Day 3

Wednesday, 21/02/2018

 

 

Our third day of training was really special. In the morning session, after having some energizers, we started to pull out papers from a hat so each of us had been given a role. Our task was to imagine living the life of the person we had pulled out of that hat. How did that person live? How does her/his life look now? Is that person happy? Satisfied? Aware?

I had pulled out the role of a 24-year-old Syrian refugee living in Croatia. I had imagined I had a happy family life before I had to take refugee and run from a war that has taken everything from me to arrive in Croatia and struggle to be approved for asylum.

After imagining and living this role we all had to stand at the same starting line and the narrator would ask us questions as; Do you have access to medical care; Can you freely express your religion; Can you be with the person you love… And each time the answer was yes we had to take a step forward.

 

 

Some people were on the front, and some were way behind them. I had taken only a few steps forward. Each of us had been given different roles and with these roles different privileges or… no privileges. After the game, we discussed our roles and how they made us feel. It was emotional for everyone. Realising how it is by luck how different people in different parts of the world, maybe with the same ambitions, same hopes, same abilities have been given so much different chances to have a different level of life quality. Nevertheless, at the end we agreed that one person regardless of their starting point can change their life quality for the better.

 

 

After this deep awareness cultivating activity we had a short coffee break and continued with learning about stereotypes, generalizations, prejudice and discrimination and the differences between them.

It was a morning full of emotions and learning processes.

Marijana (HR) and Petar (MK)

 

Afternoon of the 3rd day. Each group had received one picture during the morning session, and now we needed to write the story behind it. All the pictures were related to immigration process. We were able to see pictures of kids in the refugee camps etc.  After that we saw videos of people who entertain kids in refugee camps. Their main aim is to make them feel happy for at least one day. When the video was finished we had a group discussion how small steps can lead to big changes!

 

 

After the coffee break we did role plays and simulations. We were divided into three groups: immigrants, border police and observers. Main aim of the immigrant was to cross the border, for the border police was to check everyone and see who can enter according to the policy of that country. During this role play we had such a great time! Some of us, played kids, pregnant women etc.

 

 

We needed some energisers, so we played a game in two teams. Aim was to transfer the bottle only with legs, and bottle should not touch the floor. In the end all of us laughed a lot!

 We continued with discussion about the role play we did before. We found out that some people in the group were smugglers, human traffickers. That is the negative sides of the immigration process, because you never know others intention.

 

 

This day was so emotional for all of us. It doesn’t matter what others are doing, it is about what we do about it.

Sara (HR) and Joel (HU)