, and who had helped a struggling Catholic school even in death. While living in Zambia, Marie Claire lost her mother, a woman who had been pushing for her to follow her dreams and continue in school, and also applied them for refugee visas. Marie Claire’s mother, Furaha, died tragically at the hands of anti-refugee militants while closing up her small shop of goods that she had made and was selling in order for her family to afford a better life. Marie Claire and I both have lost someone close to us, who encouraged us to continue going on with our dreams, despite what other people say about us. Marie Claire was called derogatory terms and was subjected to anti-refugee sentiments, which I am sure have not stopped during her time in the United States. I have been constantly told that I am trying too hard, and that certain things I would not be able to achieve. Marie Claire and I both are determined to prove these sentiments wrong, and continue to live by the words that we were told by our lost loved ones.
The central conflict within this novel was the violence that Malala, Zaynab, Sabreen, Muzoon, Najla, María, Analisa, Marie Claire, Ajida, and Farah all had to escape at varying points in their lives. Some of their home countries have had the political climate return to normal, with the disbanding of the extremist groups that caused the violence. However, the violence is still ongoing in some of these countries, and the government is unable to stop it. There are 68.5 million people that are displaced internationally, and so the crisis is ongoing. These conflicts seem to be culturally based, as there are extremist groups that are forming and causing this violence because one specific group of people, generally a minority, is deemed insignificant enough and needs to be eradicated. In Pakistan, there was the Taliban, which targeted those who did not follow their version of the Islamic faith, and those who spoke out against them and their regime. In the Congo, the violence was caused by the Rwandan genocide, which spilled over into the republic and forced those targeted by the radicals to leave. In Myanmar, there is a genocide against the Royhinga people. These conflicts are still ongoing, as these countries have weak governments or governments who have been taken over by these radical groups, and also lack the funds to deploy a military in order to stop the radical groups. This has become a humanitarian crisis, but requires international attention, which some places are not getting due to the current political climate that has taken over their country.
This book gave me a better insight into the crises that plague multiple countries, and their impact on the lives of citizens. Often in American culture refugees are seen as having a choice in their decision of moving away from their home country, and this book with stories proved to me that these people are not making the choice to be removed from their country, but are instead forced to move due to the violence and persecution that their people face. The stories do not give a reason for the impending violence, but describe it as ruthless and nonsensical. Before reading this book, I had not known much about the people that were refugees, other than the fact that there are a lot of people who were moving from country to country because theirs was not safe. This book has helped me to understand more about the different issues that can cause displacement of people and make them refugees.
The central theme of this book is that refugees are human, just like everyone else, but have been forced to do something that they do not want to do. These girls who tell their stories face the same misogyny that women in other countries do, have friends like others do, and have stories to tell of times with their friends and of their hardships. Most people, especially in America, tend to gloss over this fact about the people coming to their country as refugees and immigrants. Yousafzai and these other girls have had the chance to educate people about everything that they have endured in order to make it to these countries, so that they may have more sympathy towards them, or simply just understand the gravity of the situation more.
We Are Displaced
Malala Yousafzai
January 2019
Nonfiction
Assorted Countries, Religions, and Cultures
Summary: In this memoir, Malala Yousafzai briefly details her life before the attempt on her life by the Taliban in Pakistan, and talks about what has helped her to continue to advocate for the right for women to be educated in countries where beliefs and outdated traditions, along with extremism and violence, are overshadowing the ability for women and girls to be educated. Yousafzai notes that while she had taken peace for granted before the Taliban invaded every aspect of her family’s life, when she became an internally displaced person, that view of peace changed. The girls that share their stories in the second part of the memoir have this same view of peace after being displaced due to violent conditions caused by extremist and terrorist organizations, as well as corruption and political instability within their home countries. Each of these girls have unique experiences from each other, but sharing in the same sense of fear of potentially losing their lives in the struggle for a better life. These girls moved from instability to slightly more stable instability, except this time personal instead of a shared experience between their respective villages or religious communities. Each of these girls have fought for what they have, and are receiving education, and helping other girls in the same situation of displacement to receive an education to better their lives.
Reflection Questions:
This memoir indicates that the cultures of these countries have extremely unstable political states, which forces men, women, and children to move out of their homes, and to different portions of the country, or in some cases, flee the country entirely. Violence encased every aspect of their lives, from living in constant fear of bombings, to a generalized fear of the Taliban and their force, and wondering who would be next in the massacre of innocent civilians. The countries that have succumbed to the violence that these girls have had to endure are rich in culture, but unfortunately the violence is what the world sees, and overshadows the rich culture and the beautiful scenery that their home countries have. These countries are going through their own political crisis which sparked the extremist violence and the fear that many people lived in.
