1. Lesson 1: An Overview on Refugee Crisis (For Primary Students)

2. Learning Objectives Knowledge: Attitude: Skill:
Understand the global refugee issue and relevant data
Learning the international conventions which protect the rights of child refugee
Attitude:
Respect the rights of others
Skill:
Listen others and express opinions
Reflect on their understandings on child refugee
Distinguish between impression and facts

3. Learning Objectives

4. Warm-up Activity: Child Refugee Is… (10 minutes)
How do you visualize refugee children?
Please describe your thoughts in picture or words.
Warm-up Activity: Child Refugee Is… (10 minutes)
Objective:
Students reflect on their perception of child refugee and evaluate the associated reasons
Teachers can observe and assess students’ prior knowledge of the refugee issue.
Resources: PowerPoint (slide 4-5), blank papers
Rundown:
1. Teacher distributes blank papers to each student.
2. Ask Students: “How do you visualize child refugees? Please describe your thoughts in picture or words.”
3. Student Sharing: Teacher invites 3-4 students to share their impressions on child refugees. Teacher can also use 5W1H to stimulate students in reflating their own understandings on child refugees.
Who is he? Where do you think the child refugees come from?
What happened to him?
Why did he leave his homeland?
Where is he now?
How did he get there?
How does he feel?

5. In reality how do refugee children live?
Warm-up Activity: Child Refugee Is…
Rundown:
4. Ask Students:
After listening to your classmates’ understanding of child refugees, which part according to you is actual reality? Why?
Which of them might an assumption? Why?
Debrief / Recap: Teacher elaborates that each persons’ understanding of child refugees is different. News, media, government, NGO, parents, or friends shape our understanding which may or may not be actual reality.

6. Activity 1: Understanding Refugee (15 minutes)
Objective:
Students learn about the global refugee issue through Q&A activity.
Teachers adjust the questions based on students’ prior knowledge of child refugees, and help clarify common misunderstandings on child refugees.
Resources: PowerPoint (slide 6-25)
Rundown:
1. The activity can be conducted in simple Q&A method or in-class quiz competition.
Listed below are the suggested questions. Teacher can adjust the questions based on the learning needs of students. Answers are explained in the PowerPoint.
© UNICEF/UN012725/Georgiev

7. Q(1) Who are refugees? People who…
Are at risk of prosecution and internally displaced in their home country
Are at risk of prosecution and leave their home countries
Migrate to other country for better living
ANS：B

8. Explanation(1)：Who are refugees? People who…
A refugee is ...someone who flees their country because of persecution and has been given refugee status.
An internally displaced person is
...someone who is forced to flee their home because of persecution – like a refugee – but who remains within their country’s borders.
An asylum seeker is
...someone who is hoping to leave or has left their country because of persecution and is asking another country to recognize them as a refugee.
Source：UNICEF United Kingdom, Factsheet of In Search Of Safety: Children And The Refugee Crisis In Europe, 2016

9. Q(2) Which one is not the reason why refugees leave their home?
Fleeing from war, civil war or fighting between different groups of people
Being treated unfairly because of the race, religion or political opinion
Finding better job
ANS：C

10. Explanation(2)：Why do the refugees flee?
Refugees have different reasons to flee from home, which includes：
Notes for Teacher
Refugees, IDPs and asylum seekers flee their country due to persecution.
Migration is moving to other counties for a better life.

11. Q(3) By the end of 2016, which country do most of the refugees come from?
Pakistan
South Sudan
Syria
ANS：C

12. Explanation(3)：Which country do most of the refugees come from?
Notes for Teacher
By the end of 2016, more than half (55%) of all refugees worldwide came from just three countries: The Syrian Arab Republic (5.5 million, 32%), Afghanistan (2.5 million, 15%), and South Sudan (1.4 million, 8%).

13. Q(4) Why are Syrians fleeing their homes?
Outbreak of civil war
Invaded by other countries
Famine
ANS：A

14. Explanation(4)：Why are Syrians fleeing their homes?
A Syrian civil war broke out since 2011.
The war has killed more than 400,000 people
Nearly 5.5 million Syrians fled to other countries and become refugees
Half of them are children
Notes for Teacher
In early 2011, the Middle East was engulfed in an unprecedented outburst of protests against its leaders. It began in Tunisia and spread rapidly to Egypt, Yemen, Bahrain, Libya and Syria. These series of anti - government protests and armed rebellion was termed ‘Arab Spring’. In Syria a group of youngsters in Daraa were arrested for drawing anti-government graffiti on a school wall. Police opened fire on demonstrators, who requested the release these youngsters, killing several and sparking further protests. In response, President Bashar al-Assad violently repressed the protest immediately. Violence escalated and the country descended into civil war as rebel forces battled government forces.
Over the years, the civil war came to a deadlock and gradually transformed into an international political tussle. Russia and Iran supported President Bashar al-Assad; while Turkey, Saudi Arabia, the United States, Britain and France supported the Sunni, anti-government force. With neither side able to inflict a decisive defeat on the other, the people of Syria continue to suffer.
According to the United Nations, both parties to the conflict have committed war crimes violating human rights. As of August 2015, the war has killed more than 400,000 people, and more than 6.3 million people are internally displaced in Syria. Over 5.5 million Syrians fled to foreign countries and received a refugee status, where half of them are children. More than 80 percent of the Syrian children have been harmed by the country's conflict, living in poverty, working instead of going to school or marrying young to survive.
BBC News, Syria: The story of the conflict, 2016
United Nations Radio, Syria envoy claims 400,000have died in Syria conflict, 2016
UNHCR, Global Trends: Forced Displacement in 2016, 2017
UNICEF US Fund, Syrian Children Under Siege
© UNICEF/UN013175/Al-Issa

