Refugee Report- Amanda Weber

Characteristics

Cultural
• Culture shock of coming into a new country, having to adjust to new norms and values.

• Barriers to speaking the language of the country.

• Barriers to accessing services like health.

• Gender roles

• Religious barriers- ie: accommodations for prayer, food, clothing

Emotional
• Silent period- might feel isolated from peer groups and school community.

• lack of friends or people who speak the same language.

• Trauma from being asked to flee a war-torn country.

• Persecution/discrimination from other people around them

• Abuse or neglect.

• Being physically and mentally well.

• Being forced to grow up too fast.

 • Potential racism, stereotyping, bias

• peer relationships

• support from families and friends.

Social
• Money situation for the family

• Being asked to take care of brothers and sisters.

• Being pressured to work to get money for the family.

• Being asked to be the translator for parents who don't speak the same language as professionals
like teachers.

• Housing issues.

• peer relationships

• Support from families and friends

Terms:

Refugees: people from diverse situations experiencing fear, violence, loss and stressful living situations.

Trauma: Emotional response from a distressing event that can last for long periods of ti me.

Relocation: Moving to a new area to establish oneself in a different area.

Resilience: the ability to deal with adversity in order to adapt and thrive.
Country Profile- South Sudan
• Dependent on farming and the growing of cattle

• Instability due to civil war, competition for necessities of life and citizenship.

- Civil Wars have plagued the region 1955-1972, 1983-2005

- Children can be recruited as child soldiers.

• Environment challenges leading food insecurity and poor crops.

• Estimated 4.3 Million displaced South Sudanese living in refugee camps, 63% children.

• Most refugees are from the Blue Nile region comprised of Sudanese and South Sudanese origin.
Ethnic groups include Uduk, Maaban and Dinka.

• Refugees migrate to camps in Ethiopia, Uganda and other parts of Sudan.

• The Sherkole Refugee camp has 9,600 (2012 numbers), with a K-8 school, preschools and no
high school. High school is 16kms away.

• People living in refugee camps were emaciated and had stress on their faces. Basic needs of
these people are not met adequately.

• People are "strong-willed, welcoming and family centred."

 - "full of hope, for better days ahead and wanted to do everything they could for a better
future for their children."

(Building hope: Refugee learner ... - Province of Manitoba)

(Garang, Enhancing the educational outcomes for South Sudanese ...)

South Sudanese Youth (Girl focus)

• 72% of youth are not in primary school ( one of the world's highest out of school rates).

• 76% girls out of school in this country.

• 7% of the teaching force is women.

• Girls are subjected to major challenges with "gender inequality, poverty, early marriage" and
reports of genital mutilation/rape.

(Garang, Enhancing the educational outcomes for South Sudanese ...)

(Girls in South Sudan should not be regarded as beasts of burden and sources of income)
Educator Tips

• Focus on building community with students in your class.

• Being aware of the gender and cultural norms of a student.

• Address things in a positive manner

• Frequent class meetings to check in and to address issues.

• Know your learners

• Provide a welcome package to the student and family in their language that has places that they
could access for services.

• Create a classroom with culturally appropriate materials, labels and decorations.

• Become a trauma informed educator and learn to recognize the signs of trauma to mitigate
harm.

• Celebrate mastery and success.

(Roxas, Creating communities: Working with refugee students in ...)

Burnout, compassion fatigue, vicarious trauma

Teachers and other helping professions can be subject to burnout, compassion fatigue and vicarious
trauma.
 • Burnout- "Physical and emotional exhaustion" from being dealt too much, lack of support and
resources, and feeing "powerless and overwhelmed."

• Compassion fatigue and vicarious trauma are known as "secondary traumatic stress". This is
when people who work with people with trauma and the effect that it has on them. The
condition is at the "cost of caring" for others who hurt emotionally. This can happen when the
person is caring for a person and they empathize with them.

• Self Care:

1. Be aware of the signs of vicarious trauma

2. Don't deal with it alone

3. Vicarious trauma can be an occupational hazard

4. Seek help and counselling

5. Self care to take care of yourself.

(Life after war: Education as a healing process for refugee and war-affected children)

Sources of stress for students

• Separation from parents for long periods of time.

