Refugees In 'Inside Out And Back Again'

End of Unit Two Assessment

Imagine being verbally or physically abused in a new place that you know little about because your skin isn't white or because your hair isn't the same color as everyone else's. People would be laughing, pointing at you and you haven't the slightest clue as to why so. This isn't even the beginning of what refugees endure. Refugees are people that leave their home because of war or other not natural causes that could possibly lead to death for themselves. All refugees have to endure certain hardships that are very real, not natural, and most importantly - not deserving, just like Ha, a young refugee from Vietnam because of the Vietnam War from the novel Inside Out and Back Again. All refugees experience traumatic and life-changing events that flip their lives "inside out" such as discrimination but after much time spent trying to adapt and accept their new lives, they realize that they can combine new customs with new old ones and

"We suffered in our country Bhutan because we did not speak the language or practice the religion or culture of the royal family" (Gurung). Real life refugees experience discrimination only because they aren't the same as the people around them, just like Ha did. "A pink boy with white hair on his head and white eyebrows and white eyelashes pulls my arm hair. Laughter" (Lai 145). The majority of Ha's classmates look like this boy and she is the only one with olive skin with black hair. Because of her differences, they aren't sure how to treat her so end up doing so with what appears to be a bullying hatred. "Pink Boy keeps asking, what are you?" (Lai 196). Ha's classmate is a prime example of how most people treated the already shaken refugees - with no compassion and respect whatsoever because they were different. We see how Ha and real life refugees experience and unwelcoming feeling and discrimination for things that they can't