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Name: Alexis, Ivan, Edgar, Sabrina

Date: 5/19/16

Refugee Story Outline

*For all group members to complete

Essay Deadlines:
Draft 1: Thursday 5/19/16
Draft 2: Monday 5/23/16
Final Draft: 5/25/16 end of class
I.

What was happening in your refugee interviewees country of origin leading up

to your refugees move? Make sure to use powerful and descriptive words:

being in a refugee camp the war was not going on but outside of the refugee camp yeah there
was a civil war going on but we always had to be prepared to leave because um where we lived
I don't know the cliff that we have to go like I don't know maybe 10 miles something like that
and that's Burma and um so we were persecuted by the burmese army so we always here like
burmese army King and is everybody had to leave . what we did was we dig a hole like a big
giant hole and then we covered it so like at night everybody just going in there to hide and um
so that was happened once in awhile and that was scary and um the camp condition there was
like um lack adequate health care and the education level was not can't compare it to here and
um yeah the food not fresh food we got food every month from the unhcr and still not enough for
everyone

II.

Why did your interviewee move?

She had heard about the United States and wanted to move here because she thought it was
such a great place. She wanted a better education especially because in Thailand, you finish
school after grade ten. It was very scary and there was too much danger going on there,
however she was too young to know that there was that much danger.
Being in a refugee camp the war was not going on but outside of the refugee camp yeah there
was a civil war going on but we always had to be prepared to leave because um where we
leave I don't know the cliff that we have to go like I don't know maybe 10 miles something like
that and that Burma and um so we were persecuted by the buried army so we always here like
burmese army King and is everybody had to leave what we did was we dig a hole like a big
giant hole and then we covered it so like at night everybody just going in there to hide and um
so that was happened once in awhile and that was scary and um the camp condition there was
like um lack adequate health care and the education level was not can't compare it to here and
um yeah the food not fresh food we got food every month from the unhcr and still not enough for
everyone.

III.

What are the details of your interviewees journey?

Yeah, it is very hard, even though we came here as a refugee. I know like my parents, I
was born in a refugee camp and I live there for fifteen years before I move here. And the
process is very difficult, we had to like, first they check our background check so our parents
you know, they cannot be, they cannot, they were, I mean they cannot involve in the army you
know like they, like anything to do with criminal or like killing stuff yeah, if they have something
to do with those we cannot come. And like first we have to go through the O.P.E, Im not sure
what that stands for and after that, if we pass through the medical check, and if we have like
tuberculosis and then the whole family has to be treated and worst case like well I know there
are a lot of family who has to stay at camp because of the medical check and after the medical
check yeah we just come here and we have to go through the cultural orientations and then we
come here. It took us like more than a year.
We flew here, so I was in a refugee camp. We only have one paved road and its
actually out of the camp. So our camp is like, so lets say this is a camp *does hand motions to
explain* and the back is like a big giant cliff and its very difficult to climb over and then here the
barbed wire is around our camp and there is only one paved road here. Yeah and then it took us
from the camp to ??? by car and then we stayed there for four days because of the area like
everybody has to stay there to be treated and then after that we took the car to Bangkok and
then we flew. So we were in the plane from Bangkok to Hong Kong and then Hong Kong to LA
and LA to here.

IV.

What was it like when you're refugee interviewee got to the US? What was it
like for that person to get used to life here? How has living here changed
him/her?
a. It was difficult because when they got here they didn't know how to speak english
and it was hard to communicate with other people. Her family and her were also
starting a new life with new friends,different culture,new jobs ,etc.
b. April said that it was hard at the beginning but in thailand she would always study
hard and that's what she did in the U.S study hard to learn english and do good
since there's a lot of opportunities here and not a lot in thailand.
c. Living here changed a lot about her like she can afford what she couldn't back in
thailand. She can also drive to places and she wouldn't really be able to do that
in thailand . She also make a lot of money .

V.

Describe your character physically. Pay attention to details big and small (hair,
eyes, style of dress, height, etc.). Make sure to use powerful/descriptive words:

VI.

Looks healthy and able

Around 5 ft with heels
Dresses business casual/professional
Brown eyes
Black hair
No scars
Pale olive skin

Describe some of the characters attributes or characteristics:

Attribute/characteristic

Example: My grandmother was

passionately political

Evidence From Interview or Daily Life

Passionately engaged in political conversation
Yelled at TV/C SPAN/News
Had an opinion about everything

VII. Quotes from the interview that are powerful/useful in your writing:

a.
b.

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c.
d.
e.
VII.

Follow-up questions/forgotten questions that you need to ask before writing:

a. Where did your parents flee from? Why?
b. Did you feel protected back home?
c. What is your religion and beliefs?
d.

VIII. Which group member will cover which section?

Section

Group Member

I. The beginnings: Life in home country

What was life like up until things got bad? What did normal life used to
be like?

Edgar

II. The Escalation: Living with turmoil/push factors/ what life was like up until
leaving
Background Information/Information about what was happening
in the country of origin to make your interviewee move? What
were the preparations for the move like? Was the move risky or
not and why? Information about the home country during that
particular moment in history.
Details about setting out on the journey, about saying goodbye to
the country left behind, ancestors thoughts and feelings as
he/she got ready to migrate)

Sabrina

III. The Migration Story:

The journey from home to here
All details from the second your interviewee left home to the
second he/she arrived in the US (this includes time in refugee
camps and in-between countries)

Ivan

Life since the move

Alexis

Resolution/ What happened/ How did everything get resolved?

How did your interviewee get acclimated to life in the US? What
were some of the challenges of that?
What are things currently like in the interviewees home country?