The impact of the refugee crisis on children
- EçaNews
- 2 de nov. de 2021
- 6 min de leitura
No âmbito da disciplina de Inglês, do 12.º ano, lecionada pela Professora Ana Cabaço, as turmas H1 e C3 desenvolveram alguns trabalhos acerca do impacto da crise de refugiados nas crianças e jovens.
The refugee crisis happens due to various aspects such as wars, famine, climate changes… Nowadays there are at least 82.4 million people around the world that have been forced to flee their homes. Among them are nearly 26.4 million refugees, around half of whom are under the age of 18. When these people are finally able to leave their countries and settle in another country there are still many problems that children and both adults must face.
Firstly, minors have to keep attending school and learning in a language they might not understand and probably away from their friends. They also have to adapt to a new education system, which is a lot for young children and teenagers to take in.
Secondly, it might be difficult for adults to have a job to support their family, because of stereotypes that usually walk alongside these workers, they also need to learn the language of the country, which takes time.
However, there are still a millions of refugees that must worry about something else, which is, being able to leave a refugee camp and live in decent conditions. Refugee camps still lack most basic needs. Most of the times food and water are scarce, which also means that being able to bathe or take a shower is very difficult. This enables diseases to spread more easily. Also, it has become normal for violence to occur. Living in these camps is even worse on women who fear for their safety. Kumi Naidoo a humans rights activist said this on women lives on refugee camps when he visited Moria, a refugee camp in Greece, “Women suffer more vulnerabilities; just based on the reality of the amount of sexual harassment and sexual violence that, sadly, women, especially from poor communities, face. On the other side, the resilience of the women — just to be able to survive, to keep a smile on their face and look for solutions to sort things out — takes emotional and spiritual resilience on a very high level ".
Vitória Sofia Mântua, 12º C3
I believe that the ongoing refugee crisis is a matter that should concern a large number of people. However, it is usually thought that this crisis ends when people, whether they are children or adults, reach a new destination and, as a result, the attention that this issue gets is starting to fade.
One of the main reasons behind this huge problem is the pursuit of better life opportunities, especially for children. The first step to success is for children to attend school, nevertheless, they constantly need to break a cultural barrier and try to adapt to a new lifestyle or, sometimes, a new language, which can make it harder for them to reach academic excellence. Therefore, I believe that the hard work and determination of these children should be given more importance. That is why I consider it to be of uttermost relevance that schools have programs where immigrants’ children can learn the country´s language and culture in order to be better prepared for classes and life in a new country in general.
In conclusion, as far as I’m concerned, immigrant children should be given more support at school in order to be able to reach their full potential.
Ana Mafalda Monteiro Carrôlo, 12 º C3
The refugee crisis is something that everyone is aware of. Every single day we hear news about people arriving somewhere after fleeing their country, either it being due to war and their government or due to poverty. Many of those people come to those places in hope to have a better life and some even send their children alone, hoping they’ll have better living opportunities.
The children that come are still figuring out what has happened and what they will do, which can be hard for someone so young that’s trying to adapt to a new country. Some of them may even be grieving for their loved ones that passed away trying to come to a safe place or missing the ones they left behind in their home country.
Adapting to a new culture and learning a new language is hard, so these children may feel a bit out of place. Even though they have reached a safe place, they are still struggling with everything that happened. That’s why schools play a huge role on their adaptation. By educating children and talking to them about the situation they went through and the new things they will experience, the children will naturally be more self-confident and more prepared for the hardships they may go through.
Due to everything stated before, I believe that school is an important step for the future of these children.
Madalena Soares, 12º C3
Unfortunately, nowadays it’s very hard and sad that all the children around the world can’t have a good education. With all the wars happening among the adults, the children are the ones that suffer the most. Not only do they worry about their education, but mostly about their lives. Even if they get to a point where they have a minimal safety, they still don’t have great opportunities or help to follow a school path, which can be prejudicial to their future.
Mariana Silva, 12ºC3
Many people say that school is a crucial first step for all children to build a new future. However, I would like to give my opinion about it.
Firstly, I agree, because without what school teaches, we can’t have sufficient knowledge to build a good future.
Secondly, schools do not just teach you things, but it also prepares you, in a certain way, for many different situations that you can face in your life, as meeting new people, leading with difficult decisions and gaining resilience.
Finally, although many children don’t like school and don’t want to attend it, I think it is very important they go through this step, because it is where they will start building their future and contributing to a better society.
In conclusion, every kid should go to school. If they don’t take this step in their lives, they can do nothing relevant, because without education and knowledge, which they can only achieve in school, they can’t acquire or improve skills that will help them to succeed in the future.
Furthermore, school is important to understand the world where we live and to help us become socially responsible people.
Daniela Nunes, 12º C3
The refugee crisis is something that has been happening for a long period of time. It seems like it is something that can´t be changed by people like us, people who don't belong to politics or have an active voice. However, I think a lot can be done to minimize it.
After these children have reached safety, we have to be the ones to help. By helping, I mean, giving them food, a house to live in and proper education, so they can truly enjoy their lives instead of starting from the beginning with a lot of changes, without being happy.
Sara Faísca, 12º C3
These children fight during their first years of life and, sometimes, when they can move on and live in other countries, they begin a new battle, they have to learn a new language, make new friends, fight against racism and xenophobia and most of the time alone, without their friends or family support in a completely different country.
Sofia Faísca, 12º H1
Many of us follow the refugee crisis on television, but few actually take the time to imagine what it would be like to abandon everyone and everything we love, in hope that we can make it safely to a country we have never been to and where everything is written in a language we don’t understand.
It’s a terrifying thought and it highlights the desperate need these people have for a normal peaceful routine.
The best way to help them achieve that is to integrate them in our society, first and foremost, by teaching them the language and culture of the country we hope them to call home, so that they can effectively express themselves and share their talent with our society.
Matilde Nunes, 12ºE
The refugee crisis grows by the day. It’s already hard for these people to get their so called “safe place” and even then, some of the individuals who could be helping them seem to be against them. Refugee children are forced to emigrate so they can have a chance to a bright future, but how are they supposed to do that if even at a place where they should be welcome such as school, they are discriminated against and neglected? They flee from prejudice to run into more prejudice.
Nuno Pinto, 12ºE
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