tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2458614685871041781Thu, 05 Sep 2024 15:40:42 +0000understanding refugeesethnic warsrefugee integrationself-helpperception of refugeesrefugees and localsopposite sides of warself-explorationfriendshippeople manipulationkids and warrefugee teenagerselderly refugeesimportance of educationmusic as a therapywelcome to a no war, love thy neighbour zone especially devised to encourage some seriously neglected human values and mutual understanding among refugees and non-refugees alikehttp://meetyourfellowrefugee.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (fellow)Blogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2458614685871041781.post-6110442951355252908Mon, 03 Sep 2012 12:19:00 +00002012-09-03T14:19:00.933+02:00ethnic warskids and warrefugee teenagersunderstanding refugees<!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 21 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]> <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm http://meetyourfellowrefugee.blogspot.com/2012/09/three-bedtime-stories.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (fellow)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2458614685871041781.post-4021281655533747256Mon, 25 Jun 2012 12:55:00 +00002012-07-12T11:59:33.695+02:00ethnic warsperception of refugeesunderstanding refugees Luckily they didn’t shoot him. He got out alive. But his life as he knew it was taken away from him for good. Yes, houses got blown up in the night, shop-windows got stoned, people disappeared. And yes, he was of different ethnicity, but only on the paper. In real life, he was much like any of his neighbours. He never cared much about history, tradition, customs, religion or whatever http://meetyourfellowrefugee.blogspot.com/2012/06/hands-up-mister-hand-over-your-life.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (fellow)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2458614685871041781.post-6256887349380104151Fri, 10 Feb 2012 12:00:00 +00002012-02-10T12:50:43.478+01:00perception of refugeesrefugee integrationself-explorationself-helpunderstanding refugees I have noticed that our lives mimic nature more than we are aware of. Spells of sunshine interchange with the ones of dark clouds hovering above and then all of a sudden a thunder strikes down, sends shivers down your spine, throws some new light on the world and makes you look around with a new insight. After a period of heavy rains, what might follow is a period of long drought. Having http://meetyourfellowrefugee.blogspot.com/2012/02/healing-power-of-writing.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (fellow)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2458614685871041781.post-751609221194904279Mon, 28 Nov 2011 16:52:00 +00002011-12-23T11:57:54.934+01:00ethnic warsfriendshiprefugee integrationself-explorationself-helpunderstanding refugees It will take just a minute as it actually consists of one question only: In your opinion, is the universe we live in friendly or hostile? If by any chance Einstein, who supposedly believed this to be one of the most fundamental questions we can ever ask ourselves, lived today he would have given you the following test key: If you believe that the universe is a hostile place, you will http://meetyourfellowrefugee.blogspot.com/2011/11/perception-of-world.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (fellow)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2458614685871041781.post-9168238960648050990Mon, 17 Oct 2011 17:04:00 +00002011-11-28T17:57:52.282+01:00ethnic warsfriendshipperception of refugeesrefugee integrationself-helpunderstanding refugees I’ve always been somewhat shy. I admit it. As a kid, I would hide behind my Dad’s legs trying to avoid the shower of kisses coming down on me from my over-excited relatives. Having my cheeks all sticky and wet afterwards didn’t help much either.&nbsp; I guess seeing people at their worst some ten years later, helped even less. How can you ever again think highly of humans, once you feel the http://meetyourfellowrefugee.blogspot.com/2011/10/couchsurfing-as-therapy.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (fellow)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2458614685871041781.post-8675891959009373779Tue, 26 Jul 2011 08:57:00 +00002011-11-28T17:57:17.014+01:00ethnic warsopposite sides of warunderstanding refugeesIt was an early autumn morning when she headed to join the military convoy. An hour later she was climbing the stairs up to the fourth floor in one of the residential buildings. She finally reached the familiar door panting. It had been months since she last climbed them. Her hand hovered over the doorbell for a couple of long minutes. Was that the sound of footsteps on the other side? And then http://meetyourfellowrefugee.blogspot.com/2011/07/closed-door.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (fellow)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2458614685871041781.post-8267012364804401801Tue, 24 May 2011 11:12:00 +00002011-05-24T13:12:21.766+02:00friendshipkids and warperception of refugeesrefugee integrationrefugee teenagersrefugees and localsunderstanding refugees<!