LESSONS FOR PRESENT, LESSONS FOR FUTURE: Nour, a Syrian refugee talks to the students of Grade B, 28th Lyceum of Thessaloniki

AIMS:

We are working on a set of European/International Lesson Plans about the consequences of the totalitarianism in the XX Century, in the WWII and in the Spanish Civil War, with emphasis on the Human Rights like the concentration camps during the Holocaust (Shoah) and the current consequences of the Spanish Civil War (Law of Historical Memory), and the resistance movement of people who thought other world and reality was possible. It means our main purpose is to make our students aware of the importance of critical thinking and political and social activism in the construction of the EU through the European History and the development of Human Rights against intolerance and totalitarianism in order to create pedagogical tools to offer a new perspective on the extermination: from Collaboration, Indifference and Resistance in response to the new rise of radical-right parties in Europe.

Sunday, 5 February 2017

Nour, a Syrian refugee talks to the students of Grade B, 28th Lyceum of Thessaloniki

On Wednesday, 1^st February the students of Grade B met and talked to Nour, a Syrian refugee. 27-years-old Nour talked about what made him flee his country and what hardships he went through to reach Greece. He spoke about his home city, the devastated Aleppo, his family, whom he lost during a bombarding, his parents, his sister and his girlfriend whom he was about to marry to. He also spoke about his journey in the Greek territory: from Mytileni where he arrived on a boat from the Turkish coast to Athens and then to Idomeni and finally to Thessaloniki. There he works for a nongovernmental Organization as a translator helping his fellow citizens.

Nour recited his tragedy with no emotional strain. But in his eyes one could recognize the deep pain of a man who lost everything and has nothing to keep him going. The sincerity and directness of his talk captivated the students who listened to him with attention and were emotionally touched.

The question seems plausible: What can we do to help those people?

And even more What can we do to prevent wars from devastating cities and human lives?