You Can’t Imprison Hope

This lovely blog, written by long-term volunteer Sue Piper, shows just how far the plays written by young people in Palestine reach.

“You can’t imprison hope…”

This wonderfully inspiring line from Benjamin Zephaniah’s play ‘A Passport for What?’ really made me think…

What if hope could actually change things? What if hope could make a difference? What if hope could mean a better world for everyone?

And why is hope such a powerful thing?

The HUP event for Refugee Week showcased the wonderful play ‘One World, Different Stories’ written by a group of girls in Rimal Prep Girls’ School B (UNRWA) with their brilliant teacher Amal Mukhairez and made me think about my own classes, many of whom are refugees. I photocopied the play from the book ‘Welcome to Earth’ and gave it to out to my students.

First of all we discussed what a refugee actually is and my learners shared personal stories (many of them harrowing) about how they got to be in Manchester. We talked about the way refugees are portrayed in the media and I told them about my recent trip to Calais in France where I’d been on a delegation with a group of teachers to help distribute food and supplies to people stranded there. It was a cathartic experience for many of them to discuss their own thoughts and experiences.

After that we watched the original play and then performed it in groups. I am always looking for creative ways to teach my adult ESOL students and this was a fantastic way to introduce such a pertinent topic.

They loved reading and acting out the play. It really helped them to be expressive and articulate in a meaningful way.

We showcased each other’s groups and gave feedback on aspects of each performance we enjoyed or could maybe improve. Then we talked about the students’ own experiences again. Some students from Iraq and Syria became upset and told us about how much they missed their families and nearly all the students expressed their concerns about racism and how some people and politicians show hostility to refugees in the UK.

It was a supportive, empathetic and emotional lesson and thanks to HUP my students could use one of their wonderful plays written by kids in Palestine in a poignant and moving way to express how they felt about their situation.

Now, let’s get back to that question of hope…

Here’s what some of my students said about it..

“ Hope is powerful because it helps us to be more positive and help others.” Anas

“Hope makes us think about a brighter future but not forget our past.” Atifa

“Hope brings opportunities and new things. It helps us to keep going even when things are difficult.” Razieh