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 21 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]> <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm http://meetyourfellowrefugee.blogspot.com/2011/05/crossroads.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (fellow)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2458614685871041781.post-8342182568901226457Wed, 16 Mar 2011 20:40:00 +00002011-04-26T12:21:17.126+02:00ethnic warsopposite sides of warpeople manipulationperception of refugeesself-explorationUpon meeting a quiet, reserved, shy guy the last thing one would expect to hear, especially not from the guy himself, is that he is easily provoked into fight charging at his enemies like a bull while his friends try to pull him back by the sleeve. In my case the astonishment was even greater as only a few minutes earlier he had complained about having problems with girls for a reason he http://meetyourfellowrefugee.blogspot.com/2011/03/check-your-expiry-date-on-blaming.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (fellow)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2458614685871041781.post-4627130646129293426Mon, 14 Feb 2011 23:04:00 +00002011-02-15T00:06:28.513+01:00ethnic warsopposite sides of warpeople manipulationrefugee integrationself-helpIn the village where my father, grandfather and their forefathers were born, there was a hundred year old book written by a monk who came to do his service for the local church. This funny fellow was in the habit of shocking people with his strange visions of future often provoked by people and situations, but sometimes he would simply spell it out, in a manner of a local Nostradamus. These http://meetyourfellowrefugee.blogspot.com/2011/02/oracle-called-history.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (fellow)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2458614685871041781.post-7005032183678109553Tue, 11 Jan 2011 23:16:00 +00002011-01-26T23:38:54.495+01:00ethnic warsopposite sides of warpeople manipulationI returned to my grandparents home in the middle of the night and tiptoed into the empty side of the bed, next to my aunt. The floor complained squeaking with every careful step I made but nobody seemed to be disturbed by it. A tune from the radio in the car was still playing in my ears. Soft, mellow voices were singing about love, peace, faith and hope, appropriately soothing for the http://meetyourfellowrefugee.blogspot.com/2011/01/christmas-fever.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (fellow)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2458614685871041781.post-95612337952877067Sat, 18 Dec 2010 17:56:00 +00002010-12-24T09:49:53.183+01:00refugee integrationself-explorationself-helpunderstanding refugees @UNHCR Even these days, after many years of being far from my homeland, whenever travelling through the vast plains and gazing through the window my eyes seem to draw shapes of vague mountain silhouettes somewhere at the far end. It is because my childhood horizons were always framed with them. A few seconds later my mind reports back with some disappointment: “Oh, those are just the clouds”.http://meetyourfellowrefugee.blogspot.com/2010/12/thinking-of-return.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (fellow)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2458614685871041781.post-3508905500266884141Tue, 26 Oct 2010 11:11:00 +00002010-11-14T22:49:31.911+01:00ethnic warsself-helpunderstanding refugeesI’ve heard that in some countries people don’t know who their President or Prime Minister is. Life in these countries runs smoothly, people mind their own business, rarely anyone bothers to watch the news, flowers bud, children play, the sky is blue. That sounds much like a Neverland to me. And for those who find living this unruffled life a little boring and wish for some adrenaline rush, http://meetyourfellowrefugee.blogspot.com/2010/10/alice-in-bomberland.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (fellow)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2458614685871041781.post-2984940052447628855Sat, 02 Oct 2010 21:44:00 +00002010-10-07T18:54:25.166+02:00ethnic warsopposite sides of warperception of refugeesrefugee integrationrefugees and localsself-helpunderstanding refugeesOnce again it was morning, in another city, in another country, sunny, fresh and full of surprises. The bus stopped after a half an hour of rhythmical clink-clanking and I stepped off a little drowsy into an early morning hustle and bustle of the city market. Rivers of people hurrying to work were intersected with sellers dragging huge bundles of this and that, honking, grumbling, bellowing. &http://meetyourfellowrefugee.blogspot.com/2010/10/have-you-helped-someone-today.