Published Monday, October 25, 2004
New Student Group Addresses Needs of Refugees
By Juno Nakamura

Jennifer Zimmerman, Ed.M. '05, found a kindred spirit this month.

Attending the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) 30^th Anniversary Celebration of the Inter-University Committee on International Migration, Zimmerman met Dr. Luise Druke, a representative to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Branch Office for Bulgaria.

Druke's experience with the rights of refugees matched Zimmerman's passion.

In nearly 30 years of service at the UNHCR, Druke has been responsible for refugee operations in ten countries. Just one of her accomplishments was the Namibian Repatriation Operation in Angola, registering thousands of dispersed Namibian refugees to vote just in time for the election in late 1989, which foresaw the establishment of the State of Namibia.

Having completed internships with the UNHCR in Romania and the International Organization of Migration in Kosovo, Zimmerman feels personally tied to the issues of refugees as well. 

“In Kosovo and with UNHCR in Romania, we dealt with many internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees who had missed several months and even years of education during their exile,” she explained, “and this situation presented us with significant difficulties in facilitating the socio-economic local integration and reintegration of such persons.”

So it was only fitting that when Zimmerman convened her new student organization, Education of Forced Migrants (EFM), at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, Druke would address the group and share her experiences. 

Druke, who is also a Visiting Scholar at the MIT Program on Human Rights and Justice, shared a broad range of insights to EFM during her talk on Oct. 13 in the Eliot Lyman Room.

“Kids really are our future,” Druke said to EFM members. “For asylum-seeking children, language training is critical, as it enables them to understand where they are."

Speaking with a glimmer of excitement in her eyes, she pointed out that in many refugee centers or camps, reading and drawing areas are set up so that the waxing curiosity of the children could be addressed. 

She also described the essay competitions that the UNHCR has held in secondary schools with topics such as “How can I make a refugee feel welcome in my school?"

“Activities like this help get rid of societal misperceptions that refugees are monsters," she added.

Speaking with conviction and focus, Druke stressed the need for UNHCR to have access to refugees detained by governments.  Asylum-seeking children and especially recognized refugee children have the right to primary education in signatory countries of the Geneva Convention, according to the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees.

“There is an ongoing danger that refugee children still get stolen right under our nose," Druke explained.

Zimmerman started EFM this year, bringing a dose of energy and a urgency to address the challenges of ensuring educational opportunity to vulnerable children across the world during and after crises.

“I hope to see EFM fill the gap in the Harvard community's research on refugees and IDP issues,” she said.

 For further information on EFM, contact Jennifer Zimmerman at zimmerje@gse.harvard.edu.

 For further information on Luise Druke, see http://www.luisedruke.com.

Juno Nakamura is an Ed.M. candidate in International Education Policy at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.