DAY 1 #GreenRefugees
We need a lot of Love
If there's one thing that comes to my mind in these brutal times, it is that only education is able to fight against violence. If the #GreenRefugees mission was first to install waste processing machinery and energy renewal, let us not forget that it also has a goal of providing education to more than 50 children present on the refugee’s camp.
And it is a difficult task to which I have drawn. Indeed, the budget is unfortunately still too weak; but at least each child has a notebook, a book and some pens. School equipment on which the children rushed on; war took everything.
My class includes kids between 6 and 14 years old. A class that I share with other English volunteers who joined us in our task (two parents and their children).
The first thing I noticed was the desire to learn from these children, and the passion they threw on their new stuff, eager to learn.
We tried to establish some discipline inside the classroom. First of all, respect among each other, no violence, no vulgarity, no theft. Math tests, English language and general knowledge courses will be implemented regularly and in order to not discourage students, sweets distribution at the end of each classes. A method that seems to be very effective!
I learned later in the day the unfortunate events that struck the France this national holiday.
Day 2 #GreenRefugees
Needs to Learn
Still as captivated by the content of courses, it is now clear to me that these children have now found the best cure for boredom. The school allows them indeed to overcome these recent years of complete separation between the loss of their achievements in the school system and society in education.
This desire to overcome so many years out of touch is real.
It is a difficult task to teach a class to mixed ages, each child requiring special attention, not only for their age but also for their past school experience. Some cannot write at all; others remember some of their multiplication tables.
I sometimes wish the classes last for more than two and a half hours imposed because there is so much to learn.
Today we learned what the word “pollution” means. Not only the word itself but also implied by the act of polluting, its consequences, like throwing a plastic bottle in the sea or land which could then contaminate the marine life.
"But mom always cleans the fish before eating it" one child said.
I had then to explain the dangers of micro-plastics ingested by fish and, when going up to the top of the food chain how it might end up in our food.
#GreenRefugees
Day 3: Dedication
Today was the last day of the English volunteers who accompanied me in this journey, and I really wanted them to stay longer. They really understood what self-sacrifice meant. These refugees are in great need. We need to give them some of our time, as it is the most precious resource in the life of a human. The lady said to me: "what is happening today in Greece affects us all. Like it or not this has an impact on our lives. Something has to be done ".
I realize how to dedication has become almost contradictory to the society in which we live. Today I was on the phone with the head of a big French company; I questioned him about the possibility of donating some equipment. To this he replied that all he was interested was to donate in Kenya and neighboring countries, but not Europe.
What to think? Should we look for distant misery, far from our homes to be a good person? What about of the one that knocks at our doors? Should we close our eyes assuming that Europe does not suffer from these problems? Assuming Europe is free from violence and that there is nothing to improve in terms of education? This doesn’t only happen to others.
For my part, I continue the difficult recovery of learning with my students.
In The Prophet, Kahlil Gibran said: "You give little when you give your goods; the real gift is the gift of self. "
Day 4 #GreenRefugees
Jude the unbreakable
Today some of the children went to Athens to file asylum application forms. Others remained in the camp and attended classes. Some mothers have shown interest in the courses I teach; some want to learn the basics of English.
During conversations I had with these mothers, I had to explain the principles of children's rights in Europe, but also the challenges of living together in Europe, hence the importance of youth education, to better fit into this new society.
#GreenRefugees Understand the need for social integration; cohabit and collaborate on the future of our planet first requires proper education and good manners in society developed. This is also what I am trying to teach them.
When I drove to the kindergarten, a little girl was staring at me. Her name is Jude. She kept waving at me and ask me to come see her.
Jude is 4 years old. She lost both her parents during a bombing where she also became deaf. Since then, Jude does not speak, we do not know if one day she'll ever talk again. Rescued by her aunt, they crossed Turkey from Aleppo to finish their journey here in Myrsini.
Jude is so young, but I see an extraordinary fate awaiting for her. I see in this little girl a real symbol of resistance, fighting for life. Jude embodies the very concept of hope to me and is the proof that it is not futile to believe in a brighter future.
In the novel Jude the Obscure, Thomas Hardy wrote: "One must have faith in certain things. Life is not long enough to do the mathematical proof of anything before believing. "
Day 3: Dedication
Today was the last day of the English volunteers who accompanied me in this journey, and I really wanted them to stay longer. They really understood what self-sacrifice meant. These refugees are in great need. We need to give them some of our time, as it is the most precious resource in the life of a human. The lady said to me: "what is happening today in Greece affects us all. Like it or not this has an impact on our lives. Something has to be done ".
I realize how to dedication has become almost contradictory to the society in which we live. Today I was on the phone with the head of a big French company; I questioned him about the possibility of donating some equipment. To this he replied that all he was interested was to donate in Kenya and neighboring countries, but not Europe.
What to think? Should we look for distant misery, far from our homes to be a good person? What about of the one that knocks at our doors? Should we close our eyes assuming that Europe does not suffer from these problems? Assuming Europe is free from violence and that there is nothing to improve in terms of education? This doesn’t only happen to others.
