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Reviews
We Are Displaced: My Journey and Stories from Refugee Girls Around the World by Malala Yousafzai
libraryam's review against another edition
4.0
A set of short but deeply affecting displacement stories told by the people who lived them. Recommended.
pinks_paperbacks's review against another edition
5.0
As I was reading the stories of the young women two words were flashing in my mind - "privileged" and "population". I have not come across any book that touched me so much that it brought tears to my eyes, this book was an exception.
"Privileged" for the life I have where I am free to do and be what I want, including buying this book and reviewing it globally, without the least amount of obstacles. Reading those stories puts me to shame because I went through a bad phase (which is a part of everyone's life) and that affected me to the point where I have not had the courage to move forward appropriately (and this is according to my standards and not society's). I am not belittling my issue but viewing it objectively. Because when I put my reaction to my issue and their reactions to each of those young women's issues then it honestly embarasses me and more so because it makes me realise that not only do I have the potential but enough resources to fuel my life. These young women taught me to gather strength from elsewhere if we can't find it inside of us but we have to keep pushing ahead. It also taught me that things can go from good to worst in a moment but it can be reversed if we are persistent with our goals.
"Population" for the cause of so many issues in this world. I know a lot of you may not agree with it but we do know that our population has been accelerating at an alarming rate and there is still no sign of it decreasing. If this keeps going then there will be shortage of land, water and food. There will be an increase in unemployment because there will be too many people available to do limited number of jobs or even create limited amount of niche for themselves. There will be instability in emotions which can then have it's ripple effect. And since we don't live in an ideal world there will be people fighting to take control of things that are essential for sustaining life and our desperation will make us do things that will not only harm us as a human being but will also disrupt the workings of nature or at the very least be in the way of nature. All in all it's not a pretty picture and if you observe then all of this has already begun.
One thing that we need to do is reduce the number of children we give birth to, instead we may choose to adopt from so many children who are just surviving without any guardians. Please don't bring "God's blessings" as the reason of reproduction, it's sex and other times it is medical assistance. If you didn't have sex or didn't take medical assistance and still became pregnant then you may bring "God's blessings" as one of the reasons. I understand it's not a concept we are used to but desperate times calls for desperate measures. I do hope that we come up with a solution that is beneficial for our world, in long term, as soon as possible. While writing this review a third word popped in my head - "education".
"Education" so that we are aware of number of resources to get optimum results. Mind you, literacy is not education. It is one of the mediums to education. Just like the best tap in the world is of no use without any water source similarly people with any kind of skill can do nothing if they don't know how to make use of it. Education helps in bringing skill closer to it's use. There are number of politicians who don't promote education as aggressively as ideally they should. They are aware that education includes analysing things and having discussions (arguments not quarrels) which in turn can bring different parties to a fair settlementt therefore reducing the number of issues which in turn is a life source for politicians. Education helps us to connect not only with others but with ourselves too because education makes us curious about everything. It made me think, have an opinion, find faults and come up with a solution without genuinely disrespecting others' thoughts, opinions and suggestions. It is still helping me be a better version of myself and that is how education helps us all.
I definitely recommend this book to everyone.
"Privileged" for the life I have where I am free to do and be what I want, including buying this book and reviewing it globally, without the least amount of obstacles. Reading those stories puts me to shame because I went through a bad phase (which is a part of everyone's life) and that affected me to the point where I have not had the courage to move forward appropriately (and this is according to my standards and not society's). I am not belittling my issue but viewing it objectively. Because when I put my reaction to my issue and their reactions to each of those young women's issues then it honestly embarasses me and more so because it makes me realise that not only do I have the potential but enough resources to fuel my life. These young women taught me to gather strength from elsewhere if we can't find it inside of us but we have to keep pushing ahead. It also taught me that things can go from good to worst in a moment but it can be reversed if we are persistent with our goals.
"Population" for the cause of so many issues in this world. I know a lot of you may not agree with it but we do know that our population has been accelerating at an alarming rate and there is still no sign of it decreasing. If this keeps going then there will be shortage of land, water and food. There will be an increase in unemployment because there will be too many people available to do limited number of jobs or even create limited amount of niche for themselves. There will be instability in emotions which can then have it's ripple effect. And since we don't live in an ideal world there will be people fighting to take control of things that are essential for sustaining life and our desperation will make us do things that will not only harm us as a human being but will also disrupt the workings of nature or at the very least be in the way of nature. All in all it's not a pretty picture and if you observe then all of this has already begun.
One thing that we need to do is reduce the number of children we give birth to, instead we may choose to adopt from so many children who are just surviving without any guardians. Please don't bring "God's blessings" as the reason of reproduction, it's sex and other times it is medical assistance. If you didn't have sex or didn't take medical assistance and still became pregnant then you may bring "God's blessings" as one of the reasons. I understand it's not a concept we are used to but desperate times calls for desperate measures. I do hope that we come up with a solution that is beneficial for our world, in long term, as soon as possible. While writing this review a third word popped in my head - "education".
"Education" so that we are aware of number of resources to get optimum results. Mind you, literacy is not education. It is one of the mediums to education. Just like the best tap in the world is of no use without any water source similarly people with any kind of skill can do nothing if they don't know how to make use of it. Education helps in bringing skill closer to it's use. There are number of politicians who don't promote education as aggressively as ideally they should. They are aware that education includes analysing things and having discussions (arguments not quarrels) which in turn can bring different parties to a fair settlementt therefore reducing the number of issues which in turn is a life source for politicians. Education helps us to connect not only with others but with ourselves too because education makes us curious about everything. It made me think, have an opinion, find faults and come up with a solution without genuinely disrespecting others' thoughts, opinions and suggestions. It is still helping me be a better version of myself and that is how education helps us all.
I definitely recommend this book to everyone.
sparker94's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
4.25
drbatfcc's review against another edition
5.0
Nobel Prize winner offers stories of displaced persons around the world.
fridde82's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.75
This books helps seeing refugees as individuals with their personal stories and struggels. But despite the gruesome experience described by the strong women in the book, it also inspires hope.