This piece of writing is designed to prompt students to practice the writing fundamental to “show and not tell.” We all love a good character—someone who is complex yet relatable, full of all the human foibles we are aware of and who may act differently from what we could ever anticipate. For this piece of writing, students attempt to write a kind of self-portrait and/or to draw on a specific memory and re-create it vividly. Students were encouraged to draw on their senses and attempt to include dialogue in an attempt to illustrate, or demonstrate the relevance of the memory without summarizing why it matters. Students were instructed to use a “device” to help them to move through personality traits, interesting qualities, or amusing actions to form a narrative that lets the reader see them at their best and their worst. Students were given the following prompts to chose from: 1) Something, someone, some place that you loved, have loved, or hate or have hated? 2) Something (a person or experience) that changed you
refugee
The Displaced
Once upon a time, from a wounded land My family was pushed to leave our homeland I was asked to pluck, all my courage in one bag Will we ever be back to my mother’s soil? For the last time, I hugged the air deeply I held to my heart the smiles of most loved friends My friends! Will I ever see them again? I am sending my warmest greeting to all of them From the day I was born, formed of blood For nine months in the womb of my mum I was not told I would leave my home one day Who knows of the next day, of our fate? I was not taught to fight But as a displaced one I had to learn How to stay strong against all odds. What was not given to me in life Is to find the truth on my own way To separate goodness from badness And ask those who’ve experienced both I am displaced, my sisters too Like my ancestors, decades ago I am displaced, like a migratory bird Like blossoms of spring after a strong wind I am displaced, like shells washed on the shore Like fallen golden leaves in the fall I am displaced with my memories With my soul and my mind I escaped, leaving the war behind But my resilience is strong: to use my voice And sketch a new world with my words Displacement is not a symbol A label exclusive for the “brown”, the “black”, the other ones Displacement is color blind, It’s not a name, shall not be a shame It is not to live in fear Is not to live in jail with violence You can not draw the curtain, To the realities once you see the truth Don’t stay deaf or blind, open your eyes! Thousands of us are left behind. But we are not to stay silent, We’ll go ahead with closed fists and open minds! The day, when everyone will be free Like tides on an ocean Or, rays of sunshines on an iceberg We will make it! The day, that freedom won’t be a dream, We will aim for it! Those who lost their lives in the sea We won’t forget them! Those who wait behind barbed wires! We won’t forget them! With those who have been in the front line We will raise the sails of freedom… I am committed to that struggle!. For no one is free, until we are!
Saturday Newsletter: January 20, 2024
Sapling Shadow (Canon Rebel) by Madeline Male, 14; published in the January/February 2024 issue of Stone Soup A note from Laura Moran Dear Readers, I hope this message finds you well and that you’re settling into the rhythm of the new year with renewed energy and focus for the year ahead. In that vein, I have some exciting Refugee Project news to share. Firstly, I’m so excited to share that Caroline Gao, a member of the Stone Soup community and frequent participant in Refugee Project initiatives, won first place in the San Jose Library Fall into Fiction contest (10-12 age group) for her short story, titled “To My Penpal.” As Caroline explains, her story was inspired by her participation in the Stone Soup Refugee Project pen pal exchange and Half-Baked Art Collaboration. Drawing inspiration from the handwritten letters she received from young people in Kakuma Refugee camp, and the subsequent independent research she conducted on the UNESCO website, Caroline constructed a fictionalized narrative of a refugee family’s life in Kakuma Camp, seeking to represent the unique writing style of the young people with whom she corresponded. Read Caroline’s story and share in our heartfelt congratulations on this fantastic achievement! In other news, the Refugee Project is the recipient of the 2023 ruth weiss foundation School Poetry Award grant. In the words of the funding body: “The poet ruth weiss was a child survivor of World War II and dedicated her entire life to raising awareness of the ramifications of war on children. Her poetry often expresses a child’s war trauma and the joy of being safe and free to grow as a child. This year’s poetry prompt focuses on the effects of war on children and what is good for children. We feel the work that your organization is doing is incredibly important and wish to support it.” We are so honored to receive this award! To see some new Refugee Project writing, please check out the web page for our new Refugee Project collaborators, Humanitarian Service Team. Thank you for your continued support of the Stone Soup Refugee Project—without it, collaborations such as those featured here would not be possible—and happy winter writing! Yours sincerely, The Stone Soup Refugee Project Stone Soup is published by Children’s Art Foundation-Stone Soup Inc., a 501(c)(3) educational nonprofit organization registered in the United States of America, EIN: 23-7317498.