For my part, I continue the difficult recovery of learning with my students.
In The Prophet, Kahlil Gibran said: "You give little when you give your goods; the real gift is the gift of self. "
Day 4 #GreenRefugees
Jude the unbreakable
Today some of the children went to Athens to file asylum application forms. Others remained in the camp and attended classes. Some mothers have shown interest in the courses I teach; some want to learn the basics of English.
During conversations I had with these mothers, I had to explain the principles of children's rights in Europe, but also the challenges of living together in Europe, hence the importance of youth education, to better fit into this new society.
#GreenRefugees Understand the need for social integration; cohabit and collaborate on the future of our planet first requires proper education and good manners in society developed. This is also what I am trying to teach them.
When I drove to the kindergarten, a little girl was staring at me. Her name is Jude. She kept waving at me and ask me to come see her.
Jude is 4 years old. She lost both her parents during a bombing where she also became deaf. Since then, Jude does not speak, we do not know if one day she'll ever talk again. Rescued by her aunt, they crossed Turkey from Aleppo to finish their journey here in Myrsini.
Jude is so young, but I see an extraordinary fate awaiting for her. I see in this little girl a real symbol of resistance, fighting for life. Jude embodies the very concept of hope to me and is the proof that it is not futile to believe in a brighter future.
In the novel Jude the Obscure, Thomas Hardy wrote: "One must have faith in certain things. Life is not long enough to do the mathematical proof of anything before believing. "
#GreenRefugees Day 5
The rose
Today Nour, a little girl in my class handed me this beautiful red rose that she found in the camp. She hugs me. Nour is a shy girl; she’s also the only veiled girl in my class. Every time I feel she does not feel comfortable in class.
The first day I remember asking Nour where she stopped going to school. This is a question I often ask, and yet I do not measure the impact it would have on her heart, and it is in tears that she confessed to me that she had never been able to finish the year. In her notebook that I distributed four days ago, there are lots of nice stickers and drawings. I see myself at her age sometimes. Over the courses Nour starts progressively to open up and express herself; like her rose.
Today Nour managed to correctly write the words I had taught her the previous day. I could see victory in his eyes, a personal victory, that to overcome fear.
I also wrote the words "change climate" and have provided a definition: its existence, pollution from human activity, greenhouse gases, CO².
The course ended up in a plastic bottle collection. Theory and practice.
Distribution of sweets, I see their eyes sparkling.
D
Day 6: The elements
"Climates, seasons, sounds, colors, dark, light, elements, food, noise, silence, motion, rest, everything has an impact on our machine and our soul."
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Confessions
It seemed important to me in a class with mixed ages to accommodate to the oldest so they do not get bored. I decided to bring some basics of chemistry, such as the various elements and their forms for instance. Hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, H²O, solids, liquids, gas.
This is also my way to honor this Syrian chemistry professor I had when I was younger, and who gave me this passion for science.
Earlier in the day, a woman visited us in class. Assuming I do not speak Arabic, she asked some children if what we learn is really helpful. I told her, to her surprise, that if I was there and managed to build a decent life, it was thanks to these materials I teach. If these subjects didn’t seem useful to her, they would be definitely for them.
I asked her if she speaks English. She told me did. Finally, after talking bit she offered me her help; the balance of positive and negative elements was restored.
Day 6: The elements
"Climates, seasons, sounds, colors, dark, light, elements, food, noise, silence, motion, rest, everything has an impact on our machine and our soul."
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Confessions
It seemed important to me in a class with mixed ages to accommodate to the oldest so they do not get bored. I decided to bring some basics of chemistry, such as the various elements and their forms for instance. Hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, H²O, solids, liquids, gas.
This is also my way to honor this Syrian chemistry professor I had when I was younger, and who gave me this passion for science.
Earlier in the day, a woman visited us in class. Assuming I do not speak Arabic, she asked some children if what we learn is really helpful. I told her, to her surprise, that if I was there and managed to build a decent life, it was thanks to these materials I teach. If these subjects didn’t seem useful to her, they would be definitely for them.
I asked her if she speaks English. She told me did. Finally, after talking bit she offered me her help; the balance of positive and negative elements was restored.
Da
Day 7: Christmas
Today in class I addressed the subject of the seasons, months, dates, and the calendar in general. I wrote the date " July 23rd 2016". Gradually I transcribed various important dates in Arabic and explained their signification. I came to Christmas, and had to explain the significance of that date in the Western world, what it meant to Christians and families, and what happens this day; that is to say, for children, Santa Claus flying over houses dropping presents at night.
It was at that moment that a child interrupted me: "Yes of course, the bombs raining down on us that's our gift isn’t it? "
I didn’t know what to say. Yet I knew this sentence, perfectly summed up the reality of these children’s daily lives.
I approached the child and her classmate said, "yes ma'am, we were surrounded, we had nothing to eat, they were killing everyone, and bombs rained down. We left a night the soldiers were asleep and we managed to cut a hole through the fences. "
In 1972, Vietnam witnessed a bombing campaign known as the "Christmas bombings" which played a crucial role in the negotiation of peace agreements that occurred the following year. It's been 5 years now that Syria is suffering from its own Christmas Bombings, 43 years after the Vietnam War, and yet no negotiation is successful.
