As Long As the Lemon Trees Grow by Zoulfa Katouh

Eighteen year old Salama Kassab is struggling to survive in Old Homs with her sister-in-law Layla.  A year ago, the Arab Spring ignited Syrians' demands for freedom from the dictatorship ruling their country for decades. But the dictatorship ruling Syria brutally fought back. Salama's Baba and her brother Hamza went to the first protest but were taken away and imprisoned. Prior to leaving for the protest, Hamza had made Salama promise to care for their mother and his wife, Layla. Then a week later, Mama was killed when their house was destroyed by a bomb. Salama was also injured, receiving a head wound and wounds from shrapnel in her hands. 

After she recovered, Salama began working at Zaytouna Hospital. Prior to the revolution, life was very different for Salama and her family. Salama had dreams of attending university, becoming a pharmacist at Zaytouna Hospital and traveling the world. But as the protests continued, the government began killing the doctors, leading to a shortage of those who could treat the wounded. With only one year of pharmacy school, Salama found herself  pressed into working as a doctor at the hospital.

When Salama returns home from a shift at the hospital, Layla who is seven months pregnant, asks if she's spoken to Am at the hospital about paying for a boat to take them across the Mediterranean Sea to Italy. But Salama has been stalling. Alone in her room, Salama is visited by Khawf. He is, as Salama describes, "My terror has mutated in my mind, bestowed with a life and a voice that never fails to show up at night." Khwaf insists that Salama ask Am about the boat. He warns her that he will "tear her world apart" unless she does this. Salama has a vision of her promise to her brother Hamza to keep Layla and Mama safe. She has a flashback to the day their mother died when their building was bombed.

At the hospital the next day, Dr. Zaid  who has connections to the Free Syrian Army, orders Salama to help the children who are casualties of a bomb hitting Al-Ghouta. Salama eventually speaks with Am, who tells her that he will drive her to Tartus, where they take a boat to Italy and then a bus to Germany. Am's price is four thousand dollars! This information is devastating to Salama because they do not have the money. Layla's solution is for them to sell some of their gold.

At the hospital, Salama is heartbroken as she watches a little boy named Ahmad slowly die from a head wound. Then she sees a boy who had brought in his sister with a shrapnel wound the previous day, arrive frantic. Salama follows him to his home where she finds his nine-year-old sister in pain from a piece of shrapnel still embedded in her stomach. Salama removes the metal and gives them medicine. Salama is certain she's met this boy, named Kenan before and she learns that his name is Kenan Aljendi. Salama and he were supposed to meet at a marriage proposal set up by their mothers, but the revolution prevented the meeting.

Staying overnight at Kenan's home due to the snipers, Salama learns that he has no plans to leave Syria because his videos on YouTube are showing the world what is happening. Salama challenges Kenan to record what is happening within the hospital and he agrees and Dr. Ziad gives his permission. 

Then Am arrives with his daughter Samar, who has a bullet wound in her neck. Salama threatens to let his daughter bleed to death if he doesn't get her and Layla on a boat. Desperate, Am agrees and Salama saves Samar. Over the next few days Salama bargains with Am and secures passage for her and Layla. In the meantime, her relationship with Kenan continues to blossom; they get engaged and marry. At the same time the war comes to Homs when the military breaks through the Free Syrian Army. Salama, Kenan and his siblings barely escape with their lives. It becomes apparent to both Salama and Kenan that staying in their beloved Syria is no longer an option. But will they survive the treacherous journey to freedom? "If we stay we die.....If we leave we might die."

Discussion

As Long As The Lemon Trees Grow is a story about hope and resiliency amidst the horrors of Syrian revolution.

Katouh has crafted a very realistic character in Salama Kassab; she is intelligent, courageous and resilient.  Like any young woman,  eighteen-year-old Salama had hopes and dreams: she was a pharmacy student with a bright future. She now works as a doctor in the hospital in Old Homs trying to save the victims of the Syrian government's attacks. Salama has lost all of her family and is suffering from the effects of PTSD. The trauma she has experienced as a result of her own injuries and from treating the wounded and dying manifests as hallucinations. 

One hallucination is a man dressed in a suit with drops of blood on the lapels whom Salama has named Khawf which is Arabic for fear.  Salama knows that Khawf is a creation of her mind, helping her to process her trauma and survive. "He's a defense mechanism my brain has provided, trying to ensure my survival by any means necessary..."  Every time Khawf "appears", he torments Salama, telling her she needs to leave Syria, to escape via a boat across the Mediterranean Sea to Italy and then to Germany. Salama recognizes what he is and what he's trying to do. "Maybe the reason he's willing to break me in order to get me on a boat can be explained in a scientific manner: He's a defense mechanism my brain has provided, trying to ensure my survival by any means necessary." 

This leaves Salama deeply conflicted: she loves her country yet wants to help her fellow Syrians achieve freedom. Fleeing Syria feels like abandoning her country and seems wrong. Staying means breaking her promise to Hawza to protect their Mama and Layla to keep them safe and to risk death. To cope, Salama's mind has created a figure who will take responsibility for her actions.

Khawf also serves to show Salama the reality of what her life has become. As Salama continues to question whether or not to leave, Khawf reminds her through flashbacks of her life that once was, telling her,  "...of what true happiness was. This doesn't exist anymore. This isn't something you'll find here."

Salama's trauma is so profound that she has also been experiencing detachment from reality by way of a second hallucination. This hallucination is foreshadowed in a description of a sniper attack near her home that she describes to Kenan and is revealed later on in the novel. Kenan helps her to deal with this hallucination and it vanishes.

In contrast to Salama, is the quiet perseverance and determination of Kenan who offers her hope, unconditional love and the ability to see colour again in life, amidst all the blood and death. Dr. Ziad is representative of the Syrian "martyrs" who have remained in Syria, resisting the military.

As Long As The Lemon Trees Grow effectively portrays the plight of Syrian refugees, highlighting their deep love for their country, and the desperation that motivates them to leave. Katouh portrays the brutality, destruction and loss individual Syrians experienced during the conflict: the cold blooded murder of children, the bombing of hospitals, sniper attacks that target women and children and the gassing of civilians. In her Author's Note, Katouh writes, "This novel delves into the human emotion behind the conflict, because we are not numbers. For years Syrians have been tortured, murdered, and banished from their country at the hands of a tyrannical regime, and we owe it to them to know their stories."

The lemon trees, referenced in the title and throughout the novel,  are a symbol of hope, that someday Syria will be free. The author has indicated that the title is a reference to a line in one of the poems of Syrian poet, lawyer and diplomat Nizar Qabbani, "every lemon shall bring forth a child and lemons will never die out." - a reference to a hopeful future, that Syria will survive. 

Despite the heavy issues explored in the novel - and there are many, the story ends on a hopeful tone. As they are readying to leave Syria, Salama tells Kenan, "And we will come back," I say, my voice wavering. "Insh'Allah, we will come back home. We will plant new lemon trees. We'll rebuild our cities, and we will be free."

