Eugenia Arvanitis
Ana Garner
Anastasia-Olga (Olnancy) Tzirides
Jessica Andrews
Elizabeth Musgrove
Griselda Escobedo
Angelica Rackow
Ashley Kaufman EDUC 499: Greece - Summer 2019’s Updates
Refugee Crisis and Education
In an increasingly connected world the definition of citizenship is increasingly ambigious. Does it or rather should it refer to the legal citizens of each country, those who were born there? Those who speak the language? Those whose families have lived there? Anyone who lives within a country? Who is the state responsible for? Now more than ever there is a sense of global citizenship, a sense of belonging to the same human race. This notion contributes to the idea of human rights like education. Those who would once have been considered foreigners and as such not the responsibility of the state are now seen as some sort of citizen. Greek law insists that its schools be open to all people living inside their country regardless of official citizenship status even during an econonomic crisis.
Parallels do exist between the US's refugee/immigration situation and the refugee crisis occuring in Greece and Europe at large. Both nations are receiving a group of people with a distinct language, culture, and religion from the majority of the host country's population. Greece however is experiencing a significant economic crisis, is much smaller, and dealing with a far larger number of migrants relative to their total population. The sources we looked at portray the Greek people as being extremely open and welcoming of the refugees, but does mention a building resistance as the nation struggles to care for all of them. The narrative in the US is often less welcoming especially since President Trump came into office on a wave of "America first" sentiment.
Hi Derek,
I really like your thoughts about the idea of citizenship and how as we become more connected through technology and social media how the lines begin to blur in regards to the definition of what it means to be a citizen. I also like how you made note of the idea of global citizenship and this being a sense of belonging to the human race. This idea really stood out to me and I look forward to exploring this idea when we get to Greece and get a chance to visit the refugee camps ourselves.
Derek, I totally agree to your idea of more of a sense of global citizenship, belonging to the human race, to be more important than ever in today's world. We are so interconnected that our actions, and our inaction, has the ability to impact others on a global level. We must think beyond ourselves and our divisiveness, and begin to see ourselves as one humanity before it's too late.
HI Derek! I really enjoyed reading your post. You brought up some great points and many thought-provoking questions. I have noticed that education is one of the main aspects that help people answer this question. I too feel this and believe that is education is something that everyone has a right to. With that being said, as you mentioned how Greek law insists that its schools be open to all people living inside their country regardless of official citizenship status even during an economic crisis, this helps put this topic into perspective. I think you laid your thoughts out well and I appreciate your perspective. The parallels between the US and Greece's refugee situation is interesting to compare. While there are similarities, there are many differences too. The treatment for one is a big difference.