Course Calendar

Monday, April 12, 2010

Tuesday, April 13th

Assignments Due:
Round Table Discussion Guide for Week 1 Groups.

In-Class Agenda:
Quiz Modern Refugee Presentations.
Modern Refugee Reflection.
http://doctorswithoutborders.org/events/refugeecamp/guide/index.cfm

Homework:
Summarize the Refugee Experience. If you were coming into a new country as a refugee what would you like to have done to help you readjust to a new society? How would you like to be treated? What can we do to help refugees today?

13 comments:

Taylor Angelo said...

Refugees have a very hard life and are in a difficult situation. They need help, but the people they would normally go to for help, have driven them out and tried to kill them. They have a hard time finding what everyone should have, things like food, water, and shelter. If I was a refugee and I came to another country for help, I would like to find that the country would help me, or at least try to help me. I would like to have someone to help me find a job to support my family, and have a medical center nearby in case I got sick. To help the refugees in the world today, we could donate to a relief/support organizations that would help set up relief centers near refugee camps. That would help refugees get the food and medical care that they need.

Jaden Sigstad said...

If I were moving in to another country as a refugee or getting away from a conflict, I would want people to at least try to help me or make me feel welcome. I wouldn't know any of the customs of americans and I would'nt know anybody. It would be a great thing if someone could sponsor me or give me support. If I ever see anyone that isn't from here or they are new to this country,I try to be nice to them and just say hi or make them feel like this is a good place. If they feel welcome, then they will want to stay.

Cody Lund said...

Refugees always have, and will have, a hard time moving to a new location. On many occasions these innocent were people pushed out of their own countries, their own homes, very violently. After hardship, frustration, and fear, these people were forced to flee, and begin new lives in places they know nothing about. The culture is completely different in most cases, making it extremely hard to adjust to their new lives.
If I was a refugee coming to the US I would definitely hope that I could get some help. I would really like to have special communities where people with my ethnic background and heritage could live together and keep our customs and traditions going. Even though we would live together, I would also need to learn English and the American culture. I would hope that people could volunteer as English teachers and help us all out a few nights a week. I would also hope that I could get a loan so that I could get my family get back on our feet. I would surely want to be treated as an equal in the United States. It would be hard to deal with more hate just after I had narrowly escaped it. I think that today we can help refugees in a number of ways. There could be volunteer classes, or classes with for a small fee, to help to newcomers the ways of the country. We can also try to understand what these refugees have faced. They have gone through a lot more than we have and they don't necessarily want to come to the United States. We must be able to under stand their situation and respect them, and they will have respect for us

Sarah Gould said...

The experience is a terrible thing to go through. You have all of these things to worry about like malnutrition and diseases. If they get a disease that is treatable, they most likely wouldn't recieve the vaccine because of the location they are at. A lot of the people infected by the disease ended up dying. Very few recovered.
If I was comming from a new country a s a refugee, I would like for people to understand what I had to go through. I think the most important part is feeling welcome, feeling like they accept me into their country. I would also like translators to help me with speaking the language of the country (if i didn't already know it) so that way i could communicate with others. I agree with cody about living in a special community that has people wof the same ethnic background as me so i could keep my old customs and traditions, and at the same time adapt to the other country's society. I would really hope that there would be people to help me and my friends/family with speaking the new language. I can't really imagine not being able to tell your teacher that you have to go to the bathroom.
I would like to be treated like a I was a native to the country. I would like to be given an equal chance at every thing I do instead of be looked down upon or looked at as a lesser person. But mostly, I would like to be treated respectfully and fairly.
We can help refugees today by making them feel welcome and giving them a good impression of america. We can help them with their english and accept them as one of us, NOT as a foreigner. We should make friends with them and try not to discriminate against them or make fun of them. We could also donate money to the refugees in the camps to help them pay for vaccinations and other medicine. The money we donate could also pay for food and fresh, disease free water.

Nathan Danielson said...

Its basicly leaving everything you have and moving to somewhere you dont know, having no food to eat, having no home, and sometimes no family. I would like a place where all refugees could live with at least minimal food until we find a job and house. I would much like people to treat me as a normal person, to help me out, etc... I think to help refugees today we could, like i said earlier, have camps or settlements where refugees can choose to go and have some food, and some shelter.