Although listed as a young adult novel, As Long As The Lemon Trees Grow is suited for older teens and adults.  Zoulfa Katouh plans a sequel to As Long As The Lemon Trees Grow which will explore life as a refugee and explore the themes of recovering identity, racism and trauma. 

Book Details:

As Long As The Lemon Trees Grow by Zoulfa Katouh

New York: Little, Brown and Company    2022
417 pp.

Muhammad Najem, War Reporter by Muhammad Najem and Nora Neus

January 2011 in Eastern Ghouta, Syria. Eight-year-old Muhammad loved being in his father's carpentry shop where he always felt safe. He was his parents' "miracle child", born after his older sister Hiba and two brothers, Firas and Fada, when his parents thought there would be no more children. Then President Bashar al-Assad's men came one day to their city to search for military-aged men to serve in his army. Because the men hide, Assad's soldiers searched homes including Muhammad's father's shop.

At home, Muhammad's father (Baba) explains that the mukhabarat or secret police are everywhere and that even the candy-seller on their street might be working for them. Therefore, they are not to go near him. 

In March 2011, after other uprisings in Egypt and Libya, known as the Arab Spring, protestors began demonstrating against Assad in Syria. When Assad's men came to their city, Muhammad's family would flee to a small apartment outside the city, returning when his Baba determined it was safe.  When they returned to their home, they, along with Muhammad's Uncle Nazar and Aunt Nasrin, would often find their shop had been broken into and damaged by Assad's soldiers. 

By February 2012, despite the fighting and tanks coming closer, life had some happy moments. Muhammad's family had a parrot now and his mother had a baby boy named Karam in June. They often had to flee the city at a moment's notice.

In 2015, when Muhammad was twelve-years-old, the fighting in Syria continued on, drawing in other countries and factions: ISIS, Kurdish fighters, the United States and Russia.

Muhammad's brother, Firas has been selling photographs of the planes, the airstrikes and the aftermath of the bombing to support their family which now included a new baby girl, Batul.

Once again Muhammad's family was forced to flee - this time to an abandoned apartment. They had to leave behind their beloved parrot. Later on when Uncle Nazar arrives, he tells them their home and workshop has been completely destroyed.

They moved into another apartment. They continued to have to flee to the basement during bombings. Hiba's university had closed so she was unable to finish the two remaining classes for her medical degree. She began working at a clinic a short bus ride away, while Baby volunteered at a soup kitchen. He would always bring home some food for the family. One night, Muhammad's father told him about Emad, a painter from Damascus who lost his entire family in an airstrike.  He reminded Muhammad that everyone has a story and it is important to listen to people because it makes them feel seen. 

That night, while praying in the mosque with Uncle Nazar, Muhammad's father is killed by a missile. Muhammad and his family are stunned at such a loss. Devastated, Muhammed is certain Baba would want them to help the people in their neighborhood and to listen to their stories. For Hiba it meant working at the medical center and Firas it meant telling the world what was happening by selling his videos. But Muhammad wondered what it would mean for him.

In December, 2017 while talking to Firas about his videos, Muhammad asked why he doesn't video kids, asking them how they revolution has affected them. When Muhammad suggested that he do it, Firas encouraged him, telling him he could publish his own videos on social media. These videos would show the world how the war is impacting Syria's children. But Firas cautioned Muhammed because once posted, he would not be able to take the videos back.

So as the bombing continued in Eastern Ghouta, Muhammad attended school run by Hiba and a man named Mourad, and posted videos of the bombings, the devastation and how his friends were affected. As he posted more and more videos, Muhammad began to attract the attention of the western media. In February 2018, Muhammad was contacted by Nora Neus who worked for CNN news. Nora would give Muhammad a wider platform to tell the world the reality of the Syrian conflict, as his best friend Selem lost his little sister Raghad, as his Uncle Nazar was killed in a bombing and as he and his family were forced to flee their home north to Idlib. There Muhammad continued to report and soon found himself attracting even more attention. When Assad targeted northern Syria, Muhammad and his family decided it was finally time to leave for the safety of Turkey.

Discussion

Muhammad Najem, War Reporter tells the story of a young Syrian boy determined to tell the world what is happening in his country during the civil war. Muhammad wanted the world to know the impact of the war on children like himself and his friends.

The use of the graphic format for this purpose was ideal as the illustrations by Julie Robine are very well done and capture the many aspects of life during war. The artwork is clean, colourful and fresh, with the different members of Muhammad's life easily recognizable, making the story easy to follow. Muhammad is able to portray to his young readers life during the Syrian civil war: living underground for days at a time, the lack of food, fresh air and exercise, the loss of family and close friends -fathers and uncles, sisters and cousins, and the struggle to continue attending makeshift schools. The artwork also effectively captures the fear and isolation Muhammad experienced, the terror of the bombings and being trapped in the rubble of collapsed buildings, but also the wonderful family moments too. This makes the loss of his beloved father and then later his Uncle Nazar who took the place of his father even more profound. 

Muhammad Najem, War Reporter also captures the immense resiliency, determination and courage of the Syrian people as they resist Assad. This is shown by Muhammad's father who, after losing his carpentry shop to the bombing, decided to help those around him, working at a soup kitchen and when necessary, just listening to those who have suffered the loss of family, friends and all they own. This sense of service to others passed to his children, Firas, Muhammad and Hiba after his death. They all work in their own way, to help their fellow Syrians. 

For Muhammad,  the way to help was to give a voice to the people of Syria being targeted by their own government. His method was to post videos of the aftermath of Assad's bombings on social media, a risk he was willing to take. But his decision was not without doubts and inner conflict, especially early when his videos did not have many views. Instead of remaining anonymous, Muhammad identified himself, posting videos of bombings, what it was like to live in Syria at war and even filming his family as they were trapped after a bombing. Now living in Turkey, Muhammad continues to report on behalf of Syria, still at war and suffering the aftermath of a devastating earthquake. 

This graphic novel is yet another medium for Muhammad to inform the world about what is really happening in Syria and more importantly to reach a younger audience who might relate to him. Muhammad Najem, War Reporter is well crafted, informative and offers readers colour photographs of  Muhammad and his family and friends at the back.

Book Details:

Muhammad Najem, War Reporter by Muhammad Najem and Nora Neus

New York: Little, Brown and Company      2022
314 pp.

Escape From Syria by Samya Kullab, Jackie Roche & Mike Freiheit

In 2013, Amina lived with her entire family in one house. She loved walking home from school and visiting her Uncle Mahmoud to read his books. She would eat apples with her grandfather. Amina's family never thought Syria would be at war but her father explained that the roots of the conflict originated when Hafez al-Assad took control of the country. People lived in fear until 2000 when his son, Bashar came to power. Syrians were hopeful until a year into his rule, when he arrested those calling for democratic elections. Free speech, public gatherings were restricted and people were careful not criticized the government for fear of being watched.

