refugee camp in my city
September 22nd 2008 02:22
My parents were fond of reminding us of the starving children in Africa whenever we wouldn't eat dinner/wanted a new toy/ were generally unhappy in life.
The refugee camp set up by Medicin Sans Frontiere (MSF) or Doctors without borders, in Martin Place this week, was much more effective than my parents nagging. The idea of the 'Refugee camp in your city' is to raise awareness (and money) about the plight of the millions of refugees in the world.
MSF says there are 42 million 'internally displaced persons" in the world. An IDP is a person who has been forced to flee their own home for reasons of war, famine, flood or other horrible reason, but they are still 'living' in their own country. A 'refugee' has crossed the border to another country, but it's all semantics. If you've been forced out of your home, life is tough. This week the kids and I got a small taste of how tough.
Stuart, one of the MSF doctors, led us through the camp. We saw the very small, makeshift tents that families of eight live in. We learnt about land mines, dirty and scarce water, setting up toilets so disease doesn't spread.'
We found out about advances in diagnosing and treating malaria. The kids learnt about vaccinations and how they save people from dying of fairly common diseases like measles.
Most of all we learnt about the courage of men, women and children who try to survive in the most difficult of circumstances.
It's hard in Australia to even comprehend the scale of the vast refugee camps across the world, in the Sudan, in Somalia, in Columbia. It is also overwhelming. But rather than be overwhelmed, we're trying to do a few things differently.
1. Be content
Being content with what I have will surely rub off on my kids. I'm not planning to constantly remind them of the starving children in Africa, but will try to help them to build a wider world view.
2. Experience life
Doing things, rather than having things, has always been the motto in our house. We'll be sticking to this.
3. Actively appreciate living in Australia
Notice our quality of life and appreciate it. See Australia, go outside and enjoy all the things we take for granted like water, food and shelter.
4. Stand up for people who can't fight back
Edmund Burke said "Evil happens when good people do nothing."
The refugee camp set up by Medicin Sans Frontiere (MSF) or Doctors without borders, in Martin Place this week, was much more effective than my parents nagging. The idea of the 'Refugee camp in your city' is to raise awareness (and money) about the plight of the millions of refugees in the world.
MSF says there are 42 million 'internally displaced persons" in the world. An IDP is a person who has been forced to flee their own home for reasons of war, famine, flood or other horrible reason, but they are still 'living' in their own country. A 'refugee' has crossed the border to another country, but it's all semantics. If you've been forced out of your home, life is tough. This week the kids and I got a small taste of how tough.
Stuart, one of the MSF doctors, led us through the camp. We saw the very small, makeshift tents that families of eight live in. We learnt about land mines, dirty and scarce water, setting up toilets so disease doesn't spread.'
We found out about advances in diagnosing and treating malaria. The kids learnt about vaccinations and how they save people from dying of fairly common diseases like measles.
Most of all we learnt about the courage of men, women and children who try to survive in the most difficult of circumstances.
It's hard in Australia to even comprehend the scale of the vast refugee camps across the world, in the Sudan, in Somalia, in Columbia. It is also overwhelming. But rather than be overwhelmed, we're trying to do a few things differently.
1. Be content
Being content with what I have will surely rub off on my kids. I'm not planning to constantly remind them of the starving children in Africa, but will try to help them to build a wider world view.
2. Experience life
Doing things, rather than having things, has always been the motto in our house. We'll be sticking to this.
3. Actively appreciate living in Australia
Notice our quality of life and appreciate it. See Australia, go outside and enjoy all the things we take for granted like water, food and shelter.
4. Stand up for people who can't fight back
Edmund Burke said "Evil happens when good people do nothing."
Refugees make their own toys from scrap metal
| 72 |
| Vote |
Subscribe to this blog
