Saturday, September 12, 2015

Week#3 Topic: The Refugee Crisis

The Refugee crisis

Study Article:
The turmoil of today's world: leading writers respond to the refugee crisis

You do NOT need to read the entire article. You only need to read the first portion written by Pankaj Mishra
Here is s a print-friendly Google Doc of only that part.

Please read that part of the article and take note of any words or phrases that are difficult to understand.  We will discuss the main points of the article and address any language learning points in class.

It is a pretty linguistically challenging article.  For more easily digestible information about this topic, check out some of the materials below.

Related Materials  (not required)

Discussion Questions
  • What don't you understand about the current refugee crisis in Europe?
  • Who do you think is most responsible for causing the crisis?  Why?
  • Who should be most responsible for trying to solve the problem? Why?
  • What do you think would be the best way for the global community to address the refugee crisis? 
  • When (if ever) does a country have a moral obligation to accept refugees or migrants from another country? In what ways is it advantageous (or not) to do so?
  • What role do you think the image of the drowned boy played in public perception and government actions?  Do you think the media should show images like this or not? 
  • What role would you like to see Korea play in this current situation and other humanitarian crises around the world? Should Korea accept more refugees?
  • Have you ever met someone who was a refugee?  If so, what did you learn about their experience?  

Vocabulary and Language Learning Points

What's the difference between a refugee and a migrant?
Refugees are forced to flee their homes and seek safety in another country, often times without warning. Migrants are people who make a conscious decision to leave their countries to seek a better life elsewhere. 

3 comments:

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  2. The article' The turmoil of today's world: leading writers respond to the refugee crisis' offered me an affluent historic background hidden on the European refugee crises. It was shocking to know that the history of refugee crisis goes back to early 20th century, and even the German refugee issue in the past has not been recorded fully. Also it interested me to know 'the cold war' concept might be delusional behind which other pragmatic reasons lies...

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  3. According to the recet news report, the EU member states have decided to share the refugee burden one another. It's regreful for me to use the word 'burden'. But the world might not be able to deny the fact that they've hesitated to accomodate the refugees with various excuses. But as no one has the right answer to the current refugee issue, I was at least a little relieved to hear the news of the EU's recent decision as their first step toward the problem-solving.

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