Respect for all: Refugees and human rights

This activity was used with pupils in key stage 4, years 10 and 11.

Aim

• To challenge some of the associated myths and stereotypes and the prejudice and racism that result from inaccurate beliefs about refugees.

Activity objectives

• To understand what refugees are.
• To explore the reasons why people become refugees.
• To understand that issues relating to refugees are ongoing and of local, national and global relevance.
• To empathise with the situation refugees may find themselves in (eg some pupils themselves may be refugees or have family members who are refugees).
• To explore issues about refugees in terms of conflicts around the world (eg investigating the work of the United Nations), and within a human rights framework.

This activity relates to the following components in the key stage 4 citizenship programme of study: 1a, 1b, 1i.

The 'human rights' units in the key stage 3 and key stage 4 citizenship schemes of work provide additional ideas for teaching activities.

Activity description

This activity addresses human rights issues such as:

• the legal and human rights and responsibilities underpinning society and how they relate to citizens;
• the origins and implications of the diverse national, regional, religious and ethnic identities in the UK;
• the need for mutual respect and understanding and the UK's relations with the Commonwealth and the United Nations.

The pupils were asked to brainstorm what images and words came into their minds when they heard the term 'refugee'. They wrote down their answers without comment or judgement from the teacher and displayed them in the classroom. The pupils, working in pairs, then conducted a 'true' or 'false' quiz to introduce some basic facts and figures about refugees, based on questions such as:

Which locations (eg countries, regions, cities) do most refugees go to?
Which people can be described as refugees?
Why do refugees leave their own countries?
How many refugees come to the UK compared with other European countries?

This information (and much more) is available from many organisations including:

• Home Office;
• UNHCR (United Nations [Office of the] High Commissioner for Human Rights);
• Amnesty International.

After answering these questions, the teacher led a whole-class discussion on the issues raised. Where pupils expressed clear misconceptions, they were asked to give the source of their information. The pupils then checked for accurate statistics on the Britkid website (in the 'Serious Issues' section) . They also researched famous refugees such as Albert Einstein and the Dalai Lama, concentrating on the reasons why these people fled. The pupils used these cases to find patterns in the reasons why people become refugees.

The pupils then took part in a short simulation activity where they imagined they were refugees. From a list of 18 items, the students had to consider which 10 would be most useful to them in a refugee camp. The items included a mobile phone, a tent, some social workers to trace missing children, a radio. In the discussion that followed, the teacher concentrated on how refugees might feel about leaving their homes.

Finally the class reconsidered the original brainstorm exercise. They discussed the new information they had learnt about refugees and what facts (if any) had made them think more deeply about the issue. This process of summary enabled the pupils to reflect on their own attitudes towards refugees and gave them an opportunity to review their ideas.

Commentary

This activity challenged some of the preconceived notions pupils may have had about refugees, but in a way that did not make them feel uncomfortable. Sensitivity needed to be used: some pupils may come from families who are refugees and may have suffered racist abuse as a result.

Learning basic facts and statistics helped these pupils to challenge such misconceptions: accurate information is a good weapon for tackling people who believe the UK is being 'swamped with immigrants'. Unbiased knowledge also helped pupils to imagine the experience of being a refugee and to empathise with their plight.

Follow-up activities

The teacher could:

• invite members of the local community (or parents) to talk to the pupils about their own experiences of being a refugee or asylum seeker;
• ask pupils to investigate the role of the United Nations in relation to refugees and asylum seekers;
• ask pupils to investigate what happens to refugees and asylum seekers when they come to the UK.

Resources

There are often current affairs stories on media websites about refugees that provide excellent resources for lessons on this issue.

The citizenship schemes of work can be found at www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/schemes
The online national curriculum can be found at www.nc.uk.net

PSHE and citizenship introduction

All subjects and activities

Respect for all introduction