How Lucky You Are

How Lucky You Are

In a world where thousands of people are forced to flee from their home-country because of war and conflicts, tension all over Europe have been rising because of the disproportionate burden faced by some countries, particularly the countries where the majority of migrants have been arriving. Large sums of people are sailing, walking, swimming and getting illegally transported up through Europe in the hopes of a brighter future for themselves and their families. In the text “How Lucky You Are” written by Debi Alper, we meet Max, a 16 year old South-Londoner, we meet Ishraqi - an Iranian refugee, and we meet Alexsa, Ishraqi’s support worker from the refugee centre.

In the text, we meet Max who decides to have a day off school and by accidence meets a girl who is going to leave Max a mark. Max is attending a special school for more creative students, but he lacks the excitement and motivation for it to work for him. Max lives with his mum, his dad just went off on a trip to try and “find himself”. The day he meets the Iranian refugee, Ishraqi – he was actually scheduled for a math test in school, but instead chooses to sit outside the UK Borders Agency and enjoy a smoke, when he meets Ishraqi and her guardian Alexsa. They’re waiting for the last settlements about Ishraqi’s UK asylum to fall into place. While they wait, Max shows Ishraqi around South London.

Ishraqi and Max end up kissing each other and it seems they’ve fallen in love when it’s time for the meeting with the Border Agency. Max waits outside and suddenly Alexsa comes out crying, telling Max that they denied Ishraqi’s asylum and that she is already being taken to the Immigration Removal Centre before being deported back to Iran.

It’s easy to get caught up in your everyday life and lose sight of what's really important. Sometimes we forget to appreciate what's right in front of us. Max bunks off from school and has an eye-opening experience which makes him think twice about his own life and the things he takes for granted. Life is often unfair but you’ll just have to take the bitter with the sweet and move on.

Some might argue that all refugees should be welcome, and that it’s completely unacceptable to turn down any asylum seekers fleeing from war, there are already plenty of refugee organizations that work with refugees and refugee establishment and integration. Such organizations help them assimilate into our culture by placing them in host homes, helping them find jobs, and introducing them to our culture. Should we be more careful with who we allow into the country, or should we help as many as we can?