The Girl Who Smiled Beads: A Story of War and What Comes After

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 Answer

1. Over 169,000 people were granted asylum status in the United States between 2012 and 2021. What is the difference between a “refugee” and an “asylum seeker”? How are both terms different and/or related to “migrant”?

Teaching Suggestion: This prompt will give students a shared understanding of the terms “refugee,” “asylum seeker,” and “migrant,” which will further help them grasp the core themes in the memoir around Life as a Refugee. Underscore for students that, while there are important distinctions among the three terms, the need for these each arises from a shared core fact: That every single day, people around the world must make the—usually difficult—decision to abandon their homes and homelands in search of a better, safer life.

• Amnesty International’s “Refugees, Asylum Seekers, and Migrants” gives preliminary definitions of each term.
• Pew Research Center’s “Key Facts about Refugees to the U.S.” is a rundown of statistics related to refugees in the United States, as of 2019.

2. By 1914, the vast majority of the world’s nations had been colonized by Europeans at some point, especially numerous countries in Africa. What, exactly, is colonialism? How would you define it, and what are its impacts in the present day?

Teaching Suggestion: Much of Wamariya’s personal story is animated by global, historical forces, namely The Colonization and Abandonment of Rwanda. Students will likely have a basic understanding of “colonialism”; however, in this context, emphasizing the impact of colonialism on Wamariaya’s memoir will help students understand her feeling of “postcolonial aftershock,” which causes her to reject “paternalistic foreigners” who attempt to provide aid to refugees (141). Wamariya sees a kind of hypocrisy in modern-day philanthropy, due to the lingering effects of colonialism.

• Teen Vogue’s “What Is Colonialism? A History of Violence, Control, and Exploitation” is a primer on the history of colonialism.
• Vox’s “Rwanda’s Genocide—What Happened, Why it Happened, and How It Still Matters” explains how the origins of the Rwandan genocide revolve around colonialism.

Personal Connection Prompt

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

“Intersectionality” is an important concept in sociology, one that is especially useful in helping understand the related theory of “privilege.” How would you define the term “intersectionality”? What is the relationship between privilege and intersectionality?

Teaching Suggestion: “Intersectionality” refers to the multiple layers of our own identity, and how they come together; “privilege” is special favors conferred on certain groups, leaving others marginalized. For a fuller definitions, you can review Oxford’s Encyclopedia of Social Work’s entry on ”Privilege” and Womankind’s “Intersectionality 101: What Is It and Why Is It Important?” In discussing this question, students will understand that certain facets of an individual’s identity may be more privileged than others, thus connecting to the book’s themes around Privilege in America. The linked concepts of intersectionality and privilege will become especially useful when students reflect upon Wamariya’s conflicted relationship with her Black peers at Yale.

• Lean In’s video “What is Privilege?” defines privilege as “the unearned advantage we get from being part of a dominant group whose needs have traditionally been prioritized.”
• Harvard Business Review’s “How to Use Your Privilege to Even the Playing Field” offers practical advice on how to (1) recognize one’s own privilege and (2) help use their position for good. 

Differentiation Suggestion:  For a more interactive approach to helping students understand privilege and oppression, you may want to have students try the University of Michigan’s Mapping Social Identity Timeline, which has students create a graphic representation of their own socialization over the course of their lives. In doing so, students will see how key identity markers (such as gender, sexual orientation, race, etc.) has shaped their understanding of the world.