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THE ALLEYNIAN 710
Connecting with those who are forced to leave
REFUGEE WEEK 2021, WHICH TOOK PLACE TOO LATE FOR INCLUSION IN LAST YEAR’S ALLEYNIAN , WAS A CHANCE TO THINK ABOUT THOSE DISPLACED BY CIRCUMSTANCES BEYOND THEIR CONTROL, SAYS SUE MULHOLLAND
The words ‘We cannot walk alone; walk with us’ echoed in our minds during Refugee Week, as we shone a five-day spotlight on the ongoing refugee crisis, looking both at the sources of the problem and at possible solutions. We explored the roles played by discrimination, inequality, prejudice, colonisation and climate change, as well as thinking about how education can break down barriers, explain contexts, humanise the dehumanised and encourage critical thinkers to be part of the solution. Responding to the testimony of Holocaust survivor Judith Kerr in our ongoing project with Echo Eternal (see the article in the Drama and Dance section of this edition), we are pledging to echo Judith’s story and to learn more about survivors, as well as those who have lost their lives to genocide and atrocities. We have begun this process through supporting the work of our pledge charities, Aegis Trust and Gua Africa. Aegis works to prevent genocide and mass atrocities worldwide, and Gua Africa provides educational programmes for those affected by war and displacement. We hope that pupils and OAs will eventually travel to East Africa where these charities carry out much of their work. Throughout the week, students from Year 7 to Year 12 attended talks, discussions and workshops led by our pledge charities, hearing from those on the front line. Marc Gwamaka of Aegis dialled in from Rwanda to tell students about his work with governments and communities to prevent violent outbreaks and teach about pathways to peace. Nyaruach Jok, a singer and peace activist who campaigns
for women’s right to education, spoke to Year 10 pupils as part of our collaboration day with JAGS, and also to Year 8. Nyaruach talked about living in camps, most recently spending time in Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya, where she lived for four years until 2019. She also told students about the importance of music in telling her story, as well as the stories of other victims of war and persecution. Nyaruach’s brother, Emmanuel Jal, founder of Gua Africa, dropped in for a panel discussion with Year 12. MyStart, a creative arts project for Gua Africa, worked with Junior School pupils, exploring the lives of children like themselves who live in Kakuma refugee camp; they also had workshops exploring the journeys refugees make, creating visual maps with fragments of individuals’ experiences. Dr Smith, CEO of Aegis Trust, reminded us that our planet is not getting bigger, whilst global warming makes more of it uninhabitable, forcing out droves of people, which exacerbates and creates conflicts. The stresses caused by population growth and climate change will inevitably lead to the migration of billions of people, as parts of the planet become uninhabitable, and this is already happening. Dr Spence spoke to us about the divide between the ‘somewhere’ people, protective of their community and fearful of the impact of outsiders, the ‘anywhere’ people, confident and comfortable wherever they settle, and those who are of ‘nowhere’ – the English translation of the Swahili Kakuma being ‘nowhere’. Dr Spence visited Kakuma in 2018, and he spoke of
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