Building Hope: Refugee Learner Narratives
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Building Hope: Refugee Learner Narratives Manitoba Education and Advanced Learning © UNHCR/Zs. Puskas. June 19, 2012. World Refugee Day 2012 in Central Europe. Európa Pont venue of the European Commission in Budapest hosted an exhibition of drawings showing the response of school children to hearing refugee stories. 2015 <www.flickr.com/photos/unhcrce/7414749518/in/set-72157630205373344/>. Used with permission. All rights reserved. Manitoba Education and Advanced Learning Cataloguing in Publication Data Building hope [electronic resource] : refugee learner narratives Includes bibliographical references. ISBN: 978-0-7711-6067-7 1. Refugee children—Manitoba—Interviews. 2. Refugees—Manitoba—Interviews. 3. War victims—Manitoba—Interviews. 4. Refugee children—Education—Manitoba. 5. Refugees—Education—Manitoba. 6. War victims—Education—Manitoba. I. Manitoba. Manitoba Education and Advanced Learning. 371.826914 Copyright © 2015, the Government of Manitoba, represented by the Minister of Education and Advanced Learning. Manitoba Education and Advanced Learning School Programs Division Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada Every effort has been made to acknowledge original sources and to comply with copyright law. If cases are identified where this has not been done, please notify Manitoba Education and Advanced Learning. Errors or omissions will be corrected in a future edition. Sincere thanks to the authors, artists, and publishers who allowed their original material to be used. All images found in this document are copyright protected and should not be extracted, accessed, or reproduced for any purpose other than for their intended educational use in this document. Any websites referenced in this document are subject to change. Educators are advised to preview and evaluate websites and online resources before recommending them for student use. Print copies of this resource can be purchased from the Manitoba Learning Resource Centre (stock number 80702). Order online at <www.mtbb.mb.ca>. This resource is available on the Manitoba Education and Advanced Learning website at <www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/>. Available in alternate formats upon request. 2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Manitoba Education and Advanced Learning wishes to thank the 11 young Manitobans— Claudette Laurie Bureau de l’éducation française Anam, Angelica, Bandiri, Favor, Keza, Layla, Mary, Mustapha, Nevaeh, Tanya, and Yödu Conseillère pédagogique Éducation et Enseignement supérieur Manitoba (aliases)—who shared the life experiences and stories that are featured in this document. Anglais/English LA—Immersion Without their courage and desire to help others, this project would not be possible. Karen Magro Faculty of Education Collectively, their stories provide insights into the range of experiences, challenges, and Assistant Professor University Of Winnipeg successes of war-affected and refugee learners. They also point to the incredible resolve, resiliency, and hope that such learners demonstrate on a daily basis. Jayesh Maniar Winnipeg School Division EAL Support Teacher Project Leader Sandra Melo St. James School Division Tony Tavares Manitoba Education and Advanced Learning EAL Curriculum Support Teacher Consultant Carol Michalik Collège Louis Riel Writers Directrice Adjointe Division scolaire franco-manitobaine Tony Tavares Manitoba Education and Advanced Learning Cindy Petriw Renée Deleurme Centre Consultant EAL Teacher Louis Riel School Division Isle Slotin Val Pierce Grant Park High School Retired EAL Teacher/Consultant, EAL Teacher Winnipeg School Division Researcher Jaclyn Redekop Bright Futures Policy and Research Analyst Advanced Education and Literacy Advisory Group Tim Mackay Nordale Community School Margaret Aisicovich Kildonan-East Collegiate Principal Louis Riel School Division EAL Teacher River East Transcona School Division Alysha Sloane Peaceful Village Project Michael Baffoe Faculty of Social Work Director Manitoba School Improvement Project Professor University of Manitoba Jan Stewart Faculty of Education Carol Braun Borderland School Division Associate Professor University of Winnipeg Assistant Superintendent Diana Turner Manitoba Education and Advanced Learning Helen Christie Miles Macdonell Collegiate EAL Consultant/Manager EAL Teacher River East Transcona School Division Mamadou Ka Université de Saint Boniface Manitoba Education and Advanced Learning Staff Professor, Political Studies Louise Boissonneault Document Production Services Unit Yatta Kanu Faculty of Education Coordinator Manitoba Education and Advanced Learning Professor University of Manitoba Diane Courcelles Document Production Services Unit Paul Kambaja Grant Park High School Publications Editor Manitoba