But on March 15, 2011, everything got much worse when students in Dara'a, in southern Syria graffitied a wall with a resistance slogan. The students were arrested and possibly tortured. This outraged people and they began to demonstrate throughout Syria. As the unrest grew, Syria fell into civil war with soldiers from the Syrian army defecting to form a new group, the Free Syria Army or FSA. People were afraid that Assad was preparing to attack his own people in Aleppo.

When an explosion destroyed their home, Amina's father said they needed to leave. Amina's family - her parents, Walid and Dalis and her younger brother Youssef,  travelled to Lebanon where they planned to stay for only a few months and then return home. But their money ran out and they were forced to leave their apartment and live for two years in a refugee camp in Bekaa Valley. In the camp, Amina wants to work but her father tells her she must continue to go to school so that when the war ends she can attend university.

Lebanon was swamped with 1.3 million Syrian refugees. The country was still recovering from a fifteen year civil war and fears of another war were increasing.

Syrians were not allowed to assimilate into Lebanese society and were kept separate. This was because many extremists in Syria attempted to enter Lebanon to fight Hezbollah who were helping Assad. These extremists would bomb areas where Hezbollah had control. Because Lebanon did not have the infrastructure nor the money to cope with so many new people living conditions deteriorated and the schools were crowded. Amina was lucky to be able to attend school, learning in a new language. 

But one day Youssef became very ill with bacterial meningitis. The medication to save his life was expensive and the decision was made to have Amina leave school in order to work to help pay for Youssef's medications. Her father also made the difficult decision to not renew his residency papers meaning he could be arrested at any time in Lebanon. To make matters worse, the war in Syria was growing worse with many soldiers now abandoning the revolution and the emergence of jihadist and Islamist groups. Their dream of returning one day to Syria appeared to be vanishing.

Then Walid learned from his cousin about a potential way out of Lebanon. But when that failed, and just as the situation appeared even more dire, a new possibility appeared.  But do Walid and Dali have the courage to take it?

Discussion

Author Samya Kullab is currently a Baghdad-based Iraq correspondent for the Associated Press. In 2017, Kullab, in collaboration with illustrator Jackie Roche and colourist, Mike Freiheit, wrote Escape From Syria, about the Syrian refugee crisis in Lebanon. From 2013 to 2016, Kullab was a reporter and editor for Lebanon's Daily Star, covering the refugee crisis as it unfolded. 

Kullab observed first-hand, the refugee experience as well as the social and economic impacts on Lebanon as it absorbed almost a million displaced Syrians fleeing the war. In her novel's introduction, Kullab outlines some of the problems Syrian refugees experienced, problems which she vividly portrays in Escape From Syria.

This powerful graphic novel portrays the impact of the Syrian conflict through the character of Amina and her family. Kullab switches the narrative back and forth between the different time periods, gradually filling in the backstory as to how Amina and her family arrived in Canada. Amina and her family are now safe, living in Toronto, Ontario but she remembers times before the war when her mother made delicious dinners and her father, who owned a shoemaking business travelled the world. She also recollects the outbreak of the conflict and fleeing into Lebanon.Unlike many other refugee stories, the focus is not on Amina's family's escape from Lebanon. Fortunately, there was no dangerous sea crossing, although her father Walid almost drowned during his failed attempt to leave via human smugglers. 

Instead, Kullab focuses on what life was like in the refugee camps and how desperation can make good people do things they would never ever have considered. Conditions in the camp are terrible, with little food, poor sanitation and almost no schooling. A child who spends five to eight years in a camp, with no education, has poor prospects for a good life.Walid is determined Amina stay in school, until their circumstances become so dire that she is forced to work so they can pay for Youssef's medication.

The desperation is especially seen in the panels that show Amina meeting her friend Mona who was in her class in Aleppo. Mona offers Amina an invitation to her wedding but Amina is stunned because her friend is only thirteen years old! She is being married because her parents are afraid the camps are no longer safe. When Amina's mother brings up this idea, telling her they are considering the same, Amina refuses and runs out. Later at the UNHCR, Amina tells the case worker her mother wants to arrange a marriage for her as a means of protecting her.

Kullab reminds readers that even after finding safety in another country such as Canada, Syrian refugees struggle, feeling like outsiders as they work to adapt to a new country and culture. Walid tells Amina, "In Syria, I knew who I was. I knew the logic of the place, even when there was war. But here, I'm swimming in an ocean and I'm still searching for my footing."

Escape From Syria offers young Canadian readers an overview of the Syrian refugee crisis and how war, fleeing one's homeland and living in a refugee camp has a significant impact on the people experiencing these situations. The story is simply told, the art panels well crafted and coloured. Kullab presents the context of the story in her introduction and in the back matter fills in the details of quotes from the text in the End Notes. A brilliant, effective collaboration. Well done!

Book Details:

Escape From Syria by Samya Kullab
Toronto: Firefly Books       2017
95 pp.

Refugee by Alan Gratz

Refugee tells the stories of three refugees from different countries and different time periods in alternating narratives.

Josef Landau 1938

Twelve-year-old Josef Landau, a Jewish boy living in Berlin in 1938, is awoken one night to the sounds of Nazi Brownshirts trashing his family's apartment and taking away his father, Aaron. Josef's father was forbidden to practice law because he is Jewish and he is hauled away for breaking the Civil Service Restoration Act of 1933. Later Josef learns that his family was not the only one who was attacked. In what has become known as Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass, many other Jewish families and businesses were destroyed.Six months after he'd been arrested, Josef's father was released from a concentration camp called Dachau on the condition that he leave the country within fourteen days.

Josef, his younger sister Ruthie and his mother travel from Lehrter Bahnhof, Berlin's main railway station to Hamburg Central Railway Station. It is May, 1939 and Josef's family is to meet their father in Hamburg, board a ship that will take them to Cuba, the only country still willing to admit Jewish refugees. They ultimately hope to travel from Cuba to the United States.

In Hamburg, their rendezvous with Josef's father is frightening, as he is gaunt, and paranoid. He is determined they board the ship, the MS St. Louis immediately rushing up the ramp and past the soldier taking tickets. While Josef and Ruthie go on deck, the parents are left alone in the cabin. 

Their journey on the MS St.Louis will not be what they expect. Despite the happy mood of the refugees on the ship, Josef's father insists it is all a trap and that they will end up back in Germany. As his paranoia increases, Josef begins to wonder if their voyage will it offer them what they were hoping for, life in a new country, safe from the Nazis.

Isabel Fernandez 1994

Eleven-year-old Isabel Fernandez lives just outside of Havana in Cuba, in 1994. Isabel is hungry and poor, like everyone else in Cuba. With the fall of communism in 1989, the Soviet Union dissolving meant that Russia was no longer buying Cuba's sugar for eleven times the price and in exchange sending Cuba food, gasoline and medicine. With no one to buy the sugar cane, farms failed, refineries closed and people were out of work. Domestic animals were eaten to stave off hunger, even the animals in the Havana Zoo. Isabel's friend and neighbour, Ivan Castillo tells her his father is building a doghouse, but she knows they are making a boat to sail to the United States. If they are caught, they will be thrown into jail, like Isabel's father, Geraldo was when his second attempt to flee to the United States failed.

