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Conflict: Responding to refugees of war
Type of activity: Questions that may be used for group discussion, as an individual worksheet, or as the basis for writing assignments.
Grade level: Middle school and high school
Setting: Can be adapted for use in public schools, Christian schools, other private schools, homeschools, and other groups
Procedure: Ask the following questions:
Kosovo and Albania [map]
The ethnic cleansing that happened from March to June 1999 in Kosovo is one example of many similar attempts throughout history.
1. What is ethnic cleansing?
2. Who was the leader responsible for the ethnic cleansing in Kosovo? For extensive information about the ethnic cleansing, see this State Department report.
3. Why were the ethnic Albanians targeted?
4. Where did the people flee?
5. What was life like for them in the refugee camps?
6. Was this disaster preventable? How?
7. REAL. HOPE. How did Medical Teams International help the Kosovar refugees who fled to Albania?
“My house was in flames, my son dead. I just wanted to die.”
Horrified and afraid, people had no time to pack. They took with them only what they could carry. As they left their villages, they could see Serb soldiers setting fire to their homes. Herded like cattle across snowy mountains to the Albanian border, many didn’t survive. Some wanted to die.
When our volunteers met the refugees at the border crossing, they immediately started to help those who were the most exhausted and sick.
Even after the refugees reached safety, their lives remained difficult. Although families in neighboring countries took as many refugees as possible into their homes, hundreds of thousands of refugees were forced to find shelter in large, crowded and unsanitary refugee camps.
For the fourteen weeks of the war, our volunteer medical teams worked in five refugee camps, providing medical care and trauma counseling for the refugees. Working through Albanian churches, our teams also trained the Albanians who took people into their homes for refuge.
When the Kosovars returned home, Medical Teams International focused on supplying medicines and supplies to hospitals and clinics destroyed in the war. Because Kosovo had no emergency medical services (EMS) to respond to the many injuries from land mines, Medical Teams International began an EMS program in the country, training medical professionals, police, firefighters and other first responders in emergency medical care.
Refugees of ethnic cleansing and genocide today
8. How many refugees are there in the world? See the report by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
9. How many countries are at war at the present time?
10. What other countries are suffering from ethnic cleansing or genocide today?
RELATED LESSON PLANS
11. Explore the various facets of the conflict in Kosovo (and other conflicts) in the genocide role-play.
12. Writing assignments:
13. Take action against genocide with this lesson plan.
THOUGHTS FROM THE BIBLE
14. What do the following Bible passages say about our role on behalf of people who are oppressed?
“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those who are perishing.”—Proverbs 31:8
“Speak up for the poor and helpless, and see that they get justice.” —Proverbs 31:9
“The Lord is a shelter for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.” —Psalm 9:9
“Uphold the rights of the oppressed and the destitute. Rescue the poor and helpless; deliver them from the grasp of evil people.”—Psalm 82:3-4
“The Lord . . . upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets prisoners free, [he] lifts up those who are bowed down, . . . The Lord watches over the alien and sustains the fatherless and the widow.” —Psalm 146:7-9
[Jesus said,] “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”—Luke 4:18-19
I’m only one person, but I can make a difference
Like the ripples in a pond, I can make a difference that will touch people around the world.
Think about it
1. How can you make a difference by giving, acting, praying, or volunteering?
2. If you had $100, how would you use it to help refugees?
3. You can pray for people who are victims of conflict.