While reading both "Of Beetles and Angels" and my AoW, (Article of the Week), "Syrian Refugees Cook their Way through Trauma in Cairo", I have noticed multiple similarities and parallels pertaining to the characters, locations, ideas, etc. In this blog, I will present a variety of different parallels and explanations to validate them.
The very first parallel I encountered while reading my AoW is that the subjects are, in fact, refugees who have a story almost synonymous with Mawi's. In the article, the mother of the family in question has stated that "We left Syria because our house was destroyed and there was no school for my children". I found that this statement was quite similar to one Mawi had stated in "Of Beetles and Angels". That quote being "I remember playing soccer with rocks, and a strange man telling me that we had to go on a trip, and Tewolde refusing to go. The man took out a piece of gum, and Tewolde happily traded his homeland." on page 1. Both of these quotes are similar because they talk about the loss of a home, making the stories parallel.
The second parallel that is quite prevalent in both pieces is the keeping of their culture, despite inhabiting another country. In the article, this is a common theme that is made clear throughout, with quotes such as "It's just a group of women having fun together like we would during any big festive celebration back home in Syria". But this theme can also be spotted in the memoir, for the quote "Out of nowhere, two angels at our door. It was two of our people. Habesha women. And they came bearing gifts: injera bread and sebhi stew." demonstrate it as well. These quotes both show how by creating different cultural dishes, these families are managing to resume their culture, despite being apart from the country they originated from.
No matter how big a war is, it definitely has the capacity to impact the life of many individuals and societies that are correlated with it in any way. This can also be proven by both the book "Of Beetles and Angels" as well as my AoW. In the article, it mentions how Lina Kassah, one of the main focuses of the article, was constantly urged to start up and be the proprietor of a restaurant, but it then states that her and her family were "forced to make a tough decision" after war broke out in Syria. This
proves that war can interfere with career opportunities for many. There are a plethora of examples in the book of this actuality that it is hard to nitpick just one or two. But there is one quote in particular, and it is the following; "And then I saw a sight that I would never forget-the soles of her naked feet melting away, and then disappearing into the desert, leaving only her bloody, red flesh, mixed with brownish sand and dirt"This quote also demonstrates the affect war has on others.
