Introduction
Malala Yousafzai is a name known around the world. As an international activist and advocate for women and girls, her personal story is one of incredible resilience and courage. Forced to flee her home in Pakistan due to violence from the Taliban, Malala never stopped fighting for female education and empowerment.
But Malala's story is just one of millions. Around the world, countless people have been displaced from their homes by conflict, natural disasters, and other crises. In "We Are Displaced," Malala shares not only her own journey, but also the stories of other displaced girls and women she has met through her advocacy work.
These are stories of survival against incredible odds. Of grief and loss, but also hope and determination. Of girls and women who have faced unimaginable hardship yet continue to dream of a better future. Through their experiences, we gain insight into the complex emotions and challenges faced by displaced people around the world.
Malala's Story: Paradise Lost
For Malala, paradise looked like the Swat Valley in Pakistan where she grew up. With its pine forests, snow-capped mountains and flowing rivers, the area was so beautiful it was often called "the Switzerland of the East." Born in 1997 in the city of Mingora, Malala's early childhood was filled with happy memories of playing with friends and visiting family in nearby mountain villages. Her father was an activist passionate about education and the environment.
But this idyllic life was shattered in 2005 when a devastating earthquake hit Pakistan, killing over 70,000 people. In the aftermath, religious extremists gained influence by providing aid while also preaching a strict version of Islam. They called for women to cover their faces, denounced music and Western culture, and claimed educating girls was un-Islamic.
For Malala and her family, this extreme ideology made no sense. But that didn't matter as the extremists joined forces with the Taliban and their power grew. Soon, men with long beards and black turbans appeared on the streets, instilling fear in the community.
Malala's first encounter with the Taliban came during a road trip when she was still a child. At a roadblock, armed men searched their car for music cassettes and sternly told Malala to cover her face. Though she wanted to question why, as she was just a young girl, the presence of guns left her terrified into silence. It was clear that life in Swat Valley was changing dramatically for the worse.
A Life Uprooted
By the time Malala was 11, the Taliban had launched a campaign of terror across Swat Valley. They cut electricity, bombed schools and police stations, and killed those who spoke out against them. In late 2008, they ordered all girls' schools to be shut down or face attack. For Malala, who was passionate about education, this was devastating.
The situation grew so dire that in 2009, the government ordered an evacuation of Swat Valley to make way for a military offensive against the Taliban. This marked the beginning of Malala and her family's life as internally displaced people. For months, they moved between dirty hotels and the homes of relatives and strangers, always worried about being a burden.
When civilians were finally allowed to return to Mingora after three months, life seemed to return to normal on the surface. But the Taliban had only gone underground, continuing to carry out targeted killings from the shadows. Before long, Malala herself became a target due to her outspoken advocacy for girls' education.
On October 9, 2012, Malala was shot in the head by a Taliban member while on her way to school. The attack made international headlines. After initial treatment in Pakistan, Malala was airlifted to Birmingham, England for further care. Upon her release from the hospital nearly three months later, her family started a new life there from scratch.
It took time for Malala to accept that returning to Pakistan would put her life in danger and that living in Birmingham wasn't just temporary. She grappled with whether to continue her advocacy work in the face of such violence. But supportive letters from people around the world, especially women and girls thanking her for her efforts, convinced her to carry on.
Malala's personal journey of displacement is powerful. But it's through sharing the stories of other displaced girls and women that she met in her travels that we gain an even deeper understanding of this global crisis.
Zaynab and Sabreen: The Role of Luck
The diverging paths of sisters Zaynab and Sabreen illustrate how both good and bad luck can dramatically shape the lives of displaced people.
Malala met Zaynab in 2015 during a screening of the documentary "He Named Me Malala" in Minneapolis. Zaynab and her sister Sabreen were born in Yemen and raised by their grandmother after their mother emigrated to the United States. Their lives changed drastically in 2010 when Zaynab was 14 and Sabreen was 12. Their grandmother died after a fall, and Yemen was descending into instability and violence.
By 2012, bombings had become commonplace. Zaynab reached out to her mother, who instructed her to make her way to Egypt and stay with extended family while applying for a US visa. This is where Zaynab's luck began to turn. In December 2014, just before her 19th birthday, her US visa was approved. She was able to move to Minneapolis and reunite with her mother.