Education and Advanced Learning Mathematics/Science Teacher Winnipeg School Division Lindsay Walker Document Production Services Unit Marc Kuly Inner City District Professional Learning Centre Desktop Publisher Manitoba Education and Advanced Learning Consultant Winnipeg School Division and Co-Publications Editor 3 CONTENTS Introduction 5 Keza* (Rwanda) 50 VIDEO RESOURCES 59 Purpose 6 Layla* (Somalia) 60 Description 7 VIDEO RESOURCES 66 Reflections and Observations 8 Mary* (South Sudan) 67 VIDEO RESOURCES 73 Video Resources and Contextual Information for Each Narrative 9 Mustapha* (Sierra Leone) 74 VIDEO RESOURCES 84 The Impact and Effects of War on Children 11 Nevaeh* (Sierra Leone) 85 Anam* (Burundi) 14 VIDEO RESOURCES 95 VIDEO RESOURCES 21 Tanya* (Afghanistan) 96 Angelica* (Democratic Republic of the Congo) 22 VIDEO RESOURCES 104 VIDEO RESOURCES 29 Yödu* (South Sudan) 105 Bandiri* (Somalia) 30 VIDEO RESOURCES 112 VIDEO RESOURCES 41 Appendices 113 Favor* (Democratic Republic of the Congo) 42 VIDEO RESOURCES 49 4 INTRODUCTION Students from immigrant and refugee backgrounds are an important and increasingly growing portion of the learners present in Manitoba’s schools. The integration and improvement of educational programming for newcomer children and youth from refugee and war-affected backgrounds is one of the priorities of Manitoba’s growth strategy and a key aspect of the province’s future and collective well-being. In 2005, Manitoba Education and Advanced Learning developed and released an action plan that was intended to improve the nature and quality of educational programs and supports for learners from English as a second language and immigrant backgrounds. An important part of this action plan was the recognition that learners from refugee and war-affected backgrounds, in particular, needed greater attention and would benefit from the development of appropriate programming and supports and access to these. Manitoba Education and Advanced Learning recognized that the provision of a real opportunity to obtain an appropriate education for those whose education was disrupted or denied by war, conflict, and other factors is one of the most important things that may be offered to these young people. In the research literature on child soldiers, and war-affected and refugee children and youth, education plays a vital role in healing, facilitating social inclusion, and improving the health and life chances of such children and youth. © UNHCR/Zs. Puskas. June 19, 2012. World Refugee Day 2012 in Central Europe. Európa Pont venue of the European Commission in Budapest hosted an exhibition of drawings showing the response of school children to hearing refugee stories. <www.flickr.com/photos/unhcrce/7414749518/in/set-72157630205373344/>. Used with permission. All rights reserved. 5 PURPOSE We believe that collecting, documenting, and publishing the individual stories QQ To strengthen programming and school supports by providing educators of young Manitobans from war-affected and refugee backgrounds will provide and schools with a set of learner case studies for professional learning and invaluable insights as to the variety of needs and experiences of learners school planning purposes from such backgrounds in Manitoba’s schools. While there is some helpful and valuable research and information available in educational literature and from other jurisdictions, the specific information and insights gained from interviewing Manitoban students about their experiences in Manitoba will be invaluable. A list of resources is provided in the appendices section of this document. Some of these resources feature the stories or profiles of youth and adults from refugee and war-affected backgrounds. Although the principal objectives of this document are multifaceted, they can be summarized as follows: QQ To help make refugee and war-affected learners more visible by providing a venue for their voices to be heard through the sharing of their stories, life and school experiences, needs, challenges, successes, and aspirations QQ To introduce educators and the general community to some of the young new Canadians from refugee and war-affected backgrounds who have immigrated to Manitoba and have entered our schools QQ To obtain insights about resiliency and what works and what doesn’t in terms of educational supports and programming from these learners who experienced a range of school supports from EAL classrooms and teacher support, to newcomer © E.Hockstein/UNHCR. December 20, 2008. The three camps at Dadaab, which were designed for 90,000 people, now have a support centres as well as after-school and summer population of about 350,000 Somali civilians, making it one of the world’s largest and most congested refugee sites. Children play in school programming Ifo camp as the sun goes down. <https://www.flickr.com/photos/unhcr/3287252875/>.