However, things turn very desperate for Isabel's father when a riot breaks out on the Malecon, a broad street in Havana. Isabel is on the street, preparing to play her trumpet. Busking is a way for her to earn a bit of money to help out her family. But when a riot breaks out over the food shortage, Isabel finds her father and grandfather in the middle of it. After her father tosses a bottle at the police line, he is singled out and beaten by a policeman. Isabel tries to intervene and is almost attacked herself, but she and her father are saved by Ivan's brother, Luis who is a new policeman. However, his attacker threatens to hunt him down and have him arrested. Isabel knows her father must now flee Cuba.

Back at home, while Isabel's mother is tending to her father's wounds, Fidel Castro comes on television and after a long rant, tells Cubans that those who want to leave the country may do so. Isabel's father is determined to leave but her grandfather, Lito is against the idea. He insists that Geraldo just needs to lay low for a while. However, Isabel comes up with the idea that they should all leave, even though her mother is due to give birth in a week's time. 

Isabel approaches her neighbour, Mr.Rudi Castillo who is working on his boat. Mr. Castillo refuses to include her family, telling Isabel he has no gasoline, so she sells her trumpet to a local fisherman in exchange for gasoline. When Isabel and her family along with the Castillos arrive at the beach carrying the boat, they are shocked to see hundreds of people doing the same. As they are launching their boat, Luis Castillo and his girlfriend Amara join them. Because the police are not allowed to leave, they are pursued by fellow officers and gunshots fired, but the boat gets away safely. 

Isabel and her family along with the Castillos immediately experience problems. The boat motor dies, and then they are swamped by a near-miss with a tanker which almost costs Mr. Castillo his life. But the dangers are not over yet, and by the time their journey is over, their chance at a better life will come at great cost.

Mahmoud 2015

Twelve-year-old Mahmoud lives in Aleppo, Syria with his mother, Fatima, his father Youssef, his baby sister Hana, and his ten-year-old brother Waleed. Aleppo had been a thriving, modern city in Syria until the coming of the Arab Spring in 2011. Protesting against President Bashar al-Assad had led to Assad attacking his own people. Now in 2015, war is all that Mahmoud and his family know. 

As they are finishing their afternoon prayer, a missile destroys the building housing Mahmoud's family. They manage to escape their apartment before the entire building collapses. Mahmoud's father, Youssef, who was an engineer with a mobile phone company, arrives home and  immediately tells them they are leaving Aleppo at once for Turkey. In Turkey, they will sell their car and travel north to Germany which is accepting refugees.

An hour out of Aleppa, Mahmoud's father is forced to stop by armed soldiers and give them a ride to the highway. However, before they reach the highway their car is attacked and Mahmoud and his family barely escape. As they flee in terror from the gun battle, they leave behind everything they own except their phones and chargers. After a long walk Mahmound's family arrive at the Turkish border along with thousands of other refugees. At the border near the city of Kilis,  they show their papers, and are admitted to the country. Almost immediately, Mahmoud's father manages to make arrangements with a smuggler to take them by boat from Ismir to Greece. But after a two day ride across Turkey in cars and buses, they arrive at Ismir only to be told that the boat will be ready the next day. 

After days of waiting, their boat is finally ready to take them across the Mediterranean Sea to Greece. Crammed into a black inflatable rubber dinghy with an outboard motor, the crossing turns into a terrifying disaster that almost sees the family drown. Mahmoud makes a split-second decision to save his baby sister Hana. Their long journey to a better life will come with much sacrifice but with hope too.

Discussion

Refugee follows three families as they flee their home countries for the safety of another land. For each family the reason is different; for Josef, a German Jew, it is persecution by the Nazi government, for Mahoud it is war that makes life impossible, and for Isabel it is poverty and the communist government of Cuba. 

Gratz seamlessly weaves together the three narratives, while drawing his readers into each separate story with exciting chapter endings.  Despite the expansive time frame stretching from 1939 to 2015, Gratz, through the stories in Refugee, demonstrates how all of us are interconnected through time, place and people. And in ways least expected.

These connections become apparent only near the end of the novel. For example, Josef's family along with the other Jewish passengers on the MS Louis are eagerly awaiting permission to disembark the ship and begin life in Cuba. Instead of being allowed to leave, Cuban policemen are sent on board. When Josef's father attempts to commit suicide by jumping overboard, he is saved by a young Cuban policeman, Mariano Padon. Years later, that same Cuban man, now Isabel's grandfather Lito, decides to jump out of their boat as a diversion to the U.S. Coast Guard, giving Isabel, her mother and father and the Castillo's the chance to get to the beach at Miami. 

Lito tells his granddaughter Isabel that he kept hoping things would change but did nothing. "I see it now Chabela. All  of it. The past, the present, the future. All my life, I kept waiting for things to get better. For the bright promise of manana. But a funny thing happened while I was waiting for the world to change, Chabela: It didn't. Because I didn't change it. I'm not going to make the same mistake twice." Lito makes the decision to sacrifice his chance to get to the US and to act as a diversion for the Coast Guard, giving Isabel and the people in their boat the chance to get to freedom.

Josef's family also becomes connected to Mahmoud's family in 2015 when Mahmoud and his family arrive as refugees in Germany. They are taken in by an elderly German couple, Saul and Ruthie Rosenberg. She tells Mahmoud and his parents that she was once a refugee too and how she lost her brother Josef and her mother, who both died in a concentration camp. Ruthie, now very old, understands what it is like to be refugee and she acts by bringing a Syrian family into her home.

The connection between each place in the story is interesting to consider. One country, dangerous in 1939, is now a place of refuge in 2015. Josef's family is seeking to flee Berlin, Germany, while Mahmoud's family is struggling years later to find safety in Berlin. Another place, Havana Cuba, potentially a place of safety in 1939, is a dangerous in 1994 to those not supportive of Fidel Castro.  Josef's family hopes to find safety in Havana, Cuba, while years later, Isabel's family is fleeing that very country, for the safety of the United States. These connections are not lost on Mahmoud. "Mahmoud knew from his history class back in Syria that Berlin had been all but destroyed by the end of World War II, reduced to a pile of rubble like Aleppo was now. Would it take another seventy years for Syria to return from the ashes the way German did?..."

There are many other connections to explore in Refugee. These include the similarities in the journeys of the refugees. For example, all of the refugees in the story travel at some point by boat. Their journey on water is fraught with danger and in each case, they experience the loss of someone dear to them. 

In Refugee, Gratz does a remarkable job portraying the humanity of the different refugees and in challenging readers through these portrayals, to consider how they are not so different, with hopes, dreams and the desire to live in freedom. The  novel demonstrates that the reasons people flee their homeland are similar regardless of era or place and that their experiences in their adopted countries are also similar. The reasons the Jews fled Germany in 1939 is similar to why Cubans left their island in 1994 and why Syrians fled in 2015. 

