Out of Place : Creative Writing Competition 2016

• Famous people who children may not recognise as being refugees
  • Judith Kerr (Germany to UK)
  • Albert Einstein (Germany)
  • Anne Frank (Germany to the Netherlands)
  • Anish Kapoor (Iraq to UK)
  • Marc Chagall (Russian-born Jew)
  • Sir John Tenniel
  • Bob Marley (Jamaica to US)
  • David and Ed Miliband (sons of a Belgian-Jewish refugee family)
  • Lenin (Russia to Switzerland)
  • Chief Sitting Bull (fled America to Canada)
  • Jesus (Israel to Egypt)
  • Muhammad (Mecca to Medina)
  • The current Dalai Lama
  • Jackie Chan (Hong Kong to US)
• Challenge popular stereotypes in the media
  • The ‘wealthy’ refugee
  • The economic migrant driven by greed/ “Benefits Scroungers”
  • Criminals/ terrorists
  • Unskilled/ unqualified
  • A ‘drain on society’
  • “We’ve no more room”
• Navigating a new society and trying to fit in
  • Child refugees and families
  • Finding employment
  • Language barriers
  • Dealing with prejudice
  • Refugees who may not be able/ allowed to make use of their skills/ talents
• Conditions that the refugees are fleeing / why do people choose to leave their homes?
  • War/ civil unrest
  • Persecution (social, religion, ethnicity)
  • Famine/ natural disasters
  • Political freedom
  • Looking for a better life?
• Where dopeople go when they leave their own country?
  • Across the border
  • Rich countries / poor countries
  • Life in a refugee camp / on a boat /staying with family
  • Looking for family
  • Areas of the world where there are refugees
• Historical examples that pupils may be familiar with
  • Kindertransport and Nazi Germany/ the Holocaust
  • Soviet Russia
    • Where are refugees coming from today? (figures for 2014: Source: United Nations High Commission for Refugees, 2015 report)
  • Syria (3.9m)
  • Afghanistan (2.6m)
  • Somalia (1.11m)
  • Sudan (666,000)
  • South Sudan (616,200)
  • Democratic Rep. Congo (516,000)
  • Myanmar (479,000)
  • Central African Republic (412,000)
  • Iraq (369,900)
  • Eritrea (363,100)

• Exploring personal identity
• Recognition
• Isolation/ alienation
• Moving to a new home/ school
• Foster families/ people in care
• Fantasy genres
  • Time travel
  • Parallel worlds
  • Space travel/ science fiction

We have compiled a short list of fiction titles here that address the topic in different ways.

• Michelle Lord : A Song for Cambodia. Based on a true story about Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge
• Gillian Cross : After Tomorrow. British children find themselves in a French refugee camp following Britain’s financial collapse
• Karen Lynn Williams : Four Feet, Two Sandals. Based on the lives of Afghan refugees living in the Peshawar Refugee Camp.
• Armin Greder : The Island. When a man is washed up upon the shore only a few lone voices welcome him. The others not only force him to leave, but turn their island into a fortress to prevent more arrivals.
• Shaun Tan : The Arrival. Fearing what is to come, a father flees his country to make a new home for himself and his family. A wordless story that looks at starting a new life in a strange country and explores the many reasons people have to leave their homes.
• Frank Cottrell Boyce : The Unforgotten Coat. Chingis and his brother, refugees from Mongolia, are determined to fit in with their Liverpool schoolmates
• Roald Dahl : James and the Giant Peach. A young boy flees persecution by his family
• Various : Superman. An alien child is sent to Earth to prevent his death from an environmental disaster. As he grows up he learns to use his talents to benefit his adopted home.
• Michael Bond : A Bear called Paddington. The story of a refugee who enriches the lives of his adopted family and community
• Geraldine McCaughrean : Not The End of The World. Noah’s daughter discovers a stowaway on the Ark
• Benjamin Zephaniah : Refugee Boy. A fourteen-year-old’s journey through the British immigration system
• Mary Hoffman : The Colour of Home. Having fled the war in Somalia, a child uses painting to express his feelings and experiences
• Mary Williams : Brothers in hope. The story of an 8-year-old boy travelling across Africa, fleeing war in Sudan
• Kathy Beckwith : Playing War by . A refugee child, having fled the conflict that killed his family, finds it difficult to join in with his new friends when they invite him to ‘play war’.
• Karen Lynn Williams : My name is Sangoel. The story of a refugee child who feels out of place in his new country

In order to help teachers engage with pupils on this topic we have listed a number of online resources below

• From Oxfam. This includes powerpoint presentation, lesson plans, activities, and guides for action : http://www.oxfam.org.uk/education/resources/syria

• HEC’s Learning About Refugees leaflet : http://globallearninglondon.org.uk/files/zones/home/teach/Refugees%20A4%20Aug14.pdf

• BBC’s ‘Seeking Refuge’ animations : http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01k7c4q/clips

• British Red Cross has guidance and lesson plans here: http://www.redcross.org.uk/What-we-do/Teaching-resources/Lesson-plans/Refugees-secondary

• A video from the Simple Acts campaign, found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6csPOTDOVTQ

• Suggested resources to borrow from the Schools Library Services:towerhamlets-sls.org.uk/outofplace

• Secondary schools subscribing to the Schools Library Services have access to “The Day” which will have discussed these issues during the year

• Blue Gate Fields Juniors
• Cayley Primary
• Chisenhale Primary
• Globe Primary
• Guardian Angels Primary
• Hague Primary
• Harry Gosling Primary
• John Scurr Primary
• Malmesbury Primary
• Marion Richardson Primary
• Our Lady and St Joseph Primary
• St Annes Primary
• St Elizabeth Primary
• St Pauls Whitechapel Primary
• St Saviours Primary
• Sir John Cass Primary
• Bow Boys Secondary
• Central Foundation Girls Secondary
• Oaklands Secondary
• Sir John Cass Foundation Secondary
• Stepney Green Boys Secondary
• Swanlea Secondary
• Morpeth Secondary