Who are you? - Emergency Brake

1. Atmosphere creation
Refugees
In order to prepare participants for this simulation, it
is useful to start the session with some short exercises
to help them to get into role playing. For example,
participants are asked to move around the space
provided for the game, while the facilitator calls out
different emotions (happiness, sorrow, joy, love, etc).
For each emotion called, the participants try to express
it through movement and sound. Alternate positive and
negative feelings with. The last emotion called being
fear.
The facilitator tells them in appropriate tone, that there
is a war in their country. (At that time war photos are
hanged or glued on the walls). He/she invites them to
see the photos and try to get them accustomed to the
war situation. Then he/she raises the alarm.
Participants are divided into groups of 5. In new born
families roles need to be defined (father, mother,
children, expanded family…). Each family has a different
surname (for example: Eslemdeh, Belko, Tomovsky,
Horvath, Bwanka...) Families also get Books for visa
application with their last name written in it. The rest of
the requirements each family has to get for themselves.
2. First part of the activity (visa acquiring)
Families have to leave their country because of the war.
They come to your country, but first they have to get
a visa. Visa is possible to get it in offices. The leading
facilitator has all the information and gives pieces of
information to refugees. Information that informant
cannot get, can be given in offices. Families need to
visit different offices and try to get signatures in the
Book. People in the offices and the facilitator should try
to listen to each family and follow their logic to find a
way (e.g. naming a purpose) how to get the acquired
documents.
After approximately one hour or more the facilitator
gathers all participants (with a special sound) in a
place where they started the activity. He/she summons
each family together and checks the Books for visa
application. Families are then given a shelter in a refugee
centre. Reception of refugees should not be personal. It
can be said: ”Family Gruic, accepted in refugee centre.”
Then each refugee is individually called into a room with
TV (or just to the other side of the wall). He/she gets a
ticket, but he/she is not allowed to check it until given
permission.
The director of this centre makes a great speech to
new comers. He/she talks nonsense about following the
law and respecting human rights. He/she uses phrases
like ”United Nations”, ”European community”, ”Human
rights”, constitution, fairness...
After the speech all participants can check their tickets.
The ones, who have ”citizen” tickets, go out of the centre.
The remainders stay refugees. They have to watch a film.
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Page
Methods
Description
Sheet
During this simulation
exercise, participants are
put in a situation where
they can experience the
structural violence caused
by war.
- to experience social
exclusion/structural
violence
- to experience the almighty
power of bureaucracy
F - Forms of violence
Teenagers, young adults
Minimum 10
3 hours
- Books for visa application
(one book for 5 par-
ticipants)
- photos for central camp
(war, distress)
- tickets (for each parti-
cipant one; on half of
them there is written:
“citizen” on the other
half “refugee”)
- TV, 20 min DVD called
“Refugees”
- various pieces of office
equipment (stapler, hole
puncher…)
- food for refugees (bread,
simple soup)
III