EWB ACT and Oxfams Refugee realities

Engineers Without Borders Volunteers from the ACT chapter lent their unique set of skills to Oxfam, supporting their Refugee Realities event.

Posted by Nathalie Cattaneo to Australian Capital Territory Chapter, 14th July 2010, 4:15pm

The event, which from 7-20 June, saw 3000 people enter a massive simulation of the refugee experience that allowed all Australians to better understand the dangers faced by refugees around the world forced to flee their homes in search of safety for them and their families.

The simulation required an extensive set, complete with village, refugee camp, border crossing and even a mine field. The camp is modeled on real refugee camps in countries like Sudan and Pakistan.

EWB volunteers leant their skills in constructing a minefield (watch out for the sensors that let off a siren and strobe), camp-style toilets, as well as assisting Red-R with constructing a water tank and emergency water bladder. Throughout the 2 weeks other EWB volunteers joined Oxfam in running tours as explainers or actors.

The event has been coordinated by a former refugee, Nghia Nguyen-Le, whose family fled the war in Vietnam.

“I was 14-months old when we first tried to escape Vietnam. My family initially had to split up, and the boat my mother and I were on broke down. We were lucky to escape detection and to be reunited with my father and sister in Saigon. We tried again as a family and managed to escape by boat to Malaysia, where we spent six months in a refugee camp,” Ms Nguyen-Le said.

Oxfam Australia Executive Director Andrew Hewett said “refugees are ordinary people thrust into extraordinary and often terrifying circumstances. Refugee Realities simulates what it’s like to be in the position of a refugee – people visiting will have to flee their homes, be separated from their family, navigate a difficult journey, collect water and food to survive, build a shelter and experience the struggle of life in a refugee camp.

“These are things that are thankfully outside the experience of most Australians, but Oxfam hopes that providing this experience will go someway towards informing the refugee debate in Australia,” Mr Hewett said.

Australia currently accepts 13,750 refugees a year, out of the 42 million people that the UN has estimated have been uprooted by conflict and persecution.

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