The Guide to Simple as Water is Re-Imagining Migration’s featured resource for Welcoming Week 2023.
Download the free community and educator’s guide to the film Simple as Water by Academy Award winning director Megan Mylan. Too often discussion about refugees and human rights begin with numbers and legal frameworks. The Refugee Convention provides the legal right to asylum, but what does that right look like for Syrian Refugees and other displaced people trying to rebuild their lives? Stories help us move beyond abstractions and help us grasp the human impact of migration, build empathy, and highlight the need to support those escaping persecution.
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Simple as Water: An Educator’s Guide
Globally, 108.4 million people are forcibly displaced as of 2022. Why did they leave home? Where will they go? How will they rebuild their lives? And what do they need to ensure they have the opportunity to thrive?
According to the UNHCR, "more than 14 million Syrians have been forced to flee their homes…" because of the Syrian Crisis. Meanwhile, "more than 6.8 million Syrians remain internally displaced in their own country. Syrians who have been forced to flee their homes are not alone.
Migration is a fundamental right acknowledged in international law. Amidst the numbers and legal frameworks, it is crucial to recognize the significance of individual stories. Stories help us grasp the human impact of migration, build empathy, and highlight the need to support those escaping persecution.
The documentary Simple as Water, epic in scope but intimate, tells the story of Syrian refugees by focusing on the elemental bonds between parent and child. Academy Award-winning Director Megan Mylan’s Simple as Water takes us into Syrian families' quests for normalcy and through the whirlwind of obstacles—to build life anew, raising profound questions for viewers, whether they watch the film at home, in classrooms, or in community screenings.
Educators will recognize that the stories highlight critical themes about global responsibility, justice, and human rights. The guide connects these themes with a research-based approach for teaching about migration: Re-Imagining Migration Learning Arc. Teaching suggestions in the guide touch on each section of the learning arc from life before migration, the impact of borders, and humans' responsibility towards each other.
According to the UNHCR, "more than 14 million Syrians have been forced to flee their homes…" because of the Syrian Crisis. Meanwhile, "more than 6.8 million Syrians remain internally displaced in their own country. Syrians who have been forced to flee their homes are not alone.
Migration is a fundamental right acknowledged in international law. Amidst the numbers and legal frameworks, it is crucial to recognize the significance of individual stories. Stories help us grasp the human impact of migration, build empathy, and highlight the need to support those escaping persecution.
The documentary Simple as Water, epic in scope but intimate, tells the story of Syrian refugees by focusing on the elemental bonds between parent and child. Academy Award-winning Director Megan Mylan’s Simple as Water takes us into Syrian families' quests for normalcy and through the whirlwind of obstacles—to build life anew, raising profound questions for viewers, whether they watch the film at home, in classrooms, or in community screenings.
Educators will recognize that the stories highlight critical themes about global responsibility, justice, and human rights. The guide connects these themes with a research-based approach for teaching about migration: Re-Imagining Migration Learning Arc. Teaching suggestions in the guide touch on each section of the learning arc from life before migration, the impact of borders, and humans' responsibility towards each other.
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