Hello, my name is Ms. Okomi, and I'm a teacher from London.

I'm gonna be guiding you through today's lesson, so let's get started.

Today's lesson is called, "Who is a Refugee?" It is part of the unit, how does identity affect rights? By the end of today, you will be able to explain the term refugee and explain some of their experiences in the UK today.

I'm going to set out some ground rules for today's lesson.

This is because some of the topics that we're going to speak about could be regarded as sensitive.

We have to make sure that we're listening to others.

It's okay to disagree with each other, but we should listen properly before making assumptions or deciding how to respond.

When disagreeing, challenge the statement, not the person.

We must also respect people's privacy.

We can discuss examples, but please do not use names or descriptions that identify anyone, including ourselves.

We are not judging.

We can explore beliefs and misunderstandings about a topic without fear of being judged.

We can also choose our level of participation.

Everyone has the right to choose not to answer a question or join in with the discussion.

We will never put anybody on the spot.

Now we've got through that, let's think about the content of today's lesson.

The key words we're going to come across today are refugee.

This is a person who has been forced to leave their country due to a well-founded fear of being persecuted.

Humanitarian law, these refer to the international laws which govern how we must treat other humans.

And asylum seeker, someone who has left their home country and is now living in a different country, asking for protection so they don't have to return to their home country.

We're gonna start by thinking about who is considered a refugee.

Migration is a common part of human history.

People have moved for lots of reasons.

You might have heard of different groups, or sources of migration.

For example, after World War II, we had something called the Windrush, whereby lots of people from Caribbean countries moved to the UK to help rebuild Britain after the war.

Also, looking even further back, in the 5th century, tribes from Germany resettled in the UK, looking for new farmland.

There are lots of push and pull factors that might cause people to migrate.

We're gonna think about what these two terms mean over the course of today's lesson.

Push factors are reasons which force a person to leave their country.

Examples of this might include natural disasters, climate change, unemployment, poorly paid jobs, poor healthcare, or the fear of persecution.

Today's lesson is gonna focus on push factors, so things that push you out of a country into a different one.

However, there are also pull factors, and these two things can be working together.

Things that might pull you into a country could be better job opportunities, maybe access to an education system that is going to benefit you in the future, maybe thinking about climate, you might prefer to live somewhere that is slightly hotter or slightly cooler.

Going back to our push factors, we're gonna think a little bit more about this last one, the fear of persecution.

Jun is telling us that persecution refers to causing serious harm to a person, either physically or mentally.

It can include severe discrimination, that might mean it's preventing someone from earning a living, or accessing basic needs like healthcare.

Okay, let's check what we've done so far.

Is the following statement true or false? Freedom to practise your religion is a push factor.

Pause your video and choose your answer.

Can you also think about why this might be the case? The correct answer is false.

Let's think about why.

Push factors are negative.

They are reasons people are forced to leave their homes.

If you're free to practise your religion, this is usually a positive thing.

You might leave because of a lack of freedom and move to a country with more freedom, so this example wouldn't necessarily be a push factor.

Next, we're gonna think about who is considered to be a refugee.

Refugees are people who have fled their country to escape conflict, violence, or have a well-founded fear of persecution.

Therefore, they're seeking safety in another country.

Once a refugee arrives in a safe country, they will look to be granted the legal right to remain there.

This is known as refugee status.

Before they're granted refugee status, they are called asylum seekers.

Asylum seekers are people that are seeking a safe country to live in.

The safe place would therefore be called an asylum.

There is some crossover between the idea of refugee and asylum seekers.

A refugee is anybody who has fled their home, then they might become an asylum seeker when they are putting in their application for refugee status.

You don't necessarily have to be granted asylum seeker status to be a refugee initially.

For example, Sammy has fled Syria due to war.

Therefore, at that point, Sammy is regarded as a refugee.

He arrives in Turkey and says that he is seeking asylum.

So, therefore, he is also an asylum seeker.

His asylum claim is processed, and he's given permission to stay.

At that point, he is a refugee who has been granted refugee status.

So, we can see how there's some crossover.

Not all asylum seekers, however, will be granted refugee status.

According to government data, in 2023, refugees made up about 11% of the total number of migrants who arrived to the UK.

So that's actually not the majority.

In 2023, 63,337 applications for asylum were made in the UK.

Not all of them were granted.

33% of them were rejected after the application was made.

There are a few different reasons for this, and we'll come on to that later.

According to the Refugee Council, there are 27.

