As the Syrian refugee crisis remains at the forefront of international news, Conrad Grebel University College is working on numerous refugee related initiatives. These tangible and educational responses are rooted in the Mennonite heritage of the College that includes refugee experiences and an impulse to respond to those in need.
Education
Grebel is offering a new course titled “Refugees and Forced Migration” in Winter 2016. This course will assist students in understanding and responding to the current global refugee crisis. The third-year undergraduate course will draw on case studies from past and present to understand why people flee their homelands to seek refuge elsewhere. Read more about the motivation behind the course.
Fundraising
Grebel students organized the Make-a-Difference Market – an afternoon of shopping with local and fair-trade vendors, music and food. In a separate endeavour, students also held an auction to raise money. They donated all their proceeds - over $1000 - to refugee support.
Discussion
The MSCU Centre for Peace Advancement collaborated with Mennonite Central Committee to host an evening for community members to learn about the ongoing humanitarian and peacebuilding response to the Syria and Iraq crisis: “The Syrian Crisis: What is a Small Player to do?” Panelists were Rami Shamma, Krista Johnson Weicksel, and Kaylee Perez.
Donating
Partnering with the Faculty of Arts, Grebel is collecting relief kit items and blankets. These items will be given to Mennonite Central Committee to assemble and ship relief kits and blankets to people facing crisis and displacement.
Welcoming
As part of their student fees, Grebel students each pay $10 a term to support a World University Service of Canada (WUSC) student refugee living in the Grebel residence. Similarly, UWaterloo students pay $1 per term to cover tuition for two refugee students a year at the University. In December 2015, the University of Waterloo requested to take more refugee students next year. Currently, Grebel has two students who have come through the WUSC program. Read about Liban, Grebel’s newest WUSC student.
Commentary
Show inclusion, compassion for refugees by Grebel professor Marlene Epp, published in The Waterloo Region Record, September 9, 2015.
“The world's attention is focused on the current crisis of human security in which thousands of Syrians and others from the Middle East and Africa are seeking asylum, mainly in Europe. Many Canadians are demanding that our governments at all levels do more to open the nation's gates to desperate people fleeing conflict in their homelands.”
Responding to the global refugee crisis – What can Canada do? by Project Ploughshares Staff Branka Marijan and Sonal Marwah, published online, Tuesday, October 13, 2015.
“"The crisis in Syria and its spillover effects, such as the flow of refugees, are reminders that conflicts and their consequences are rarely contained to one geographic area of the world. Simply ignoring conflicts does not make them go away.”
Refugees in Canada Reflect Compassion and Inclusion by Grebel professor Marlene Epp, published in Grebel Now Magazine, Fall 2015.
“Refugee issues, surprisingly, became an important issue in the recent federal election. While no one was happy about the reason for this—the photo of a dead Syrian child woke Canadians up to a human crisis that began four years ago—I was pleased that citizens and politicians were actually debating questions about Canada’s history and present response to refugees. While we often point to Canada’s past welcome and generosity towards refugee newcomers, the record is mixed. I think it is important for students to understand this.”
Personal Commitment
“We need to understand refugees also as individuals with strength and resilience and hope that can offer a lot to any community that welcomes them with openness and compassion,” remarked Marlene Epp. With this in mind, many Grebel students, alumni, staff, and faculty are actively advocating for refugee issues and attend churches who are sponsoring refugees.
Read more about the University of Waterloo’s response to the refugee crisis from President Feridun Hamdullahpur.