1.3 Get out of the town!

Goal: To give students an understanding of the difficulties a refugee is faced with and the decisions they are forced to make when fearing for their safety.

Comprehension exercise

Split the class into groups. Assign pupils the task of finding witness testimonies and stories about why people have fled and how they have managed to flee from their countries. Use sources such as the web facts and the internet, as well as newspapers and literature. Each group can then choose a couple of stories from refugees from different parts of the world and present these to the class.

Goal: To generate knowledge about the reasons why people flee, as well as the risks they take and face along the way.

Awareness exercise

Split the class into different groups. Assign each group a different country from which many people have fled or are fleeing. Students should then investigate the reasons which led to this exodus. Different human rights organisations (see suggested links) have country reports and individual case-studies on their websites. Each group may then present their findings.

Goal: To develop awareness of the political and social situations in a refugee’s homeland and of why people flee.