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (fellow)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2458614685871041781.post-3415071396017838894Sat, 18 Sep 2010 17:38:00 +00002012-07-12T11:29:44.916+02:00ethnic warskids and warrefugee teenagersself-explorationunderstanding refugees It was an extremely intriguing morning of exploring the bonds of my mind and consciousness, a morning of revealing a part of myself which has long been buried under the pressure of a turbulent time that was behind me. I was walking down the streets in no particular direction, just enjoying the sun and filling in my lungs with the healing smell of pines and the sea. It was amazing how quickly http://meetyourfellowrefugee.blogspot.com/2010/09/page-from-refugees-diary.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (fellow)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2458614685871041781.post-1545068142402337232Sun, 12 Sep 2010 09:39:00 +00002010-09-15T11:04:53.903+02:00elderly refugeesethnic warsrefugee integrationrefugees and localsunderstanding refugees Believe it or not, &nbsp;this smiling face has been through a couple of wars, lost a son and a husband, had to flee her home with nothing more than a bundle of clothes and travelled for days on a small tractor-trailer, some years later ended up in a hospital with a broken hip and was quickly sent back home because the patients who make it over eighty are here considered to be too old for surgeryhttp://meetyourfellowrefugee.blogspot.com/2010/09/lives-in-exile.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (fellow)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2458614685871041781.post-3896919845934618742Thu, 02 Sep 2010 21:39:00 +00002010-09-12T11:45:23.906+02:00elderly refugeesperception of refugeesrefugee integrationrefugees and localsself-helpunderstanding refugees In one of his nineteenth century novels, Balzac complains that doctors have come up with so many new specialised terms for illnesses that on hearing them you have no clue as to their origin and cause. As if these names live a life of their own, alienated from an individual and the possible complexities of his of her life. In the old days, people would say that one suffers from unrequited love, http://meetyourfellowrefugee.blogspot.com/2010/09/deaths-in-exile.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (fellow)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2458614685871041781.post-8102125477038391524Wed, 25 Aug 2010 20:41:00 +00002010-11-19T23:16:25.429+01:00friendshiprefugee integrationrefugees and localsself-explorationself-helpAre you a refugee who sticks to your clan because you feel at ease with those who know what you’ve been through? And you think that the rest of the world would never understand it anyway? You believe “they” wouldn’t even understand your jokes, let alone your dreams and fears? Of course, your fellows in war, or whatever, will understand you better but is that all there really is to &nbsp;http://meetyourfellowrefugee.blogspot.com/2010/08/are-you-refugee-who-sticks-to-your-clan.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (fellow)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2458614685871041781.post-3167882822578615953Wed, 18 Aug 2010 17:26:00 +00002010-11-19T23:25:43.761+01:00importance of educationkids and warmusic as a therapyperception of refugeesrefugee integrationrefugee teenagersrefugees and localsself-helpunderstanding refugeesIf you are a teenage refugee, lucky enough to be able to continue your education in the exile, you’re likely to be confronted with some or all of the following questions and comments: &nbsp; So, what sort of music do you like? What’s your favourite band? Fancy a smoke? You don’t smoke?! (After scanning you from top to bottom) “Interesting” shoes, where did you get those!? How about plucking yourhttp://meetyourfellowrefugee.blogspot.com/2010/08/music-of-war-child.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (fellow)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2458614685871041781.post-2930020105515936856Sat, 07 Aug 2010 13:32:00 +00002010-09-01T20:45:09.377+02:00ethnic warsfriendshipopposite sides of warpeople manipulationunderstanding refugeesA refugee girl was telling her life story on TV when the interviewer asked her: “How do you feel about the people who belong to the nationality that caused you and your family so much pain?” and the girl answered: “I know that people who belong to the same nationality are not all good or bad, but I still feel very uncomfortable with the issue. I cannot forgive or forget what happened…”. http://meetyourfellowrefugee.blogspot.com/2010/08/too-familiar-to-hate.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (fellow)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2458614685871041781.post-9189486787068010570Wed, 04 Aug 2010 08:25:00 +00002010-09-01T20:41:37.747+02:00people manipulationperception of refugeesrefugees and localsself-helpunderstanding refugeesIf you look up the word in a dictionary, it might give you a clue http://www.thefreedictionary.com/refugee but I'm sure it will still sound pretty abstract. What danger is it about? Do these people just walk away? Maybe they did something bad so they were rightfully kicked out of their country? Are you to trust these people? Try to imagine your life changes over night. Or maybe not over http://meetyourfellowrefugee.blogspot.com/2010/08/who-is-your-fellow-martian-oops-i-mean.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (fellow)0