What if you only had 5 minutes to flee your home? What necessities would you take with you? This is the reality for so many worldwide today.
Being part of an international school means many of us have had the experience of travelling and relocating abroad. However, for refugees, they are not moving countries because they want to. They do not have a home waiting for them in their new country and they face many challenges while starting their new life.
In Year 5, we have been looking at what it means to be a displaced refugee. That is someone who is forced out of their home because of war, persecution or a natural disaster. At the end of 2019, 79.5 million people worldwide were forcibly displaced - approximately 1% of the entire world population. Many refugees are children. With such a high rate of refugees, what can we do to help?
As part of a Project Based Learning series of lessons, we were fortunate enough to speak to Liz, a refugee support worker, who has volunteered in a refugee camp in Calais, France and helps refugees in the United Kingdom. Children were able to ask questions about her experiences and the people she has met who have impacted her life. We discussed what world leaders are doing to support refugees and what life is like for those waiting for refugee status in refugee camps.
What really surprised many of us was the gruelling and often dangerous journey a refugee makes for freedom. Most put their lives in danger in an attempt to flee their home, only taking the basic items they can grab. In the process of fleeing home and attempting to make it into another country, families may be torn apart, some may never see each other again. If they make it to a refugee camp, they endure waiting for a government’s decision to be granted asylum (permission to officially enter the country). Liz told us of a man she knows who has been waiting for 20 years - double the age of our Year 5 children. If granted permission to start a new life in the new country, many face daily challenges; not speaking the language, not being able to communicate with family and friends from home, not having enough money. Of course for some, they are ultimately able to adapt to their new life. Some well-known refugees include musician Bob Marley and scientist Albert Einstein.
A really important question one student asked was, ‘what can I do as a 10 year old girl to help refugees?’. Liz’s simple answer was to educate ourselves and spread awareness of refugees. As our Project Based Learning continues, we will start to think about how we can educate our local community, how we can support charities which help refugees, how we can campaign to world leaders and how we could support a refugee in school.
Why not join us in celebrating Refugee Week? It is a festival celebrating the contributions, creativity and resilience of refugees and people seeking sanctuary which takes place 14th - 20th June. The theme this year is ‘We Cannot Walk Alone’, which is very fitting for our current situation.
For more information on refugees and the simple acts we can do as a community, please see the websites below:
