CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF W.H AUDEN'S 'REFUGEE BLUES’ Put in simple terms, this is a poem about the plight of a specific group of refugees displaced and arriving in a country that is generally hostile to their situation, even if well-meaning. Written in 1939, Auden focuses on the German Jews arriving in the UK at that time, though the poem has taken in a timeless quality due to the commonality of its subject. Indeed, it is not until stanza 8 that Auden identifies his Refugees. Possibly he is trying to show the reluctance of the persecuted to identify themselves for fear of further persecution, possibly he is allowing the narrator –we assume a husband – to present the key ideas of his poem without the idea of Jewishness in some way getting in the way of a universal message. He has chosen the title Refugee Blues to link to the protest and subculture of the enslaved Blacks, who developed this musical form in the Southern USA, and has written a poem in which the rhythm and rhyme scheme (AAB) reflects the musical style. Jonathan Peel SGS 2012
Kids in Detention: 20/10/2015, Behind the News Did you know that about 200 kids are currently being held by the Australian Government in immigration detention centres? Some are held in Australia, others on an island a long way from here called Nauru. But lately there's been growing concern for their welfare. A group of doctors from the Royal Children's Hospital in Victoria recently announced that they're now refusing to return kids sent to them for treatment from an immigration detention centre. But why? These kids are writing letters to their pen pals. MICHAELA: I like to cook, and when I grow older, I want to be an actor in movies. HARPER: My favourite singer's Drake, and my least favourite singer's Taylor Swift. MICHAELA: The drawing below is from my favourite TV show Adventure Time. But these kids at a primary school in Melbourne haven't actually met their pen pals. SARAH & MICHAELA: Hi BtN, I'm Sarah, and I'm Michaela. DR TOM CONNELL, MELBOURNE'S ROYAL CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL: Children from detention develop anxiety and depression.
Refugee Blues by W H Auden Say this city has ten million souls, Some are living in mansions, some are living in holes: Yet there's no place for us, my dear, yet there's no place for us. Once we had a country and we thought it fair, Look in the atlas and you'll find it there: We cannot go there now, my dear, we cannot go there now. In the village churchyard there grows an old yew, Every spring it blossoms anew: Old passports can't do that, my dear, old passports can't do that. The consul banged the table and said, "If you've got no passport you're officially dead": But we are still alive, my dear, but we are still alive. Went to a committee; they offered me a chair; Asked me politely to return next year: But where shall we go to-day, my dear, but where shall we go to-day? Came to a public meeting; the speaker got up and said; "If we let them in, they will steal our daily bread": He was talking of you and me, my dear, he was talking of you and me.
Befriend a Child in Detention | Community Project Why people are fleeing Syria: a brief, simple explanation With the refugee crisis worsening as many Syrians attempt to flee to Europe, many people may find themselves wondering just how the war in that country got so bad, and why so many are fleeing now. Here, then, is a very brief history of the war, written so that anyone can understand it: Syria is a relatively new country: Its borders were constructed by European powers in the 1920s, mashing together several ethnic and religious groups. Since late 1970, a family from one of those smaller groups — the Assads, who are Shia Alawites — have ruled the country in a brutal dictatorship. Bashar al-Assad has been in power since 2000. This regime appeared stable, but when Arab Spring protests began in 2011, it turned out not to be. On March 18, Syrian security forces opened fire on peaceful protestors in the southern city of Deraa, killing three. Perhaps inevitably, Syrians took up arms to defend themselves. It worked. By 2014, Syria was divided between government, rebel, ISIS, and Kurdish forces.
Help is Coming: how I chose a forgotten Crowded House song to help Syrian refugees I have two singles of the song Go West. It doesn’t matter which one I play. Either will reduce me to tears, but only one is intended to have that effect. The version that gave Village People a hit in 1979 was intended to be no more or less than a song about the American dream. With words written and sung by Victor Willis (the one who dressed as a naval officer), Go West transcended its lyrical intentions. Time has a crude way of separating the good songs from the bad songs. When Fleetwood Mac perform Silver Springs now, it takes on the form of both a karmic pasting issued by Stevie Nicks to Lindsey Buckingham and an apology from the band who elected, against her wishes, to omit it from the album Rumours. At times, it seems as if those sentiments are more in evidence in Germany than they are here. This was the song that faded up into my head in the early hours of last Wednesday, as footage of Syrian refugees alighting dinghies played out in front of me.
