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How Dare the Sun Rise: Memoirs of a War Child QUOTES

How Dare the Sun Rise: Memoirs of a War Child QUOTES

1 " It's okay to express yourself. It doesn't mean you're weak "

― , How Dare the Sun Rise: Memoirs of a War Child

2 " I knew the sounds of war before I knew how to do a cartwheel. "

― , How Dare the Sun Rise: Memoirs of a War Child

3 " So many girls around the world—refugee girls in particular—suffer in silence after being sexually assaulted by someone they know. Most rapes happen at the hands of a relative or friend, not a stranger. I want girls to know that they have the power to speak out. They don’t have to stay quiet. No matter what culture or country you are from, there will always be pressure to remain silent, to never tell. But you don’t have to protect sexual predators. By speaking up, you are standing up for yourself. And you might be preventing it from happening again. Tell people what happened. The predators expect you to stay silent. You can prove them wrong. "

― , How Dare the Sun Rise: Memoirs of a War Child

4 " Anyone who thinks it’s easy to get to the States as a refugee has no idea. "

― , How Dare the Sun Rise: Memoirs of a War Child

5 " I remember thinking: How dare the sun rise, as if it were any other day, after such a gruesome night. "

― , How Dare the Sun Rise: Memoirs of a War Child

6 " I felt so much better when I let my feelings out, instead of trying to keep them bottled up. It's exhausting when you think that you're not entitled to your emotions. "

― , How Dare the Sun Rise: Memoirs of a War Child

7 " There is something incredibly relaxing about Africa to me. Americans are always moving, always going somewhere, even if they have nothing important to do when they get there. In Africa, you’re generally home with your family, telling stories, making fun of one another, laughing. "

― , How Dare the Sun Rise: Memoirs of a War Child

8 " I decided that the only way my attackers could claim victory over me was if I let fear rule my life. "

― , How Dare the Sun Rise: Memoirs of a War Child

9 " Be righteous and faithful when no one is watching. "

― , How Dare the Sun Rise: Memoirs of a War Child

10 " I wrote this book because I was tired of outsiders always writing my history, my present, and my future. "

― , How Dare the Sun Rise: Memoirs of a War Child

11 " You really have to want to get to America to put yourself through the process. Anyone who thinks it’s easy to get to the States as a refugee has no idea. "

― , How Dare the Sun Rise: Memoirs of a War Child

12 " Still, I carried tremendous anger about the massacre and about how Deborah had been taken from me. Our choir group preached forgiveness, but I did not forgive. I could not let my anger go. I thought that the burning pain in my chest was Deborah, and I needed to hold onto that pain in order to hold onto Deborah. "

― , How Dare the Sun Rise: Memoirs of a War Child

13 " A person is a person, no matter what. You must do what you can to help people. What you do comes back around to you. "

― , How Dare the Sun Rise: Memoirs of a War Child

14 " Goodness returns to you. Wrongdoing also returns to you. Chose which one you want, because it will come back to you. "

― , How Dare the Sun Rise: Memoirs of a War Child

15 " You are not to spend your days worrying about tomorrow. "

― , How Dare the Sun Rise: Memoirs of a War Child

16 " But I have learned that if we have to change the world, we can't harden our hearts and shut ourselves off from other cultures. We must open up our hearts. We must not fall prey to the kind of thinking that separates us. Yes, you can appreciate your history and your culture. You can embrace it. But you can embrace other cultures too. And, yes, you can be angry and seek justice when you are attacked. I want the killers who targeted my people to face justice. But going forward, I don't want to spread the seeds of separation. I want to open myself to people of all races, cultures, and faiths. "

― , How Dare the Sun Rise: Memoirs of a War Child

17 " My parents deeply valued education. They had big dreams for their kids, and they knew it all started with school. "

― , How Dare the Sun Rise: Memoirs of a War Child

18 " I want to appreciate people for who they are, not for the color of their skin. I want to live freely, without separating myself from others, without feeling that I need to pick a side, to stick to my own. After all, if people remain divided and closed off from different cultures, it can lead to the kind of extreme thinking that took Deborah's life. "

― , How Dare the Sun Rise: Memoirs of a War Child

19 " As long as I am still alive, they have failed. As long as people hear my story, they have failed. As long as I keep fighting, they have failed! This book is a declaration of independence. It is a story of how hatred failed and love and justice prevailed. My hope is that my story serves as inspiration for those who have been harmed by the very institutions that were meant to protect them. There is power in our voices. The more of us speak up, the more likely we are to be heard. Our communities cannot thrive if some of us are made to feel like we do not matter. I hope this book inspires more people to stand up for the voiceless. Don't let your silence be another person's death. Fighting for each other is the only way we all win. "

― , How Dare the Sun Rise: Memoirs of a War Child

20 " If people want to blame me for telling the truth. that's their problem. "

― , How Dare the Sun Rise: Memoirs of a War Child