Who is a Refugee?

Lesson 2: Myths and facts

Learning outcome
Participants will be able to identify the difference between myths and facts when
discussing asylum seekers and refugees.

Lesson resources
Teaching notes Myths and Facts
Excerpt 2 Are students aware of the myths and facts surrounding refugees?
DVD Roads to Refuge > Myths and Facts

Step 1. Brainstorm
Ask students to brainstorm a list of comments about refugees and asylum seekers
that they have heard:

at school
in the media
in the community

Step 2. Discussion
Discuss as a group. Which ones do students think are true? Which ones might not be
true? Why or why not?

Step 3. Digital video

Ask students to consider whether students in the DVD > Myths and Facts came up
with any similar or different myths.

Discuss why myths are circulated throughout society. How do such myths affect the
lives of refugees living in Australia?

Step 4. Research
Ask students to identify the myths in the original list (Step 1) and to clarify the facts.

For example, students could research the statistics around humanitarian protection
visas in Australia or the countries that asylum seekers arrive from.

There are many websites that will help students sort out myths from facts.

Students can use the following information to find out more refugee facts:

NSW Department of Education and Communities Roads to Refuge

NSW University Centre for Refugee Research Celebrating Refugee Lives
Booklet
Refugee Council of Australia Mythbuster
The Centre for Policy Development Refugee Facts
Amnesty International Australia Frequently Asked Questions
Asylum Seeker Resource Centre Resource for Teachers (myths and facts)

NSW Department of Education and Communities

 Who is a Refugee?

Department of Immigration and Border Protection > Media > Publications >
Statistics

Step 5. Concluding discussion

As a class, discuss the main myths about refugees that students came across. What
new information was learned?

NSW Department of Education and Communities