Refugee is another outstanding novel by Alan Gratz. The author has included maps at the back, showing the journey of each refugee and there is an extensive Author's Note providing the backstory to each refugee's narrative. Refugee provides an excellent opportunity for students in Grades 5 to 8 to explore the issue of refugees and the world's response to the crisis of displaced persons.

Book Details:

Refugee by Alan Gratz
New York: Scholastic Press     2017
338 pp.

Other Words For Home by Jasmine Warga

Jude lives in a small city in Syria with her mama, baba and her older brother Issa. Their town, situated below the mountains and close to the sea, is very supportive of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad. Jude's father runs a store near a tourist hotel. Jude's best friend, Fatima lives across the courtyard their families share. Although Fatima is only a bit older, because she has her period and now wears a headscarf, Jude feels her friend is "kilometers ahead" of her. Both girls love American movies and want to be movies stars, although Fatima also wants to be a doctor.

Jude's most favourite person in the entire world is her brother Issa who has become involved in meetings about democracy and revolution. He wants something better for Syria and he wants change. Their baba is furious that Issa attends these meetings which he considers treasonous but Issa insists that it is Assad who is treasonous. Their mama tells Issa that they should not tempt fate, that life is good however, Issa reminds her that life is not good for everyone in Syria.

On the day of a huge protest, Jude is forced to stay home. The next day her baba shows her pictures in the newspaper of bloodied protesters. After the protest, police are everywhere, at school, the butcher shop, the beach, and there are rumours of people being rounded up and put in jail. In a nearby town, men with stolen tanks and weapons have taken over and are fighting the Syrian army. In Jude's town, people are now openly showing their support for the president by bowing before his picture which is hung in shops everywhere.  Jude's mama is careful to make sure the police are aware of her support for Assad.

Despite the violence, and warnings from Baba, Issa remains committed to the protests. Eventually he moves out of the family home into his own apartment. On the day that Jude is finally allowed to visit him, his apartment is raided by armed police. Issa manages to lead Jude to safety but this leaves their parents terrified. Her father must now stay at his shop to ensure it remains safe. Amid rising tensions, Jude learns that she and Mama, who is expecting a baby, will be visiting her uncle who lives in America. However, both Baba and Issa will remain behind as Baba must stay to care for their store.

After one final party with friends, Jude and Mama travel to Cincinnati Ohio where they are met by Uncle Mazin, his wife Aunt Michelle  who "looks like an American movie star" and her cousin Sarah. Uncle Mazin and Aunt Michelle are very welcoming but Jude's cousin Sarah seems unhappy about their visit. Jude and her mother settle into a bedroom on the third floor of her uncle's huge old home located in a neighbourhood called Clifton. Once they are settled in, they call Baba in Syria.  Their town is safe for now but Jude senses fear in her baba.

In the fall, Jude begins attending the same school as her cousin Sarah. Instead of helping Jude, Sarah shuns her and goes off to be with her friends.  Jude has seven classes including math and ESL. Although Jude knows how to speak some English, she dreads the ESL class. However, in Mrs. Ravenswood's ESL class, Jude finds a place to belong. As she struggles to fit in at school, to cope with homesickness and missing Baba and Issa, her aunt and uncle try to help Jude adjust to life in America. Gradually Jude begins to find her way, make friends and to dream again of a future filled with hope.

Discussion

Other Words For Home is a delightful gem of a novel, written in free verse. The story, which covers about nine months, focuses on a twelve-year-old Syrian refugee's experiences as she struggles to adapt to life in America. Fleeing from the violence of the Syrian Civil War, Jude and her mother travel to Cincinnati to stay with her mother's brother, Jude's Uncle Mazin and his family.

When she first arrives in America, Jude is overwhelmed by the sights and sounds of a country so different from Syria. Everything is bigger, brighter and faster. So much selection and the feeling that "everyone is trying to sell you something", Jude finds herself "... dizzy with want," But Jude also notices another side to America when she sees the poor on the street. She notes that Americans like to label things because "They help them know what to expect." and that her school is filled with many different types of people, with different skin color and shapes and sizes. Jude is also struck by the boldness of Americans as exemplified in restaurant ads.

Warga's portrayal of the struggles a Syrian refugee might encounter in a new country like America seems realistic. The author states that Jude's story reflects the experience of a family friend who was able to leave Syria by plane, a method most refugees did not have to means to use. (Most fled over land and by sea in rickety boats.)  Jude struggles with learning a new language, making friends, understanding a new culture and encounters the ugliness of racism. She must deal with missing her way of life in Syria and with the fear of having her brother missing in Aleppo. Jude must also begin to cope with personal changes as she starts having her period and moves to wearing a head scarf. If her skin colour and heavy accent haven't already set her aside, her head scarf opens her to more visible racism, with unsettling and unkind remarks from both strangers and even her well-meaning Aunt Michelle.

Warga employs the tried formula of a new student who finds herself through participation in a school event such as a concert, competition or school play. In Other Words For Home, Jude gradually attains a sense of belonging, when she takes the bold step of auditioning for a speaking role in the school play, Beauty and The Beast. She is warned by her new Muslim friend Layla, that such roles are not for girls like us.

"Jude, those parts aren't for girls like us...
We're the type of girls that design the sets,
that stay backstage.
We're not girls who
glow in the spotlight."

But Jude is having none of it. She wants to be one of "those girls." The required two minute monologue gives Jude the chance to speak out and speak up.

"Every time I practice,
I think about how wonderful
it feels to speak
for two whole minutes,
with no fear of being interrupted,
with no one saying, Skety.

Just me and my big mouth,
speaking,
being heard."

Auditioning and winning a speaking part, offers Jude the opportunity to be a part of something big, to fit in, to make friends. It is the beginning of her rebuilding her life in America.

One of the themes explored in the novel is that of luck and the belief that those who are able to move to America are "lucky". Jude experiences guilt that she has been able to escape from Syria while so many have not. As the war intensifies and America and other countries begin to close their doors to refugees, Jude tries to find a reason why she deserves to be one of the "lucky" people:

"I search every day for a clue about why I deserve
to be here in Aunt Michelle's kitchen,
safe
and fed.
When so many others
just like me are not.

Lucky. I am learning how to say it
over and over again in English.
I am learning how it tastes --
sweet with promise 
and bitter with responsibility."

As Thanksgiving approaches, both Omar who is from Somalia and Jude struggle with how luck has impacted them. When Omar struggles to mention what he's thankful for, Jude understands.

"Omar goes next.
It takes him a moment to speak,
and I wonder if like me,
he is searching for something to say.
If he is struggling with how you can feel so lucky
and unlucky
at the same time...

we are lucky to be here
when so many others aren't
But we don't understand the luck of
why or how
just the luck."

Other Words For Home is a book about journeys both geographical and personal. There is the obvious journey of Jude and her mother by plane from war-torn Syria to safety in America. A more important one is Jude's own inner journey, as she begins to make her own choices like whether or not to wear a head scarf or to apply for a speaking part in the school play instead of accepting what others might expect of her. A third is Jude's journey from being told "Jude, skety", meaning "Jude, be quiet" to speaking a two minute monologue in front of an audience.

