Refugee Unit

Teacher Information

The theme of this resource is Syrian refugees. The resource is designed as a standalone unit
specifically for use during the online teaching and learning during the school closures due to
Covid-19. However, it could also be used as a unit if long term relief is required or to
support a new Social Science teacher.

The resource is designed as a 3-4 week block of learning and is structured in 3 sections.

SECTION 1: WHY IS THERE A WAR IN SYRIA?

SECTION 2: WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A REFUGEE?

SECTION 3: STEPPING INTO THE UNKNOWN - FORCED MIGRATION ASSESSMENT*

Additional teaching ideas and assessments related to this can be found in the following
Destuff Social Studies resources:

⮚ A STATE OF CONFLICT
⮚ STEPPING INTO THE UNKNOWN

*This assessment is from the Destuff Social Studies resource – ‘Stepping Into The Unknown’.

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 Section 1
WHY IS THERE A WAR IN SYRIA?

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 WHY IS THERE A WAR IN SYRIA?
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-35806229

⮚ Open the link above to answer the following questions.

⮚ Answer the questions in the spaces provided.
⮚ There are extension parts to some of the questions for those of you who would like to do
additional research using other websites.

Part 1 - How did the Syrian war start?

a. What year did the Syrian civil war start?

15 march 2011

b. What were Syrians complaining about before the war started?

High unemployment, government

c. When the violence rapidly escalated and the Syrian civil war began who was fighting who?

Rebels v rebels + government

Part 2 - How many people have died?

a. By the end of 2018 how many people had been killed and missing presumed dead?

560,000

b. Can you find out how the most recent number of Syrians killed and missing presumed dead?

578 according to vice

c. The three stages of the Syrian war graphs show three ways people were being killed – shooting, shelling
and airstrikes. From the graphs which has caused the most deaths? EXTENSION - Why do you think this
is?

Overall the shootings have killed the most people as The More troop they have out there fighting the
more casualties there is going to be

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Part 3 - What is the war about? Who is involved?

It is now more than a battle between those who are for or against Mr Assad.
Many groups and countries - each with their own agendas - are involved. This makes the civil war very
complicated and difficult to bring to an end.

Choose 2 groups who are backing the Syrian Government and two who are backing the Rebels. Give some
examples of what they have been doing.

Groups backing the What have they been doing to EXTENSION – more details about the
Syrian Government support the Syrian Government group

1.Russia . Russia have been the air campaign, Russia already military bases in Syria prior
air strikes to their civil war. The aim of terrorists but
regularly kill regular people

2.Iran Sent hundreds of troops and billions Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement was
of dollars financed by Iran

Groups backing the What have they been doing to EXTENSION – more details about the
Rebels support the Rebels group

1.Turkey Turkish backed rebels control land on Turkey has long supported the rebels
the north western border

2.Saudi Arabia Armed and funded the rebels Keen to counter Iranian influence

Video to watch to help your understanding - Syrian conflict: Why is Syria still at war, nine years on?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBOeamMqiQ4

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Part 4 - How has the country been affected?

a. How many people have:

⮚ Been left with permanent disabilities; 1.5 million

⮚ Been internally displaced; 6.2 million

⮚ Need humanitarian assistance; 13 million

⮚ Fled abroad (Refugees); 5.7

⮚ Where have most people fled to. Neighbouring country’s such. As Lebanon, Jordan and turkey

b. Using the infographic above draw a bar graph to show the top 10 European countries for asylum
applications.

Top 10 european countries for asylum

applications
greese 61,365
bulgaria 21,385
country of application

hungary 78,245
austria 55,550
france 21,660
belgium 23,995
netherlands 39,510
germany 593,025
denmark 21,400
sweden 120,855
0 100,000 200,000 300,000 400,000 500,000 600,000 700,000
Number of Asylum applications
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Video to watch to help your understanding - Understanding the Refugee Crisis in Europe, Syria, & around
the World https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVV6_1Sef9M

d. Why do Syrians also have limited access to healthcare?

A lot of attacks have been on their health care facilities

EXTENSION- what will be the impact of this? Why will this be more of problem with the current Coved -19
pandemic?

Millions of people are in refugee camps which makes social distancing impossible, and it seems as if no one
is taking the corona virus seriously, they recon it will be worse then Italy

Video to watch to help your understanding - How Syria's war-torn Idlib is dealing with coronavirus
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5N6d8qFHFKE

Video to watch to help your understanding - Is coronavirus carnage on the way for refugees? (first
3.45m)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsr5OIhZNBY

e. Much of Syria's rich cultural heritage has also been destroyed.

How many of the country's UNESCO World Heritage sites have been damaged significantly?

All six world heritage sites have been damaged significantly

EXTENSION -Research which UNESCO World Heritage sites have been damaged.

Krka des Chevaliers, Archaeological villages northern Syria, Bosra, Palmyra, Old city of Damascus, Ancient city
of Aleppo

Video to watch to help your understanding - War destroying Syria’s cultural heritage
https://www.dw.com/en/war-destroying-syrias-cultural-heritage/av-17385479

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Part 5 - How is the country divided?

The government has regained control of much of Syria and its biggest cities (shown in Blue).

Five other groups have control of the rest of Syria.

For each group give the appropriate % of Syria they control and its location. Complete the table below.

Group Location % of country EXTENSION - Who is backing these groups

Kurdish Forces North East Syria ~35% Us and golf states

Syrian central 60% Russia, Iran, Hezbollah

government

Turkish military north 10% Us & gold states

Jihadist forces North west 5%

Syrian rebels North west 10% Us, turkey, gold states

Part 6 - Will the war ever end?

