Dover, what is all the fuss about? Where do protestors get their ideas from? Project: Immigration and protest - a case study of Dover in 2016. School: The Towers School and Sixth Form Centre, Kent. Date: September 2016

Starter Complete your questionnaire on facts and opinions

What messages do these headlines give about young people?

Task Read the newspaper article you have been given. How does it make you feel? Underline any facts you can find Underline any opinions you can find

Task Draw a mind map of where people get their ideas on a topic from. Who influences you? Ideas/influences

Task Looking at the list you have written and the ideas below arrange them into the order you trust them most. Your most trusted source should be at the top of the list Your least trusted source should be at the bottom of your list. Also include: The Government, Google, Parents, BBC, The Sun, Twitter, Facebook.

Gay Girl in Damascus

A Gay Girl in Damascus 19 February 2011 "Almost every time I speak or write to other LGBT people outside the Middle East, they always seem to wonder what it's like to be a lesbian here in Damascus. Well, I always find myself answering, it's not as easy as I'd like it to be but it's probably easier than you might think.“ 10 April My hijab, my choice I consciously considered myself as a feminist and as someone who believes in human rights and the equality of all. But I'm also an Arab and a Muslim. And I covered. And no one made me do it; I chose it. 21 February Why I am doing this. I live in Damascus, Syria. It's a repressive police state. Most LGBT people are still deep in the closet or staying as invisible as possible. But I have set up a blog announcing my sexuality, with my name and my photo. Am I crazy? Maybe. 8 May What do I want? I want to travel and be with the one I love … I want to grow old together … I want to be happy. I want to live in a free country and I don't want to have to move. These are some extracts from the blog. (You may wish to print these out for groups to have access to for the exercise on slide 14) and read out a paragraph each and ask what is persuasive about her/ what are the facts and opinions that she uses to gain credibility?) Aim of exercise: Ask pupils to explain how the facts and opinions are used in relation to the Gay Girl from Damascus’ story. Emphasise the use of fact and opinion – it’s not often easy to whether something is based on facts that can be checked or whether it is just a somebody’s viewpoint. For this reason, it’s important to have a questioning mind. Just because someone says something doesn’t mean it’s true.

6th June 2011 6 June Dear friends of Amina, I am Amina Abdallah Araf al Omari's cousin and have the following information to share. [While with a friend in a Damascus street] Amina was seized by three men in their early 20's. According to the witness (who does not want her identity known),the men were armed. Amina hit one of them and told the friend to go find her father. 6 June Update on Amina: I have been on the telephone with both her parents and all that we can say right now is that she is missing. Her father is desperately trying to find out where she is and who has taken her. On the 6th June Amina was kidnapped. It was announced on the blog. (You may wish to print these out for groups to have access to for the exercise on slide 14) Aim of exercise: Ask pupils to explain how the facts and opinions are used in relation to the Gay Girl from Damascus’ story. Emphasise the use of fact and opinion – it’s not often easy to whether something is based on facts that can be checked or whether it is just a somebody’s viewpoint. For this reason, it’s important to have a questioning mind. Just because someone says something doesn’t mean it’s true.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cofa4eEGC3w

It wasn’t just individuals who were fooled http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-13744980 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/8572884/A-Gay-Girl-in-Damascus-how-the-hoax-unfolded.html http://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/may/06/gay-girl-damascus-syria-blog

What does this teach us? From this story what lessons do we need to remember when we think about Dover and immigration? Come up with 5 key things you could do to try and see if you trust your source of information

Tips for checking a source Is this fact, opinion or a mix of both? F. Can I find evidence from another source (preferably at least TWO) which corroborates or confirms what this source says? (This is sometimes called ‘triangulation’ and is an industry-standard’ method of achieving quality assurance.) Who produced this information, an individual or organisation? Do they hold a position of authority? Do they have something to gain by influencing the reader? (e.g. promoting something?) G. How long has the information been around? (Eg. websites are set up and often never re-freshed) How is this information/ source funded? See what tips pupils came up with from the exercise and compare them to the tips on this slide. Key questions to ask may also be: WHO did this story happen to? WHAT happened? WHAT’s the angle? WHERE did it happen? WHEN did it happen? WHY did it happen?

What do these headlines tell us about immigration? Are they fact or opinion?

How could these messages affect Dover? The main focus of the protests in Dover have been about immigration or so it seems. How can these articles and the counter facts affect your investigation? Where does Dover fit into the bigger picture of immigration?

Photo courtesy of Global Justice Now ‘#RefugeesWelcome projection Dover’ on flickr.