Refugee Writing

This term for writing we have been recreating some true stories of people's lives. First we watched a short clip of someone's life then we could rewrite a small section as a narrative, write letters between Manuk and his Father, write the next scene in the film, write a description of the city and about life in Korea in 1951 or write some diary entries pretending you are Manuk.

This is the first story of a little boy named Manuk that lives in Korea and his dad has gone to war. This is the first letter from Manuk to dad.


Dear dad 

I hope your having a good time at war. I miss you terribly. Mum leaves the house really early so I mostly have to fend for myself. But she does leave a note every now and then. I've made a collection of toys out of metal from a plane that crashed into a house and I've been using the metal from that. Please end the war daddy. 

The next story is of a girl named Julianne from Zimbabwe. I did diary entries for this one. Here is a short snippet.

6/02/06
Dear diary

Hi my name is Juliane my mum just got me this new diary. I was so excited. It is really sparkly with stories in the back. I’m only three by the way. My mum helps me write in this diary since I am only three and I don’t know how to write or spell yet. I live on a big farm with lots of animals like my chickens, goats and sheep. I love living on a big farm there’s lots of space to run around. BYE!

9/04/08
Dear diary

It’s Juliane. Sorry I haven’t wrote in you for a long time. Some people took my mum and tried to kill her. But I know she’s out there somewhere. But it has been an excruciating time not living with a mother. I live in an orphanage now it’s very lonely. I only have you. I’ve learnt how to read and write now. I also haven’t had food for a week I’ve had to survive on grimy snail water, I’m desperate.

12/05/09
Dear diary

Guess who it is. It’s Juliane how’s it going? I’m not great, thanks for asking. I’m in the back of a dusty lorry with I think about 200 hundred other people and I’m the smallest, I’m up to most of their knees. I think they're trying to smuggle us out of the country. I’m around six now my birthday was a couple days ago it was extremely lonely. What who’s that? There’s someone out the window screaming my name crying……………..bye.



This last story is of a girl named Ruth from Eritrea in East Africa. Here is a short snippet of it since my story was so long.

Hi my names Ruth I’m 14 years old. My mum has sent me to get the water from the river which is 3 hours away from our village, I have to walk there too. It’s even harder to walk back because I have to carry the water with me but at least I can have a drink when I’m there.

From my house you can see the mountains made of stone with the pretty blue sky and the beautiful brown grass. My family and I live in a small village 2 hours away from a school so I have to walk. I have six brothers and two sisters I’m the one in the middle. When I’m not at school I help my mum on the farm. My dad is in the military he left 5 years ago, we don’t know where he is. In Eritrea when your a 14 year old girl you either have to get married to someone you don’t know or go to the military, I don’t want to do either. So I’m going to run away.

I am leaving at 4:00am in the morning I’m not taking anything with me just the clothes on my back because it would be too much to carry. I’m not going to say goodbye because I know my mum will go ballistic. I have just walked for 2 days to Ethiopia. I am now walking through the forest and I can hear hyenas. I’m really nervous I think I’m just going to hide under the trees for a while. 

Leave in the comments what your favourite story was of mine.

Thank Rhiannon