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Put yourselves in our
shoes:
Pupils aged five to fifteen sat transfixed, sometimes in tears, as women, members of the All African Women’s Group (AAWG) at the Crossroads Women’s Centre, described having to leave their children behind, not knowing what had happened to loved ones, being imprisoned, tortured and seeing people killed in front of them. They were shocked to learn the truth behind headlines about "bogus asylum seekers" and about the treatment the women and their children received in Britain – being disbelieved, going hungry, sleeping rough without even basic medical help, and constantly terrorized by the threat of deportation. A pupil shrewdly asked "They keep talking about Make Poverty History, but why aren't they helping you?" A young mother told how she dreaded her baby daughter growing up and asking who her father was – she was conceived as a result of multiple gang rape whilst her mother was held in detention over many months. Afterwards, thirty-seven deeply moved young women rushed forward, anxious to know how they could help. One school assembly heard from a young Rwandan woman a year or two older than themselves. She had been trafficked into the UK and then escaped after being raped over several years. A girl said "I think you're very brave. I've got a sister who is also 16 and she could never have survived doing the things you've had to do". Pupils were eager to find out more, some drawing on their own experiences as children or grandchildren of refugees, or as "unaccompanied minors" seeking asylum. They enthusiastically volunteered to "put yourselves in our shoes" and take part in the humorous but deadly serious play, "Welcome to Fortress Europe", based on the real-life experiences of AAWG women. The women asylum seekers were delighted to get such a sympathetic response from young people, themselves stereotyped and vilified by the media and politicians. Pupils showed none of the callous indifference of those responsible for the appalling situation the speakers face. "It’s hard when you’re talking about a distressing situation, but at the end you realise not talking is no way to deal with it. So many times we keep quiet because we don’t expect a positive response, but because the children listened with such compassion you feel the energy to move on, and keep fighting. I would not hesitate to do it again." One primary school teacher reminded the children "you’re not too young to help change the world!" In a society that encourages young people to be ambitious, materialistic and selfish, this project is a truly anti-racist educational tool for children to learn about and identify with injustices to others and how they can refuse that brutality and help create a caring society that values everyone – part of the rounded education children deserve. Lessons do not often captivate, but the young people clearly spoke the truth when they said that they were never going to forget meeting these women. More information from the project organisers and to get in touch with schools: No School Apartheid
Campaign: 07904 255 145 |
