DEVELOPINGTEACHERS.COM - WEEKLY TEACHING TIP - 16th June 2008
BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS
Global Issues - R.Sampedro & S.Hillyard (OUP)
Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0194371816/developingt Amazon.co.uk:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0194371816/developingt Amazon.ca:
http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/0194371816/developteacDrama - C.Wessels (OUP)
Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0194370976/developingt Amazon.co.uk:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0194370976/developingt Amazon.ca:
http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/0194370976/developteacPersonalising Language Learning - G.Griffiths & K.Keohane (CUP)
Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0415633648/developingt Amazon.co.uk:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0415633648/developingt Amazon.ca:
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TEACHING TIP
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World Refugee Day - 20th June
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It's World Refugee Day on June 20th, & in the UK Refugee Week
2008 takes place from 16 - 22 June. Every day there are
heartbreaking stories in the media of refugees, asylum seekers &
displaced people. It is a huge problem everywhere in the world.
Here's the front page text from the UN Refugee agency site:
World Refugee Day: Displacement in the 21st Century. A new paradigm
The refugee challenge in the 21st century is changing rapidly. People
are forced to flee their homes for increasingly complicated and
interlinked reasons. Some 40 million people worldwide are already
uprooted by violence and persecution, and it is likely that the future
will see more people on the run as a growing number of push factors
compound one another to create conditions for further forced
displacement.
Today people do not just flee persecution and war but also injustice,
exclusion, environmental pressures, competition for scarce resources and
all the miserable human consequences of dysfunctional states.
The task facing the international community in this new environment is
to find ways to unlock the potential of refugees who have so much to
offer if they are given the opportunity to regain control over their
lives.
There are three ways we at the UN Refugee Agency are making this goal a
reality: we protect, we build and we advocate. First, we protect refugee
rights to safety, shelter and health, focusing special attention on the
most vulnerable people, particularly women and girls.
Second, we work with our partners to build the capacity of refugees to
fend for themselves once they are able to do so. And we work hard to
find solutions so that refugees become self-sufficient as soon as
possible.
Third, we advocate to draw attention to the plight of refugees and to
raise the money necessary to get the job done. Our goal is to persuade
people that it is our common responsibility to make a difference for
those forced to pick-up and go through no fault of their own. Results on
the ground show we are making progress. Last year, we helped hundreds of
thousands of people return home. In Africa, bright spots include
stepped-up repatriation to South Sudan and winding up of UNHCR's
operations in Liberia and Angola. In April, we held a major conference
in Geneva and mobilized international support for the millions fleeing
conflict in Iraq. We cannot do this alone. But with your support UNHCR
can begin to turn the tide, giving refugees hope for the future and new
opportunities for their families and their communities.
http://www.unhcr.org/events/3e7f46e04.htmlThe UN Refugee agency on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/UNHCR/13204463437And on MySpace:
http://www.myspace.com/unhcr1And videos on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/unhcr************
There is already a past Tip on the Day 'A Place To Call Home' at:
http://www.developingteachers.com/tips/pasttips68.htm#placeThere's a roleplay in the Tip from Amnesty Refugee.
Here are the role cards:
Immigration officers' arguments and options:
You can use these arguments and any others you can think of:
* They are desperate, we can't send them back.
* If we will send them back we will be responsible if they are
arrested, tortured or killed.
* We have legal obligations to accept refugees.
* They have no money, and will need state support. Our country
cannot afford that.
* Can they prove that they are genuine refugees? Maybe they are
just here to look for a better standard of living?
* Our country is a military and business partner of country X. We
can't be seen to be protecting them.
* Maybe they have skills which we need?
* There are enough refugees in our country. We need to take care
of our own people. They should go to the richer countries.
* If we let them in, others will also demand entry.
* They don't speak our language, they have a different religion
and they eat different food. They won't integrate.
* They will bring political trouble.
Before the roleplay, think about the following options:
* Will you let all of the refugees across the border?
* Will you let some across the border?
* Will you split them up by age, profession, wealth...?
* Will you do something else instead?
Refugees' arguments and options:
You can use these arguments and any others you can think of:
* It is our right to receive asylum.
* Our children are hungry, you have a moral responsibility to
help us.
* We will be killed if we go back.
* We have no money.
* We can't go anywhere else.
* I was a doctor in my home town.
* We only want shelter until it is safe to return.
* Other refugees have been allowed into your country.
Before the roleplay, think about the following options:
* Will you split up if the immigration officers ask you to?
* Will you go home if they try to send you back?
************
An interesting lesson for the teen group would be to ask them to
bring in newspaper articles about refugees & asylum seekers. They
translate the headlines & then retell the content of the articles
in English to everyone - could be a mingle. The class then
discuss the bias of the different articles & the newspapers they
come from. A general discussion on the topic ensues.
************
There's an interesting article in the Observer, 'The hell of
being an asylum seeker':
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/jun/15/immigration.familyandrel http://www.ecre.org/refugeestories/A site dedicated to heartbreaking stories told by refugees. Each
story comes in pdf. For the more advance class you could use
several stories as a jigsaw activity i.e. give out a different
story to each student/pair/small group, the read & discuss, &
then they mingle explaining their story & listening to others,
possibly filling in a chart of the important facts. At the end a
class discussion ensues on who had the most difficult time, the
most changes in their new country etc....
Some more sites on refugees:
http://www.globalgang.org/findit/topics/refugees.aspxChristian Aid site for youngsters - this section is about
refugees. There are some stories that you can use in class.
http://learn.christianaid.org.uk/Christian Aid resources for teachers & youth leaders.
http://www.refugeeaction.org/Refugee Action committee - Australian.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RefugeesWikipedia - refugee.
http://www.refugeecouncil.org.uk/Refugee council - UK
http://www.refugees.org/article.aspx?id=1941Refugee Survey 2007
http://www.refugee.net/Refugee republic
http://www.redcross.org.uk/TLC.asp?id=81617British Red Cross Refugee Services
http://www.refintl.org/Refugees International
Comments, ideas & materials, please post for all to use at:
http://forum.developingteachers.com/index.php?topic=1562.0---------------
Don't forget to check out Developingt2t.com if you haven't
already:
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Happy teaching!
Alistair
You can see past teaching tips at
http://www.developingteachers.com/tips/pasttips.htm- bookmark it for future reference.
Please e-mail this tip to a friend - thanks.
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Keywords: lesson ideas, links, refugees, roleplay, Teaching Tip, World Refugee Day