Jude's cousin Sarah experiences her own inner journey as she moves from shunning her cousin and experiencing jealousy over the cultural connection Jude shares with Sarah's father,  to moving towards acceptance. Sarah apologizes to Jude for her unkind remarks, offering to help Jude's friend Layla after their restaurant is targeted in a racial attack. She is drawn into a deeper relationship with her cousin after the birth of Jude's sister, Amal.  Jude's mother's also experiences her own personal journey towards adapting to a new life by learning to speak English, and encouraging her daughter in her own journey of self-discovery.

Although Other Words For Home may not necessarily reflect the typical Syrian war refugee's experience in fleeing the country, it seems realistic in its portrayal of the struggles that newcomers to America might experience in adapting to a different culture and in dealing with discrimination and misunderstanding. Jude is a thoughtful, strong, intelligent girl, whom readers will come to identify with. Warga has put a face to refugees, those who are different and vulnerable, showing their dignity and humanity.

Book Details:

Other Words For Home by Jasmine Warga
New York: Balzer + Bray       2019
342pp.

A Land of Permanent Goodbyes by Atia Abawi

A Land of Permanent Goodbyes tells the story of one boy's journey to escape war in his beloved Syria. This deeply moving novel makes the Syrian refugee crisis painfully real to young readers. The story is narrated by "Destiny"

Tareq is Nour and Fayed eldest child. Eventually his family came to include his brother Salim who was two years younger, his younger sisters Farrah and Susan and the twins Ameer and Sameer. Tareq's paternal grandmother also lived with them. The family was not well off but their small apartment was filled with love. On a hot summer night in 2015, Tareq's family was shattered forever when his neighbourhood was bombed. While trapped beneath the slab of concrete that had been his family's kitchen wall, Tareq dreams of his family, his five month-old twin brothers, his sisters watching television, his mother making food and his tetya (grandmother) drinking  tea. He remembers his brother Salim who has great affection for their sisters and his love of soccer.

But Tareq's nightmare is all too real as he is pulled from the ruins by men in white helmets. The bodies of his mother, tetya and his younger sister Farrah are pulled from the crushed apartment building and Tareq is sent to the hospital. While he is being treated, Tareq shows the doctor pictures on his phone of his siblings and learns that Susan will be fine. But Ameer and Sameer are dead, Salim missing. Tareq weeps as his father holds him.

Tareq's father, Fayed drives to Raqqa to meet his older brother who has promised to help him leave the country by giving him money. Raqqa is now controlled by Daesh, al-Dawla al-Islamiya al-Iraq al-Sham-or or ISIS. These religious fundamentalists have set up their own brutal laws. All Fayed knows is that he has to get his two surviving children out of the country. As they travel to Raqqa, Tareq notices the effect the drought has had on the land, "the once-lush greenery that held beautiful loquat and citrus trees had disintegrated into dusty brown cracked earth." Each checkpoint is a harrowing nightmare;  at one they encounter a young government army soldier who extorts money from Fayed, they meet the shabiha who are the pro-Assad civilian militia who are equally terrifying, and at others Daesh soldiers angrily yell at Fayed, questioning his small beard, Susan lack of a proper head covering, telling Fayed that he is kafer.

Once in Raqqa, Fayed and Tareq see the full horror of life under Daesh. There are heads mounted on spikes on the main roundabout. Tareq is shocked to see that Raqqa has also changed. The streets with many bombed-out buildings are empty, patrolled by men with long beards carrying Kalashnikov rifles. A shopping trip with his cousin Musa quickly turns into a terrifying experience as the two boys are  forced to Naim Square where they witness the shooting and beheading of a young man. On the drive home, Musa realizes they have been followed. Within minutes of their arrival, men come to the house but Tareq's Uncle Waleed and his father manage to talk the men out of taking the two boys, who they want to recruit for Daesh.

As a result of this, Uncle Waleed tells Fayed and Tareq they must leave the city immediately and continue on to Turkey. Only a few weeks after they leave, Daesh close off the city. Tareq, along with his father and sister, his cousin Musa and Shams and Asil who are a neighbour's daughters, travel through the Aleppo countryside, arriving finally at the Turkish border. Having missed the bus crossing the border, the group walks the last exhausting mile into Turkey.

In Turkey, Musa and Tareq travel to Istanbul in an effort to make money for the trip to Europe while Fayed and Susan live in Gaziantep. However, making money proves to be more difficult than Tareq realizes. In Istanbul, Syrians are not well treated,and Tareq is almost cheated out of his payment for working at a new restaurant. Musa tries to encourage Tareq to stay, to work harder to make Turkey his home, but Tareq is determined to leave for Europe. He's had enough of Turkey, and is concerned for the well being of his little sister Susan.

To that end Tarek meets his father and sister in the coastal city of Izmir where they hope to find someone to help them cross over the Aegean Sea to Greece. In Izmir they find not only Syrians but people from Afghanistan who are also feeling war and the Taliban. Tareq's journey will continue in a leaky boat with fake life jackets, leaving behind his beloved father. It is a journey that will almost cost him and his sister their lives, but will teach Tarek the importance of finding the helpers, those people who care and who give of themselves.

Discussion

A Land of Permanent Goodbyes tackles the Syrian refugee crisis in a haunting and memorable way that captures the reality and puts a human face to this tragedy. The refugee experience is told by "Destiny" which describes itself "...as the end of a sequence of events that you and your kind actively shape." and as "just the end result of your choices". This unbiased witness tells the story of a Syrian boy whose life is forever altered when his home is bombed by the Syrian military. Abawi used Destiny as the narrator because she felt this was the best way to tell the refugee story as Destiny sees events from all points of view, the refugees, the helpers, and a group of people Abawi calls "the hunters" those people who rape, murder or act with cruelty. Destiny has also seen the past.

Abawi also chose to use Destiny to tell the story because she felt this was the best way to help her readers fully understand the refugee experience:

"In life, for some people it is very difficult to put oneself in another’s shoes and see the world from their perspective. It’s also challenging to share your struggles with others who you feel would not understand it, or even judge you for them. Each and every one of us also has thoughts and secrets that we are afraid to express. In terms of this novel I think that Destiny could be that voice for each character so they don’t have the opportunity to hide behind the protective wall all humans construct."

Abawi sets the stage by having Tareq dream, as he lays half buried in the rubble of his home, about his family as they were before the bombing. He remembers the most intimate details of his mother, "hair in a bun and a mole on the side of the neck", "breathing in her scent of perfumed flowers and spiced cooking." He remembers his tetya, his sisters Susan Farrah who was the little tomboy, his twin brothers Ameer and Sameer, playing soccer with his brother Salim, before he regains consciousness in the horror of a completely destroyed home filled with the dead. This happy, loving life will be only a memory for Tareq and his father as they flee their homeland of Syria.