Parallels that I found between these stories of refugees and what they have experienced and my culture are few. Some of the girls now live in the United States currently, and they have been experiencing the current political state of the United States a little more harshly than I have been. However, from their home countries, we both face a constant threat of unwarranted shootings that are killing so many innocent people, and the trauma and recovery that these people have to go through. As I write this, on August 5th of 2019, we, as a nation, are recovering from two mass shootings in less than a span of 12 hours from each other. In El Paso, Texas, the shooter had a detailed manifesto that was extremely racist and filled with hateful speech and mirrored rhetoric commonly used by the president when describing the immigration and refugee issues. In Dayton, Ohio, the shooter’s manifesto was unknown, but he had a history of threatening women and treating them like animals. These girls faced these threats from either family members, gangs, the Taliban, or revolutionaries. Shooting marred the otherwise peaceful sounds that had surrounded their environments; the sound of shooting demolishes public places in America at a staggering rate. Lives become torn apart by senseless violence that impacts innocent people, who are then lost and looking for help. These girls have gone through much worse than the mass shootings that happen to frequent America, but the violence impacts everyone.
In this memoir, I connected the most with Marie Claire, a refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo, who then moved to Zambia, and then finally to Pennsylvania. Quite recently, my family lost my maternal grandfather, who is still a large inspiration to all of us, and who had helped a struggling Catholic school even in death. While living in Zambia, Marie Claire lost her mother, a woman who had been pushing for her to follow her dreams and continue in school, and also applied them for refugee visas. Marie Claire’s mother, Furaha, died tragically at the hands of anti-refugee militants while closing up her small shop of goods that she had made and was selling in order for her family to afford a better life. Marie Claire and I both have lost someone close to us, who encouraged us to continue going on with our dreams, despite what other people say about us. Marie Claire was called derogatory terms and was subjected to anti-refugee sentiments, which I am sure have not stopped during her time in the United States. I have been constantly told that I am trying too hard, and that certain things I would not be able to achieve. Marie Claire and I both are determined to prove these sentiments wrong, and continue to live by the words that we were told by our lost loved ones.
The central conflict within this novel was the violence that Malala, Zaynab, Sabreen, Muzoon, Najla, María, Analisa, Marie Claire, Ajida, and Farah all had to escape at varying points in their lives. Some of their home countries have had the political climate return to normal, with the disbanding of the extremist groups that caused the violence. However, the violence is still ongoing in some of these countries, and the government is unable to stop it. There are 68.5 million people that are displaced internationally, and so the crisis is ongoing. These conflicts seem to be culturally based, as there are extremist groups that are forming and causing this violence because one specific group of people, generally a minority, is deemed insignificant enough and needs to be eradicated. In Pakistan, there was the Taliban, which targeted those who did not follow their version of the Islamic faith, and those who spoke out against them and their regime. In the Congo, the violence was caused by the Rwandan genocide, which spilled over into the republic and forced those targeted by the radicals to leave. In Myanmar, there is a genocide against the Royhinga people. These conflicts are still ongoing, as these countries have weak governments or governments who have been taken over by these radical groups, and also lack the funds to deploy a military in order to stop the radical groups. This has become a humanitarian crisis, but requires international attention, which some places are not getting due to the current political climate that has taken over their country.
This book gave me a better insight into the crises that plague multiple countries, and their impact on the lives of citizens. Often in American culture refugees are seen as having a choice in their decision of moving away from their home country, and this book with stories proved to me that these people are not making the choice to be removed from their country, but are instead forced to move due to the violence and persecution that their people face. The stories do not give a reason for the impending violence, but describe it as ruthless and nonsensical. Before reading this book, I had not known much about the people that were refugees, other than the fact that there are a lot of people who were moving from country to country because theirs was not safe. This book has helped me to understand more about the different issues that can cause displacement of people and make them refugees.
The central theme of this book is that refugees are human, just like everyone else, but have been forced to do something that they do not want to do. These girls who tell their stories face the same misogyny that women in other countries do, have friends like others do, and have stories to tell of times with their friends and of their hardships. Most people, especially in America, tend to gloss over this fact about the people coming to their country as refugees and immigrants. Yousafzai and these other girls have had the chance to educate people about everything that they have endured in order to make it to these countries, so that they may have more sympathy towards them, or simply just understand the gravity of the situation more.