Sunday 13 March 2022

refugee story

 




Look at the picture - what do you see? Who do you think the person is? How are they feeling in the picture, what is written on their hand? What do you think the story might be?

An eleven year old boy is being called a hero after he travelled 700 miles on his own from Ukraine to be safe. Hassan's mother was forced to stay in Ukraine because she had to look after her elderly mother who cannot travel because she is too ill to move. Mum wanted Hassan to be safe so she put him on a train with his passport, a plastic bag and a phone number written on his hand to ring when he crossed the border to Slovakia, where his brothers and sisters were living.

Hasan says the scariest part was when he was in the trains. His sister says, "The train was very very full. There were 300 people in one carriage. The kids and the people were sitting in one hall and everyone was talking in foreign languages and he didn't understand so that was the scariest part of the journey for him."

When Hassan reached the Slovakian border, he was given food and water and his family in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, were contacted using the number written on his hand. He is now safe with his brothers and sisters. Hassan says he likes this city because he is safe.

-what is a refugee?
- can anyone be a refugee? How does someone become a refugee?
- How do you think Hasan's mother felt when she put Hassan on a train on his own? Did she have any other options? What does this show us about the situation in Ukraine today?
- Why did Mum write the phone number on his hand? 
- How do you think Hassan felt has the train left the station in Ukraine?
- what were the dangers for Hassan?
- The train carriage had 300 people packed in; why so full? What would that be like?
- Why was that the scariest part for Hassan?
- When he was surrounded by people talking different languages, Hassan would have felt like an outsider- why?
- Hassan likes Bratislava "because he is safe"; what does this show about Hassan and the things that mean the most to him right now?
- what things might you have in common with Hassan?
- Some people say refugees are not welcome; why might someone say that?
- When Hassan arrived at the Slovakian border, he was looked after; can you imagine how he would have felt if someone had said to him, "You can't come here, you need to find a different country." 
- If Hassan came to our school, how would we make sure he felt welcome?
- What can we learn from Hassan?
- What can we learn from the people in Slovakia?
- Why is this a story about No Outsiders? 

No Outsiders: Everyone different, everyone welcome by Andrew Moffat

www.no-outsiders.com

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