We Are Displaced

Multiple Choice and Long Answer questions create ideal opportunities for whole-text review, unit exam, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. What event caused an extremist organization to gain legitimacy among community members in Swat Valley?

A) An earthquake

B) The burning of electronic devices

C) The establishment of a school for girls

D) The murder of anti-Taliban locals

2. According to the author, what new order did the Taliban make in 2008?

A) For police to execute partisans

B) For girls’ schools in Swat Valley to close

C) For the bodies of enemy combatants to be displayed in the city square

D) For all TV and radio interviews in the area to end

3. What was Yousafzai excited about when she arrived in Shangla?

A) Improvements made by the Taliban

B) Being separated from her family

C) Going to school again

D) Her 13th birthday

4. What was Yousafzai’s last memory before being shot by the Taliban?

A) Talking to friends on the bus

B) Writing about girls’ education on her blog

C) Finding burned cars in the road

D) Evacuating Swat Valley

5. Which best describes how Yousafzai and her family felt in Birmingham?

A) Terrorized and in shock

B) Comfortable and at home

C) Preoccupied with fighting the Taliban

D) Out of place and homesick

6. What literary device does Yousafzai use when she writes, “But I think I knew, even as a twelve-year-old girl, that the home I knew no longer existed except in my dreams”?

A) Foreshadowing

B) Analogy

C) Metaphor

D) Irony

7. What does Yousafzai view as common feelings among all people who leave their home regions or countries?

A) Joy, elation, and excitement

B) Curiosity, comfort, and ease

C) Homesickness, separation, and regret

D) Anger, violence, and pain

8. What was Sabreen’s primary motivation in pursuing illegal passage across the Mediterranean Sea to Italy?

A) Reunion with her sister

B) Escape from her homeland

B) Reunion with her husband

C) Desire to learn Italian

9. What does Muzoon realize happens to girls who do not attend school?

A) They live with their parents until old age.

B) They marry at a young age.

C) They turn to crime and violence.

D) They teach themselves.

10. What happened to Maria’s father?

A) He was killed.

B) He died of old age.

C) He got lost on his way to Cali.

D) He fled the guerilla forces.

11. What social phenomenon is demonstrated by Najla’s father when he does not want her to attend school?

A) Racism

B) Ageism

C) Xenophobia

D) Misogynism

12. What adjective best describes Analisa’s experience of crossing the border?

A) Easy

B) Dangerous

C) Lethal

D) Uncommon

13. Why was Marie Claire so focused on her education?

A) To fulfill her dreams

B) To find a good husband

C) To meet other students

D) To learn interesting subjects

14. In what way is Ajida’s story similar to other testimonials in We Are Displaced?

A) She saved her money for months before fleeing.

B) She witnessed the murder of her parents.

C) She had a connection to powerful people that saved her.

D) She had to flee at night after violence came to her village.

15. Why does Yousafzai feel that Pakistan is her true country even though she hasn’t lived there in years?

A) Because the smells and sounds of Mingora feel like home

B) Because life in the UK is safe, easy, and filled with opportunity

C) Because she can’t remember anything about her birthplace

D) Because she has lived in England for years

Long Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating textual details to support your response.

1. In what ways does Malala Yousafzai take advantage of the difficult experience of being displaced, and how does this book represent her ability to thrive despite the unfortunate experiences of her life? Discuss the moments in the book that she shows personal resilience, particularly the Introduction to Part 2 and the Epilogue.

2. In Chapter 1, Yousafzai writes: 

When I close my eyes and think of my childhood, I see pine forests and snowcapped mountains; I hear rushing rivers; I feel the calm earth beneath my feet. I was born in the Swat Valley, once known as the Switzerland of the East. Others have called it paradise, and that is how I think of Swat.

How does Yousafzai’s love for the land she came from enhance your understanding of her plight as a refugee?