I then put my marker down and invited them to sing, to drive the eternal echo of the bombs out of their heads; I write your name, my country, on the rising sun, I write your name, my country, the invincible mountains ...
Day 7: Christmas
Today in class I addressed the subject of the seasons, months, dates, and the calendar in general. I wrote the date " July 23rd 2016". Gradually I transcribed various important dates in Arabic and explained their signification. I came to Christmas, and had to explain the significance of that date in the Western world, what it meant to Christians and families, and what happens this day; that is to say, for children, Santa Claus flying over houses dropping presents at night.
It was at that moment that a child interrupted me: "Yes of course, the bombs raining down on us that's our gift isn’t it? "
I didn’t know what to say. Yet I knew this sentence, perfectly summed up the reality of these children’s daily lives.
I approached the child and her classmate said, "yes ma'am, we were surrounded, we had nothing to eat, they were killing everyone, and bombs rained down. We left a night the soldiers were asleep and we managed to cut a hole through the fences. "
In 1972, Vietnam witnessed a bombing campaign known as the "Christmas bombings" which played a crucial role in the negotiation of peace agreements that occurred the following year. It's been 5 years now that Syria is suffering from its own Christmas Bombings, 43 years after the Vietnam War, and yet no negotiation is successful.
I then put my marker down and invited them to sing, to drive the eternal echo of the bombs out of their heads; I write your name, my country, on the rising sun, I write your name, my country, the invincible mountains ...
Day 8 #GreenRefugees
Numbers
Today I asked the children to count with me; we addressed the multiplication tables. Naturally, I began to use the numbers used in the West, that is to say the Arabic numerals thing that Syrian children do not know. Rather ironic, it's true, because in the Arab world, numeration is different.
An interesting remark indeed, since their appearance dates back to Syria in the seventh century. Borrowed from the Indians by Muslim civilization from the ninth century, they spread gradually to the medieval West where it took several centuries to prevail. These numbers have gradually replaced the Roman system, and remained as the “Arabic numerals”. Today the numbers used in the Middle East have undergone changes, borrowing from the Indian number system.
I asked each child to introduce itself using the Western system; age, birth date, day, month, and year. I quickly realized that the majority of them simply ignored when they were born. But it doesn’t matter because I love these children. Even if they do not know their birthdays.
I remember this excerpt from The Little Prince: "Adults like numbers. When they talk about a new friend, they never question on the essential things. They never ask you: What is the sound of his voice? What games does he prefer? Does he collect butterflies? No, they ask you: How old is he? How much does he weigh? How much money does his father earns? Only then they think they know that person. "
Day 9 : #GreenRefugees
Good Bye with love my heros
I think a hero is any person really intent on making this a better place for all people Maya Angelou
Thank you for our Heroes and follow up for ou next step in September phase II ( Installation of our equipment
Dr Nabile Morant Mayor of Kylini (photo1,2)
Dr. Dionysia-Theodora Avgerinopoulou f. Member of the Hellenic Parliament, Chair of the Environment Committee of the Parliament ( photo (1,3)
French young’s ,from Chambery city for their donation photo (4,5)
Children from #GreenRefugees (photos 6,7)
Numbers
Today I asked the children to count with me; we addressed the multiplication tables. Naturally, I began to use the numbers used in the West, that is to say the Arabic numerals thing that Syrian children do not know. Rather ironic, it's true, because in the Arab world, numeration is different.
An interesting remark indeed, since their appearance dates back to Syria in the seventh century. Borrowed from the Indians by Muslim civilization from the ninth century, they spread gradually to the medieval West where it took several centuries to prevail. These numbers have gradually replaced the Roman system, and remained as the “Arabic numerals”. Today the numbers used in the Middle East have undergone changes, borrowing from the Indian number system.
I asked each child to introduce itself using the Western system; age, birth date, day, month, and year. I quickly realized that the majority of them simply ignored when they were born. But it doesn’t matter because I love these children. Even if they do not know their birthdays.
I remember this excerpt from The Little Prince: "Adults like numbers. When they talk about a new friend, they never question on the essential things. They never ask you: What is the sound of his voice? What games does he prefer? Does he collect butterflies? No, they ask you: How old is he? How much does he weigh? How much money does his father earns? Only then they think they know that person. "
Day 9 : #GreenRefugees
Good Bye with love my heros
I think a hero is any person really intent on making this a better place for all people Maya Angelou
Thank you for our Heroes and follow up for ou next step in September phase II ( Installation of our equipment
Dr Nabile Morant Mayor of Kylini (photo1,2)
Dr. Dionysia-Theodora Avgerinopoulou f. Member of the Hellenic Parliament, Chair of the Environment Committee of the Parliament ( photo (1,3)
French young’s ,from Chambery city for their donation photo (4,5)
Children from #GreenRefugees (photos 6,7)
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