Uprooted: Second Edition

by KHETAM DAHI

Khetam Dahi captures the often-ignored voices and painful experiences of Syrian migrant children and their families. In a simple yet honest and powerful prose, Dahi, through the eyes of a child turning adolescent, narrates the everyday existence of immigrant and working-class families. Although the family faces extreme hardships, the love for each other and determination to succeed served as a catalyst to infuse them with optimism and a love for life. Her inspirational journey of breaking through despite all obstacles certainly lets readers vicariously experience her joy, sorrow, regrets, hopes, dreams, goals, disappointments and success. Dahis artfully weaved narratives provide young adult learners the opportunity to become personally enmeshed in the stories, but most importantly, it creates a space where students can feel free to relate, relive and learn. ___ Nancy Ramirez, Associate Professor Khetam Dahis journey from Syria to America was definitely fascinating, heroic, and intriguing. Bravo to her and her family for moving forward even though many obstacles got in the way. Her story is very inspiring. ___ Dr. Linda Elias Dahi, in her republication of Uprooted, accurately portrays the fears, joys, excitement, and triumphs of an immigrant to America. She gives a first-hand, unique picture of the difficulties of learning a new language and culture. The exercises in the book will also aid ESL students in recounting their own personal stories and growing as second-language readers and writers. ___ Nathan Warner, Associate Professor Khetam Dahis book, Uprooted, is a journal of her emigration from Syria to the United States, which comes straight from the heart. Her story compels readers to reminisce about their own initiation into a new and strange culture. Her personal anecdotes bring emotions to the surface. The reader is able to relate to the universal loss of childhood innocence to the jolting realization of an entirely new, sometimes frightening and sometimes hilarious, foray into the future. Khetams adventures assist students of all ages and backgrounds in comprehending that while cultural adjustments may be painfully jarring, such difficulties can be common to all people in such circumstances. Her story is evidence that success can be achieved through a sprinkle of good luck along with diligence and perseverance. ___ Arleta Roberts, 25-year teacher of English language students and a life-long learner

176 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 23, 2014

About the author

Khetam Dahi is a Syrian author living in the United States.

Reviews

[Schaza Askar · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you sat down with Khetam Dahi and asked her about her life till the summer of 1986, 'Uprooted' would be the story she would tell. It is conversational in tone. I found some parts to be fascinating, and other parts only mildly interesting - especially the one about the transit the family made in Paris while heading to the US. I was very interested in the parts where she described her passion towards fashion design and how she took that after her mother, how she faced the cultural differences when starting high school in the United States not knowing a single word in English, and how she felt and reacted recommencing every aspect of her life, such as; her first shower in a real bath, first meal on a dining table, first work experience, first bike, first car, first pool...etc. I was impressed by her honesty in narrating some little incidents which she would have easily blacked out and ignored. She didn't feel embarrassed sharing her daily routine of a simple short life she led in Syria's countryside during the 1970s. Conversely, she depicted a life full of adventures and a big morally rich family that owns a farm within which every individual works extremely hard from dawn till nightfall, and most importantly, the freedom they had back home compared to the new country which has may rules.
I know Khetam as a distant cousin, and even if we weren't relatives I feel a kinship with her, and now I sense that I have known her long ago. What a warm, intelligent, and humble lady she is!

This book is simple in language due to the fact that it is addressing the ESL readers, her students, as she is now an associate professor of English at East Los Angeles College.

Some chosen quotes:

''I did not like going to church much because I could not understand anything the priest used to say. He spoke in Syriac, a middle Aramaic language, which was used by Syriac Christians and was spoken between the eighth and the eighteenth century.''

''I was thinking that when we come to America, we would finally have time with my parents... My parents would not have to work in the fields all day. I was thinking that we would finally have clean clothes, take baths when we wanted instead of once a week, and have some toys and maybe our own beds, which we never had.''

''In June of 1986, I went back to Syria with Baba, and we had a great first month as I was having the time of my life with my old friends... We held parties every day and we stayed up late and reminisced about old times. I had missed being a free bird on a farm. We did not have many rules there. ''Why do we have so many rules in America?'' I wondered. Even though they call it the land of the free, I felt I had more freedom on our farm. I could not understand that. I often wondered if we really came ''from farm to freedom,'' as people used to say about us.''