Match the key words with the definitions. Then, find them in the article to read them in context.

Transcription

1 1 Warmer What are the differences in meaning between these terms? 1. migrant 2. immigrant 3. refugee 4. asylum seeker 2 Key words Match the key words with the definitions. Then, find them in the article to read them in context. bonds hub compassionate dilapidated conspicuously polarized outfit fragmented diversity grief-stricken showcase condemn 1. the fact that very different people or things exist within a group or place 2. present something in a way that attracts attention and emphasizes its good qualities 3. feeling sympathy for someone who is in a bad situation because you understand and care about them 4. an organization, especially a small firm 5. in a way that is very noticeable or easy to see 6. extremely sad 7. things that give people or groups a reason to love one another or feel they have a duty to one another 8. an important place where a particular activity takes place 9. old and in bad condition 10. order something such as a building or machine to be destroyed because it is not safe 11. when two very different opinions or groups are formed that strongly oppose each other 12. broken into lots of separate pieces

2 This small town in America s Deep South welcomes 1,500 refugees a year How does a dusty, working-class town in Georgia not only manage to rehome thousands of refugees but make them integral to the town s sense of identity? Katy Long 24 May, Clarkston, a small town in Georgia, has received over 40,000 refugees over the past 25 years. They come from every corner of the globe. In 2017, there are more Congolese than Syrians; past waves of refugee resettlement have brought Bhutanese, Eritreans, Ethiopians, Somalis, Sudanese, Liberians and Vietnamese. 2 All have landed in an otherwise unremarkable town in the Deep South, population 13, Look beyond the 1970s rows of shops, blocks of flats and car parks and there are sights rarely seen elsewhere in America. Beige shopfronts are topped by signs in Amharic and Nepali scripts, with evocative English translations: Balageru Food Mart, African Cultural and Injera Grocers, Numsok Oriental Grocers. Women gather nearby wearing bright African headscarves and others cross the street in traditional Asian silk dresses, long black hair plaited down their backs. 4 But foreigners are not the only migrants to Clarkston. The self-proclaimed Ellis Island of the south is now seeing not only refugees and poor immigrants arrive. Its reputation has prompted a swell of middle-class professional Americans, who in the words of the town s 34-year-old mayor, Ted Terry are in search of all the trappings of diversity. 5 Terry, who has a hipster beard, checked shirt and odd socks, was welcoming a delegation from the Middle East, who had come to see how Clarkston manages its diverse refugee community. 6 My goal with Clarkston is to showcase it, he explained. I didn t make this place a compassionate community it was a compassionate and welcoming community long before I got here. 7 How does this happen? How does a dusty, working-class town in the south not only manage to house 1,500 refugees per year but make their welcome integral to the town s sense of identity? 8 It turns out the story of Clarkston is not just about who is being welcomed: it s also a story about who is doing the welcoming. 9 In the corner of Clarkston s town-centre car park is a bright red food truck selling artisanal coffee, the kind of sleek minimalist outfit that would not look out of place in San Francisco or New York, under a logo reading Refuge Coffee. It was founded by a recent American arrival. 10 Kitti Murray, a freelance writer and grandmother of eight, bought the old truck for $3,000 in 2015 and began renting space on an old garage forecourt for a dollar a month, where she set up tables and chairs. Her aim was to create a space for the community to connect, offer job training and tell a more beautiful, more accurate refugee story. Our refugee employees do that for us, just by who they are and how they do their work. 11 As she talks, Ahmad a Syrian who used to be a pharmacist before he became a barista pours an espresso. 12 Murray s clientele is conspicuously white. When we first started, I would be grief-stricken if, by the end of the day, not a single refugee had come, she said. But if we hadn t engaged the American community, who have deep pockets, we would have been over in that first six months. 13 Murray is one of many Americans who have moved to Clarkston specifically to work with refugees and crucially to live alongside them. Welcoming refugees can involve long hours spent in newcomers homes, awkwardly tripping over language barriers while drinking tea, but the bonds forged are often strong ones. 14 Arez, a Syrian refugee who arrived with her husband and two children in 2015 after four years in Turkey, bubbles with enthusiasm as she talks about her American sister Rebecca who helped her to settle in Clarkston: I love the US! I am so happy here. I have American friends; they are helping me to learn English. My kids are in school. I love it here. 15 What made Clarkston work for refugees, Brian Bollinger, the executive director of Friends of Refugees says, are the opportunities afforded by its high-density blocks of flats and good transport links. It s easy to catch a vanpool to the chicken factories one hour north, where many of the refugees first find low-wage employment. This was why Clarkston was identified in the early 1990s as a good resettlement hub and now,

