Global Concerns Classroom’s Comments (group member since Jun 27, 2016)

Global Concerns Classroom’s comments from the Global Concerns Classroom 2016-2017 Reading List group.

Do the two very different emergencies the people of Sudan are dealing with in this plot change your perspective on poverty? Does this story give you a better understanding as to why poverty is so difficult to tackle?

Ishmael Beah gives credit for rescuing him to relief workers such as Esther in conjunction with organizations such as UNICEF. As a result, Beah has dedicated his life to their cause, studying political science and speaking before a broad variety of groups, ranging from the Council on Foreign Relations to the Center for Emerging Threats and Opportunities at the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory. What steps has he inspired you to take to help end the use of child soldiers? How can each of us join in Beah’s cause? Do you believe we have a moral obligation to do so?

On November 20, 1989, the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) was adopted. The CRC provides that the best interests of children must come first always, in good times and bad, in poverty and prosperity, in war and peace. However, while President Clinton signed the CRC in 1995, he did not submit the treaty to the U.S. Senate for advice and consent to ratification. At present, only the United States and Somalia have not ratified the CRC. Why has the United States not ratified this treaty? How does the United States not ratifying the treaty affect the legitimacy of the treaty?

At the end of his book, the author includes a chronology of events in Sierra Leone. How is this information helpful in understanding the context of the civil war? Did any event particularly surprise you? Did the arrival of Portuguese slave traders or the later colonization by the British contribute to Sierra Leone’s 20th Century problems? Does this history shed any light on the motivations of the army soldiers versus those of the rebels? Do you think that it had any influence on the Revolutionary United Front (RUF)?

Throughout the book, Beah discusses the impacts of child soldiering in villages throughout Sierra Leone. What are they? What impacts do you think child soldiering have on the international community? Discuss both the short-term impacts as well as the future consequences.

What role does rap and hip hop play in Beah’s life? On more than one occasion hip hop saves Beah’s life. How? Consider pages 38, 67, and 169.

Ishmael Beah opens his memoir with a dialogue between his American high school friends and himself in New York. What is their perspective on war? How does it compare to the perspective that Beah provides in the book? Are there similarities in how they view war?

Does it matter that the author, McCormick—despite her extensive research—is still an outsider writing about cultures and experiences entirely not her own?

What was the most disturbing part of this story for you? What facts crawled under your skin and continue to haunt you? Do you think there is anything you can do to help? What?

What happens when Monica leaves the brothel to return to the family she has supported? Do you think Lakshmi’s own ama would treat her the same way upon her return? What about her stepfather? What makes you think so or not?

What does despair look like? How does Lakshmi prevent her own despair from destroying her hope? Is it destroyed in others? How?

How does Mumtaz gain control over Lakshmi? What tactics does she use to own her both physically and emotionally? What punishment does she exact on girls who disobey or betray her?

What is Lakshmi’s life like in her Nepal mountain home? What events create the need for her to go into the city?

The two times in the book in which Mariam needs to sign a contract are during her marriage and before her execution. How do these two events mirror each other and what do they symbolize?

Mariam at first finds it hard to wear a burqa but then finds it “comforting” (p. 73). Research the history of the burqa. Where is it commonly worn? Is it still worn in Afghanistan even after the fall of the Taliban? Why might some women prefer the burqa? Why might some women find it oppressive?

The story ends in April 2003. Has the situation changed in Afghanistan? How? Where do you think Laila, Tariq, and their family would be now?

Why do you think Laila wanted to return to Afghanistan? Do you think you would feel the same in her position?

The phrase “a thousand splendid suns,” comes from the poem by Saib-e-Tabrizi, is quoted twice in the novel – once as Laila’s family prepares to leave Kabul, and again when she decides to return there from Pakistan. It is also echoed in one of the final lines: “Miriam is in Laila’s own heart, where she shines with the bursting radiance of a thousand suns.” Discuss the thematic significance of this phrase.

Did Salva's connection to Nya surprise you? Describe the future implications of water sanitation in Sudan.

What does the story title imply? Compare your thoughts from before the story and now after reading the story of Salva and Nya.