How does the author use the star motif to help us understand the identity of a refugee in the memoir, When Stars Are Scattered?

The authors use the star motif to help the reader understand the identity of a refugee - as a scattered star (like the title). The memoir opens simply with stars in the night sky, and Omar explaining how his first years were lost. The reader might think that like stars, refugees feel lost in a big sky surrounded by millions of others - without a home. They also might feel depressed, frustrated, and forgotten. Omar receives a speech in school one day from his teacher Michael about how in their lives they may get a hard time from others who do not think they belong. Michael tells the kids to imagine themselves as stars, “Your light is bright and shines for millions of miles . . . Throughout your life, people may shout ugly words at you. Words like, ‘Go home refugee!’ or ‘You have no right to be here!’” (120). He explains that, “When you meet these people, tell them to look at the stars and how they move across the sky. No one tells a star to go home. Tell them ‘I am a star, I deserve to exist just the same as a star. How do I know? Because here I am . . . The proof is in the stars’” (120). The memoir then ends with Omar looking out at the sea of stars on the plane wondering what his future has in store, showing again how the stars symbolize the refugee identity.