Hong Kong students get taste of scary world of the poor and displaced
Simulating life as refugees and slum dwellers proves to be a moving experience for local teens
[David Begbie, Class of 1994] When Ananya Jain and her schoolmates visited Crossroads Foundation last year, most expected a talk about the work of the local NGO. Instead, the students from Hong Kong International School (HKIS) were whisked to former army barracks in Tuen Mun where they were given new identities - as refugees.
Over the next few hours, the teenagers were immersed in simulated scenarios that refugees worldwide (now an estimated 43 million, according to the UN) find themselves in - fleeing bombing and military attacks, putting up temporary shelters, queuing up for food in camps guarded by hostile fighters.
Things got particularly scary when "soldiers" told the girls to come out of their tents - a possible prelude to being trafficked into prostitution. Although the girls didn't want to, the guards with big guns eventually intimidated them into complying. "When all of us heard 'the simulation is over' I can't explain what a relief it was," recalls Ananya, 15. "I've never been so scared in a simulation."
The ninth graders had been taking part in Refugee Run, one of a series of Global X-perience simulation programmes designed to cultivate empathy and understanding of world issues such as poverty, war and hunger. To ensure realism, the experiences are developed in close consultation with people who have lived through those harrowing circumstances, says Sally Begbie, who co-founded Crossroads 20 years ago with her husband, Malcolm.
"Refugees guide our simulations, telling us how the soldiers should be, the story should develop and the set constructed," she says.
