CoLAB is a European teaching initiative that aims to challenge some of the
preconceptions around refugees by inviting them into the classroom to
share their expertise and experience with university students. It's been
delivered in France, Belgium, Italy and the UK.
The projects aiming to break down some
of the integration barriers that the refugees tutors are experiencing when
they're trying to reestablish their professional careers.
it's quite difficult because you know arriving somewhere if you don't know and
everything is very fast-paced here and it's not like you have the right
connections and how the people view refugees as well, because
usually when you're refugee they think that you're coming without having any
bankroll and having this language barrier as well was quite difficult.
In the beginning I applied for a job related to my
background like as a communication information officer, media person but to
be honest it wasn't easy and I received a lot of rejection. It's
not easy to receive rejection every day.
When I first arrived here I had lots of different jobs. I worked as a cleaner
I worked in a cafe, I've done lots of different jobs and I was happy really
doing them because at least this is a job I can do, I can depend on myself
however my aim was always to go back to my profession, to teaching.
I got in and I started talking to them and started seeing what's missing from
their understanding, so what I have in mind what is missing in my mind from the
refugee conversation is a bit different from what they have in mind from what's
missing so it's great to bridge that gap.
The session was organised around a number of topics which were mainly
compassion fatigue and distance offering. He was so approachable that it allows us to
see these figures of the refugee in a completely different light. He was very
clear to say that he was first a journalist and then a refugee. A
person who happens to be a refugee not somebody who is defined by this label.
Really interesting to kind of have that bridge built because you know quite
naturally being from a Western society, being in a Western University we only
really have knowledge of you know distant countries such as Syria
through the media. More often not unless you actually kind of go about it and
look at it for yourself. There's only so much you can learn from obviously
reading about an event or watching footage of an event but to hear
testimony of someone that experienced that conflict and obviously his
experiences of his refugee journey, for me was a lot more hard-hitting than
the footage and reading about some of the events leading up to the Syria conflict.
The more students are exposed to these sorts of voices the more they will make
sure that what they produce when they move into industry is inclusive
embracing other cultures, bringing different looks and fields in to bringing
change, bringing new creativity. Going through the asylum process, being
refugee, being stigmatised as someone who has to do the lowest job,
that was really quite depressing. So being part of this project makes me
feel like, be confident again, it's like getting back my confidence and
knowing what I can do and also what I can't do. I was very happy to be part of it.
I just feel part of the community right now and right now I just feel welcomed.
it's important to have someone who's gone through those experiences to learn
firsthand and it just reaches everybody, it's about telling stories from
different perspectives not always the same story from one dominant perspective
so it's important to have a diversity of voices especially here at LCC
considering you know it's such an international environment.
Even if just a few students come away from that class wanting to get involved
in future projects or humanitarian projects or anything like that I think
that's of huge value and ultimately that's partly what these
things are all about, spreading a message and making sure that the right
people know about it and everyone's involved in making the world a better
place really.
I think integration is starting by knowledge and being part of
this programme has give me a lot of knowledge in terms
of education and in terms of interacting with different audience as I said. It's
all helping me to see myself more belonging to the country and belonging to the
issues of the country and being even kind of an advocate for some issues of the
country and I think coLAB by providing us with that platform, it's giving us the
confidence, the appreciation that we miss all the time and ability to think
differently, so I will say go ahead coLAB, continue if you can.