Leaving the Valley
by Malala Yousafzai
Quick answers
1. The setting is the backdrop of a story. It can include the time of a day, year, season, place, country and atmosphere. A story can have more than one setting. Choose the right answer related to the setting of the story you have just read.
a. Malala's story begins in Swat/Haripur.
b. Malala had to leave her home in the season when apricot trees grow new leaves/apricots are harvested.
c. Malala left her home in 2009/2011.
d. Malala left her home during the day/in night.
c. Malala was born in 1997/1987.
Reference to context:
2. It was not easy to get Besham to our village and we had to walk twenty-five kilometres carrying all our things.
a. Name the village that Malala refers to in these lines.
= The name of the village that Malala refers to in these lines is Shangla.
b. Why did they not get transport in this part of their journey?
= They did not get transport in this part of their journey because of the curfew and the checkpoints.
c. Malala and her family carried what they could with them. What did Malala most regret leaving behind?
= It was nice being with Malala's cousins but she most regretted about her books and her school bag at home with copies of Oliver Twist and Romeo and Juliet waiting to be read.
3. It was our fourth city in two months. I knew we were better off than those who lived in the camps....
a. Which was the 'fourth city'?
= Haripur was the 'fourth city'.
b. Why did Malala have to journey to four cities in two months?
= Malala had to journey to four cities in two months because of the Taliban activities in their valley. There were gunfire and many more terrorist activities which made their valley unfit for living any more. The common people were losing their lives with out any reason. At that moment most of the families had decided to leave the valley.
c. Who lived in the camps? In what way was their situation worse than Malala's?
= The Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) lived in the camps.
Their situation was worse than Malala's because they had to stand in queues for hours for food and water.
Read, reflect and write:
4. Describe Malala's life before she became an IDP.
= They used to lead a simple and peaceful life before they became IDPs. Malala was a simple school going girl who was happy with his books and the natural beauty around the valley. She had interests on the snow-topped Mount Elum and on the fruit of their apricot tree.
They didn't own anything expensive like a laptop or jewellery - their only valuable items had been their TV, a fridge and a washing machine. They didn't lead a life of luxury - they were Pashtuns, they prefer to sit on floors rather than chairs. They didn't have a car.
5. Describe the sights and sounds that Malala noticed on the journey from her home to Mardan.
= On the journey from her home to Mardan, the streets were jam-packed, she had never seen them so busy before. There were cars everywhere, as well as rickshaws, mule carts and trucks laden with people and their belongings.
Thousands of people were leaving with just the clothes they had on their backs. Few people knew where they were going, they just knew they had to leave. The road was heaving with traffic. They were all sweaty, crammed in together. Everyone was depressed.
6. On the journey that Malala took from her home to Haripur, which three hardships, according to you, were the most challenging ones that she faced?
= According to me, the three hardships which are the most challenging ones that Malala faced, are -
i) They were stopped by the army at one point, who told them that they could not go further and must return back.
ii) Because of the curfew and the checkpoints there were not one other vehicle on the road that didn't belong to the military.
iii) They were afraid that the army wouldn't know who they were and would shoot them.
7. 'A diamond must be cut many times before it yields even a tiny jewel'. In your own words explain what this line means to you. Why do you think Malala chose to recite this poem?
= This line means that we have to work hard to achieve our heart's desires. We have to go through pain and hardship to be a real gem which glitters brightly and gives shines.
I think Malala chose to recite this poem as she and her family, with all the other inhabitants of the valley, were leading a miserable life and spending their life in hardship and fear. This line gives hope for a better day to come. This line would inspire everyone present there to strive and not to give up hope of a better day to come for them.
8. How does this extract show that education and learning were important to Malala?
= Education and learning were important to Malala, as we can see that she had packed all her books and notebooks in her school bag while preparing to leave the valley.
But at the time of leaving, her mother told her to leave her school bag there. Again being with her cousins, she missed her books. She kept on thinking of her school bag at home with copies of Oliver Twist and Romeo and Juliet waiting to be read.
9. If you had to leave your home as Malala had to, what would you miss the most?
= If I had to leave my home as Malala had to, I would mostly miss the friends I have in my locality and all the parks, gardens, play grounds and trees. I have grown up surrounded by them, so they are in my veins and arteries. It will be definitely ripping out of heart to leave them all of a sudden. As they were all in my sorrows and joys, victory and defeat, happiness and hardship.
About the Author:
Malala Yousafzai (b. 1997) was born in Mingora, in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. She was inspired by her father who was an educational activist to take up the cause for girls. At an early age she began speaking about the right to education for girls, bringing her into the limelight. In 2012 Malala was attacked, but she was not deterred from her path. Today she is internationally recognized as an advocate for the education of women.