Anti-Racist Education Resources

For Refugee Week 2021, we offer these myths and facts…

CHESTERFIELD AND NORTH DERBYSHIRE STAND UP TO RACISM

Who is a refugee?
First and foremost every refugee is an individual person. The UN Convention 1951 defines refugees as persons who have been forced to flee their country because of persecution, war or violence. In the UK, an asylum seeker is given ‘refugee status’ when it’s decided they meet this criteria. Refugees are protected by international law and should not be forced back to places where their lives will be at risk.
Who is an asylum seeker?
A person seeking to remain in the UK. In 2020, most applications (84%) were made from the refugee’s home country and only 16% at UK ports. Nearly 60% of applications are refused at first but on appeal, 40% are successful.

Myth 1: Most people flee to the US, Europe and Australia
Fact: 80% of the world’s displaced people are registered in countries nearest to the one they fled. So 6.7m Syrians live in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq. Most Rohingya refugees are now in Bangladesh.

Myth 2: The UK takes in hundreds of thousands of refugees each year
Fact: There are 68.5m displaced people in the world. The total number of refugees in UK is only 121,837 with 40,365 pending asylum cases. This is 0.25% of the UK population. In Europe, Germany has the largest refugee population of 1.4million

Myth 3: The refugee crisis is a threat to European values
Fact: Europe and Britain are already diverse with Christian, Muslim, Jewish and secular traditions present for centuries.

Myth 4: All refugees live in camps
Fact: Most (61%) live in towns and cities. Of Syrian refugees only 8% live in camps.

Myth 5: Refugees leave their countries to find better jobs
Fact: Most refugees flee for their lives, cross international borders without papers and put themselves at risk. In the UK asylum seekers are not allowed to work and are forced to rely on state support of £5 a day.

Myth 6: Most of the world’s refugees are adult males
Fact: More than half the world’s refugees are under 18

Myth 7: Refugees get access to education.
Fact: Globally, only 61% of refugee children have access to primary education and 23% of secondary age. Yet “Access to education is a fundamental human right”. More unaccompanied children should be admitted, to ensure this right.

Myth 7: Refugees are bad for the economy
Fact: Studies show that refugees do make positive contributions to the economy and make good long term employees if they are allowed to work. They stay longer with one company and can speak more than one language. About 1,200 medically qualified refugees are on the British Medical Association’s database. It costs £25,000 to train a refugee to practise here. Training a new doctor costs between £200,000 – £250,000.

Myth 8: “I need a smart phone, refugees don’t”
Fact: Refugees are 50% less likely to have a smartphone yet it is an essential part of their life keeping them connected with family and communities they have left and contacting officialdom. They often spend a third of their income on keeping connected.

Myth 9: “There is nothing I can do to help refugees”
Fact: Each person can make a difference supporting refugees. In Derbyshire, many people are helping local refugees in different ways. We take donations of household goods, toys, books and financial donations too. Volunteers help with transport, practical jobs, school work, making time to visit and befriend.
Also, we have links with and have fundraised for Derbyshire Refugee Solidarity in Derby, Care4Calais, Safe Passage, SeaWatch in the Mediterranean and Charities helping refugees in Lesbos, Greece.

PLEASE GET IN TOUCH, TO SEE HOW YOU CAN HELP.

Email chesterfieldsutr@gmail.com Text 0719486101,

Refugees make up 0.3% of the world’s population. The problem is one of policy not numbers. Please help make the UK a welcoming place for those most in need.

Information taken from UK government statistics, United Nations and World Economic Forum.

The Fairtrade Schools Team are aware of a variety of anti-racist education resources, which may be of use to teachers, parents and children. Please contact schools@fairtrade.org.uk if you have further recommendations for this list.

eis: New Anti-Racist Education Resources

“Addressing Inclusion: Effectively Challenging Racism in Schools” is a resource developed by the Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights (CRER) and respectme, Scotland’s anti-bullying service. The resource provides information and guidance to school staff on addressing racist bullying in Scottish schools and has been written to complement ‘Respect for All’, the national approach to anti-bullying.

Fairtrade Schools: Anti-racist education resources for teachers, parents and children