Without Refuge by Jane Mitchell

Author:Jane Mitchell [Mitchell, Jane]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Tags: Fiction, Fiction - Middle Grade, Middle-Grade Fiction, Middle-Grade Novel, Middle-Grade Novels, novel, Novels, Homelessness & Poverty, Social Issues, Violence, People & Places, Middle East, Carolrhoda Books, family, Family & Relationships, Jane Mitchell, Refugee, Refugee Crisis, Refugees, Syria, Syrian Civil War, War, Without Refuge
ISBN: 9781541500501
Published: 2017-11-15T16:10:52+00:00

walk more slowly than yesterday because everyone is

tired and thirsty, and there are no guards chasing us.

The family is in front, then Ali, while Musab falls

into step with me at the back.

“Ali and I work with a resistance movement in

Ankara,” Musab says. “We fight the Turks.” He

looks at me. “You’re Kurdish?”

There are Syrians who want Kurds to be thrown

out of Syria. There are Syrians who blame Kurds for

the war, for rebel strikes on schools and hospitals, for lots of bad things happening all over Syria. Sometimes it isn’t safe to say you’re Kurdish. This might

be one of those times.

But Musab doesn’t wait for me to answer. He

nods as though I’ve already replied. Maybe he under-

stands why I say nothing.

“We work with Syrian Kurds,” he says. “Mem-

bers of the People’s Protection Units.”

This is news to me. Why would soldiers like

Mahmoud and Dima want to go to Ankara? There’s

so much work for them in Kobani. In Syria.

137

“Kurds are everywhere.” Musab says it like it’s a good thing. “You could work with us too. Help your

people to build the resistance.”

Ali joins us.

“Turkey sends airstrikes to bomb Syrian Kurds,”

he says. “Did you know that?”

I don’t reply right away. I get confused about

who’s sending planes and helicopters and airstrikes

and barrel bombs. It seems to change every day.

Inside Syria, there are rebel groups and pro-gov-

ernment soldiers and regional forces. Outside Syria,

lots of different countries are involved: Russia and

the UK, Saudi Arabia and France, Iran, the United

States. And now Turkey.

“I think so,” I say at last. Bushra would be furious

if she heard my hesitant tone. I hear her voice in my

head, chiding me for not knowing better.

“Our resistance movement fights Turkish plans

to bomb Syria,” Ali says. “Some of our brothers have

already gone to Ankara.”

Musab and Ali remind me of Dima and Mahmoud.

If I refuse to go with them, will they cut my throat?

“I’m only thirteen,” I say.

“You’re strong and brave—we saw that yesterday

when you broke through the border,” Musab says.

138

“I’m not strong or brave.” I want to say I’m frightened and confused. I wish yesterday had never

happened.

“We need boys like you to run messages and

deliver information to help Syria,” Ali says. “In time,

we would teach you to do more important work.”

“You’ll be safe with us,” Musab says. “You’ll

have somewhere safe to sleep and good food.”

I need somewhere safe to sleep, instead of an

empty hillside with no shelter. My belly rumbles at

the mention of food. This is a generous offer. I don’t

have any other choices.

“What about my family?”

“As soon as your family arrives, you’re free to go

with them,” Ali says. “You’re young. You need your

family. But until they get here, you can stay with us.

We’ll teach you skills to fight the Turks.”

At last we reach a place where the goat trail winds

close to the main road. We decide to continue on the

empty road. A steep channel drops down from the

trail. The family man is first to clamber down. He

slips on loose dirt and gravel. He snatches at rocks

and weeds. He slides and blunders down a vertical

part, finally stumbling out at the roadside.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.