Universal Refugee Experience

The universal refugee experience was that children and adults had to flee their home for many different reasons. Those reasons may be religion, work, slavery, or war. However, no matter what the reason was, it impacted those families and their descendants for forever. This universal refugee experience went along with what happened to Ha. This impacted her negatively and it turned her life “inside out and back again.” This impacted her negatively because it made her move to a new country and leave her extended family and her friends. Ha and these refugee had their lives flipped upside down, in and out.

The title of the book Inside Out and Back Again relates to the story of these refugees because the refugees had to flee their homes which caused

Zlata fled from Sarajevo to Paris, France. On December 6th, three days after her 13th birthday, Zlata and her family were told by their publishers that, due to “Mimmy’s” promotion, they were to flee Sarajevo on December 8th. She felt mixed feeling about leaving behind her past life. She felt joy from leaving the war, and she felt sorrow that she had to leave the rest of her family and friends. When December 8th at 8:00 am came, they said their goodbyes and cried very hard, but the personal carrier who was supposed to pick them up never showed up. She once again felt those mixed feelings and the feeling of sunken hopes. Finally, at 10:00 am on December 23rd, the personal carrier finally showed up. They left their home and started off to the airport. As they were on their way to the airport, Zlata stared out the window and watched Sarajevo pass by before her eyes. They finally reached the airport and boarded the Hercules plane. They flew over the Adriatic Sea and landed in Ancona. They boarded a small plane with their friend Jean-Christophe Rufin to reach their final destination- Paris. They were given a lot of delicious food that they haven’t been able to eat or even be able to see for 2 years. They approached Paris, France and began to see electricity, cars, roads, houses, and people. They again felt the luxuries that they haven't had in a long time. These

Nargis’s life was turned “back again” when she was reunited with her father in Iraq and when she found her new home there. She stated, “‘ I appreciate everything I have in the United States, I have the freedom to go to school, practice my religion, and make my dreams come true’” (Rattini). Nargis is sad that she had to leave her friends, but she is grateful that she did, she went to Iraq, then she moved, and still lives, in San Diego, California. This relates to Ha’s experience because Nargis and Ha both were separated at one time. Nargis was separated from her father while they were fleeing Afghanistan, while Ha was separated from her father her whole life. Both of the girls were separated from their fathers due to fights. Ha’s father was pulled into war and captured, while Nargis’s father became a criminal in the Taliban government so they had to flee because there was a fight between them and the government. Both of the girls however, had to suffer time without their whole family together and this left a lasting impact on them for the rest of their