Home of the Brave

The next day, Dave takes Kek to the Refugee Resettlement Center to complete paperwork. Kek is amazed by the center, with its numerous chairs and people of all backgrounds and sizes. However, Kek is unimpressed with the interview process. He becomes so bored while answering the questions that he starts to doze off. The English words blur together and Kek has a hard time trying to keep up with the “river of words” (54). He tells Dave, “I don’t think I like this America paperwork […] It makes for too many yawnings” (54). 

After the initial paperwork is finished, Dave takes Kek to another room to meet Diane. Here, Kek learns from Diane that the center has been working to locate any information about his mother. The instant Kek hears this news his “hope flutters high like a bird [he] cannot catch” (56). But the words he hopes to hear about his mother do not come. Diane tells Kek that it is hard to find refugees because of how often they move to new camps. She says they will keep looking but warns Kek that he shouldn’t get his hopes up.