Extension- do you think the war will ever end. Give your own opinion based on what you have learnt through
this activity.

I believe that their civil war will end as they will way up the risk with the reward and pull their troops
because of the amount of deaths

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 Section 2
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A
REFUGEE?

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 WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A REFUGEE?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25bwiSikRsI

Watch the video and then complete the definition table below

Definition

Refugee Forced to leave home due to war or conflict, fled homes but still within their own
countries

Migrants Forced to leave home due to war or conflict, fled homes and have led their country
for reasons not related to persecution to find better circumstances

UN’s definition, a refugee as someone who is outside their country of nationality

Internally Displaced Persons someone who is forced to flee his or her home but who remains within his or her
country's borders. They are often referred to as refugees, although they do not fall
within the legal definitions of a refugee

Asylum Not officially a refugee until asylum application is accepted,

Smugglers Those who help people cross the border illegally

Persecution. hostility and ill-treatment, especially because of race or political or religious

beliefs; oppression.

Drought-Stricken affected by drought. Water from the river could be taken to the drought-stricken
areas of the country

Xenophobia dislike of or prejudice against people from other countries.

Racism prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different

race based on the belief that one's own race is superior

Humanitarian Aid is material and logistic assistance to people who need the help. It is usually short-
term help until the long-term help by government and other institutions

Discriminatory Treatment disparate treatment is proof that an organization is discriminating against

employees based on their race, religion, gender, sexuality, or other 'differences

Food Insecurities, the state of being without reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable,
nutritious food.

UN Refugee Agency UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is a global organisation dedicated to saving lives
and protecting the rights of refugees

Forced Migration Is a general term that refers to the movements of refugees and internally displaced people,
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 because of conflicts, natural or environmental disasters, chemical or nuclear disasters,
famine, ethnic cleansing and other persecution, economic circumstance, etc.

Refugee Clips

What does it mean to be a refugee?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25bwiSikRsI&t=50s

Escape from Syria: Rania's odyssey

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDHwt-ooAi4

A Beautiful Animation of a Harrowing Story

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0HWYcFlY-8

Syria: Drone Footage Shows Horrible Conditions of Refugee Camp Covered in Snow
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVFu6J-o6m8

Syria: 800,000 displaced face desperate conditions in camps

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ie-bzzQHS7o

How to Debunk Myths and Lies About Refugees

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwJsdzPuFtM

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 Section 3
Stepping Into The Unknown
Forced Migration Assessment
AO: Understand that events have causes and effects (Level 4)

©Destuff Ltd. Version 1: April 2020

 Stepping Into The Unknown
Forced Migration Assessment
AO: Understand that events have causes and effects (Level 4)

Instructions
In this assessment you will create an infographic to show your understanding of the causes and effects of a forced
migration.

● Choose ONE example of forced migration that has occurred within or from Syria.
Syrians started fleeing their country when the civil war started as that was when their homes got blown up,
terror would of spread quick, the only way out would be to become a refugee and escape their country

● Your infographic must be about the CAUSES which led to the forced migration. This should include
information about: where and why the forced migration occurs. (AO assessment mark)

● The civil war cause major bombing, air strikes and raids. The only way out would be to join the army or flee
and be come a refugee, mothers and children and abundant at the refugee camps as they would not be joining
the army

● Your infographic must include the EFFECTS (impacts) of this forced migration on the refugees. (AO
assessment mark)

● olp

What should your infographic include?

● Clear title which includes the forced migration selected.

● Two main sections
● Causes of the forced migration

● Effects of the forced migration

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● A range of visual material i.e. photographs, graphs, maps, quotes, cartoons, etc.
● Clear and relevant information.
Examples of infographic can be found at the following site.
The 90 best infographics
http://www.creativebloq.com/graphic-design-tips/information-graphics-1232836
Make charts and infographics in 3 easy steps
https://infogr.am/
Creating Beautiful infographics in less than 10 minutes
http://piktochart.com/

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Name: _____________________________

Stepping Into The Unknown

Forced Migration Assessment
AO: Understand that events have causes and effects (Level 4)

Task Not Progressing Achieved Merit Excellence

Achieved

Information on the
selected Forced
Migration:

● What caused it
Information on the
selected Forced
Migration:

● Effects on the
refugees (social)

Achievement
Objective: Understand
that events have causes
and effects (L4)

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 Stepping Into The Unknown
Forced Migration Assessment
AO: Understand that events have causes and effects (Level 4)

Task Not Achieved Progressing Achieved Merit Excellence

No causes Limited and Some clear causes Detailed causes Comprehensive causes
Information
given for the unclear causes given for the selected given for the given for the selected
on the selected forced given the forced migration. selected forced forced migration.
selected migration. selected forced migration.
Forced migration.
Migration:

● What
caused
it

No information Limited Some information Detailed Comprehensive

Information
given for the information given for the effects of information given information given for the
on the
effects of the given for the the selected force for the effects of effects of the selected
selected selected force effects of the migration on the the selected force force migration on the
Forced migration on selected force refugees. migration on the refugees.
Migration: the refugees. migration on refugees.
the refugees.

● Effects
on the
refugees
(social)

Achievement The two assessed tasks are used to generate the final mark for the Achievement Objective.
Objective An holistic judgement should be made particularly if the student is on a grade boundary.
Understand that
events have
causes and
effects (L4)

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