1. Migrants, Refugees and Asylum Seekers
Link to Fundamental British Values: Mutual tolerance and Respect, Rule of Law

2. Objectives
To understand what an asylum seeker is and how they are different from other migrants
To understand and empathise with the plight of asylum seekers

3. Different experiences
What is the difference between the experiences of Magdalena and Victor in coming to this country?
Why do you think they are so different?
Click on the boxes for links to the portraits on the Arrivals website.
Magdalena’s experience is very different because she is coming from the EU and (as of 2017) has free entry into the UK. Victor on the other hand is from Zimbabwe, he has come seeking asylum a much more difficult route into residing legally in the UK. Students may ask why doesn’t he go home if his asylum application has been refused. If this happens you could explore a little bit about the current situation in Zimbabwe with its despotic rule Roger Mugabe and the reasons Victor may have for preferring to live destitute on the streets than go back. Ensure that students know that during the time applying for asylum asylum seekers cannot work.
The home office dispersal policy seeks to relocate asylum seekers from London and the South East to other areas of the country.
Magdalena
Victor

4. How do people come to the UK legally?
There are a number of different ways in which people can come to the UK legally. Match the profiles you have on your tables to the definitions. There are four examples of asylum seekers and one of each of the others. Once you have finished, write down the definitions along with the name of a person who fits that definition and a few sentences on their story.
Asylum Seeker
These people have fled their home countries often because they feel their life is in danger. They wish to stay in another safer country.
EU Migrant
Currently anyone from an EU country can come and work here and we can move to live and work in any EU country.
Family Migrant
A person who has come to the UK to join a member of their family. You now must earn £18,600 to bring your partner to the UK and even more for children
Skilled migrant workers
Workers may come to the UK from outside the EU if they have skills that the UK wants.
International Students
Who may then work as skilled migrant workers
Sort the students into group of four and give each group the immigrants, refugees and asylum seeker profiles cut out into eight separate stories and the definition sheet with arrows. The students need to match the profiles to the definitions placing each profile at the end of the arrow. So for example Tareq Al-Khaleeli is an asylum seeker and so should be placed at the end of that arrow. They should then write down the word and definition along with the name of the person who fits the definition and a short description of their story. There are four examples of Asylum seekers (so they can choose just one) and one of each of the others.

5. Asylum Seekers Victor Pierre Tareq Aroose
Click on the boxes for links to the portraits on the Arrivals website.
Feedback by having the students name the people who fit each category and then revealing the correct names they should also be able to explain why each person fits that category
Tareq
Aroose

6. EU Migrant
Click on the box for link to the portrait on the Arrivals website.
Magdalena

7. Family Migrant Skilled Worker
Click on the boxes for links to the portraits on the Arrivals website.
Dale
Maya

8. International Student
Click on the box for link to the portrait on the Arrivals website.
Seiko

9. What is the difference?
Names of different groups of people can often be confusing and used wrongly Asylum Seeker – legally an asylum seeker is someone who leaves their home country because they are being persecuted because of their race, religion, ethnicity or political views and who is afraid for their safety if they return. Who does this definition leave out? Refugee – is someone whose claim to asylum has been accepted and they are allowed to stay in a country Illegal immigrant – these are people who try to enter a country illegally, without registering with the authorities.
The asylum seeker definition leaves out people who have suffered and fear for their lives because they are caught in a conflict, do the students think this is fair?

10. Group work
Each person in your group needs one of the asylum seeker profiles to study Pierre, Victor, Tareq or Aroose. Read your story and think about each of these questions.
Why do people become asylum seekers?
What are the difficulties and dangers of leaving your country to try and find sanctuary somewhere else?
How have they benefitted the UK?
Once everyone has read their story bring your information together on the group feedback sheet
Put the students back into groups. This time they will just use the profiles of the asylum seekers. Each student in the group should take one profile and read it thinking about the questions on the slide. They should then feedback to their groups and together complete the group feedback sheet with their answers. Feedback can then be taken as a whole class from groups at random.

11. Emotion graph
Choose one of the profiles. Split their story into five or six major main events. Write each event down with a number next to it. Think about how the person in your profile would have felt at each of the events and track their emotions by drawing an emotion graph. Once you have finished write a brief explanation of your graph
Emotions
This task may need to be given as homework depending on the length and pace of the lesson. Students should break down one of the profiles of one of the asylum seekers into 5 or 6 key events. These then need to be plotted on an emotion graph to explore how the person may have been feeling at the time and emphasise with their situation. With year 10 students a diary entry task may be more appropriate
Picture sources: 1 2 3 4 5 6
The stages of the story

12. Asylum seeker or economic migrant?
Yaya lives in a 3 by 2 metre room, he is waiting to cross the Sahara desert to Libya where he hopes to get a boat to Europe. He is 24, from Casamance (Senegal.) The armed conflict between the rebels seeking independence and the army has caused his family to lose their farming lands and with them the means to make a living. He is hoping to reach Italy and get a job that will allow him to support his family. Yaya has big, bright eyes, as if his spirit is fighting to keep him from losing hope while his body is being consumed by hunger and the frustration of waiting. "There is no more work in Casamance. My family and I raised 200,000 francs by selling cattle and working as laborers in the countryside. We spent a year preparing for this trip.” Staring at the wall and shrugging his shoulders, he sighs and says, "I am the oldest son and my responsibility is to support my family. I am the first migrant in my entire family, and all of their hopes are placed in me." A familiar mantra among the young people with whom he is sharing a house.
Read or have the students read the story. Have students signal whether they think Yaya is an asylum seeker or migrant. This can be done at their desk by holding up different coloured cards or in a more active way by having them move to one side of the room or the other. The purpose of this is to consolidate what they have learnt about the definitions in question but also to consider that there is a large grey area between the two and how we label people is a matter of choice there is no definitive way of doing so.
Story link: