Melbourne's Refugee Camp in Your City
2009-10-23 11:9
Ever wondered what life would be like in a refugee camp?
Well, global aid organization 'Médecins Sans Frontières' or MSF has set out to do that with “Refugee Camp in Your City”.
[Margaret Bell, 'Médecins Sans Frontières']:
“It’s about showing people what’s it’s like. The shelters that we have are examples of real shelters that people would live in, in this situation.”
The camp highlights what refugees from all over the world go through when forced to flee their homes, mostly due to war.
[Margaret Bell, 'Médecins Sans Frontières']:
“The first part of the event is about basic survival, so where do people live, how do they find shelter, how do they find water, where do they get their food from.”
And it’s a sobering experience for the staff at MSF who have first hand experiences of working in the field. For Tonia Marquardt, seeing deaths that are preventable is the toughest.
[Tonia Marquardt, 'Médecins Sans Frontières']:
“In most countries one of the issues is any kind of mortality, so Uganda where we had a measles outbreak, that was very difficult to see children dying of a disease that’s preventable with a vaccine.”
And for visitors, it’s an educational and eye opening experience.
[Ray Higgs, Melbourne]:
“I wish everyone in Melbourne could have come through here and seen the struggles that other people have in our world.”
Melbourne city brings this year’s “Refugee Camp in Your City” Tour to a close.
Kathryn Shakespear, NTD, Melbourne.
