“Imagine this hunger lasts for weeks, for months.”
A group of students took the initiative to organize a special event for the ISAK community in order to raise awareness for the Syrian refugee crisis and to have all of us experience what refugees are going through.
Before dinner, everyone drew a number not knowing what was going to happen. Those who drew #1 received a full meal and a drink. Those who drew #2 got a small portion of food, with a drink as well. However, people who drew #3 only received a glass of water.
The experience modeled the lack of access Syrian refugees have to food, and how fortunate the ISAK community is to have consistent access to nutritious meals that fill our stomachs.
After the group explained the purpose of the event, students and faculty shared their feelings and realized how painful it would be to go through this emotion everyday. One student who picked #1 put some food on a teacher’s plate who picked #2.
We vowed to be grateful for what we have and and think about people who don’t have access to what we throw away.
The group also shared with us a video to have a better understanding of what is going on in Syria, and announced that they are going to launch a fundraising project to support Syrian refugees.
Mr. Vineeth, our Humanities teacher who offered students a chance to learn about migration, gave the below comment about this student-led event.
“Everybody reads about refugees on the news, but we are not directly affected by the incident. So we are busy doing so many other things including planning for the future, while millions of people suffer from this crisis and cannot even think about their future. I am proud that some students felt that we should take it for the ISAK community and planned this special dinner to experience the same emotions that people in the refugee camps are going through.”
