{"id":20512,"date":"2020-05-02T04:31:36","date_gmt":"2020-05-02T04:31:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=20512"},"modified":"2020-05-03T04:35:55","modified_gmt":"2020-05-03T04:35:55","slug":"refugees-tell-stories-of-problems-and-unity-in-facing-the-coronavirus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/refugees-tell-stories-of-problems-and-unity-in-facing-the-coronavirus\/","title":{"rendered":"Refugees tell stories of problems \u2013 and unity \u2013 in facing the coronavirus"},"content":{"rendered":"

Karen Jacobsen<\/a>, Tufts University<\/a><\/em> and Charles Simpson<\/a>, Tufts University<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Across the globe, refugees are trying to settle into new surroundings and are running into new challenges thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. <\/p>\n

But too often news coverage of refugee issues doesn\u2019t include the people\u2019s own voices. We<\/a> coordinate<\/a> the Refugees in Towns<\/a> project, which is a network of refugee researchers and humanitarian workers who we train to conduct research and then write about their experiences in the cities where they live. <\/p>\n

We asked members of our network to tell us how the COVID-19 pandemic was affecting their lives. Here are dispatches from South Africa, Serbia, Zimbabwe, Costa Rica, Denmark and Jordan, written by our refugee researchers and aid workers. <\/p>\n

Denmark<\/h2>\n

Denmark hosts 39,000 refugees and asylum seekers<\/a>, from countries such as Syria, Iraq and Somalia. Abdullah, a Syrian refugee in Aarhus, wrote:<\/em><\/p>\n

The Ministry of Health has published fliers and educational videos in multiple languages to help refugees understand the new rules (ed: about the coronavirus). The Danish Refugee Council used Facebook to help refugee students with their homework by matching them with local volunteers. Refugees took initiatives \u2026 through social media groups created to translate information, news and new rules.<\/p>\n

Refugee parents with kids in school experience new challenges with remote teaching, and try to use the (refugee council) groups to help. My friend Reem told me about her difficulties communicating with her daughter\u2019s school through the school app because it is in Danish.<\/p>\n

The refugees and the Danes say the coronavirus crisis is creating a kind of unity among people. It shows how the world is interconnected and everybody learns lessons about taking care of each other. <\/p>\n

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