Zaynab's transition was eased by the presence of many Muslim students at her new school. She quickly made friends like Asma, a Somali student who showed her around and helped translate. With support and opportunity, Zaynab was able to continue her education and build a new life.
But Sabreen wasn't so fortunate. Her US visa application was denied without explanation. Left with no other options, she paid for an illegal and dangerous crossing to Europe. The nine-day journey involved transfers between overcrowded boats with no bathrooms or basic facilities. At one point, their boat ran out of fuel and had to be rescued by the Red Cross.
Sabreen eventually landed in Italy before being sent to a refugee camp in the Netherlands. There she met and became engaged to a man from Yemen. Now married, they live in Belgium, but Sabreen still lacks official immigration papers. Her future remains uncertain.
The stark contrast between the sisters' experiences shows how arbitrary factors can determine the fate of displaced people. Both sought refuge by applying for US visas, but only Zaynab was lucky enough to be approved. While she pursues her education in Minneapolis, Sabreen faces ongoing instability and an unclear legal status in Europe.
Muzoon: Making a Difference in the Camp
Not all displaced people are rendered powerless by their circumstances. Some, like Muzoon, find ways to create positive change even in the most difficult situations.
Malala met Muzoon during a visit to the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan. Muzoon was well-known in the camp for her passionate advocacy for education, much like Malala herself. Growing up in Syria, Muzoon had high hopes for her future. But when war engulfed the country in 2011, bombings and violence became a daily reality. Schools closed, and after two years of living in constant danger, Muzoon's family decided to flee.
They drove to the Jordanian border and walked from there to the Zaatari camp. Life in the camp was challenging - Muzoon's family of eight shared a single tent without furniture or electricity. But amid the uncertainty, Muzoon's primary concern was the disruption to her education.
She was relieved to discover there was a school in the camp. Not only could she continue her studies, but it gave her a sense of focus and purpose in the chaotic refugee environment. However, Muzoon soon realized many other girls in the camp didn't share her enthusiasm for school.
Some told her they saw education as pointless, believing their parents wanted them to focus on getting married to secure their futures. Muzoon recognized this as a trap that would lock girls into poverty by denying them skills for self-sufficiency. She decided to take action.
Muzoon began talking to people throughout the camp, advocating for girls' education over early marriage. In one case, she spoke with a 17-year-old girl whose father wanted her to marry a man over 40. The girl couldn't see any other options, but Muzoon encouraged her to talk to her father about how education could provide much more long-term security than an arranged marriage.
A few days later, the girl reported back that she would be attending school after all. Muzoon believed that if she and this girl started going to school, others would follow their example. It was a small spark of hope in difficult circumstances.
By the time Malala visited Zaatari, Muzoon had earned a reputation for her tireless education advocacy. Some even called her "the Malala of Syria." Through her efforts, Muzoon not only refused to let her refugee status define her future, but found a way to lift up others around her as well.
Najla: Fighting for Education Against All Odds
Najla's story is one of incredible perseverance in pursuing education despite seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Raised in Sinjar, Iraq as part of the Yazidi religious minority, Najla's hunger for learning was evident from a very young age.
When she was eight, Najla had to convince her father to allow her to attend school, as he and her mother didn't see educating their daughters as important. Once she finally started classes, school opened up a whole new world of knowledge that made Najla feel like she was truly seeing things for the first time.
But her father soon wanted her to quit and focus on learning to be a housewife instead. Desperate to continue her education, Najla took the drastic step of running away from home into the nearby Sinjar mountains. She returned five days later to a furious father, but he eventually relented and allowed her to keep attending school.
Najla faced other challenges to her education as well. In 2012, her sister's husband was murdered. Soon after, Najla's neighbor and friend committed suicide by setting herself on fire, terrified because her brother had told their father she had a boyfriend. These traumatic events plunged Najla into a deep depression, and she couldn't face going to school for a long time.
But once again, Najla fought against the obstacles - this time her own internal struggles. In 2013, she resumed her studies and even began dreaming of attending college someday. However, her world was turned upside down yet again in 2014 when ISIS began a campaign of genocide against the Yazidi people.
ISIS was known for destroying villages, kidnapping and abusing women and girls, and murdering men. When they occupied nearby Mosul, Najla's family knew they had to flee immediately. Once again, Najla found herself hiding in the Sinjar mountains, this time with her family for eight days. They eventually made their way to Kurdistan, finding refuge in an unfinished building along with over 100 other families. They never returned to their home in Sinjar.
