Laws in Afganistan and New Zealand

LAWS FOR PEOPLE IN AFGHANISTAN

We have learnt that the laws for people in Afghanistan are quite different from our laws here in New Zealand.
For example, in Afghanistan, the government doesn’t like anyone to play soccer, females can’t go outside without being accompanied by a male relative, girls are not allowed to play soccer and education for girls is forbidden. The government has banned fizzy drink and music too. However, all these laws are allowed in New Zealand.
In New Zealand, you cannot drive without a license, nor if you are under age, you are not allowed to drink drive, you can’t smoke in restaurants and smacking is now banned, but all of these laws are to protect New Zealanders.

Jamal and his sister Bibi see army trucks driving around all day. They also hear blasts from hand grenades.

Summary of chapters 1-5

Jamal and his friends are playing soccer when Bibi, his younger sister, unexpectedly joins them. Women and girls in Afghanistan aren’t allowed to leave the house without wearing a burqa or they will be prosecuted. They are also not allowed to play soccer or go outside unaccompanied by a male. Bibi runs in front of Jamal and does an enormous kick. The ball goes onto the desert’s lonely plains that are full of landmines. There are also many tanks in this area. Bibi runs off to get the ball. Jamal tries to tackle her but she moves over leaving Jamal in the sand. Jamal warns Bibi about stepping on a land mine. Bibi manages to get to the ball without stepping on a land mine. Jamal gets to her by stepping on Bibi’s footsteps. The barrel of the supposedly abandoned tank in front of Bibi moves. Jamal tells Bibi to lie down. Bibi slowly steps back without the ball and lies downs next to Jamal. Jamal tells Bibi to run away and that he will get the ball and will follow her as soon as he can. Bibi runs away carefully stepping on her own footsteps. Jamal lurches forward to get the ball but realizes that the ball is wedged underneath the tracks of the tank. Jamal tries to pull the ball out but the ball is stuck and won’t come out. Jamal talks to the tank about how he wants to be brave .The tank reverses off the ball and disappears into the desert. Jamal grabs the ball and as he slowly walks back stepping on his footsteps, he hears his friend yell that Bibi has stepped on a land mine. Jamal gets worried and runs toward his friend’s frantic screams. When he gets there he sees his friend pushing on Bibi’s foot. Jamal switches places with Bibi so that he is on the landmine. Jamal tells Bibi to go and tell their mother and father about the land mine. Bibi goes away but runs back and accidentally pushes Jamal off of the landmine. The landmine doesn’t explode.

Information about refugees

Refugees: Boy Overboard

A refugee is someone who has had to leave their home country for fear of persecution because of their nationality, race or membership in a particular group. They flee to a country where they think they will not be found. Because of this, people may treat refugees differently because they are foreigners. They may not be allowed to go to certain places or do certain things.
Refugees face many problems. While they are travelling, they need to get past the borderline without a passport, and not knowing the language would bring major communication problems.
Refugee camps are a place that new refugees can live in until they can get sorted out in their new country. However, these camps are very cramped, and there is often not enough food to go around.
When refugees have settled into their new country, there are yet more obstacles to face such as, learning the new language, earning money, finding a job and finding a home (plus learning how to use all household appliances).
Until a refugee can feel at home in their new country, it’s a hard life.

A Letter to the Author

A LETTER TO THE AUTHOR OF “ BOY OVERBOARD “

Dear Mr Gleitzman

At Bucklands Beach Intermediate school in New Zealand, our team of four Year 7 classes ( 11 year olds ) are currently studying Human Rights, and as a novel study, we have been reading, studying and researching your novel, Boy Overboard.

We decided that we would use a blog to share the best work from our classes. On this blog, we will publish illustrations,text, reflections and possibly videos later on.

As a public web address, this site can be viewed by anyone, anytime and we hope that we can in some way make people more aware of how refugees live and what their lives are like.

We would appreciate it if you had a look at our blog and if you get some time, you may be able to comment on our work.The address is http://www.boyoverboardteamb.blogspot.com

We never really realized what life could be like for other children our age and how different it could be.

We will look out for your comments.


Yours Sincerely
Cheyenne, Nicole, Nicola, Ellen and Team B
Bucklands Beach Intermediate
New Zealand