1 million refugees around the world.

We in the UK have about 1% of this total.

So very small comparatively to some other countries.

There are a few reasons for this.

Lots of refugees don't arrive in Europe.

72% of refugees are living in countries that neighbour the country that they have left.

So, if you are trying to leave your country, it makes sense that most people are going to stay a little bit closer to home.

Maybe because they have family in that country.

Maybe because they are more likely to speak the language or have connections.

Turkey is the country that accepts the most refugees in the world.

For example, by the end of 2022, they had accepted about 3.

7 million Syrian refugees.

Comparatively in the UK, by around 2021, we'd accepted just over 20,000.

This was under the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme.

So, we can see how the numbers of refugees moving and where they're going isn't necessarily equally divided across the world.

Okay, let's see what we've done so far.

True or false? Most refugees live in Britain.

Pause the video, choose your answer, and have a think about why you've chosen that answer.

The correct answer is false.

This is because the UK is currently home to just 1% of the world's refugee total.

Most refugees are living in the country next door to the country that they had fled from.

When a person arrives in the UK, they must declare themselves as an asylum seeker as soon as they arrive.

When an application is made for refugee status, the Home Office has to assess the claim against international humanitarian law.

So, this is the laws that are looking at whether people's human rights are being promoted.

A person has to be very clear about why they're applying for refugee status.

If they don't meet the criteria of the humanitarian law, they might have their claim rejected.

For example, if somebody claims refugee status to earn more money in a job in the UK, their application is probably going to be rejected because they're seeking better opportunities as opposed to safety.

So, we might classify them as an economic migrant as opposed to a refugee or an asylum seeker.

There are other reasons why asylum applications can be rejected.

Sometimes the Home Office might decide that someone isn't being truthful in terms of their reasoning of why they need to live in the UK, in which case it would still be safe for them to return to their home country.

For example, if someone claims that they are fleeing a country like Iran because they're gonna face persecution for being LGBTQ, the Home Office might ask for proof that they actually fall into that category.

If they can't provide that evidence, then their claim might be rejected.

There are other reasons people might not necessarily meet the criteria of humanitarian law.

For example, if they've committed serious international crimes such as war crimes, if they've acted against UN principles, or if they pose a threat to UK security.

Okay, let's check.

True or false? A person is likely to be granted refugee status if they come to the UK looking for a better standard of living.

Do you think this is true or false? Pause the video and choose your answer.

The correct answer is false.

This is because to be successful in your asylum claim and to be granted refugee status, the Home Office has to think that you are coming to the UK believing that there's a real risk or serious harm to the person if they were to go back.

Simply looking for a better standard of living or looking for work is not necessarily going to meet this criteria.

Let's put this into practise.

Imagine a person has arrived in the UK seeking asylum.

I'd like you to write a summary explaining some of the push factors that might have led them to this point and explain what will happen next.

Use this flowchart to help you.

Pause your video and do this now.

I asked you to identify some push factors that might have led someone to seeking asylum in the UK.

Your answer might have looked like this.

A person seeking asylum is likely to be fleeing a dangerous situation in their home country.

There are several push factors that might lead them to leave.

One of those is persecution.

This could be because of their race, religion, political views, or sexual orientation.

Conflict or war.

People could be forced to leave because of ongoing violence like civil war or armed conflict.

This puts their lives at risk.

Human rights abuses are another push factor.

For example, if the person experienced forced labour, torture, or restrictions on their freedom of speech.

A person seeking asylum could also be forced to leave their home country due to environmental reasons such as climate change or natural disasters.

Next, let's think about what will happen next.

When an asylum seeker arrives in the UK, they must apply for refugee status.

This is a special status granted by international humanitarian law.

The Home Office will check each application very carefully.

If the application is accepted, then a person is no longer an asylum seeker.

They will have been granted legal refugee status.

This leads us on to thinking about what are the experiences of refugees, which is what we're going to look at next.

Asylum seekers may face long ways to find out if they have been granted refugee status.

In the UK in 2022, in some cases it took nearly 21 months to receive an initial outcome.

Whilst awaiting the outcome of their application, asylum seekers are not entitled to most benefits in the UK, and they cannot work.

They're not allowed to work, however they might be provided with accommodation and support if needed.

Permission might be granted if somebody's been waiting for longer than 12 months for their claim through no fault of their own.

This is to allow them opportunities to be able to support themselves within the community.

So, if an asylum seeker doesn't have sufficient money, they'll be given somewhere to live.