 • Poverty and financial issues

• Lack of support systems

• Language barriers and "lack of familiarity with the English language"

• "Unresolved trauma and stress"

• "absence of academic and counselling support services.

• Violence and discrimination found in countries of origins.

• Anxiety, withdrawal, anger, guilt and shame

(Roxas, Creating communities: Working with refugee students in ...)

Instruction and Assessment

Students can come from different backgrounds where their education can be disrupted.

Foundational literacy is needed to address the learning gaps. Students missing these gaps need to have
more intensive preparation to address the skills before moving onto subject-specific learning. This can
be true about numeracy as well.

Effective components of programming can include:

 • Curriculum based on themes- There might be a need to provide "age appropriate topics and
processes" that address a gap in learning.

• Extended EAL instruction periods

• Smaller classroom teacher to student ratios.

• Authentic learning experience

• Activities that involve groups

• Scaffolding of content and language

• teaching of skills, strategies and texts required for academics

• numeracy

• Socialization

• Arts

• Study skills and skills to be a student.

• Goal setting

• Team committed to learning.

• Support, time and patience.

(Life after war: Education as a healing process for refugee and war-affected children)
Proactive strategies

• "Create a safe space."

• Build relationships with student and parents

• Being predictable with routines and procedures.

• Being trauma informed and being able to recognize the triggers before they happen.

• Take care of yourself and identify signs of vicarious trauma and compassion fatigue.

Healing
Teachers in a classroom full of refugee students are not therapists. Teachers can help families access the
services that they need in order to start the process of healing and getting to live a "normal" life.

However, disclosures happen when the student shares something eye -opening.

There are more "private" ways to express oneself and feelings. This can provide many benefits to the
student when exploring feelings and identities.

• Letterbox - write to the teacher

• the process of play

• Art
 • Journals

• Story telling

(Life after war: Education as a healing process for refugee and war-affected children)

Bullying
Coming to a new country can be a scary place for refugees adjusting to the motions of a new culture.
Students who are refugees might have a sense of elevation that might cause them to act out from not
knowing what is happening. Inappropriate responses can signal to other students around them that they
are a target.

Strategies

• Set firm and consistent boundaries about how the classroom is a safe space. Practice kindness
and respect for others.

• Get to know students and their interests.

• Circles for sharing.

• address bullying when it happens (in person, social media, indirectly)

Conclusion

I found this assignment to be rather interesting. I enjoyed reading the refugee narratives and saw the
motivations to come to Canada for a better life. I do agree with the refugees that they needed more
time to learn English and more time practice skills such as literacy and numeracy. This assignment
opened my eyes to what an educator needs to accomplish when helping a refugee to adjust to a new life
and a new school. The part on the South Sudanese Refugees was rather eye opening because I heard
stories from my pastor. He was a refugee when the civil wars broke in South Sudan having to flee
towards Uganda. I also heard his story about the resettlement process and his trip to Canada. It was
rather inspiring to hear of his experiences. Refugees have a complex, yet difficult story that has to be
dealt with gently and with patience to deal with things like trauma and the process of speaking English. I
hope that I will have the compassion and know how to deal with the ELL students I see in the future.
References

Garang, R. (n.d.). Enhancing the educational outcomes for South Sudanese ... Retrieved April 27, 2022,
from https://www.uwinnipeg.ca/ceri-network/docs/enhancing-educational-outcome.pdf

Girls in South Sudan should not be regarded as beasts of burden and sources of income. Homepage.
(n.d.). Retrieved April 26, 2022, from https://www.wvi.org/stories/south-sudan/girls-south-sudan-
should-not-be-regarded-beasts-burden-and-sources-income

Government of Manitoba. (n.d.). Life after war: Education as a healing process for refugee and war-
affected children. Life After War | Manitoba. Retrieved April 26, 2022, from
https://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/docs/support/law/index.html

Province of Manitoba. (n.d.). Building hope: Refugee learner ... - Province of Manitoba. Retrieved April
27, 2022, from https://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/docs/support/building_hope/building_hope_print.pdf

Roxas, K. (n.d.). Creating communities: Working with refugee students in ... Retrieved April 27, 2022,
from https://democracyeducationjournal.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1020&context=home