Paired Texts

Escape
Imagine you had
to leave your
home, your friends,
and your country
behind. This is
what happened to
11-year-old Dania and her
family, who are among the
world’s 65 million refugees.
BY KRISTIN LEWIS

16 S T O R Y W O R K S
 From War UP
CLOSE Key Details As you read this article, look
for details about what life is like for Dania
and other refugees.

LOOK FOR WORD NERD’S 5 WORDS IN BOLD

N
ot so long ago, Dania was a
regular kid like you. She lived
in a cozy home in Syria, a
country in the Middle East. Her
backyard bloomed with olive
LEARN
trees and grapevines. She loved being with
MORE IN friends and going to school. She was proud
OUR BEHIND- of the gold stars she earned for doing her
THE-SCENES
VIDEO homework on time.
But in 2011, war broke out in Syria.
Bombs killed

RAUF MALTAS/ANADOLU AGENCY/GETTY IMAGES (SYRIA); AHMAD BAROUDI/SAVE THE CHILDREN (DANIA)
TURKEY thousands. Dania’s
school closed when a
bomb went off next
CYPRUS SYRIA door. Dania’s city
IRAN
Akkar got more and more
LEBANON
Mediterranean
Damascus IRAQ dangerous. In 2013, her
Sea
family had to choose:
TERRIBLE
CONFLICT ISRAEL stay and risk death,
An explosion rocks a JORDAN or leave their home,
neighborhood in Syria. EGYPT
Right: Syria is in a part
their friends, and their
KUWAIT
of the world called the U.S. Persian country behind.
Gulf
Middle East. Look at this SAUDI Their choice
map; what other Middle EQUATOR ARABIA
Eastern countries do you Area of map became clear.
0 100 MI
see on it? They fled.

S T O RY W O R K S . S C H O L A S T I C . C O M • O C T O B E R / N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 6 17
65 Million Refugees
Dania and her family became refugees.
Refugees are people forced to leave their
homes because of war, hunger, natural
disasters, or other dangers.
There are 65 million refugees in the world
today. That’s more than at nearly any other
time in history. The refugees come from more
than 12 countries, mostly
in the Middle East and
Africa. They are rich
people from big cities.
They are farmers from
tiny villages. They are
kids who love sports and
books and video games,
and who dream of college
and jobs.
Millions wind
up in refugee camps.
These camps are set up by governments and
charities. They provide food, shelter, and
other necessities that refugees need badly.
But often the camps are dirty and crowded.
They can feel more like prisons than homes.

Losing a Dream
Dania’s family did not end up in a
refugee camp. They left Syria and entered
the country of Lebanon. They found
a place to live in a remote area called Children of War
Akkar. Their home was a small garage. It More than half of the

FROM TOP-BOTTOM: MUHAMMAD HAMED/REUTERS; TEUN VOETEN/PANOS PICTURES; OSMAN

had running water, which was lucky. But
the garage was not heated, and the family
shivered on cold nights.
Dania knew that she and her family
were luckier than many. They had escaped
the terror and death that gripped Syria. They
were not stuck in a crowded camp.
Still, things were hard. Dania missed
her old life. Most of all, she missed going to
school. For refugees, getting an education can
be a big challenge.
Lebanon is a very small country. It’s
world’s 65 million refugees
ORSAL/REUTERS; JAMAL NASRALLAH/EPA/NEWSCOM; TOM PILSTON/PANOS PICTURES
are children like these.
smaller than Connecticut. And it has taken
in more than 1 million refugees. There was
not enough room in its schools for kids like
Dania.
For Dania, it seemed, getting an
education was just one more dream that
would not come true.
Or would it?

18 S T O R Y W O R K S
 Dania
at her POEM
school in
Lebanon
ALWAYS
By Rebecca Kai Dotlich

There will always be the waves

rushing in, tumbling out;
the moon, the fog, the orange
of the morning sun.
Sadness is not forever.
But let hope be.

Working Hard Let it sit by seaside towns,

One day, Dania heard great news. A drift among villages,
school for refugees was opening in Akkar. It wander in cities. Let it linger
was started by Save the Children, a group in schools and shipyards
that helps refugees. Two hundred students and factories.
signed up to go. Dania joined them.
Dania rode to school each day in a Let it call to you with the scent
minibus. She studied math, French, Arabic, of cinnamon, the taste of mint,
English, singing, and music. She was served the faraway chant, the chime
bananas, croissants, and juice. Because she’d of the clock.
been out of school for so long, she was at first
placed in second grade. But she worked hard. There will always be the babble
She soon caught up. of streams, birdsong,
the whisper of wind.
Life Goes On Sadness is not forever.
The war in Syria is still going on. So But let hope be.
far, about 500,000 people have been killed.
Dania’s family might never be able to go
home. So they are building a new life. They
have new dreams.
Dania intends to become a doctor when
she grows up. “I will wear a nice white outfit
How does this poem
and have a stethoscope around my neck,” she connect to Dania’s life
says. “I won’t take any money from the poor as a refugee?
and will treat them for free.” n
AHMAD BAROUDI/SAVE THE CHILDREN (DANIA)

WHAT’S THE CONNECTION?

FIND AN
What challenges does Dania face as a refugee? What do her story and the poem ACTIVITY
tell you about remaining hopeful? Write a short essay answering these questions, ONLINE!
using details from the article and the poem.

S T O RY W O R K S . S C H O L A S T I C . C O M • O C T O B E R / N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 6 19