When we process the ideas around prejudice the ideas that form in our brain are around sexism and racism. And very seldom do we consider the prejudice around refugees even though this prejudice has existed since the beginning of time. And just as people cant chose the colour of their skin or the gender they are born as, for so many people becoming a refuge is the decision between life and death. The book “The Girl From Aleppo” is about a 16 yr old girl Nujeen who fleed her home in Syria in 2011 and escaped with her family to Germany in Europe. Nujeens story has a slight twist to it then the rest as she does not complete this journey on boat and foot she completes it all in her wheelchair, pushed by her sister.

Nujeen is a Kurdish teenager who has cerebral palsy and cannot walk. Cerebral Palsy is a condition marked by impaired muscle coordination (spastic paralysis) caused by damage to the brain before or at birth. But this did not stop her dreaming of becoming an astronaut and braving inconceivable odds to travel in her wheelchair from Syria to Germany in search of a new life. This novel opened my eyes up to the prejudice inforced upon humans seeking safety and refuge from war (refugees). This book lefted me feeling internally grateful for my own life and the soul fact that i dont need to live everyday in constant fear.

Trapped in a fifth-floor apartment in Aleppo and unable to go to school, Nujeen taught herself to speak English by watching American soap operas. The ongoing multi-sided armed conflict in Syria fought between the Ba’athist Syrian Arab Republic, led by President Bashar al-Assad, and various domestic and foreign forces were executed outside Nujeens bedroom window in Apollo as revolution eventually turned to civil war. It finally got too dangerous for Nujeen and her family to stay in their home. So they packed up everything and left everything they knew. Imagine having to do this, Imagine having to pick up your life and leave your home so you and your family can be safe. “Imagine your sixteen years old. You’re in a warzone. You’re in a wheelchair. And saftey is 3,000 miles away”- Nujeen.

Nujeen and her family had to risk their lives to travel to saftey. The journey from Apollo to Germay was life threatning. Nujeen and her family risked being drowned abused, killed or stolen with out the extra problem of a weelchair getting in the way.

Prejudice was exhibited in all forms of hate throughout Nujeens journey. The intolerance of refugees inhibited these beautiful humans finding saftey and a new home. Hungry closed its borders and wouldn’t allow any refugees to cross over its boundary adding an extra two months of travel onto the already drastically long journey. Hungry was not the only prejudice country, many countries would not accept and made the journey harder for refugees. Germany was the only country in Europe at the time that would accept refugees.

Lack of integration occurred for one reason. People fear what they don’t know and were unwilling to learn and grow from new cultures. And becuase of this thousands died. Thousands upon thousands of refugees died at the selfish expense of our own prejudice. Died because we were so unwilling to open our minds and then open our hearts to these humans.

In this book, human nature was truly exposed. We are such a stubborn and so selfish generation. Prejudice can end peoples lives when we are so unwilling to wade our fixated views to help save each other. Because this is what it comes down to when you peel back the prejudice, what would you want if there was a civil war in your country? You would want to be welcomed into a new home with open arms. Or shunned aside and shut out due a nations prejudce.