Creative writing refugees

In order to rebuild one’s life, one has to be strong and an optimist. So we are very optimistic. Our optimism, indeed, is admirable, even if we say so ourselves. We lost our home, which means the familiarity of our daily life. We lost our occupation, which means the confidence that we are of some use in this world.

Living frugally on income from a convenience store, the parents are conflicted over this. As the story’s narrator, the son reveals how this is viewed in the community while also sharing his own internal drama over it. Eventually, a private past comes to light and causes a turning point for all.

The five short stories in this month’s selection are about refugees from different parts of the world: Vietnam, Pakistan, Nazi Germany, Uruguay, Mexico, and Korea. Two are actually excerpts from longer works but we include them here because they stand as short stories, as well.

In English we had to write a creative writing story/speech/whatever based on the concept of 'belonging' (although, just recently it was decided that 'belonging' is not a concept but a theme). Our stimulus was a picture of two refugee children behind a diamond fence. * Just so you know, this is not a true story.