The Best Sites For Learning About World Refugee Day Source: blogs.smithsonianmag.comWhere Are the 50 Most Populous Refugee Camps? is an interactive map from Smithsonian Magazine.A Refugee Camp On The Web is an interactive from Doctors Without Borders. Syrian Refugees Struggle at Zaatari Camp is an interactive from The New York Times. Two years on – Syria’s refugee crisis is an interactive from alJazeera. World Refugee Day 2013 is a photo gallery from The Boston Globe. The Guardian has published an excellent infographic titled What happened to history’s refugees? It charts some of the largest “human movements” in history, starting at 740 BC and ending at . Every registered refugee since 1960: interactive map is from The Guardian. Ten Largest Refugee Camps is a slideshow from The Wall Street Journal. The Historic Scale of Syria’s Refugee Crisis is an impressive interactive from The New York Times. The refugee challenge: can you break into Fortress Europe? Where would 8.8 million displaced Syrians fit? Tap to Expand Customize size Click to copy
Heartbreaking photos of drowned Syrian toddler show human tragedy of refugee crisis Warning: This report contains images that some may find distressing The refugee crisis engulfing Europe has a shocking new face after photographs emerged of a young Syrian boy lying face-down on a beach in Turkey. The boy was one of at least 12 Syrians who drowned trying to make it to the Greek island of Kos. One of the photographs shows the boy, wearing a red t-shirt and shorts, lying face-down on the shore with his hands by his side. Another shows a rescue worked carrying his lifeless body to land. The images have been widely circulated online, with many tweeting the hashtag #KiyiyaVuranInsanlik (humanity washed ashore). Turkish media identified the boy as 3-year-old Aylan Kurdi, whose 5-year-old brother died on the same boat. The two boats, carrying a total of 23 people, had set off separately from the Akyarlar area of the Bodrum peninsula, a senior Turkish naval official said. The confirmed dead included five children and one woman.
You can't cure a disease by medicating its symptoms – same goes for the refugee crisis Last updated: September 3, 2015 You can't cure a disease by medicating its symptoms – same goes for the refugee crisis Södertälje, Sweden, early this morning; it’s dark, cold, and rainy. We are standing outside an office, drinking coffee. He suddenly stops, right next to us. We answer him, almost simultaneously, that he is in the right place. He looks relieved, relaxes his posture a bit, but then falters. While we wait for the cousin to arrive he tells us about the escape from Syria, about the fear of the Syrian regime and the fundamentalists. The worst bit is the escape routes, he explains, traveling in trucks packed with refugees and on sinking boats. For us, people living in Södertälje, these stories and human fates are something of a routine. The world is in chaos. The man we met that morning asks us: “Why are they not stopping this war, why are they not fighting the evil growing powerful in Iraq and Syria?
Stories from Syrian Refugees International Medical Corps is a global, humanitarian, nonprofit organization dedicated to saving lives and relieving suffering through health care training and relief and development programs. Established in 1984 by volunteer doctors and nurses, International Medical Corps is a private, voluntary, nonpolitical, nonsectarian organization. Its mission is to improve quality of life through health interventions and related activities that build local capacity in underserved communities worldwide. International Medical Corps' work in the region began in 2003 and includes rapid emergency response, health systems strengthening and service provision, mental health and psychosocial assistance, maternal and child health, protection, women's empowerment, community development, and water, sanitation, and hygiene. International Medical Corps has implemented several projects since its initiation in Lebanon: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Refugees welcome | Playlist Now playing Today's refugee crisis is the biggest since World War II, and it's growing. When this talk was given, 50 million people had been forcefully displaced from their homes by conflict and war; now, a year later, the number is 60 million. There were 3 million Syrian refugees in 2014; now there are 4 million. Making a difference in refugees' lives through education News Stories, 5 October 2015 © Photo courtesy of Abdul Khalil Abdul Khalil, a 30-year-old refugee from Afghanistan, is stretched to the limits. ISLAMABAD, Sept 30, Pakistan (UNHCR) – Life tests student Abdul Khalil, a 30-year-old refugee from Afghanistan, to the limits. He starts at 8:00 a.m. from the university where he studies and finishes at a flooring sheet factory at 3:00 a.m. where he works. Khalil's family fled their native Kunduz in Afghanistan in 1986 when he was aged one and took refuge in Pakistan's Balochistan province. In Quetta Khalil was enrolled in a private school, but due to his father's meagre income he was soon moved to a public school. His ailing 74-year-old father cannot support a seven-member family alone. Khalil, the only literate member of his family, also has to work because he wanted to continue he studies for which he needed extra resources. He will complete his graduation in October this year and wants to get admission for a Masters course.