Local Experiences of Asylum SeekersAimTo consider some of the local residents' opinions and experiences of asylum seekers.ObjectivesIdentify opinions from letters.Think about the reasons why people have different opinions.Consider some of the positive and negative experiences of asylum seekers.ResourcesActivity Sheet 2.1, Opinions in the MediaActivity Sheet 2.2, Dover InterviewsTasks1. Residents' opinionsAsk students to read Activity Sheet 2.1 and use the questions to identify what issues are being discussed (who bears the costs of looking after asylum seekers) and the reasons for the disagreement (lack of clarity about who pays and how much people contribute).Draw out the issues in discussion of questions 5 and 6. Students should be able to think about the reasons why local residents have conflicting opinions about the issue. They should also be able to speculate on whether the argument could be resolved by disseminating the facts or whether the problem might persist for other underlying reasons.2. Asylum seeker's opinionsRead through the extracts from interviews with three children in Dover on Activity Sheet 2.2. Ask students to identify the problems the children's families were running from, the advantages to them of being in the UK and any drawbacks they might suffer from being here.Encourage students to extend their lists with their own background knowledge about the rights and problems of asylum seekers in the UK.3. Thinking about costAsk students to think about the inevitable cost of looking after asylum seekers whilst their applications are being processed. Who should be involved in helping to finance the services offered to asylum seekers? What would be the consequences of reduced levels of expenditure if the government decided to cut funding in this area? How would the boys in the interviews be affected? How would D. I. Adams be affected? What would students themselves choose to do?Discussion PointsHow do different people experience the arrival of asylum seekers in a local community?What can people do to try to bring all these different groups together?Why are there such diverse opinions on the same issue when the facts are there for everyone to see?What other reasons could account for the differences in opinion?ExtensionInvestigate opinions in your area. Ask adults how much they would be willing to pay through their taxes for the services to asylum seekers. Adults could also be asked how much they think the government spends on asylum seekers. This could be compared to the real figures (adult asylum seekers are entitled to claim £36.54 per week in vouchers, £10 of which can be in cash; those aged between 18 and 24 receive £18.95 in vouchers, and £10 in cash).DifferentiationAsk students to write/act out a conversation between D. I. Adams and Ms P. Taylor. Someone else could act out the part of the reporter and try to reconcile the differences of opinions between them by talking through the facts. Can people come to an agreement?HomeworkWrite a letter that you might send to the newspaper expressing your own opinion about asylum seekers in the debate they are having on the Letters Page.National Curriculum Focus1(c) Government finance, 1(g) resolving conflict,1(h) the significance of the mediaKey skills: communication