Even as a refugee, Najla held onto her dreams of education and college. She began teaching other children to read to keep their hope alive. When Malala met Najla during her 2017 Girl Power trip, she was so impressed by Najla's inner strength and ability to maintain hope that she invited her to accompany her to the United Nations General Assembly that year.
Najla's story is a powerful testament to the human spirit and the transformative power of education. Despite displacement, violence, and trauma, she never stopped fighting for her right to learn and grow.
María: Carrying Home Within
The ongoing civil conflict in Colombia has displaced over 7 million people in the past 40 years. María is one of those millions whose life was uprooted by violence.
María's early childhood on a rural Colombian farm was idyllic. She had space to run and play, animals to care for, and fresh fruit always available from the family's mango and orange trees. But when María was just four years old, her mother abruptly fled the farm with María and her four siblings.
Her mother said María's father needed to stay behind but would join them later. In reality, he had been killed the day before, and María's mother feared they would be next if they stayed. The family ended up in Cali, one of Colombia's largest cities, living in a makeshift camp full of people displaced by violence.
Life in the camp was incredibly difficult. Poverty and crime were rampant, with gangs in control of much of the area. Gunshots were a regular occurrence, and avoiding stray bullets became part of daily life. On top of the physical dangers, María and her family faced racism and abuse due to their dark skin and rural accents.
Despite these challenges, María's mother worked tirelessly to create some stability for her children. With no money of their own, she went tent to tent in the camp offering to wash clothes to earn an income. When María was seven, a community organization helped them move to a house. Though it was in poor condition with a leaky roof, it was an improvement over the camp.
María's mother also signed her children up for a weekend theater program. The group produced a play based on the children's experiences of displacement called "Nobody Can Take Away What We Carry Inside." This introduced María to creative expression as an outlet for processing trauma, something she has continued to use throughout her life. At 16, she even made a documentary about her displacement experience.
Though María has moved many times since leaving the farm, to this day she has only ever felt truly at home in one place - her memories of running through the fields and picking fresh mangoes. Her story illustrates how displacement impacts a person's sense of belonging and identity, even years later. For María, home became something she had to carry within herself rather than a physical place.
Marie Claire: A Mother's Dream Realized
After giving speeches, Malala often takes time to hear stories from refugees in the audience. One story that stayed with her was that of Marie Claire, whom she met in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Marie Claire was just a baby when war broke out in her homeland, the Democratic Republic of Congo, forcing her family to flee. They became undocumented refugees in neighboring Zambia, where life was extremely difficult. Refugees faced hostility at every turn.
In school, Marie Claire endured terrible abuse from other children, who insulted her, threw rocks, and spat on her. But when she came home in tears, her mother always encouraged her to stay focused on her dreams and not let the abuse hold her back.
Tragedy struck when Marie Claire was 12. A vigilante mob attacked their home one evening. Marie Claire's mother was killed while trying to protect her children. Her father was stabbed in the head multiple times but miraculously survived. The family was devastated, and Marie Claire had to drop out of school to care for her father as he recovered.
When she finally returned to school, it was with renewed determination. Marie Claire's mother had always dreamed of seeing her graduate one day. With that goal in mind, Marie Claire threw herself into her studies and began to excel academically.
Then, when Marie Claire was 16, the family received life-changing news. The United Nations Refugee Agency had accepted their refugee application - a process Marie Claire's mother had started years earlier. They would be resettled in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Marie Claire was excited to finish high school in the United States. But at 19, she was over the usual age limit for admission. She barely convinced the school to let her enroll, and then had just five months to complete all the coursework for her diploma.
Against the odds, Marie Claire succeeded. In June 2016, she became the first person in her family to graduate high school. As she accepted her diploma, she felt her mother's presence, knowing she was fulfilling the dream her mother had sacrificed so much for.
Marie Claire's story showcases the power of a parent's influence and sacrifice, as well as a refugee's resilience and determination to succeed despite immense obstacles.
The Rohingya: Aid Helps, But Can't Replace What's Lost
The Rohingya people are Muslims living mainly in western Myanmar, bordering Bangladesh. As a religious minority in the primarily Buddhist country, they have faced persecution since the 1960s.
