A JIGSAW ACTIVITY

TEXTS ON THE TOPIC OF THE MIGRANT CRISIS

The texts and their source are given below. Each group will work on one of the
texts. All texts deal with problems refugees deal.

A. Smugglers Find New Routes to Ferry Migrants to Greece

Traffickers have found new routes to carry migrants to Greece, as indicated by the
large number of people who have entered the country from different spots, making
registration procedures more difficult.
In an attempt to circumvent the registration hot spots on Lesvos, Chios, Kos, Samos
and Leros the main destinations from nearby Turkish shores smugglers have
carried hundreds of people to unexpected destinations, even close to mainland
Greece.
On Sunday, the Hellenic Coast Guard rescued 114 people off the island of Milos. The
migrants are kept at the port since there are no registration facilities. However, it is
not clear how these people will be processed.
At the same time, 131 migrants are kept in a football filed in the coastal town of
Methoni, in Peloponnese. The migrants were found on the coast of nearby Pylos.
In northern Greece, 214 migrants crossed the Turkish-Greek border in Evros,
northeastern Greece, in the past few days.
According to official figures, currently there are 14,950 migrants and refugees on the
five islands with official hot spots, while a total of 60,441 are in various migrant
camps all over Greece. Allegedly, the figure is much higher since a large number of
them were never registered.
The migrants in the new arrival points cannot be recorded since there are no facilities
for full registration and identification in the European system (eurodac). For proper
registration they should be moved inland.
It is unclear whether these people belong in the category of those eligible to be sent
back to Turkey, as per the European Union-Turkey agreement of March 20.
However, the agreement is in limbo ever since the military coup attempt in Turkey on
July 15.
http://greece.greekreporter.com/2016/10/11/smugglers-find-new-routes-to-ferry-
migrants-to-greece/#sthash.oJDtz25d.dpuf

B. Winter Is Coming for Refugees in Greece

Winter is coming has become an anxious refrain among asylum seekers living in
tented refugee camps across Greece, that offer no shelter from damp and cold.

Ali, a 25-year-old father of three very young children from Afghanistan, including a 6-
year-old who has a disability, was living with his family in a tent pinned to the ground
of Elliniko camp in Athens, when I met him in late October. Now that winter is
coming, the conditions are not good When it rains water gets inside our tent. And
every morning, the inside of our tent is wet because of the dampness, he explained.
We heard similar testimonies across Greece.

Alis predicament reflects Europes utter failure to respond collectively and

compassionately to people seeking protection. More than 60,000 women, men, and
children are stranded in Greece as a result of Western Balkan border closures and a
poorly executed EU relocation plan. Thousands are restricted to abysmal and volatile
conditions on the islands, while tens of thousands face deplorable conditions without
access to services in the camps on the mainland.

As part of a winterization plan, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) and Greek

authorities are replacing tents with prefabricated housing units in some of the over 40
camps across Greece. At other sites, winter items are being distributed and in fifteen
of them infrastructure improvements are planned, such as installing heating.

However, many of the largest and worst camps where thousands of people live, will
essentially remain unsuitable for winter. The government says it plans to close most
of these facilities by January, but if the asylum seekers are not relocated to other
appropriate sites, they will soon find themselves exposed to worsening weather
conditions without proper shelter.

On the islands, efforts are underway to transfer a small number of people, who are
presently living in severely overcrowded and filthy conditions, to the mainland. But
Greece is under pressure from the European Commission to contain most asylum
seekers on the islands to prevent onward movement to other EU countries.

With winter approaching, there is an urgent need to transfer people to hardier

facilities and in the short-term, fully adapt remaining camps for falling temperatures.
In the long-term, the Greek authorities should end encampment. With almost 128
million provided by the European Commission to the Greek government and 370
million given to humanitarian aid agencies and international organizations, including
the UNHCR, theres no excuse for the failure to provide humane and dignified
reception conditions to asylum seekers.

http://greece.greekreporter.com/2016/11/07/winter-is-coming-for-refugees-in-greece/

C. Doctors Without Borders: Refugees Trapped in Greece Suffering from

Depression, Insomnia, Mental Health Issues

Recent reports reveal that refugees stuck in migrant reception camps across Greece
are increasingly suffering from symptoms of mental illness.

According a report released by the international aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres
(Doctors Without Borders) called Greece in 2016: Vulnerable People Left Behind,
refugees suffer from a range of conditions from headaches and insomnia to
depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and other psychosomatic issues due to
the conditions in which they are being forced to live.

Sleeping disorders, a loss of appetite, an inability to concentrate and depression-

related reactions are just a few of the symptoms that refugees display, reports
Christina Sideri, a Medecins Sans Frontieres psychologist in Malakasa.

The different symptoms of metal health issues individuals experience are also linked
to their hardships and fleeing their homes as well as the conditions in which they
lived under in their countries where they experienced war, famine, as well as mental
and physical stress and abuse.

Authorities report that there are currently over 60,000 refugees stuck in Greece
waiting to have their asylum cases approved since FYROM and other EU nations
closed their borders to migrants last spring.

The migrant reception camps in Greece are over crowded and living arrangements
have been condemned by many NPOs, including Medecins Sans Frontiers, as
appalling conditions. In recent months the Greek government has made efforts to
start constructing new dwellings to relocate refugees.

http://greece.greekreporter.com/2016/11/12/doctors-without-borders-refugees-
trapped-in-greece-suffering-from-depression-insomnia-mental-health-issues/

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Form groups of three. Each group will work on a different text about
refugees. Assign roles as following:
A Language expert (reminds the group to use English to communicate, looks up
word in a dictionary, checks the language on the final paper submitted)
A secretary (writes down first draft ideas, can email me for the follow up stage and
monitor the performance of the group)
A computer expert(looks up information on the net, helps team to use webtools for
the final assignment usually during the follow up stage)
2. Once you have finished with your worksheet, regroup into new groups
so that each group has a person that has read one of the texts.
Elicit information from each other and fill in the missing information on your
worksheets
3. Come back in your initial groups and share information

ACTIVITIES
PRE-READING
Answer the following questions based on your background knowledge
(Students in their effort to answer the questions elicit vocabulary found in the
texts)
 1) Why do refugees leave their homes?
2) What do they leave behind?
3) What difficulties do they encounter in their effort to reach Europe?
4) What difficulties do they encounter after they have reached European
countries?
5) What solutions do you suggest so that their lives can become easier?

WHILE READING ACTIVITY

TASK 1

Read the text and fill in the table with the information. Fill in the information based on
the reading of your own text.

DIFFICULTIES KEY VOCABULARY HELP

ENCOUNTERED USED PROVIDED
BY REFUGEES
TEXT 1

TEXT 2

TEXT 3

TASK 2

1) Are you surprised at the content of this text?

2) Were you aware of all these problems refugees face?
3) Do you think that European societies can help refugees make a new
beginning?

TASK 3

Find words and expressions associated with the topic of refugees in the texts. Create
a gap filling task (a small paragraph) with these words and prepare a recording
listening task. Assign the final outcome as homework for other groups

NOUNS
VERBS
ADJECTIVES
TASK 4

FOLLOW UP Activities (Students feel free to choose an activity according to

their way of learning)

Choose one of the following

1) Interview a refugee and play role your work in front of the class
2) Create an online poster with important facts about the refugee crisis (use
padlet )
3) Think of ways to help refugee teenagers in your area to feel welcome and
give a speech at your school.