3 3 these same attractions low-cost housing and proximity to the interstate are part of what s helping to attract young American professionals priced out of Atlanta. 16 This small-town feel is both part of the reason Clarkston works and a limiting factor. For refugees, Clarkston is a starter town. Success means moving on, leaving its blocks of flats behind. 17 Clarkston is certainly no paradise. Just outside the town are dilapidated, burned-out blocks of flats that are virtually uninhabitable. The town lacks the power to condemn them and, in a town where the poverty rate is more than 40%, the prospect of cheaper rent can win out over fears of rat infestation and crime. Comprehension check 18 Yet Clarkston also benefits from wider networks of solidarity. Since Trump announced his travel ban in January, 2017, Friends of Refugees have seen a 400% increase in the number of volunteer applications. They now have several hundred weekly or bi-weekly volunteers, twice the number in years past. 19 In Georgia, Clarkston has a reputation as a liberal bubble. Yet the reality on the ground is more complicated and unexpected. Refugees and their American neighbours seem to have found a sense of belonging here. That is something many Americans are searching for in an increasingly polarized, fragmented and angry world. Guardian News and Media 2017 First published in The Guardian, 24/05/17 a. Use the 12 key words from task 2 and the additional 12 words to summarize the article. key words bonds compassionate polarized hub grief-stricken outfit fragmented showcase conspicuously diversity condemn dilapidated additional words working-class high-density volunteers unremarkable proximity vanpool hipster infestation delegation self-proclaimed resettlement integral

4 4 Phrases a. Complete the phrases from the article. Match them with their meanings. 1. all the t of (para 4) 2. not look o of p (para 9) 3. have deep p (para 12) 4. awkwardly t over (para 13) 5. p out of (para 15) 6. on the g (para 19) a. have a lot of money b. in the place being discussed c. unable to invest in a particular market because prices are too high d. the outward signs and features of something you desire e. trying, with great difficulty, to navigate a problem f. appear as if something belongs in a particular place b. Use the phrases in sentences of your own. 5 Discussion Find and underline this phrase in the article: a liberal bubble. What does it mean? Do you feel that the phrase has negative or positive connotations? Suggest other words or phrases to describe Clarkston and its special status. What is the Deep South? What things do you associate with it? Why does Clarkston call itself the Ellis Island of the South? Do you agree that this is an increasingly polarized, fragmented and angry world? 6 Webquest a. Find Clarkston, Georgia on a map. How close is it to these other places mentioned in the article? Atlanta the interstate (or motorway in British English) If possible, look at a satellite image, too. What does it show? b. Read more about the volunteer organization mentioned in the article:

5 KEY 1 Warmer 1. someone who travels to another place or country in order to find work 2. someone who comes to live in a country from another country 3. someone who leaves their country, especially during a war or other threatening event; someone with refugee status who has been granted asylum 4. someone who has to leave their own country because they are in danger and who arrives in another country and asks to be allowed to live there Teacher s note: Ask the students if they would use any of the words to describe themselves. You may or may not want to broach with your students the subject of the negative connotations of the words, especially as used in certain sections of the press. For example, although migrant used to be a neutral term, some believe it s recently taken on a sour note; see, for instance, the distinction drawn, during the recent migrant crisis in the EU, between economic migrants and genuine refugees (who have internationally recognized human rights under the UN Refugee Convention). The word immigrant is often preceded by the word illegal, giving this word, too, a negative connotation. This article discusses the differences between the terms migrant, refugee and asylum seeker in more detail, including their legal implications: com/world/2015/aug/28/migrants-refugees-and-asylumseekers-whats-the-difference. 2 Key words 1. diversity 2. showcase 3. compassionate 4. outfit 5. conspicuously 6. grief-stricken 7. bonds 8. hub 9. dilapidated 10. condemn 11. polarized 12. fragmented 3 Comprehension check Teacher s tip: Have students do this task orally in pairs. Tell them to cross out each of the 24 words as they use them so that they can be sure they have used them all. 4 Phrases b. 1. trappings d 2. out; place f 3. pockets a 4. tripping e 5. priced c 6. ground b 5 Discussion liberal bubble Liberal describes a way of thinking that allows a lot of personal freedom and is accepting of differences. The word bubble is used to describe a situation that is isolated from the rest of reality. Deep South consists of the states in the south of the US dependent on plantation-type agriculture and previously considered slave societies (four core Deep South states: Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana; South Carolina, Florida and Tennessee also sometimes included) Stereotypes associated with the Deep South: rednecks (a derogatory term to describe working-class white people, especially those who are not educated and do not like people who are not white); racism (history of KKK); socially conservative evangelical Protestantism (region sometimes referred to as the Bible Belt ); gun ownership; strong musical heritage (country, blues, jazz etc); cuisine: fried chicken, iced tea, soul food