The Ungrateful Refugee: What Immigrants Never Tell You

Describe Nayeri’s life in Iran. How does Nayeri develop her understanding of scholarship and feminism during this time? Compare what she experiences in Iran with her life in Oklahoma.

What are Maman’s Three Miracles, and how does Nayeri’s perspective of them change as she grows older? Explain the doubts she hears about the story’s truthfulness and why she stops trying to verify it.

Compare the stories of Kaweh Beheshtizadeh and Kambiz Roustayi. How were the circumstances of their escape similar, and what were the reasons why their asylum processes were different? What connection does Nayeri see between these stories?

Identify two reforms at LV Village that differentiate it from other refugee camps. How does Nayeri perceive them, and what challenges remain? Why does LV Village discourage interactions between volunteers and refugees?

Discuss one of the refugees whom Nayeri interviews. What circumstances drove that person from their home country, and what are their current challenges? How do those challenges influence Nayeri’s arguments about the refugee experience?

Discuss the role of storytelling in the asylum interview. Why does Nayeri compare this process to the writer’s workshop she attends? What cultural challenges do refugees face when appealing to Western officers?

Using two of the literary and philosophical examples provided in the book, explain how Nayeri views the assimilation process. What challenges with assimilation does Nayeri face in both her personal life and in her work with other refugees?

Examine Nayeri’s relationship with one of her family members. How does their perspective of Western life differ from Nayeri’s? How does her perspective of them shift over time?