Outcasts United: A Refugee Team, An American Town by Warren St. John
I read this book because it was one of the titles in the Alaska Battle of the Books high school program for the 2014-22015 season. I had mixed feelings about this book. It's set in an area outside of Clarkston, Georgia; a small community made of up long time southern folks UNTIL it became one of several prime relocation sites for global refugees from war torn countries. We read about the soccer program that a young lady by the name of Luma, herself somewhat new to America, creates to help the young fugitive boys in this community. The author is a journalist who wrote a series of newspaper articles concerning the Fugees and followed up with this book.
I found the style of writing to be a bit disjointed for my taste. It didn't cause me to stop reading and put the book away but it made it so that I thought about skipping parts of it. Since I don't like skipping parts of books I plugged away and finished it. There were parts of me feeling terribly sorry for the refugees and at times other parts of me having some sadness for the longtime residents of Clarkston facing the life they knew in their community to change without much choice. The struggles that young refugees lived with while trying to make America their new home certain caused me to contemplate how difficult a life these amazing people have led. The struggles that the Clarkston residents dealt with as the refugees moved in also made me stop and ponder. Perhaps the reason for my mixed emotions is because I tried seeing the concerns from the eyes of "both sides"; the refugees, and the longtime residents of Clarkston, GA. There are valid concerns on both "sides". All in all I really feel that the organizations tasked with resettling the refugees could have done a lot more to promote a healthy atmosphere for all the groups involved. Perhaps a healthier and happier environment would have been had by all.
Do I recommend this book? Yes I do for the simple fact that we all need to view life through other sets of eyes from time to time.
I found the style of writing to be a bit disjointed for my taste. It didn't cause me to stop reading and put the book away but it made it so that I thought about skipping parts of it. Since I don't like skipping parts of books I plugged away and finished it. There were parts of me feeling terribly sorry for the refugees and at times other parts of me having some sadness for the longtime residents of Clarkston facing the life they knew in their community to change without much choice. The struggles that young refugees lived with while trying to make America their new home certain caused me to contemplate how difficult a life these amazing people have led. The struggles that the Clarkston residents dealt with as the refugees moved in also made me stop and ponder. Perhaps the reason for my mixed emotions is because I tried seeing the concerns from the eyes of "both sides"; the refugees, and the longtime residents of Clarkston, GA. There are valid concerns on both "sides". All in all I really feel that the organizations tasked with resettling the refugees could have done a lot more to promote a healthy atmosphere for all the groups involved. Perhaps a healthier and happier environment would have been had by all.
Do I recommend this book? Yes I do for the simple fact that we all need to view life through other sets of eyes from time to time.