A Land of Permanent Goodbyes

Reading Check and Short Answer questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

Epigraph-Chapter 5

Reading Check

1. Who does Mr. Rogers advise children to look for when they see scary things on the news?

2. Who is the omniscient narrator of the novel?

3. What has Susan decided to name her doll?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Given the context, what does Tareq mean when he describes Syria as a land of permanent goodbyes?

2. How do Tareq and his family experience cultural changes when they enter Daesh-controlled territory? How would you describe these changes?

Part 1, Chapters 6-10

Reading Check

1. Where does Daesh originate from?

2. What does Musa suspect the Daesh members who follow them home from the execution want them to join?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. How does Tareq display signs of survivor’s guilt? What does this reveal about his character?

2. Why are Tareq and Musa forced to watch a public execution? What might the forced participation reveal about the support given to Daesh?

3. What is Waleed’s motivation for sending Musa with Fayed and what does Destiny’s statement foreshadow for the family?

Paired Resource

ISIS (Daesh) Training Camps

• This article describes ISIS training camps.
• Shared themes include The Universal Nature of Trauma and The Destructive Nature of Human Greed.
• What is the purpose of Daesh training camps? Why are Syrians worried about their children’s participation in these camps? Why is Fayed determined to remove Musa and Tareq from Daesh territory?

Part 1, Chapters 11-14

Reading Check

1. How long does a typical 2.5 hour bus trip into Turkey take Fayed and his family?

2. Where is Tareq instructed to go to find better deals from smugglers?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why does Tareq find Rami’s beliefs on the Assad regime strange and what is the reason for Rami’s bias toward the Assad regime?

2. How do individuals in Turkey take advantage of the desperate circumstances Syrian refugees find themselves in?

Paired Resource

Hama Massacre

• This 5-minute video explains the Hama massacre in 1982. (Content Warning: graphic violence; utilize as a teacher-facing resource)
• Shared themes include The Refugee Experience and The Universal Nature of Trauma.

Part 2, Chapters 15-16

Reading Check

1. Where is Alexia volunteering when she is introduced in the novel?

2. What word is written on many of the tombs of the refugees in Lesbos?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What examples does Annis give to describe the exploitation of refugees in Greece?

2. Which of Alexia’s behaviors may identify her as genuine in her efforts to protect refugees, rather than exploit their suffering?

Paired Resource

“Saint Panteleimon Cemetery”

• This article describes the Saint Panteleimon Cemetery in Lesbos and the unknown graves of victims who died in the Aegean Sea.
• Shared themes include The Universal Nature of Trauma.
• How do volunteers in Lesbos extend kindness to migrants who have died on the Aegean Sea? What “helpers” can be identified in the article?

Part 3, Chapters 17-21

Reading Check

1. Who has Tareq developed a crush on?

2. What country’s coast guard attempts to stop the refugee boat on the Aegean Sea?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What comparison can be made between the girls from Afghanistan and Tareq’s refugee experience?

2. What distinction does Destiny make between hunters and helpers and what examples of each exist in the novel?

Part 3, Chapters 22-25

Reading Check

1. What is Susan suffering from when she reaches Greece?

2. Who offers to take the baby that was orphaned on the refugee boat?

3. What is missing from Alexia’s tent at the end of the day?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. How do the “helpers” Destiny describes span cultural and religious divides to help one another? How do the refugees respond to this kindness? What does the author imply by including these two women in the narrative?

2. In what way do the volunteers break the law? Are the volunteers being helpers or hunters?

Part 3, Chapters 26-29

Reading Check

1. What is Fayed selling in Turkey to raise money to cross the sea?

2. Who is missing from the camp when Jamila and Tareq return?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. How does Tareq believe others view him because he is a Syrian refugee? How does Hashem’s response relate to Mr. Roger’s advice to look for helpers?

2. What dangers still exist in refugee camps in Greece?

Paired Resource

Crossing the Aegean Sea

• This 3-minute video explores the dangers of migration on the Aegean Sea and the tensions that arise due to a lack of resources.
• Shared themes include The Refugee Experience, The Destructive Nature of Human Greed, and The Universal Nature of Trauma.
• What about the mode of transportation makes the journey across the Aegean Sea dangerous? How do the migrants in the video have similar motives to Tareq? What fears do the refugees share with Tareq?

Part 3, Chapters 30-33, Epilogue

Reading Check

1. Who does Alexia quote as she and Tareq part ways?

2. Who calls Tareq from Fayed’s phone?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What does Tareq learn by always looking for helpers?

2. Why does Alexia feel conflicted about her contributions to the refugees? What does she mean when she says, “What we’ve done here is just a single drop in the ocean. It is hard to be satisfied. But you have to remember that there would be no ocean without every drop”?

Recommended Next Reads

How Dare the Sun Rise: Memoirs of a War Child by Sandra Uwiringiyimana

• This memoir recounts Sandra’s early life in the Democratic Republic of Congo and her immigration to America.
• Shared themes include The Refugee Experience, The Universal Nature of Trauma, and The Destructive Nature of Human Greed.
• Shared topics include life in refugee camps, familial loss, and cultural barriers.
• How Dare the Sun Rise: Memoirs of a War Child on SuperSummary; includes Teaching Unit

Crossing the Wire by Will Hobbs

• This novel is about a teenager who illegally crosses the United States border to financially support his family.
• Shared themes include The Universal Nature of Trauma and The Destructive Nature of Human Greed.
• Shared topics include permanent goodbyes, exploitation of immigrants, and friendship.
• Crossing the Wire on SuperSummary; includes Teaching Unit