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Sender: American Memory Fellows <AMFELLOWS@RS8.LOC.GOV>
Poster: "Monica R. Edinger" <edinger@DALTON.ORG>
Subject: Re(3): Kosovo teach-in
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One of our fourth grade teachers has been very involved in learning about
Kosovo with her students. They wanted to do something so she contacted the
International Rescue Committee. A staffer I knew came and spoke
beautifully at an assembly for our fourth and fifth graders. What I liked
about her talk was that it focused on the plight of refugees throughout
the world, especially in the places the media doesn't go to as much like
Africa. She suggested that the children write letters and cards to fellow
children in refugee camps. The teacher has now organized a walkathon to
raise funds for Kosovo refugees next week in which all fourth and fifth
grades are participating.
I must comment however that I've had mixed feelings about all of this.
Several months ago Sierra Leone (where I was in the Peace Corps) was in
horrific straits. There was even some media attention because it was so
horrible. However, there certainly was never the Western interest there
now is in Kosovo. I just listened to Carol Bellamy, director of UNICEF
(former Peace Corps volunteer and Peace Corps director whom I met a few
times) who commented on this very issue. Don't get me wrong, I think
Kosovo is horrible and Bosnia was too. However, as Carol noted (on the
BBC) there just doesn't seem to be the interest in Europe or the US either
in these other conflicts and the same interest in helping. UNICEF is not
getting donor money for the other refugees on the level of that they are
receiving for Kosovo. The staffer from the International Rescue Committee
(someone I have known for a long time) felt the same way and tried to
address it in her talk. She suggested to me that maybe next year I could
work with the children on the issue of child soldiers. I had considered it
when Freetown was being attached, however the images and stories are so
awful I felt they weren't appropriate for this age group. I tried to get
some teachers of older children interested without success.
So, I'd just like to see attention paid to many wars and refugee
crisisgoing on. Kosovo may be hard to understand but how about Rwanda?
Sudan? Sierra Leone? Guatemala? They are equally horrible in my opinion.
Okay, I relinquish the soap box to someone else.
Monica
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Tue Jan 04 2000 - 12:24:21 EST