45 pages • 1 hour read
Benjamin ZephaniahRefugee Boy
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2001A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 19-27Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 19 Summary: “Court Again”
In February, Mr. Kelo and Alem arrive at the courthouse. During the hearing, the state representative claims that the war in Ethiopia and Eritrea is limited to the countries’ borders, and if Mr. Kelo and Alem move to a more central area in either country, they will escape violence. Nicholas argues that Alem’s Ethiopian and Eritrean heritage makes both countries dangerous for him, regardless of his proximity to the border. Nicholas tells the adjudicator that Alem’s mother was “found hacked to death” (223). At the graphic description of his mother’s death, Alem faints. Mr. Kelo sprinkles water on his face to resuscitate him, and the hearing continues. Nicholas finishes by saying that Mr. Kelo and Alem fear for their lives at home, which is why they need asylum in England. The adjudicator says that the fighting in Eritrea and Ethiopia is not a real war, and he decides to turn down the application for asylum for both Mr. Kelo and Alem. As they leave the courtroom, Nicholas tells them that he will be appealing the decision immediately.
Chapter 20 Summary: “This Is Politics”
Alem tells Robert and Buck what happened. Later, Robert, Buck, and Asher arrive at the Fitzgeralds’ house and say that they want to help by starting a campaign for Alem and Mr. Kelo. Alem tells his father about the campaign idea, but Mr. Kelo does not like it, and the two begin to argue. Alem thinks they do not deserve to die because the adjudicator does not understand the war, while Mr. Kelo thinks that they should show the adjudicator that they are peaceful people. Alem gets Mr. Kelo to agree to come to a meeting with his friends.
Sheila tells Alem that since his father is now in England, the foster system is requiring him to live in the hotel with his father. The Fitzgeralds tell him to visit them. The next day, Mr. Kelo arrives at the Fitzgeralds’ house to listen to Alem’s friends speak about the campaign. Mr. Kelo listens in amazement as Robert talks about equality for all humans and the horrible way the asylum system has treated him and Alem. He realizes that the children want to help them, and he agrees that they can move forward with their protest.
Chapter 21 Summary: “The Freedom Dance”
Alem moves into the hotel with his father. After school, Alem goes to the Fitzgeralds’ house to meet with his friends about the campaign. They print out posters to put around the neighborhood and plan a march for the coming week. Ruth says that she contacted several newspapers who told her they would cover the story.
On Saturday, Mr. Kelo and Alem arrive at the school to attend one of the rallies. Robert invites Alem on stage to speak. Alem thanks the crowd and wishes for peace in his homeland.
Chapter 22 Summary: “The Word on the Streets”
When Mr. Kelo and Alem arrive at the march, they cannot believe that hundreds of people showed up for them. A group of people in a van yells at the protestors to “[g]o and march in [their] own country” and spit at them (257). Some of the protestors throw rocks at the van, and the people in the van throw rocks back. A police car shows up, and the van drives away, leaving the protestors in peace.
When the march reaches the town hall, Mariam takes the megaphone and tells the crowd, “A judge who has never sat down and talked to Alem about his fears and dreams is sending him back to a nightmare to live in danger” (259). Robert invites Alem to speak, and the crowd cheers him on. Alem encourages peace for all people so that one day, he can return to his homeland. Mr. Kelo tells the crowd about his wife and how she died. He says, “War is not the answer, only love will conquer” (263). Robert announces that they have collected 6,000 signatures for their petition to keep Alem and Mr. Kelo in England. He presents the petition to a person from the town hall and asks them to take the petition to the Prime Minister.
Chapter 23 Summary: “This Is War Too”
The next day, Alem and Mr. Kelo go to the supermarket. As they wait in line, Alem sees that other cashiers are open, and he tells Mr. Kelo that they should go to those lines. Mr. Kelo tells Alem that they must remain in their line because they only have food vouchers. Alem sees that his father feels humiliated explaining this to him, and he is angry that the British government has reduced his father to this level.
At school, the headmaster gives Alem a Positive Pupil Certificate at the school assembly for his work ethic and the way he rallied students under a common cause. Alem goes back to the hotel and reads until he hears a knock on his door. He sees that Sheila and Mariam are waiting outside with a man, and he invites them inside. The man waits in the hallway while Sheila tells Alem that his father was shot. Sheila and Mariam explain that the man in the hallway is a police officer. Alem starts to panic and tells them they need to take him to his father. The women calm him down, and Sheila tells him that his father died from the wound. Alem weeps and asks who killed his father. They tell him they do not know but that he was killed as he was leaving the EAST office. Mariam tells him they are taking him to stay with the Fitzgeralds. Alem takes the photograph of his family with him.
The next morning, Sheila brings Alem back to the hotel to collect his things. A police officer hands Alem a letter he found in the room. Alem opens it and sees that it announces the new date for their appeal in March.