Abawi uses her characters to inform readers, providing background information about the Syrian conflict. For example through the character of Musa, readers learn about the radical Islamic terrorist group called Daesh. When Tareq is in Raqqa his cousin Musa explains Daesh to his cousin, telling him, "...this city has been taken over by the world. They come from France, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, America, Kuwait, Britain, Libya-everywhere. I swear I hear them speaking more French and English than Arabic, wallahi!" He tells Tareq that Daesh originated in Iraq and that they fear them the most. In a conversation with his cousin, Musa tells him, "These people don't know the first thing about Islam...I guarantee most of them have never even read a Quran in their lives. They are criminals in their home countries. ..Do you know that they even found out some of the guys who came here from England had purchased a Quran for Dummies book instead of the actual Quran?"  He also references the Salafism, stating, "The Salafi cancer has spread.", claiming "...But the Saudis have had the oil money to spread this deadly disease...Think about it. The world buys Saudi oil-they're so rich, they have golden toilet seats. They also have the money to print their own interpretation of the Holy Quran in every language you can think of and ship it out. They claim to have the purest form of Islam, when in reality they created it more than a thousand years after the Prophet Muhammad's death!...And then on the other side, you have President Assad, the Alawite, and his backing from Iran and the Shias."

Throughout Tafeq's journey readers learn about the many problems Syrian refugees usually encounter as they make their way through Turkey, across the Aegean Sea, through Greece, Macedonia and on towards eastern Europe to Germany. For example, Syrian refugees working to earn money for the crossing are frequently cheated out of wages in Turkey. Refugees are charged exorbitant fees for being smuggled across the Mediterranean, and are placed in leaking boats with fake life jackets. Women and girl refugees are particularly at risk, repeatedly raped by smugglers, while others are stolen and trafficked for the sex trade. Even crossing the Aegean, the Turkish coast guard attacks refugee boats with the intention of sinking them rather than helping. These are just a few of the problems Abawi highlights in her novel.

Abawi doesn't shy away from the horrors of the Syrian conflict nor the brutality of ISIS. Tareq and Musa witness the brutal execution and beheading of a young man, his parents in attendance. "A battery of bullets ripped through the young man, whose body convulsed. His mother collapsed, his father too shocked to try to lift her back up. The firing eventually came to a halt. But the horror didn't end....He grabbed the limp head by its mane, lifting it from the puddle of blood it had rested in, and ran a sharp blade back and forth across the neck, slashing the flesh. The boy's father finally fell next to his wife, thumping to the ground."

Abawi also portrays those who do care, the numerous helpers who come from many countries - characters such as Alexi an American from Connecticut who came to Greece to visit family. However Alexi's life is changed forever when she sees the refugees and is moved by their suffering to volunteer. There are others too from every country around the world: Michael who is from Singapore, Sivan and Mariam two medics from Israel, Hashem a British born Syrian, Famke from the Netherlands, Hilda from Germany and Tina from China.

Destiny focuses on Alexi who, in an attempt to bridge the gap between cultures, organizes a small dinner with the workers and Tareq and a few other refugees in the transit camp. Their sharing of food and stories brings hope and relief. "They talked about the beauty of their cities and the destruction of their lives and loved ones. Both volunteers and refugees shed tears, salty droplets of relief as they set free the stories that were trapped in their hearts and minds." Alexia encourages Tareq by telling him what she learned as a child from Mr. Rogers. "I'll never forget the advice he said he got from his mother. 'Always look for the helpers.' ...she explained. "Look, you've had a pretty horrible journey so far. And it's not even close to being over. But when you think that the world is against you, please just take a moment and look for them-the helpers.' She shrugged. 'I don't know, it may make things better.' "

There is also an interesting discussion between Tareq and the London-born Syrian, Hashem. Tareq expresses the view that "there are a lot of people who hate us." but Hashem states this is fear and not hate. Tareq doesn't accept this. "My point is, we are the ones afraid. We are the ones who have suffered. How can complete strangers be afraid of those of us who have seen what real suffering is? They can't be afraid of the weak. We should call it what it is: hate." Abawi presents a rather simplistic view to her readers of how the refugees are viewed in Europe when in fact the issue is much more complex. Tareq is partially correct in that some of the European reluctance to take in refugees might be based on "hate", but the issue is more complex than the character Tareq is shown to  understand. For European countries , many of whom are struggling economically (Greece for example has received billions in bailout money), other factors come into play. For example, the sheer volume of refugees, how to integrate refugees who have a culture that is very different from secular, post-Christian Europe and the lack of response by other Arab/Muslim countries such as Yemen, Saudi Arabi and Lebanon are important considerations.

Abawi ends her novel on a somewhat hopeful tone; Tareq receives some happy news and he and Susan do make it safely to Germany. There is also a hint of a future perhaps with Jamila, a young Afghani woman who lives with her sister Najiba and their aunt in Frankfurt.

 A Land of Permanent Goodbyes, is both revealing and deeply moving, and exquisitely crafted novel,offering young readers the opportunity to experience the refugees plight and  the challenge to be helpers, not hunters in this human tragedy.


Book Details:

A Land of Permanent Goodbyes by Atia Abawi
New York: Philomel Books      2018
272 pp.

Welcome To Nowhere by Elizabeth Laird

Twelve-year-old Omar Hamid lived with his family in Bosra, Syria. By his own admission, it was a beautiful town with Roman ruins in the center that regularly drew tourists from all over the world. His father worked at the tourism office while his mother, Leila cared for their family. At this time, Omar family consisted of his older brother Musa who has cerebral palsy, his fifteen-year-old sister Eman, his five-year-old brother Fuad and his baby sister Nadia. Omar worked in his Uncle Ali's hardware store before school and when school ended at 1pm, he worked with Rasoul trying to get the tourists to buy from his souvenir shop.

At his uncle's shop one morning, a man Omar calls Mr. Nosy warns his Uncle Ali about his son studying at university telling him to stay away from politics. He tells him there are terrorists everywhere. Uncle Ali is shaken by this, closes his shop and tells Omar he's leaving town. On the way home from school that day, Musa reveals to Omar that they are moving to Daraa because their father has been transferred to the Ministry of Agriculture.

Omar's family move to Daraa happens the same time the trouble began. Their last day at school Omar overhears Musa's friends talking about two fifteen-year-old boys who sprayed slogans on walls calling for the downfall of the Syrian government. They were caught and tortured. As the family is packing, Omar's parents quarrel over sixteen-year-old Eman continuing school. His mother wants her to continue but the father feels she should be married.

They move to his granny's flat in Daraa. Also living in Daraa is his Auntie Majda and her little girls. At school Omar is shocked to see Musa become part of a group led by a boy named Bassem. Musa tells Omar that Bassem's cousin was his friend in Bosra and that he and his friends have been involved in plotting a revolution. Along with his nerdy friends back in Bosra, Musa has discovered the terrible things the Syrian government has been involved in; arrests, disappearances and torture of citizens. They want to live in a democratic state and have been organizing the marches and demonstrations. Musa challenges Omar, asking him if he cares that he lives in a dictatorship.

