From the beginning of the essay, "We Are Orphans Here" the author gave me the impression of being surprised of the people around her and the unfamiliar settings. She recalls the admiration the community has for Baha and I believe she herself is at least a little inspired by the way everyone looks up to him. He was like this celebrity that people relied on and he was eager to help. Rachel Kushner goes as far as to describes him as "an informal mayor". As a character, I wouldn't say she has authority, that position would definitely fit Baha, as so many people respected him, but she was a curious outsider looking in and when she gets to see, firsthand, the tragedy, she's sympathetic.
A part that really stood out to me in the essay is when she meets Adel's daughter who is physically disabled due to the school bus accident, leaving her face burned and without ears, Kushner just wanted to offer something as comfort or to give her some kind of promise, hope, even, but nothing was good enough. No material offering was good enough. She wanted to give her earrings the earrings she was wearing but she knew that wouldn't fix the fact that Adel's daughter would go on to live a difficult life.
The title for this essay, I would say, is straightforward. These people who live these unsafe and impoverished lives are living in refuege camps. It's a temporary shelter, kind of like orphans in an orphanage, until the situation gets better. If it ever does, that is.
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