Finishing Tasting the Sky

I wasn’t sure what my reaction was going to be to our Lit Circle book, Tasting the Sky, but after finishing the book, I found it very touching, and enjoyed it very much. I found it extremely interesting to read about the culture of someone growing up in another part of the world: Palestine. Not only did Ibtisam grow up in a different culture than I, she grew up in a time of war. She was a refugee. She was forced to leave her home at the start of the six-day war, and then endured the struggle of returning to it. At the end of the book, they are forced to move again, as they have reached their breaking point. The leader of Egypt passes away, and two Israeli soldiers start harassing Ibtisam’s mother. They don’t have to think much about moving away. Reading this story made me really think about the current refugee crisis in today’s world. Ibtisam is only in second grade when she and her family are forced to move from their home for the final time. Ibtisam explains in the story how her home in Ramallah will always be her one, true home. It is hard to imagine going through as much as Ibtisam by only the age of six or seven. Constantly living in fear of a war coming to you, constantly worrying when you will have to move next. Connecting this to the refugee crisis of today, I think it is extremely important that children be thought of first. Children are so innocent and no kid deserves to grow up in a war torn environment. I always thought that refugees, especially women and children refugees, needed to be helped, but after reading Tasting the Sky, my awareness of the issue will be even more heightened.  

https://www.mercycorps.org/articles/iraq-jordan-lebanon-syria-turkey/quick-facts-what-you-need-know-about-syria-crisis