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Trócaire has created an animated video which tells the migration stories of an Irish girl and a Syrian boy.
The video portrays the similarities between Brigit migrating because of the Irish famine and Sami migrating because of the war in Syria.
The aim of the animation is to explain the refugee crisis to young children. It does so in a simple and concise way so that they can understand it.
The animation was created as part of an EU funded project Global Schools: Primary Education for a Just World. The project is hosted in the Centre for Human Rights and Citizenship Education in DCU St. Patrick’s Campus and Trócaire is a co-partner.
“The aim of the project is to integrate Global Education into Primary schools across 10 countries in Europe, and the themes chosen in Ireland were Migration and Climate Change. 10 Irish teachers travelled to Portugal in March to learn about Global Education in Portugal and these teachers were involved in the creation of the animation,” said Fionnuala Flynn, project officer.
The video will be made available as a primary school resource but it is also aimed at adults.
It is narrated by an Irish schoolgirl who explains the current refugee crisis.
“Refugees are protected by an international agreement called the 1951 Refugee Convention. This tells governments how they should look after refugees. Sometimes refugees can go to a nearby country, but sometimes they have to go much further to find safety. Lots of people have come to Ireland to find safety. Right now, Ireland has promised to welcome 4000 refugees all the way from Syria.”
The video also contains a shock factor. It displays a loud bomb going off near Sami’s home and says that the fighting in Syria is getting worse. It could be time for Sami and his family to migrate even though they don’t want to leave their home behind.
The video ends by asking the viewer: “So, what do you think Sami’s family should do?”
Emer Handly
Image Credit: Trocaire