A Hope More Powerful Than the Sea

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Activity

Use a map or globe to locate the following destinations.

• Syria
• ·Jordan
• Damascus
• Tunisia
• Lebanon
• Turkey
• Egypt
• Iraq
• Gulf of Aqaba
• Cairo, Egypt
• Aleppo

In your notes or reading journal, evaluate your skills with the map task. Was it easy to find the destinations, or challenging? Comment on your general successfulness. In your notes or journal, answer these questions:

• What countries border Syria?
• What are the major water systems in Syria?
• What is the predominant religious affiliation in Syria?

Teaching Suggestion: It may be helpful to post a large world map for students to view throughout the course of the reading of the book. For additional contextual understanding, students might explore the article below (focusing on the “Land” and “People” portions for the sake of time) or similar resources. Students might also investigate the area of Syria and the surrounding countries and bodies of water using additional sources. Doaa is a Syrian refugee who travels all over the Middle East and parts of Europe to escape the political upheaval in Syria and Egypt; some familiarity with the region’s geography will aid in comprehension of the text.

• This map by Google Maps provides a visual of Syria and the surrounding areas.
• This article provides an overview of the geographical and agricultural landscape of Syria.

Short Answer

What background knowledge do you have of the Syrian Civil War? For example, how did the civil war begin? Why are many western nations avoiding involvement in the war? What military forces are involved in the civil war?

Teaching Suggestion: It might be beneficial to allow research with or following students’ attempt to answer the question; for example, the video suggested here provides an overview of the Syrian Civil War followed by an article that describes the war in more detail. Doaa is a victim of the civil unrest that took place in Syria following a severe drought and the rise of Bashar al-Assad.

• This 5-minute video describes the Syrian Civil War.
• This article describes the situation in Syria in 2021 and how the civil war began.

Personal Connection Prompt

This prompt can be used for in-class discussion, exploratory free-writing, or reflection homework before reading the book.

Describe your first awareness of refugees, whether from personal knowledge or experience; from family members; or from a class, a book, or a film. What is your understanding of why the refugee(s) left the country of origin? What do you think countries should do for refugees who are seeking asylum? How does xenophobia play a role in the life of refugees? What are some global solutions to refugee conflicts?

Teaching Suggestion: With sensitivity to immigrants and refugees, consider allowing students to discuss in small groups prior to responding. Some students may be unaware of refugee conflicts and may need support in generating ideas about refugees. Some students may have family members who are refugees, and of course some may be refugees themselves. In discussing the points of this prompt, it might be helpful to make some pre-reading connections to the text: Doaa flees her home country of Syria after the Syrian Civil War begins. Her family’s livelihood is decimated while they are in Syria; Doaa and her family flee to Egypt to escape the conflict. Egypt, while friendly to refugees upon her arrival, includes individuals who are xenophobic, and Doaa has difficulty acclimating due to job shortages and difficulty in finding housing.

• This article by the UN Refugee Agency describes refugees in comparison to internally displaced people, asylum seekers, and others.
• This article describes xenophobia, its different types, and its impact on culture.

Differentiation Suggestion: For students who require an additional challenge, you might offer the opportunity to research and share with the group the benefits of welcoming refugees into a community, and/or the ways in which refugees may legally enter a country. Ask students to consider local and global solutions for refugees and for increasing the number of refugees in communities and minimizing the negative impact, such as job and housing shortages, for those who immigrate to different countries.