Analysis Of Refugee And Refugee Children

There are more than 14 million men, women, and children that have been forced to flee their home; they are called refugees. Refugees flee their home for many different reasons such as war, devastation, persecution, and inequality. They have to adapt to their new life once arriving to their new home by trying to be accepted, the language barrier, the new culture, accepting that they will never return back to their home, and finding a new home. In the novel, Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai, Ha’s family was forced to flee her home due to the Vietnam Wars. They fled to Alabama to escape the uncertainty of the wars. During the process of fleeing their home, her family had to leave special possessions, family members, and most importantly,

In the text, Refugee and Immigrant Children: A Comparison, it says, “Several key characteristics affect the adaptation of refugee children…,” (Fantino and Colak 587-596). Refugees are affected by many factors when adapting to their new home/life. “She volunteers to tutor us all. My time with her will be right after school. I’m afraid to tell her how much help I’ll need,” (Lai 165). Ha is now going to be tutored by her neighbor, but she is embarrassed to tell her that she needs a lot help. As a refugee she has to accept the fact that she needs to learn English, meaning she shouldn’t be embarrassed to ask for help, especially from Miss. Washington. “I refuse to retrieve the pouches, pout, go to bed, stare at the photograph of a real papaya tree, wonder if I’ll ever taste sweet, tender, orange flesh again,” (Lai 233). Ha is not content with the photograph of the real papaya tree, she wants to taste that sweet and tender papaya that she grew back in Vietnam. She has to adapt to the fact that she will never have a slice of the papayas that she grew back in Vietnam. There are many characteristics that affects refugees adaptation, which causes their lives to turn inside