Module 2
Theoretical Framework
Chapter 2: Good Practices
2.2 Good Practice in Greece: Empathy towards Refugees
Using the poem “Home” by Warsan Shire to develop empathy towards refugees and displaced people
After having tried these series of role plays with our students, we chose to give them the chance to express themselves through art, and specifically through poetry and dramatization. As a second good practice, we used the poem “Home” by Warsan
Shire to further sensitizes students about the plight of refugees and then asked them to respond to the poem artistically in any way they wished. Our students chose to write their own poems.
“Home” describes vividly all the harsh realities of the life of a refugee. It is inspired by the tragic individual stories that formed part of the European refugee crisis and is a moving documentation of all the hardships these people go through in their way to a better future.
This poem was an excellent starting point for a discussion on the refugee crisis, the violation of human rights, xenophobia, violence, belonging, and displacement. It is written in a direct tone that touched the students and it enhances empathy as it explains in a few stanzas all the suffering and pain these people endure. The students realize the emotions that people who experience war go through. Poetry and generally art can be great practices in order to promote EU values. In this case, the immediacy of art makes it easier to create a sense of empathy which leads to the understanding of the position of weaker people and of people who are deprived of their human rights.
As a follow up activity, students discussed the living conditions of the refugees and how the locals treat them. They also watched videos from refugee camps in our country. Then they wrote their own poems and shot a video of a reading aloud of the poem directing it themselves.
Poetry can have a transformative power and research shows that there is a link between the reading of literary writing and the development of empathy. Poetry focuses on the psychology of characters and their relationships, it challenges our preconceptions and prejudices, it can reveal how people in real life actually think, feel, and behave, and it makes us use our minds and hearts to understand the intentions and motivations of the narrators. Thus, it is of great importance for schools to adopt such practices in order to promote empathy, EU values and the protection of human rights.
After having tried these series of role plays with our students, we chose to give them the chance to express themselves through art, and specifically through poetry and dramatization. As a second good practice, we used the poem “Home” by Warsan
Shire to further sensitizes students about the plight of refugees and then asked them to respond to the poem artistically in any way they wished. Our students chose to write their own poems.
“Home” describes vividly all the harsh realities of the life of a refugee. It is inspired by the tragic individual stories that formed part of the European refugee crisis and is a moving documentation of all the hardships these people go through in their way to a better future.
This poem was an excellent starting point for a discussion on the refugee crisis, the violation of human rights, xenophobia, violence, belonging, and displacement. It is written in a direct tone that touched the students and it enhances empathy as it explains in a few stanzas all the suffering and pain these people endure. The students realize the emotions that people who experience war go through. Poetry and generally art can be great practices in order to promote EU values. In this case, the immediacy of art makes it easier to create a sense of empathy which leads to the understanding of the position of weaker people and of people who are deprived of their human rights.
As a follow up activity, students discussed the living conditions of the refugees and how the locals treat them. They also watched videos from refugee camps in our country. Then they wrote their own poems and shot a video of a reading aloud of the poem directing it themselves.
Poetry can have a transformative power and research shows that there is a link between the reading of literary writing and the development of empathy. Poetry focuses on the psychology of characters and their relationships, it challenges our preconceptions and prejudices, it can reveal how people in real life actually think, feel, and behave, and it makes us use our minds and hearts to understand the intentions and motivations of the narrators. Thus, it is of great importance for schools to adopt such practices in order to promote empathy, EU values and the protection of human rights.
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