Background Reading: .edu



Sample Lesson PlanTeaching Displacement Through Music: A Profile of Emmanual Jal29718002286000This lesson uses the music of Emmanual Jal, a South Sudanese musician and former child soldier, to teach another dimension of forced displacement. The value of music as a medium for raising awareness, the importance of the “human dimension” of displacement and conflict, and the provision of humanitarian aid versus long-term development initiatives, particularly education, are among the themes considered. The war and fighting in Sudan that has carried on intermittently since 1962 ultimately resulted in the partition of the country in 2011 into two countries – Sudan and South Sudan. The people of the south voted to separate from the north but there remain key economic issues, largely oil reserves and access to ports that require them to work together. Nevertheless, border fighting over the contested Abeyi region continues and South Sudan struggles as a poor, landlocked new country.Background Reading: Sudan Country Profile (attached) BBC News (March 2013) Wikipedia entry on South Sudan, Desiree, Internally Displaced, Refugees and Returnees from and in the Sudan, (Uppsala: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, 2000)UNHCR, unhcr.ch/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/home/opendoc.pdf?tbl=PARTNERS&id=40f27eb44 Human Rights Watch, Lost Boys, Information Gateway, Warm-up: If possible, have students read the BBC Sudan Country Profile and other Background Readings listed above, either prior to the activity or as part of the warm-up. Play Emmanuel Jal’s song “War Child” (3:46; available at ). Ask students to comment on the themes in the song and the video (should you choose to show the video as well.) What is Jal’s story?What is the tone of the song and video? Does it remain constant or shift throughout? What is the symbolism of putting on the headphones in the video? How does Jal’s account in “War Child” reflect points about Sudan in the BBC profile? Do we get any sense of the “human dimension” of ongoing conflict from the BBC profile? What does Jal’s song tell us about this dimension that the BBC profile does not? Activity: Emmanuel Jal’s StoryShow students Jal’s TEDtalk, “The Music of a War Child (18:04, available at ). As they watch the video, have students create a timeline of Jal’s life. Ask students to detail how Jal’s childhood affected his decisions as an adult. Continue the discussion from the warm-up of the value of reflecting upon the personal, human dimension of such situations. Another good video to show about Jal’s story is an interview on Al-Jazeera English program One on One with Riz Khan (Part 1 available at and Part 2 available at , approximately 21 min) Discussion: Gauge initial impressions of Jal. How do students feel about him? How does Jal see himself? What does he see as his calling? What is the role of religion in this process (this point is especially emphasized in the Al-Jazeera English interview). What is the role of music in storytelling? Is this an effective medium? Why or why not? Prompt students to talk about effective ways of raising awareness about issues of war and forced displacement. At the end of his TEDtalk, Jal emphasizes role of education as the pathway to peace and the best way to for people to change their lives for the better. This point is an excellent springboard into a discussion of provision of humanitarian aid versus more long-term development initiatives, like education. Why might investing in education be more beneficial than simply distributing material aid?(Material drawn from We Want Peace in Schools, Lesson 3, Available at ) Getting Involved: Show Emmanual Jal’s music video “We Want Peace” (4:18, available at ). Discuss: What are some of the most striking lyrics? What are people in the video doing to calling for peace? Who are some of the famous people featured in the video? How does having someone famous advocating for you affect your campaign? Show students the We Want Peace campaign website and have them register as Peace Soldiers—“someone, anyone, who can activate awareness [of] those who abuse basic human rights. They are individuals who use education and understanding as their only weapons in generating a peaceful environment.” (Available at ). Encourage students to continue learning about and engaging with the topics of refugees and forced displacement in different ways. Doctors Without Borders offers several suggestions for continuing this engagement in the context of the classroom: Daily Announcements?Have your students write interesting facts and quotes from their learning to be read during the morning announcements at your school. School Assembly?Have your class organize a school assembly to present what they learned about refugees. Speakers from the community could also be invited to share their message about refugees. Writing Letters?Have students write to their government, encouraging the United States to take specific actions to end violence and poverty around the world. Agency Presentations?Invite representatives from locally based organizations assisting refugees and immigrants or NGO’s to speak to your students. (Material drawn from Doctors Without Borders Learning Resources, Lesson 5, Available at ) AFRICA14 March 2013?Last updated at?08:11 ETSudan profileSudan, once the largest and one of the most geographically diverse states in Africa, split into two countries in July 2011 after the people of the south voted for independence.The government of Sudan gave its blessing for an independent South Sudan, where the mainly Christian and Animist people had for decades been struggling against rule by the Arab Muslim north.However, various outstanding secession issues - especially the question of shared oil revenues and the exact border demarcation - have continued to create tensions between the two successor states.Sudan has long been beset by conflict. Two rounds of north-south civil war cost the lives of 1.5 million people, and a continuing conflict in the western region of Darfur has driven two million people from their homes and killed more than 200,000.Sudan's centuries of association with Egypt formally ended in 1956, when joint British-Egyptian rule over the country ended.Independence was rapidly overshadowed by unresolved constitutional tensions with the south, which flared up into full-scale civil war that the coup-prone central government was ill-equipped to suppress.The military-led government of President Jaafar Numeiri agreed to autonomy for the south in 1972, but fighting broke out again in 1983.After two years of bargaining, the rebels signed a comprehensive peace deal with the government to end the civil war in January 2005.The accord provided for a high degree of autonomy for the south, and an option for it to secede. South Sudan seceded in July 2011, following a vote.However, the grievances of the northern states of South Kordofan and Blue Nile remain unaddressed, as provisions laid out for them in the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement were never fully implemented.In Darfur, in western Sudan, the United Nations has accused pro-government Arab militias of a campaign of ethnic cleansing against non-Arab locals.The conflict has strained relations between Sudan and Chad, to the west. Both countries have accused each other of cross-border incursions. There have been fears that the Darfur conflict could lead to a regional war.The economic dividends of eventual peace could be great. Sudan has large areas of cultivatable land, as well as gold and cotton. Its oil reserves are ripe for further exploitation.Source: 571500-1143000080010010541000 ................
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