Grace Zhao - When Stars Are Scattered
Storyboard Text
- Man, I'm hungry. I definitely haven't ate in five days. Poor Hassan, he doesn't understand everything yet. I wonder if our mom would show up someday.
- Hassan, don't touch the cat since it might bite! You should know that since we've been here for so long. I wonder if our mom would show up one day because I still believe she is still out there looking for us.
- Hooyo!
- Who is that?
- I don't know, what if Hassan have another seizure? What if Fatuma is sick. I mean, I want to go but what about my family?
- But I can't! I need to take care of Hassan and Fatuma! Also, I haven't talked to Fatuma about this!
- Hi Salan.
- I see that you've been practicing numbers. You're very smart you know. I think you should attend school. Don't wanna waste that big brain of yours.
- It's okay, I already have Fatuma's permission.
- Fatuma is your legal guardian, she'll be able to take care of him. Plus, Hassan hasn't had a seizure in years. Just think about it. I already bought you a notebook and a pencil.
- Hello Omar, my name is Salan.
- OMG! For real! I made it!?
- Hey Jeri! You made it! I did too!
- A COUPLE YEARS LATER...
- I'd like to acknowledge that we had a very important exam. One important enough that it determines whether or not you will continue school. These are the people that passed: ..., ..., ..., ..., ..., ..., ..., ..., ..., ..., ..., ..., Omar, ..., ..., ..., ..., ..., ..., ..., ..., ..., ..., ..., ..., ..., ..., ..., ..., ..., ..., ..., ..., ..., ... and .... Congratulations, hope to see you here after break.
- Congrats to you all that passed the examSign form to continue next session.
- Yes, we made it!
- Aw c'mon! I wish I made it!
- Man this is scary and exciting! I'm so glad Jeri is here with me.
- Yay, you made it! I didn't though...
- Aw shoot! My mom is gonna kill me.
- In the graphic novel, When Stars Are Scattered, the main character is Omar Mohamed. He and his younger brother Hassan have been living in a refugee camp in Kenya called Dadaab for seven years due to the ongoing war. His foster mom Fatuma have been caring for for both brothers ever since they arrived at the camp. Hassan has had many seizures when he was little but he hasn't had one in a while. He also only knows one word, hooyo. Omar hasn't been to school for a while but he still remembers the numbers his mom taught him when he was little and keeps on practicing them with mud bricks. He likes to build pretend houses with them to pass time with his Hassan. Life at the camp is pretty hard. Families will have to wait in a long line to get their water and food supplies and most people go hungry there when there isn't enough food to be served..
- Hi, my name David. I will be conducting your initial interview. Please tell me the story of your past.
- ............................................................................................................................................................
- Hi, my name is Omar Mohamed. This is my little brother Hassan and my foster mom Fatuma. I was born in the town Mareerey, a rural area. Our father was a farmer. One day we were having a picnic when... when these men came out of nowhere and started yelling and then... then they shot my dad. I ran to my mother to tell her what happened and she said to me to take Hassan and run to our neighbor's house. We then fled away and walked for days once the men entered and invaded our town. We walked for weeks and months until we reached the camp in Kenya. Our group just kept getting smaller, our neighbors died and by the time me and my brother got there, we were seriously sick. We stayed in the hospital for a long time and once we woke again, we had to be taught how to walk. Then they took me to my foster mom, Fatuma, and then...
- Hooyo, hooyo, hooyo! Hooyo, hooyo.
- WE UN WORKERS, PLEDGE TO HELP YOU TO THE BEST OF OUR ABILITY.
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- KEEP CALM AND PRAY HARD
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- Omar's best friend Jeri goes to school. After school, he hangs out with him and he teaches Omar the things he learned in class. One day while Omar was practicing counting with mud bricks, a tall dude named Salan walked by. He offered Omar a place in school with Fatuma's permission and after a lot of persuading, Omar agreed. Salan gave him a notebook and a pencil as a gift for his bravery of starting school.
- Do you think we're picked Hassan?
- Cross our fingers Hassan!
- Mohamed
- Hooyo!
- MOHAMED, OmarMOHAMED, HassanYou have been selected for resettlement to the United States of America.
- The next day, Omar attended the fifth grade class along with his friends Jeri and Nimo. At first, Omar needed a lot of help with his english and history which caused a lot of stress. Thankfully, Salan offered him english classes (one-on-one) to him for free. After that, Omar was pretty successful in school. A few years later, there was an exam that the students needed to pass in order to continue school. He and his friends all passed and continued school. One day during school, someone went to get him from class because his name appeared on the list for an interview for resettlement. Omar and his family went to the interview the very next day.
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- Omar
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- Bye! I will miss you! God luck!
- ....
- A guy named David hosted the interview. He asked a few questions about where Omar was born, what did he remember of home, what do you remember about the day you left home, what happened to their mother (is she still alive), information of Hassan such as his condition and about Fatuma. After a few months, they realized they had been chosen to take a second interview with a different guy. They kept returning for more interviews (twice in a month) without Fatuma because she was too old and weak to walk to the interviews anymore. They filed out a bunch of paperwork with the help of Susana Martinez, an UN worker who helped Omar and Hassan with everything, even getting an interview.
- Soon it was time to get the envelope which told you whether you are going to be resettled or not. Omar and Hassan walked to the UN office and waited for them to be called to retrieve the envelope. They found Susana waiting for them there and she reassured them for a little. Soon once it was time, an UN officer called the boys up to retrieve the envelope. People say it's good to get a thick one because there will be more paperwork in them and more paperwork means more chances of getting resettled. The officer handed Omar the envelope. A thick one. With shaking hands, they ripped open the envelope. They did it. They are going to be resettled back to America.
- Riiiiiiiiiip!
- Hooyo!
- Congratulations!
- NO WAY!!!
- The next months were a blur of security screenings, medical examinations and identification documents. Omar and Hassan packed their few items into two bags and said goodbye to everyone. They exchanged presents with everyone and hugged them for the last time and boarded the bus to the airport. They took a plane to America and landed in Tucson, Arizona. They had spent fifteen years living in the refugee camp but they still had hope. Now, they start their new journey to thrive in America. This book had an overall theme to not lose hope when things get tough and life gets hard. Omar and everyone else at the camp showed hope and some of the lucky families get to be resettle to America or somewhere else.
- Our home sweet home. I sure wish Fatuma was here with us. It's been a day and I already miss her.
- This is it Hassan, our new home.
- Hooyo!
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