Chapter 24 Summary: “The News”
The news reports the murder of a man outside the EAST office in London. The police do not have any leads, but they believe the killing to be political. The news announces that the man leaves behind his son, who is devastated by the death.
Chapter 25 Summary: “Judgement Day”
At Alem’s appeal hearing, the adjudicator takes the tragedy of Mr. Kelo’s death into consideration in his ruling. He overrules the previous ruling and accepts Alem’s application for asylum.
Chapter 26 Summary: “The End?”
On December 20, 2000, Ethiopia and Eritrea sign a peace treaty.
Chapter 27 Summary: “Let Me Speak”
Alem narrates the final chapter in the first person. He describes how he still lives with his foster family, the Fitzgeralds. He wishes he lived in Africa with his mother and father, but his parents were murdered. Though he has many gifts and skills to offer the world, all anyone sees when they look at him is a refugee. Alem knows that “circumstances beyond [his] control brought [him] here” (284), and he hopes that he can make good come from all the bad things that have happened to him.
Chapters 19-27 Analysis
Mr. Kelo and Alem’s final court hearing illustrates The Challenges of Asylum Systems. Even though Nicholas makes a strong case for the dangers both Mr. Kelo and Alem face in Ethiopia and Eritrea—even outlining the graphic nature of Mrs. Kelo’s death—the adjudicator denies their asylum application. The adjudicator shows that he does not understand the complexities of the Eritrean-Ethiopian War, showing a critical issue with asylum systems: Many people in charge of granting asylum do not have the knowledge necessary to make these life-changing decisions. Additionally, his suggestion that Mr. Kelo and Alem simply move away from the border to avoid the war reveals his condescension and anti-immigrant bias, implying Mr. Kelo and Alem could solve their problems easily if they moved away. In particular, the adjudicator refuses to understand the complexity of Alem’s situation as a person of both Eritrean and Ethiopian heritage. The court proceedings illustrate how asylum systems can compound the trauma and dehumanization endured by refugees.
Despite the situation, Alem feels encouraged by his friends and fellow students at his school rallying together to advocate for the Kelos, showing the value of solidarity and political action in the face of injustice. Although Mr. Kelo does not believe that they should become involved in the campaign at first because he does not want to get involved in politics, Alem reminds his father that “the judge is there because of politics, and [they] are being sent home because of politics” (233). Alem’s conversation with his father shows his growing political awareness and willingness to fight for himself and his family. While the challenges of the asylum system once made him want to leave England altogether, he now knows that he and his father deserve safety and asylum in this country. These chapters develop Alem’s coming-of-age arc into a young man who stands up for what’s right, following his mother’s example.
At the march, Alem gives a speech that highlights The Impact of War on Individuals and Families. He tells the crowd about the Eritrean-Ethiopian War and how he believes that the only fight that should occur should be “a nonviolent fight to get rid of borders” (261). Alem points out that anyone who believes that he or his father is in England for any reason other than desperation does not understand how it feels to experience displacement from their home. Mr. Kelo tells the crowd about his wife, who is “a symbol for what is possible, because she believed that human beings are capable of enormous love when [they] put [their] hearts together” (263). The optimism of the rally causes Alem to feel hopeful because he realizes that change can take place when good people unite under a common cause.
Although Alem experiences hope from the rally, he is faced with new challenges when he goes to the supermarket with his father and learns about food stamps. He hates that the government humiliates his father because he was “a qualified person […] but now he ha[s] been reduced to what amounted to living off aid” (267). As Alem looks at the other people standing in the line, he realizes that they experience the same kind of humiliation, and he wonders “which of the men and women [are] doctors, lawyers, nurses or mathematicians” (267). This experience shows Alem that much of what he and his father experience is political. When Mr. Kelo is murdered, the police tell Alem that they believe that it was politically motivated because he was murdered outside of the EAST offices. It takes the murder of Alem’s father in London to finally make the government realize how dangerous the world is for Alem and finally allow him to stay. This experience mirrors and amplifies what Alem already experienced at the children’s home: Much like the children’s home staff could only respond to violence rather than prevent it, the British government only offers Alem asylum after he experiences tremendous tragedy and loss.
Though most of the novel has been closely aligned with Alem’s perspective, the switch to the first person in the final chapter grants Alem a say in how his story ends. Alem repeats the phrases that he read in the newspaper clippings that Mariam gave him by insisting that he is not “bogus” or a “beggar.” He points out the threat of racism and anti-immigrant bias to his safety when he describes how he is “a student, a lover of literature, a budding architect, a friend, a symbol of hope even, but what is [he] called? A refugee” (284). Society and the government reduce Alem’s identity to a refugee, no matter how affluent or talented he becomes. Alem knows that all he can do is try his “best to make something out of what is left of [his] life” because the discrimination he faces as a child will follow him into adulthood (285).
