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  • Essay / Portrayal of refugee children in Inside Out & Back Again and Children of War

    Throughout history, millions of people around the world have experienced the universal refugee experience of fleeing their countries and finding a new home in societies abroad. A refugee is a person forced to flee their country of origin to escape conflict or danger. Refugees must seek asylum in foreign countries, losing almost everything familiar to them. In “Children of War” by Arthur Brice and “Inside Out & Back Again” by Thanhha Lai, you learn about the experiences of young children forced to flee their homes because of war and disaster. Thanhha Lai's novel, "Inside Out & Back Again," centers on 10-year-old Ha and her family. As the Vietnam War draws dangerously close to their home in Saigon, they are forced to flee the country, turning their lives upside down. After spending months in a crowded refugee camp, Ha's mother concludes that her family should try to find a new home in America. Ha and her family must deal with the universal refugee experience: their lives are turned upside down, only to be slowly turned away when they manage to find a new home. When refugees are forced to leave their homes, they lose almost everything: their family, their country, their culture and even their identity. Their lives will only begin to change when they create a new home for themselves, and their peers and the rest of their family help them find hope. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”? Get an original essay Refugees' lives are turned upside down when they lose everything they once had, including their culture and country. After fleeing their home country, they must face the fact that they may never be able to return home. In the rising action of the novel Inside Out & Back Again, Ha and his family flee Vietnam on a large boat filled with other refugees. The ship's captain begins to speak in front of the ship's passengers, delivering news that manages to shake up everyone's lives even more. To the great dismay of the refugees, he becomes the bearer of bad news by declaring: “It's over, Saigon is no more. » At this point, the refugees not only lost their homes, but their homes were destroyed. North Vietnamese forces took control of South Vietnam, placing the entire country in the hands of a communist government. Ha and his family's lives were now destroyed. They had lost their country and would not be able to return to it in the near future, and perhaps not even for the rest of their lives. In many cases, refugees may flee their country because of a malicious government or violent groups that have managed to invade the country. In Children of War, when asked how his father was killed, Emir recounts how his house was taken by the Serbian army. He said: “They came to us and said they had established a new government. » (Brice, 26 years old) They were forced to flee because power had been taken and a new government had been created in their country of origin. Even before fleeing their country, they had already lost their home during the invasion. Refugees must mourn the loss of their country, having lost their homes due to threatening and dangerous conflicts. They must flee their country and find new homes, while coping with the loss of their identity and family members. Refugees' lives are turned upside down when they lose their families. Losing a parent or sibling is devastating, especially at a time when refugees need their families the most. They must find a new home incompletely different countries, even if they are already suffering from the loss of a loved one. In Inside Out & Back Again, Ha lost her father in the same conflict she was forced to escape from. Nine years before Ha, her brothers and her mother fled South Vietnam, their father, who worked in the navy, was captured by the North. Ha didn't fully accept this loss for years and held out hope that her father was still alive, without knowing he was dead. Ha explains his father's capture and disappearance, writing: "My father left home for a Navy assignment on this day nine years ago when I was almost a year old. He was captured on Route 1, an hour south of town, on a moped. That's all we know. (Lai, 10 years old) Ha lost his father before he could even know him. He was killed during the Vietnam War, a war that forced Ha and the rest of his family to flee the country nine years later. Many young refugees lose their parents due to wars in their home countries. When young refugees lose their families, it can destroy them, especially since they are still children. Many will lose what little hope they had left and fail to see how their lives could improve. In Children of War, when asked how the war changed her life, Amela describes the impact her father's death had on her. She said: “But after hearing about my father's death, it all seemed so pointless. I saw no future for myself. (Brice, 26 years old) Because of the war in Bosnia, Amela lost her father in a concentration camp created by the Serbian army. Any hope Amela had of seeing her father again had been destroyed. His death had such an impact on her that she also lost all hope for the future. She didn't see how she could continue without her father. When refugees lose family members, they risk leaving everything behind because their entire world is shattered. This can make it much more difficult for them to rebuild their lives now that they have to grieve their losses. The refugees' lives finally begin to turn around when they create a new home for themselves, and their peers and remaining family help them. to regain hope. Refugees can finally hope for a brighter and better future when they learn to live in their new home and manage to adapt to the new culture. At the very end of Inside Out & Back Again, an entire year has passed since the beginning of the novel. It's Tet again and Ha is praying for what she wants to happen in the new year. She struggles with her wishes, before deciding: “I think and I think, then I close my eyes again. This year I really hope to learn how to fly and kick, not to kick anyone, but to fly. (Lai, 259) After his entire life was turned upside down, Ha has now found a new home in Alabama. With the help of his friends at school, his teachers and his family, Ha was finally able to find hope. She now looks forward to the future and sees that everything is now behind her. She can now start from scratch in her new home, without fear. In Children of War, Amela explained how her life was turned upside down when she became a refugee and found asylum in America. After returning to school and now having her life in Bosnia behind her, she can finally see a future for herself in America. When asked about her life in America, she replied: “America gives us the chance to have a better future than the one we could have in Bosnia. » (Brice, 26) Amela lost all hope for her future when her father died in a concentration camp, but now that she has started a new life in.