Week of 09/26
Refugee Unit
What might force you (and your family) to abandon your home and leave your country?"
What is a refugee?
What are some reasons that refugees leave their homes?
Refugee—A person who leaves his or her country due to a well-founded fear of persecution because of his or her race, religion, nationality, political views, or membership in a particular social group. People fleeing conflicts are also generally considered to be refugees since they are seeking refuge (safety). Refugees have specific rights and protections under international law. For example, refugees have the right to not be forced to return to the unsafe situation that they fled. Refugees have the rights of security and freedom of movement. They have the right to keep their family together. Similarly, countries that have refugees seeking asylum in their territory have specific responsibilities under international law for the treatment of those refugees.
Migrant—A person who moves to a foreign country for various reasons—for example, for employment, education, or to reunite with family—usually for a year or more. Unlike refugees, migrants do not face a direct threat of persecution or death in their home country.
Internally Displaced Person (IDP)—A person who is forcibly uprooted within his or her country but who has not crossed an international border. IDPs may be forced from their home as a result of armed conflict, human rights violations, or natural or human-made disasters, yet remain in their country.
Host Country—The country to which a refugee relocates.
Asylum—Shelter or protection from danger granted by a country to someone forced to leave their home country.
Asylum Seeker—A person who has moved across international borders in search of protection and filed a claim for asylum with the host country’s government. While the government reviews the claim, the person remains an asylum seeker. If the claim is accepted, the person becomes a “refugee” in the eyes of the government. For example, someone from Syria who is living in Germany and waiting to hear the outcome of his or her asylum application would be considered an asylum seeker.
The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR)
Established by the United Nations, the UNHCR is an international organization responsible for the protection of refugees worldwide. In April 2015, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) opened the Mahama refugee camp in Rwanda to assist refugees fleeing the neighboring country of Burundi. The camp welcomed 22,000 refugees in its first month, and as of September 2015, the number of residents exceeded 43,000. The UN provides refugees with food, water, shelter, education, medical attention, and other services. The UNHCR is funded by voluntary donations from governments and private donors. It is facing a severe funding shortage as it struggles to respond to the worsening global refugee crisis, and has appealed to countries worldwide for assistance.
· Reflect on the data (linked below). Are you surprised by any of the data? Which numbers were the most striking? How does the data compare to what you expected to see?
· What do you know about the current situation in countries that are the greatest sources of refugees and IDPs, such as Syria, Afghanistan, Colombia, and Iraq? Why might such large numbers of people be leaving their homes in these places?
· Look at the top host countries and countries with the most asylum applications. Why might refugees go to these countries? Look at the location of these countries on a map. How does location affect where refugees go? What might be other reasons that so many refugees end up in these countries? What responsibility do these countries have for protecting refugees?
Shookrullah Alizadah (Afghanistan to Sweden)
Refugee’s Name – Refugee’s Journey -
Country of Origin
Route Traveled – list countries, cities, refugee camps, etc
Host Country
Refugee’s Experience
After filling out your organizer, you will begin mapping one refugee’s journey. Use the box labeled “key” to explain which parts of the refugee’s story different colors and symbols represent.
First, you should:
· Visiting Google’s My Maps - label the country names of the refugee’s country of origin, host country, and other countries that he or she describes passing through (if any).
· shade the refugee’s country of origin in one color. Fill in your key accordingly.
· shade the refugee’s host country in a second color. Fill in your key accordingly.
· draw a line to show the approximate route that the refugee traveled.
Then choose at least two other aspects of the story to visually represent on your map, such as the reasons the refugee left his or her country of origin or a challenge that the refugee faced and how he or she responded. How you represent each of these items on your map is up to you. Be creative!
For example, you may decide to:
· mark significant events with symbols.
· use colored or patterned lines to indicate different forms of transportation.
· shade other countries that the refugee passed through (if any) in a third color.
· use symbols and short written descriptions to address reasons why the refugee left home.
· add a “zoom-in box” to focus in on a particular region or event that you wish to highlight.
· include drawings to explain what he or she has done to adapt to life in each new location.
Briefly summarize the refugee story.
What did you learn about each refugee?
What were some of the reasons people gave for leaving their countries of origin?
What similarities exist between the refugees’ stories.
How did experiences differ?
Were you surprised by anything that you read?
What challenges did the refugees face during their journeys, and how did they respond?
Who or what organizations or governments have they turned to for aid?
Who do you think should be responsible for helping refugees?
What do you think that people, organizations, and governments should do?
What role do you think that the United States should play?
Did hearing refugees' stories shape you opinion about the refugee crisis? If so, how?
Refugees - articles
If You Think Europe Has a Refugee Crisis, You’re Not Looking Hard Enough - Foreign Policy
Exporting - Importing Refugees - Foreign Policy
Help Refugees Help Themselves - https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/levant/2015-10-20/help-refugees-help-themselves
Help Refugees Help Themselves - audio of article
The U.N. Is Sending Thousands of Refugees Back Into a War Zone
Videos
Boy in the ambulance: shocking image emerges of Syrian child pulled from Aleppo rubble
A Six-Year-Old's Letter to the President: "We Will Give Him a Family"
Inside Alleppo - 9.25.16 - http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/inside-aleppo-as-attacks-resume/
Based on what you have read, what role do you think the United States should play? Write a letter to an elected official detailing these opinions. You can find contact information for the White House at whitehouse.gov/contact and for your U.S. senators and representatives at congress.gov.
A Long Walk to Water - quick read - Due Friday
Lost Boys of Sudan - 12 years later
Vice - Forgotten War - entire episode - 15:20
Office of Refugee Resettlement
The White Helmets