Who is a migrant?
The words migration and migrants often makes headlines. But migration is not something new. People have moved from one place to another since around 100,000 years ago, when first homo sapiens began migrating from eastern Africa! What about you and the people you best know?
Warm up
In almost all families there is someone who has migrated, who has moved from one town to another, from one area of the country to another, from one country to another.
Think of the history of your family: do you know who has migrated from one place to another and why?
If you feel comfortable speaking about it, look at the map together with your buddy and show each other the places which are somehow connected to you
Remember: you are free to decide what you tell and what you don’t talk about.
Learn
If you feel comfortable speaking about migration stories, watch the video below!
Dive in 1
So, now that you have watched the short film or read the comic:
Step 1
- How would you explain who is a migrant and why do people migrate?
- Exchange definitions with your buddy and write 3 short sentences together.
Step 2
- What kind of challenges can migrants face in a new country?
- Exchange ideas with your buddy and write down 3 examples.
Step 3
- Watch the animation film/look at the graphic a second time: are your ideas mentioned in the video?
Create 1
Research with a buddy your families' migration history: interview parents, grandparents or others close to you.
Ask for permission to film them with a phone/camera, maybe just their hands or from the back. Make your debut in short film creation! Alternatively, write down your research findings in a note book, n a piece of paper or a digital document.
Here are some questions you could ask but feel free to change them or add new ones:
- When, how and why did they move? From where to where? Have their families always lived in the same region/country or have their ancestors moved across borders? Were there borders that today aren’t there?
- How did they adjust after migration? What was the biggest challenge/the best thing about moving?
Exchange with your buddy about your findings and reflect together: why is the right of migrating important?
Create 2
Imagine that you are going to move to another country:
- What feelings arise when you think about moving to another country?
- What would you miss the most from your current country?
- What do you expect would feel most unfamiliar about the new country?
If you have experienced a move to a new country:
- What about the new country felt most unfamiliar?
- Do you find similarities with your old country? Be specific!
- What do you like most about your new country?
Exchange your reflections with your buddy.
Reflect
Choose the most important point that you are taking away from this unit, for example: what has surprised you the most? What would you like to remember?
Create a postcard showing this point.
Download the free KIDS4ALLL app and your wish comes true!
