Students call Branion Plaza home for three days to raise awareness for student refugees
Around the world, young men and women are forced to flee their home countries to face a new life in refugee camps. For three days and nights, University of Guelph students tried to shine a light on this harsh reality by refusing to leave campus, and sleeping in Branion Plaza.
The event was part of the World University Service of Canada (WUSC) Student Refugee Program, which aims to raise awareness about student refugees and help these students reach their educational goals.
Since 1978, this Canada-wide initiative has enabled nearly 1,300 refugees from war-torn countries around the world to pursue their education in a safe and welcoming environment.
From Sept. 30 to Oct. 2, the Guelph chapter of WUSC celebrated the 35th anniversary of the Student Refugee Program by holding a number of events around campus, in addition to bringing attention to refugee living accommodations.
Highlights included the distribution of fair-trade chocolate, screening the documentary “Sons of the Clouds,” and the Ride for Refuge, a tricycle race in preparation for the International Ride for Refuge.
“Sons of the Clouds: The Last Colony” is a 2012 documentary about refugees in the Western Sahara region, directed by Alvaro Longora. It provides a detailed look at how colonization in the area had left nearly 200,000 people living in refugee camps.
Emily Pearce, co-chair of the Guelph chapter of WUSC, explained “they [were] not allowed to leave campus, to symbolize the thousands of students not being able to leave refugee camps around the world.” Students from countries such as Ethiopia, Iraq, and Somalia have all benefited from the Student Refugee Program by successfully evacuating from refugee camps and taking up residency in Canada.
Every year, the local WUSC committee sponsors up to three students from refugee camps to come and study at the University of Guelph. With the help of the University and the student body, these students are able to escape these refugee camps and realize their full academic potential.
Students contribute $1.92 each semester to the committee, all of which goes towards providing additional support for these students. As Pearce commented, “most schools do not offer this kind of support for refugee students, so [we] are offering a heartfelt thank you to all University of Guelph students and staff.”
With the support of the University of Guelph and similar administrations, hundreds of refugee students have had the opportunity to reach their educational goals and make valuable contributions to their communities.
WUSC has explained that the success of the Student Refugee Program lies in the connections students make with each other. These connections allow students to reform their worldviews and face the realities of life in refugee camps. It is important to remember that not leaving campus for a while is easy, while not leaving a camp for a lifetime is anything but.