Do All The Good You Can: My Life As A Refugee: Play To Learn About Refugees And Human Rights

February 25, 2015

My Life As A Refugee: Play To Learn About Refugees And Human Rights

As you're reading this, a civil war is raging somewhere. A child is starving. A woman is being repressed and discriminated against. But it's halfway around the world, and my favorite show is almost on. I curl under my blanket and enjoy the company of my husband and my cat, my belly full from dinner. I'll occasionally get CNN breaking news updates or hear about world issues at school, but normally don't give it a second thought. I don't need to care, I can't change what's happening to a village in another continent, right? WRONG.

The UNHCR (the UN Refugee Agency) released a game called My Life As A Refugee. The player can chose to play as Merita, Paulo, or Amika. Merita is a pregnant woman whose family is torn apart by a civil war. Paulo is a teenager escaping from having to join an army, and Amika is a mother and women's rights advocate who is silenced by the authorities.

Photo Credit: http://mylifeasarefugee.org/game.html

When I played, all my characters fled their homes and lives. This game forces the player to make split-second decisions, just as a real refuge.It shows how tough these decisions are. People leave behind loved ones and risk much harm sometimes when they escape. It even showed how tough it can be when a refugee arrives in another country. They may have lost their identification, have trouble assimilating or finding work, and are usually still apart from their families.

Not only do you get a glimpse into what it's like to be a refugee, but you can also donate. According to the UNHCR, every minute eight people leave everything behind to escape war, persecution or terror. Below is a Colombian woman's story of how she had to flee her home.