By Fran Sharman (UK Programme Officer)
“Hiya!”
One small word, which has grown to mean a lot. It was one of the first words that the children that we work with in transitional accommodation picked up from me. I wasn’t even aware that this word was how I greeted the children every week, yet overtime it has become how they greet me too, often whilst sitting by the door waiting for the session to start. It is such a minor detail, yet one which has made me feel so accepted and welcome.
As this week is Refugee Week, and the theme is Community as a Superpower, it seems like the perfect opportunity to reflect on the communities that exist within the transitional accommodations and the way that we have been welcomed into them. In a political climate that is determined to segregate and punish the most vulnerable members of our society, we could all learn from the kindness and enthusiasm that radiates from these children.
One of the first Farsi words that I picked up from these children was “dost,” meaning friend. At first it was a question, now it is a statement. The children include us in games from their home country. They pick up books to read with us, teach us local songs, and include us in their creations. These small acts of kindness, another of the themes of Refugee Week, have made us outsiders feel at home in these often un-homely spaces.
A moment that really demonstrated how these small acts of kindness build community was during a conversation about emotional regulation. I was working with a group of about ten children, and asked them the question “what helps us to calm down?” Many different approaches were taken to answering this, from role play, to imagery, to shouting Farsi words in the hope that I would understand if they were loud enough.
One child in particular was determined to answer the question in English. He started “when I am..” and then trailed off, looking like he might give up when a second child offered “angry” as a suggestion. The first child started again “when I am angry I..” and once again trailed off, starting to get frustrated with himself. Here the children worked together, each tackling individual words, allowing the boy to finish his sentence; “when I am angry I like to go to sleep to calm down.” This collaborative action might seem small, but demonstrates perfectly how combining individual efforts creates a group win.
It appears to me that for these children community isn’t just a superpower, it’s their superpower. It’s a choice that they make to do better for each other, rather than themselves. It’s something that lives inside every child I have come across during this project, and yet something that is overwhelmingly lacking from our political leaders. This Refugee Week, and every week going forward, we should look to include and learn from these children wherever we can. If they can choose community as their superpower in the most challenging of environments – what is stopping the rest of us?