This could be a flat, a house, a hostel, or a bed and breakfast.

There is no choice about where the accommodation is.

Sometimes a person might be required to stay in an immigration centre.

In 2024, the government was providing £49.

18 a week for support with living costs.

An asylum seeker in the UK is not able to open a UK bank account.

Okay, let's see what we can remember.

True or false? Asylum seekers are able to work as soon as they arrive in the UK.

Pause the video and think about your answer.

The correct answer is false.

Let's see why.

Asylum seekers aren't able to work and are supported by a weekly payment from the government.

Once a person has been granted refugee status, this normally lasts for five years.

After that, they can apply for indefinite leave to remain.

They have to leave the home that they have been living in as an asylum seeker within 28 days.

They also stop receiving the weekly £49.

81 from the government.

That means that they are expected and required to get a job to be able to support themselves.

They might also be entitled at this point to certain benefits that they weren't before, such as help with housing, employment support, pension credits, and potentially a refugee integration loan.

All of these things are only available once refugee status has been granted and not before.

Refugees can work, however, they must apply for national insurance number first.

They also need to open a UK bank account.

Not everyone in the UK has been welcoming to people seeking asylum.

For example, in August 2024, a series of riots broke out across the UK.

Some of these were specifically targeting hotels or hostels where asylum seekers were living.

The Holiday Inn in Rotherham was used by the UK government to house people who were having their refugee status assessed.

A large crowd of approximately 700 people gathered outside the hotel and threw furniture and smashed windows.

Some attempted to set fire to the hotel.

Following the event, asylum seekers inside the Holiday Inn spoke about being terrified by the incident.

A lot of this happened as a result of misinformation, people not understanding the asylum-seeking process, or about the way that asylum seekers were granted refugee status.

However, not all experiences are negative.

After the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, the UK government created a special visa allowing refugees from Ukraine to settle in the UK.

This meant that the process happened quicker than the other asylum-seeking process we've been speaking about.

A scheme called Homes for Ukraine was created which asked British citizens to accept Ukrainian refugees into their homes.

In total, 212,000 people came to Britain under this scheme, illustrating the UK's openness to accepting people when they are in need.

Refugees are also recognised by the International Olympic Committee.

Each year since 2016, when the Olympic Games were held in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, refugees have been able to compete as their own team.

This is recognising the talent that would have otherwise been lost because of conflicts and persecution.

In the 2024 Paris Olympics, Cindy and Gamba won bronze in women's boxing.

She is an example of someone who has been granted refugee status.

Cindy was born in Cameroon and came to the UK as a child.

At 18, she and her brother were detained for deportation, meaning they were going to be sent back to Cameroon.

Cameroon criminalises same-sex sexual activity.

Cindy is a lesbian, and returning to Cameroon would therefore put her at risk.

As such, she was granted refugee status and able to stay in the UK.

Let's see what we can remember.

Why is the refugee team at the Olympics so important? A.

It means countries can win more medals.

B.

It allows refugees to win gold medals.

Or C.

It allows refugees to be recognised for their talents.

Pause the video and choose.

The correct answer is C.

It allows refugees to be recognised for their talents.

Let's put this into practise.

Lucas is giving us a statement.

Once you are given refugee status, life becomes easier.

Do you agree? I would like to evaluate the claim that Lucas is making.

I would like you to consider reasons why some people might agree with this and why some people might disagree.

Maybe you can use examples that we've thought about in today's lesson.

Pause the video and write out your answer.

I asked you to evaluate whether or not life becomes easier once somebody has been given refugee status.

Your answer might have included some of the following reasons.

Refugee status does offer some protection to refugees.

For example, they're protected by international humanitarian law.

They are also able to work and open a bank account.

However, refugees still face lots of discrimination.

It should also be remembered that refugees have fled persecution, and that means that they've experienced trauma.

This means that they might need more mental health support.

Well done if you included some of that in your answer.

In summary, we today have been thinking about who is a refugee.

A refugee is a person who has been forced to leave their home due to a well-founded fear of being persecuted.

Refugees are protected by humanitarian law.

An asylum seeker is someone who has left their home country and is formally seeking protection in another country to avoid returning.

If they're successful, they will be granted refugee status.

However, the process is long and often very complicated.

Refugees and asylum seekers face various challenges, and support differs by country.

In the UK, programmes like Home for Ukraine offer assistance, but asylum seekers have also faced difficulties, including riots in 2024.

Thank you for joining me today for today's lesson.