Alyssa Taylor said...

If I were a refugee coming to America I would definately look to others for help in many areas. If I were to have young children or siblings I think that would be the most difficult part for me because if they were to be to loud, or unable to carry on, I would have a horrible time just leaving them behind so that I wouldn't get caught myself. To help me adjust to a new society, I would first make sure to learn the language if I did not know it. The next thing I would do would be to go to events in the town I was living in to meet people and make myself feel like part of the town. I would also play sport that people in that area play. I would like to be treated just as they treat anybody from around the area. Like a normal person I guess. I know this doesn't always happen though because there have been many cases where refugees are treated horribly by the people from where they move to. What we can do to help refugees today is to accept them as they are .

Andrew Wieland said...

You lose all your freedom and you have to move to where ever you can try to be safe. Even if the conflict doesn't kill you you can still dye for bad water and unsanitary conditions. If I was to move to a new country I would just like people to treat me fair and accept who I am and not how I look. I would like to be treated like how people that have lived there there whole lives have been treated. We can help refugees by not only treating them nice but also start a charity. If they wanted to people could donate money to them. People could even donate pots so that the refugees could grow vegetable because they don't have much food.

Anonymous said...

Ashlyn:
If I were a refugee coming into a new country, I would want people to help me readjust to the new society. I wouldn't people to leave me in the dust. I wouldn't be able to survive. I would like citizens to help me find food, shelter, money, job, ect... Also, I would like to be treated like a regular person. Although, I need help, I don't want people to look at me like an alien. To help refugees today, we can provide them with some food, money, shelter, water,ect.. We can't provide people with everything, but a little can help. In addition to the food..., we can maybe help them get to a safer place. Refugee camps probably aren't the most desireable place to live.

Allison Koneczny said...

If I was coming into a new country as a refugee I would like there to be classes that I could go to that give you the basics about America. For example it'd be a lot easier if I had knowledge of the customs, language, and laws of the United States.
I would like to be treated as a normal citizen, expect maybe receive extra help from people so I know what's going on and how to behave in certain situations. It would be nice if I could be accepted for who I am, and for others to learn about my culture instead of making judgements about me.
I think we could set up classes for the refugees so they can come to America and learn our customs and language with other people from the same race. Instead of judging refugees and discriminating against them for something they can't help, we should be trying to learn more about their culture and welcoming them into the United States.

Skylah said...

The Refugees had to go through so much,including; starvation, sicknesses, dehidration, etc. and many couldn't survive. If I was coming to a new country as a refugee, I like anyone, I dont care who, anyone that could help feed me and my family with any type of food, and provide water. I would also hope to be treated kindly, with respect, because of how much i had gone through, and I would deserve at least some kindness.
For us to help refugees, we can provide them with food, water, clothing, a shelter, and especially respect. They are going through so much, and we have so much more than they do, and we shouldnt be selfish and save everything for us because we want it! We need to relaize the pain and losses they have gone through,and do whatever we can to help.

Anonymous said...

Mariah:
With all that refugees coming to a new country including the U.S., I would like to be treated as a normal citizen of the US. I would want locations set up to help learn English, get a job, and to help me get going on my feet before facing the world full on. Today, we can treat refugees like we would like to be treated. To be cared for and respected, not put down and discriminated. Americans should be proud to have these refugees coming to America where they believe that we can help give them a better life.

Cody P. said...

If it were me coming into a new country as a refugee, i would want someone to help me with the language and to ge me started with a little money or at least a job. At my job i would rather not have to face hardships just because i am not a native. Maybe i could stay with a nice family until i can get on my feet. And to help refugees today? i would definitly help them with language and money, although right now i am broke!

Anonymous said...

Dominick,
If i was cominig into a new country as a refugee, i would love it if they could help me speak the new language and loan me some money so i can at least have a great start. At my new job, i would all the employees help me out the best they can. I would love it if some family can let me stay with them for a while until i get enough money. I can help refugees by helping them speak the language and get them oriented to our school and forest lake. Loan then some money.... treat them as i if i was in their position.

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