15. Q(5) By the end of 2016, which country hosted most number of refugees?
Turkey
Germany
France
ANS：A

16. Explanation(5)：Which country hosted most number of refugees?
Large number of refugees fleeing to neighboring countries. Some refugees flee to Europe and look for a suitable living environment.
Turkey
Lebanon
Syria
Notes for Teacher
Most of the host countries that refugees have been resettled to are developing countries, which received 84% of the world’s refugees. Wherein the neighboring countries of Syria – Turkey and Lebanon – has become the major host countries of Syrian refugees.
Iraq
Jordan

17. Q(6) By the end of 2016, what proportion of the world’s refugees are children
(age 0-18)?
One-fourth
One-third
Half
ANS：C

18. Explanation(6)：What proportion of the world’s refugees are children?

19. True False Depends ANS：A
Q(7) The host countries have the responsibility to protect child refugees.
True
False
Depends
ANS：A

20. Explanation(7)： Host countries have the responsibility to protect child refugees
All children, including the displaced ones, entitles protection from the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).
The signatory states have the obligation to protect child refugee.
Notes for Teacher
All children, including the displaced ones, entitles protection from the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), which was adopted by the United Nations in It is the first legally binding international instrument incorporating the full range of human rights. As of May 2016, 196 countries, almost every member of the United Nations expect United States, have ratified CRC. By ratifying this Convention, governments worldwide are committed to securing and ensuring children’s rights, as well as to shoulder relevant responsibilities.

21. Q(8) What of the following children’s rights are difficult to protect for child refugees?
Rights to survival
Rights to protection
Rights to development
All of the above
ANS：D

22. Explanation(8)：What children’s rights are hard to be protected for child refugees?
The Syria crisis has been going on for six years. The rights of Syrian children, no matter they are in the territory or flee to neighboring countries, have been deprived due to the persisting conflicts.

23. Q(9) In general, the refugees have low education level and face poverty.
True
False
Depends, refugees have different background
ANS：C

24. Explanation(9)：Is it true that refugees have low education level and face poverty？
© UNICEF/UN07758/Al-Issa
Refugees have different backgrounds
Before the civil war outbreak, 67% of age-appropriate Syrian children were studying in Secondary school
Refugees cannot bring many things in fleeing, and therefore people may think they’re poor

25. Any international conventions protect the rights of child refugees？
Refugees are forced to flee to other countries as they are facing war or persecution in their home country. What have they lost？
Activity 1: Understanding Refugee
Rundown:
2. Debrief:
Teacher elaborates that refugees are forced to flee to other countries as they are facing war or persecution in their home country. It is a tough decision as they have to give up everything, including friends, school, family members and home. Teacher can encourage students to increase their awareness of the child refugee issues, and understand their needs and rights .
Any international conventions protect the rights of child refugees？
© UNICEF/UN011184/Georgiev

26. Learning the international conventions which protect the rights of child refugee (5 minutes)
Learning the international convention which protect the rights of child refugee (5 minutes)
Objective: To learn the relevant child rights articles in United Nations Convention on the Rights of Child and Refugee Convention.
Resource: PPT(slide 26-28)
© UNICEF/UN012725/Georgiev

27. Convention on the Rights of Child (CRC)
Convention on the Rights of Child was adopted by the United Nations in 1989
196 signatory states and countries (as at June 2017)
Protect the rights of children
Applicable to Hong Kong since 1994
General Principle
Every child has rights under the Convention. (Article 2)
Everyone must work towards what is best for a child. (Article 3)
Every child has the right to survival and development (Article 6)
Children can give opinions and expect them to be heard. (Article 12)

28. Convention on the Rights of Child (CRC)
All children, including the displaced ones, entitles protection from the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).
CRC also protects child refugees’ basic rights and needs

29. Unite for Children Hong Kong Committee for UNICEF
7/F, SUP Tower, King’s Road, Hong Kong
Tel:
© Hong Kong Committee for UNICEF
June 2017
Cover Photo © UNICEF/UN012725/Georgiev