Refugee Studies RESEARCH: 学习 by helping
2017年12月6日
詹妮弗鱼
作者:Mary Architzel Westbrook
When President Trump announced a travel ban on seven predominantly Muslim countries in January, Felicia Fisher's first thought was: "This is going to hurt my friends."
Fisher was a few weeks into a service-learning course, sponsored by ODU's 女性's Studies Department, focused on learning about refugee communities, researching the complex issues they navigate and helping them resettle in Hampton Roads.
对Fisher和她的同学来说, that meant coaching adults as they learned how to ask for change in a supermarket. Holding a woman's hand when she worried about loved ones and famine. Delighting in tea in the apartment of a family that weeks before had lived scattered among friends or in a refugee camp. 教学 a child to swim confidently across a pool.
在学生的眼中, the experience transformed the refugees into mothers and fathers, daughters and sons — people — in need of something every person needs at some point: A second chance. 一点帮助.
"One thing I know is that the refugees have taught me more than I could ever teach them,费雪说, who graduated in May with a degree in women's studies. “他们的生命力很强. 他们是开放的. They want stability and happiness for their families. That's not asking for the world."
建立联系
这门课, titled Refugee Studies RESEARCH, originated with two questions: How might ODU students help refugees in Hampton Roads — and could that experience deepen their own education?
The class represents a parternship between 詹妮弗鱼, professor and chair of women's studies, and Commonwealth Catholic Charities.
The nonprofit helps about 250 refugees each year over a three-month resettlement period. Refugees come from countries such as Syria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 苏丹, 阿富汗, 伊拉克和布隆迪. All are heavily vetted by the U.S. 国务院.
In the course, ODU students play many roles:
They meet families at their homes and at the charity's Newport News headquarters; serve as teaching assistants for adults and children learning English; act as "cultural navigators" assisting with job applications and doctors' appointments, and create research-based projects that explore the myriad complexities for people seeking refuge in the United States.
Twelve students enrolled in the course in the spring and summer, and eight more took the course this fall.
For some, the pull of the class was immediate.
Bnar穆斯塔法, a graduate student in humanities and women's studies, came to the United States from Iraq five years ago. Mustafa, a lawyer by training, jumped at the chance to be part of the class.
"I know how important it is to help a homesick person,穆斯塔法说。, who worked as a translator in the spring and gave birth to her first child, 海伦, 课程快结束的时候. "When you hear stories directly from refugees, it's a totally different experience than reading about things in class. You want to do as much as you can."
全身心投入的
Fish said the class helps students better understand global social, political and economic issues and relate to them on a deeply personal level, without leaving Hampton Roads.
"With this course, we can offer students a study abroad program locally," Fish explained. "It can feel like total immersion. 作为一个群体, we see the physical and emotional effects of what happens when a family must leave their home. We see people break down and cry. We spend a lot of time just being and reflecting."
Jazzmine赫斯, who is majoring in women's studies and international studies, said the experience reshaped her worldview and gave her a sense of empowerment - and hope for the future.
"It taught me not to give in to frustration," she said. "No more, 'Well, that's just how things are.' Instead, it's 'What can I do about this?'"
Mary Architzel Westbrook lives with her family in Norfolk. 她赢得了她的M.F.A. in creative writing from ODU in 2010.
This story appears in the winter issue of Monarch magazine. 阅读更多 5ga.mokmingsky.com/monarchmag