One day after mosque, Omar discovers Musa has a phone given to him by Bassem. When he arrives home, Omar finds his mother frantic because there are demonstrations in Daraa. She sends him out to get Granny and Nadia who have gone to Auntie Majda's home. Omar witnesses the demonstration and the Syrian government troops opening fire on the students. One of those students is his brother Musa whom Omar helps to flee. They hide his cell phone just before they are confronted by a soldier but manage to convince him they are not involved in the demonstration. With Bassem's help they rescue Granny and Nadia who have been trapped outside Auntie Majda's flat. Eventually Omar retrieves the phone which has film of the demonstration and Musa gives it to Bassem and Latif.

The student actions ignite a civil war that begins to engulf them all. Every day there are marches followed by funerals. Latif is shot in the head and dies in hospital. The internet is cut off, the schools closed and then tanks roll into Daraa, besieging the city. A tense moment occurs when the soldiers begin searching every house. Musa has to hide both his phone and a little notebook. He and Omar manage this and the soldiers leave without discovering either.

Soon a full scale civil war is happening. The electricity is cut which means no lights, no mobile phones, and no fridge. There are bombings and shootings. Omar is constantly afraid, his younger brother Faud begins wetting the bed, Eman gets a rash and Musa has nightmares. Then one day Baba returns home because the Ministry of Agriculture is closed. When he learns that Musa is out, Baba is furious and Omar is sent out to bring him home. On their way back, Omar is shot by a soldier, the bullet grazing his arm. Even worse a shell lands on the house next to theirs, destroying both homes. After spending the night huddled in a shed, Omar and his family work to clean up their apartment. However, Uncle Feisal shows up offering them a way out of Daraa. He takes them to Leila's brother-in-law's farm outside Bosra.

Uncle Mahmud and Auntie Fawzia take Omar and his family in, giving them the storeroom to stay in. Baba returns to Daraa to stay with a friend in a quiet part of town, away from the fighting. Meanwhile Omar begins helping out on the farm, working with his cousin Jaber. Life on the farm seems tranquil and safe with the fighting confined mostly to the cities. But soon the violence spreads into every area of Syria and Omar and his family must flee, leaving everything behind. It is a journey that will take them far from home, to a distant land and a new life.

Discussion

Laird has written a solid novel that offers young readers the chance to learn about the Syrian war and the plight of refugees. The experiences of young Omar and his family opens a window on the culture of Muslim Syrians.  In some ways the Hamid family is not that much different from families in the West. Omar like many children, doesn't like school. Instead, he's interested in making money and someday owning his own business. His older sister Eman has dreams of continuing school. Musa, whose intelligence is hidden by his cerebral palsy, is politically engaged and wants to work for a democratic Syria. Omar's mother and father love and care for their children and simply want to raise their children in a safe, clean city. They are part of a large extended family who care for one another.

However, some things are very different in Syria. This is especially true of how women and the disabled are treated. Omar's older sister Eman is a good student but because education is strictly segregated, Eman attends an all girls school. Eman wants to be a teacher, a goal Baba does not support. Her mother does because she wanted to be a teacher before she was forced into marriage to Baba at age fifteen. When the family is forced to move to Daraa, Baba decides that Eman will no longer attend school. "Education's a waste of time for girls. Eman's sixteen already. It's high time she was married. I've had a good offer..." Omar's mother is shocked at this revelation and refuses to move to Daraa unless Eman is able to continue school.  Eman tells Omar, "...I want to do something Omar! I want to be a teacher! Have my own life!"  

Later on when war comes to the farm outside of Bosra where Omar's family has fled, Eman learns that her father, mother and auntie have all worked to arrange her marriage to Abu Bilal, a man who is later discovered to have raped and nearly killed another girl. Eman's feelings don't matter and she is never consulted. She resists the marriage, but is slapped and abused by her family. In desperation she attempts to starve herself and threatens to kill herself. Omar watches and is powerless to help his older sister. It is only in the refugee camp, without the presence of Baba, that Musa stands up to Bilal and refuses to allow the marriage to happen.

The attitude towards Omar's disabled brother Musa is also very different. Omar relates that "The teachers had written him off for years and said he was stupid." Musa has been laughed at, beaten and even had his arm broken at school. He's been bruised, insulted and had his notebooks destroyed.  But in spite of this Musa has persisted in attending school. It was his seventh grade teacher, Mr. Ibrahim who recognized Musa's intelligence and this forced Omar to recognize that his brother is a "brainbox". Even some of his own family struggle to accept Musa. Omar states that "Granny couldn't bear the sight of Musa. 'There have never been any deformed children on our side of the family,'   I heard her say to Baba, looking accusingly at Ma."  Musa becomes politically active and is involved in the planning of the initial actions against the Syrian government. He shows great courage and takes terrible risks to fight for what he believes in. Always an outsider because of his disability, this offers Musa a chance to belong to something important.

Laird who visited and volunteered at two refugee camps, Za'atari and Azraq in Jordan, provides her young readers with a real sense of what life is like in these camps. Through the characters of Eman and Omar, Laird describes the hopelessness for the future. "Eman shrugged. 'So what? Anything's better than living in limbo here! What have we got to look forward to? Nothing. There's no school for Musa and me, no work...Eman sighed. 'I just feel hopeless, that's all.We're in a sort of prison. We're nowhere. And we might be here forever." Yet when the opportunity to leave the refugee camp and travel to Britain arises, Omar and Musa feel fear and Musa resists. "...But in England we'd be just a bunch of refugees, living on charity. You know what the British say about Arabs and Muslims? They think we're all crazy terrorists..."

Za'atari refugee camp in Jordan

In Omar, Laird has crafted a strong, appealing main character whose actions and feelings are authentic. Omar is loyal, brave and compassionate. He helps his brother Musa when he repeatedly gets himself in a tight spot, despite feeling frustrated and angry at him. When Baba abandons the family after learning of Musa's involvement with the Syrian rebels, Omar becomes responsible for many of his family's needs, demonstrating a maturity beyond his years. As expected, Omar feels overwhelmed by this responsibility. He sympathizes with Eman over her being forced to marry a much older man whom Omar knows is of poor character. He courageously, but unsuccessfully, attempts to convince his Ma that Bilal is an evil man. Eventually Omar does convince Musa to defend their older sister. Instead of attacking Riad, a poor boy who is running wild in the camp, Omar takes him under his wing, turning him from the path of a thief into a boy focused on trying to do the right thing.

Welcome To Nowhere is highly recommended for readers aged 9 to 13 but will also appeal to older readers. Laird has included a map showing the location of Syria in the Middle East but there is no map showing Omar's journey to Jordan nor the location of the refugee camp.  There is an informative "Letter From The Author" at the back of the book which provides more details about the Syrian situation. Welcome To Nowhere is a good book to acquaint younger readers with the Syrian refugee situation and to help them better understand the plight of refugees.

Image credits:

Za'atari refugee camp in Jordan: https://www.samsamwater.com/projectdata.php?projectid=85

Book Details:

Welcome To Nowhere by Elizabeth Laird
London: Macmillan Children's Books     2017
329 pp.