Bangladesh's first refugee camp for Rohingya was established in 1990 in an inhospitable area prone to monsoons and flooding. Despite the harsh conditions, over 900,000 people live there today.
In 2017, Myanmarese soldiers and extremists launched renewed attacks against the Rohingya, forcing thousands to seek safety in Bangladesh. Malala spoke out against this crisis, bringing international attention to the Rohingya's plight.
At a humanitarian conference soon after, Malala met French activist Jérôme Jarre, who had co-founded an organization called the Love Army. This group engages youth in responding to global emergencies, including raising funds through social media.
The money raised by the Love Army has had a significant impact on Rohingya refugees. It has funded the creation of 4,000 shelters and 80 deep-water wells. The organization has also created jobs inside the camps, from translation to construction work. These employment opportunities are crucial, as Rohingya are forbidden from leaving the camps to seek work elsewhere once they arrive in Bangladesh.
One of the people whose work is funded by the Love Army is Ajida. She fled to the camps with her husband and three young children after their village was destroyed by military and police forces. They escaped with only the clothes on their backs, walking for nine days to reach Bangladesh.
Ajida's family was settled in a remote camp, a 30-minute walk from the nearest road. They live in a simple bamboo hut they built themselves. Using skills learned from her mother, Ajida constructed a clay stove to cook for her family. When the Love Army discovered her talent, they hired her to build stoves for other refugees. To date, she has made over 2,000 stoves which are donated to families in need.
The income from stove-making and her husband's work on a Love Army cleaning team provides the family with some financial stability and sense of purpose. However, life as refugees remains incredibly challenging. Ajida's children miss their home and struggle to understand why they had to leave.
As Malala points out, there's often an expectation for refugees to feel nothing but gratitude toward their host country and relief at being safe. But Ajida's story, like those of the other women profiled, shows the complex emotions involved in leaving behind everything familiar. These aren't simply tales of survivors reaching a better place; they're also accounts of profound loss and the challenge of reconciling with a new reality.
The aid provided by organizations like the Love Army undoubtedly improves living conditions and creates opportunities for refugees. But it can't replace what they've lost - their homes, communities, livelihoods, and sense of belonging. Understanding this complexity is crucial to developing more compassionate and effective responses to the global refugee crisis.
Final Thoughts
"We Are Displaced" offers a deeply personal look at the global refugee crisis through the stories of Malala Yousafzai and the displaced women and girls she has met in her travels. These accounts put human faces to overwhelming statistics, showing both the incredible resilience of refugees and the ongoing challenges they face.
Several key themes emerge across the stories:
The power of education: For Malala, Muzoon, Najla, and others, education represents hope and a path to a better future. Many of the girls fight incredible odds to continue their schooling.
The role of chance: As seen with sisters Zaynab and Sabreen, arbitrary factors often determine the fate of refugees. A visa approval or denial can set lives on dramatically different courses.
Resilience and giving back: Despite their own hardships, many of the women find ways to help others in their communities, whether through advocacy, teaching, or other forms of support.
The complexity of emotions: While safety is paramount, the book highlights how displacement involves a tangle of feelings - grief, homesickness, guilt, and more - that aren't easily resolved.
The importance of sharing stories: By amplifying refugee voices, Malala helps combat stereotypes and build empathy for displaced people around the world.
These personal narratives remind us that behind every statistic about refugees and displaced people are individual human beings with hopes, dreams, and inherent dignity. They challenge us to move beyond pity or fear and instead see refugees as resilient survivors with valuable contributions to make to their new communities.
The book also implicitly calls readers to action. While the scale of the global refugee crisis can feel overwhelming, these stories show how individuals and grassroots efforts can make a real difference in refugees' lives. Whether through education initiatives, job creation, or simply offering friendship and support to refugees in our own communities, we all have the power to help.
Ultimately, "We Are Displaced" is a testament to the strength of the human spirit in the face of unimaginable hardship. It's a call for greater compassion, understanding, and concrete action to support displaced people around the world. By sharing these powerful stories, Malala Yousafzai continues her vital work of advocating for those whose voices are too often silenced or ignored.
As the global refugee crisis shows no signs of abating, books like this play a crucial role in fostering empathy and spurring action. They remind us of our shared humanity and the responsibility we all share to build a more just and equitable world - one where no one is forced to flee their home, and where those who are displaced are treated with dignity and given opportunities to thrive.