I absolutely hate writing. I have
always been a math and science nerd, and have never been able to get myself to sit
still long enough to actually enjoy writing. Furthermore, I have never felt
that I cared enough about any topic I have had to write about to actually put
my heart into it. Fortunately, this past quarter has largely changed my
perspective, and, I believe, has made me a better, more effective, writer. I
have found that when I care about an issue enough, and can potentially make a
difference through writing about it, I begin to enjoy writing. And that’s
something I have never had the joy of experiencing. Through this course, I have
gained understanding as to what a refugee is, what I can do about many of the
issues they face, and how I can use these skills and experiences for the rest
of my life.
When I learned I had to take not
just one, but two quarters of writing at DU, needless to say, I was a bit
disheartened. In spite of the dread I felt, I was ecstatic to begin this
course. After learning about the excellent professor through Rate My Professor
and realizing it was a course centered on service-l2earning, I knew I was in
for a great quarter. The first valuable fact I gained from this course was
learning that refugees were not simply people in need of help from persecution,
but that refugees actually have an official definition. The UNHCR defines
refugees as, “people who are outside their country of nationality or habitual
residence, and have a well-founded fear of persecution because of their race,
religion, nationality, or membership of a particular social group or political
opinion” (UNHCR. 2012. p. 8). I learned that the key to this definition is that
a refugee must leave his or her home country in order to seek refuge from the
pain of persecution. I quickly realized that the children I had worked with in
Uganda and the patients I had helped treat in Nicaragua were not refugees at
all—as I had often labeled them. I became enthusiastic about this new concept
of what a refugee really is, along with the importance of their personal story,
and was excited to jump into the service-learning portion by working with the
ACC.
Through partnering with the ACC I
realized the importance of having a mind that is completely open when working
with refugees. An initial approach we must make concerns Katrina Powell’s
discussion of our expectations surrounding refugee stories. She notes that “we expect
refugee’s stories to…fulfill certain narrative expectations of othered-ness,
victimization, and dependence on the state,” (Powell. 2012. p. 308) although,
oftentimes these expectations are subconscious and unintentional. I learned
this firsthand during a volunteer experience at Safari Thrift when I mindlessly
assumed three of my fellow volunteers were refugees. After talking with and
getting to know them, I learned they were three international students from
DU—not what could be readily defined as refugees. Not to say that there is any
shame in the fact that these expectations or stereotypes exist—it simply
presents an opportunity to learn and to grow through them. I found that it is
imperative when listening to refugees’ stories to learn to have a mind that is
completely open, and especially clear of media-induced or other preconceived
stereotypes. Through this experience, I gained the insight to go into any
experience having to do with refugees, or anyone who is different from me, with
a clear and un-expectant mind. Through this mindset, we are more likely to hear
the stories exactly as they are—no matter what that may prove to be.
My dream is to someday live in a
third world country and spend my days having adventures as a physician. I want
to live and work with the people who are oftentimes regarded as unlovable or
unworthy—much like refugees are. This course has added to my understanding on
how to work with and best serve many of the people I will someday encounter
daily. I am grateful for this course, and for how it has taught me that I can
use writing to share someone’s story, and that his or her story can change
lives. I am one of those crazy people who honestly believes she can change the
world, and I believe that someday I will. One of the greatest lessons from that
course comes from Mawi Asgedom in his book Of
Beetles and Angels, “Of the gifts that we can give, the greatest is to see
beauty in each other—in essence, to give
beauty to each other. When we give that beauty, we prepare our hearts to
receive it back” (2002. p. 134).
No comments:
Post a Comment