CELEBRATING REFUGEES Monday 15 June Sunday 21 June 2015

Transcription

1 5 11 June 2015 CELEBRATING REFUGEES Monday 15 June Sunday 21 June 2015 Refugee Week, which is a programme of cultural and educational events and activities across the whole of the UK, celebrates the positive contributions that refugees have made to the UK. Refugees are people who are forced to leave a country for their own safety, often during times of war. Established in 1998, the week is made up of a number of events designed to showcase the talent and knowledge that many refugees bring to the country. There are photography exhibitions, film screenings, concerts, talks, workshops and more. Some events are exclusively for young people. As well as celebrating refugees, Refugee Week also aims to show British people the reality of the refugee experience and why it is they are forced to flee their homes and loved ones to seek a safer life elsewhere. The event coincides with World Refugee Day, which is on Saturday 20 June. That event is organised by the United Nations. According to them, there were 16.7 million refugees worldwide at the end of Most refugees almost 90% live in developing countries. The population of refugees and people who have applied for refugee status in the UK makes up just 0.23% of our total population. That works out as 126,055 refugees and 23,070 people still waiting to find out if they will be allowed to settle in the UK. The top three countries that our refugees are originally from are Pakistan, Iran and Sri Lanka. One of the most famous refugees in the UK is the singer Rita Ora. She and her family fled Kosovo in 1991 and settled in London. People arriving in the UK from Uganda after fleeing from Idi Amin in 1972 To find out what events are taking place in your area, or to get involved, visit the Refugee Week website News Story Original Version schoolsonline.britishcouncil.org

2 ADDITIONAL FACTS AND FIGURES Map showing where most refugees flee from and the countries that provide the most homes for refugees. Why do people become refugees? People are forced to flee their homes when their way of life, human rights, even their lives are under threat. People become refugees because they feel they have no other choice. War & conflict War is the main reason why people are forced to leave their homes. Afghanistan is the source of the largest number of refugees in the world because of the conflict and violence which has been going on in that country for decades. Syria is now a close second because of the brutal civil war which began there in This war has caused a sharp rise in the number of displaced people. By the end of 2013, the war had caused 6.5 million people to become internally displaced within Syria and 2.5 million to become refugees. Persecution Many people become refugees because they suffer hatred and violence in their home country. This may be because of their political or religious beliefs, or because they belong to a particular ethnic or social group. The word refugee came into the English language in the 17th Century from the French, when around 50,000 French people fled to England. They were being persecuted in Catholic France for believing in a different kind of Christianity. Natural disasters People can also be displaced because of natural disasters, such as earthquakes and typhoons. The UN estimates that KEY The top five countries of origin for refugees: 1 Afghanistan 2 Syria 3 Somalia 4 Sudan 5 Democratic Republic of the Congo The top five countries which provide homes for refugees: 1 Pakistan 2 Iran 3 Lebanon 4 Jordan 5 Turkey 2.8 million people were displaced because of the recent earthquakes in Nepal.

3 ADDITIONAL FACTS AND FIGURES Understanding the terms Words such as refugee and asylum seeker are used a lot in the media. What exactly do they mean and why are these names important? Refugee A refugee is someone who has had to leave their home country to find refuge: a safer place to be. A refugee has a legal right to be protected. The United Nations defines a refugee as a person who: owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality, and is unable to or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country Article 1, 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees Asylum Seeker The term asylum seeker has a similar meaning as refugee: it is someone who is seeking asylum (protection) from another country. However, there are legal distinctions between the two. An asylum seeker is the name given to someone who has asked a government for refugee status and is waiting to hear the outcome of their application. When a displaced person arrives in a country they may request asylum and the right to stay. To gain this legal right, their case has to be considered by the host country. Only if it is accepted are they legally considered to be a refugee and are given the right to stay. Internally displaced people About two-thirds of the people in the world who have been forced to leave their homes remain within their own country. They are known as internally displaced people (IDPs). Facts & figures A Refugee Week event publicised in London Half of the world s refugees in 2013 were children under 18 years - the highest figures in a decade. The 16.7 million refugees in the world does not include the estimated 33.3 million people who have had to leave their home but have not crossed an international border (internally displaced people). The top ten countries of origin for refugees living in Britain, are: Pakistan (3,343), Iran (2,417), Sri Lanka (1,808), Syria (1,669), Eritrea (1,377), Albania (1,326), Bangladesh (1,123), Afghanistan (1,040), India (965), Nigeria (915). The Exodus Festival celebrates the arts and culture of the diverse.

4 KEY TOPIC VOCABULARY CAN you match the correct definition to the key words in this news story? refuge unfair or cruel treatment because of race, religion or political beliefs UNHCR a person who has been forced to leave their home but remains within their own country (Internally Displaced Person) refugee a war fought by different groups of people in the same country asylum a person who has asked a government for refugee status and the right to stay in that country asylum seeker a person who has been forced to leave their country in order to escape war, persecution, or natural disaster a place that gives shelter or protection from danger displaced person or IDP protection given by a country to people who have been forced to leave their home country persecution civil war The United Nations refugee agency (The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees). The agency leads and co-ordinates international action to protect refugees and resolve refugee problems worldwide. Its primary purpose is to safeguard the rights and wellbeing of refugees.

5 KNOW THE FACTS FIND the answers to these questions to make sure you know the facts behind the news story: 1) What is a refugee? 2) What happens during Refugee Week and what are the aims of the week? 3) According to the United Nations, how many refugees are there in the world? How many of these live in Britain? 4) What are the top five source countries of the world s refugees? 5) What percentage of refugees are children? 6) Why did the number of displaced people suddenly rise after 2011? 7) What are the main reasons why people are compelled to leave their homes and become refugees?

6 POINTS OF VIEW WHAT DO YOU THINK? Discuss these questions with other people to develop your ideas. 1) What would you miss about your home and your local area if it became too dangerous for you to live in and you were forced to flee? 3) Why is it important for someone seeking asylum to be legally recognised as a refugee? 2) What difficulties do you think a refugee faces when he or she arrives in a new country, seeking help? 5) Why do you think refugees can make a very positive contribution to the country which gives them a safe haven and new home? 4) Why do you think many refugees leave their country as a last resort, and most prefer to live in their own country or in a neighbouring country? 6) If you were forced to leave your home, what would you take with you if you could pack up a car? What would you take if you could only take one small bag? SHARE your thoughts on these questions with your partner school.

7 VOTE, COMMENT, ACT CAN you explore this news story even further? 1) TAKE PART IN A REFUGEE WEEK EVENT There are hundreds of Refugee Week events taking part across the UK. It s easy to search and find your local events on the Refugee Week website: 2) ORGANISE AN EVENT Anyone can hold a Refuge Week event: it can be as big or small as you like. Have a look at the website for ideas and tips and to download the Refugee Week Toolkit. There are also lots of posters, postcards and banners which you can print out. Can you involve your partner school in your event? Find out if your partner school s country has ever had cause for people to leave the country, or has their country provided a home for refugees from other places? 3) JOIN THE SIMPLE ACTS CAMPAIGN The people behind Refugee Week have created a campaign called Simple Acts: On the website, there are 24 simple ideas of things you can do to help change the perception of refugees in the UK. There is a huge variety of ideas, for example: Cook a dish from another country Do a quiz Define the word refuge. Watch a film All you need to do is: choose an action, do it, and tell the world you ve done it (on the website). We believe that if everyone does at least one of these simple actions, we could make a big change to the way refugees are perceived in the UK. simpleacts.org.uk Share your ideas with your partner school.