When somebody sent me this invitation from Antonio Guterres, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, I thought at first it was a joke from the Onion. What do you think of the Davos rich and powerful going through the “Refugee Run” theme park re-enactment of life in a refugee camp?
Can Davos man empathize with refugees when he or she is not in danger and is going back to a luxury banquet and hotel room afterwards? Isn’t this just a tad different from the life of an actual refugee, at risk of all too real rape, murder, hunger, and disease?
Did the words “insensitive,” “dehumanizing,” or “disrespectful” (not to mention “ludicrous”) ever come up in discussing the plans for “Refugee Run”?
I hope such bad taste does not reflect some inability in UNHCR to see refugees as real people with their own dignity and rights.
Of course, I understand that there were good intentions here, that you really want rich people to have a consciousness of tragedies elsewhere in the world, and mobilize help for the victims. However, I think a Refugee Theme Park crosses a line that should not be crossed. Sensationalizing and dehumanizing and patronizing results in bad aid policy – if you have little respect for the dignity of individuals you are trying to help, you are not going to give THEM much say in what THEY want and need, and how you can help THEM help themselves?
Unfortunately, sensationalizing, patronizing, and dehumanizing attitudes are real ongoing issue in foreign aid. David Rieff in his great book A Bed For the Night talks about how humanitarian agencies universally picture children in their publicity campaigns, as if the parents of these children are irrelevant. A classic Rieff quote: “There are two groups of people who like to be photographed with children: dictators and aid officials.”
Alex de Waal in his equally great book Famine Crimes (and continuing writings since) writes about “disaster pornography.” He gives an example of a Western television producer in Somalia in 1992-93 who said to a local Somali doctor: “pick the children who are most severely malnourished” and bring them to be photographed.
Here’s a resolution to be proposed at Davos: we rich people hereby recognize each and every citizen of the globe as an individual with their own human dignity equal to our own, regardless of their poverty or refugee status. And Davos man: please give Refugee Run a pass.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
"Refugee Run" at Davos
Bill Easterly was invited to the "Refugee Run" at Davos from UNHCR, apparently a theme park like experience of what it is like to be a refugee. There are so many things wrong with this and Easterly points them out:
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Just to give you an other insight of how Crossroads sees that "Refugee Run" (They invented it):
REFUGEE RUN: Questions and Answers
Goal?
Why did we come? We wanted to bring alive the refugee issue. The real life struggle of those in this dilemma too easily turns into a set of dry statistics and the humanity of their plight hard to connect with. While, of course, a talk could be given, or a set of slides shown, we have never found either to have the power of an opportunity to encounter something of their difficulty first hand. As the CEO of Nike said, after doing it, “It’s the difference between hearing and being.”
Realistic?
How realistic can a simulation be? Well, it can only go so far, of course: rather like a live snap shot. The process has been guided, though, by refugee colleagues in order to make it as close to life as such a thing can be. Many of the journalists who filmed it in Davos, moreover, were former war correspondents and told us they were amazed at how true to life the setting was.
Intense?
This is certainly an intense activity. We warn people, before undertaking it, that this is the case: grown men have cried in it and many have felt very deeply moved. We give participants a disclaimer to sign before beginning so they understand its seriousness. We also offer people the opportunity to leave, at any point, if it becomes too much for them, and have team members at the ready to offer them a hot drink and an opportunity to chat, if they would like that.
Respectful?
Can we do this and, in an hour or two, represent refugee life in a way that is respectful to those who struggle with it? That is our challenge, of course. Our refugee colleagues, however, love the result. Raphael Mwandu, from DR Congo, on our HK team, not only advises on the set, but is an artist who helps to construct it. He is also one of the cast and helps with the debrief. “The things you see in this experience are the same as those that happen in the camps,” he told the Davos crowds. “I love doing this because I want to let others know what is going on in our world so that people can meet together and find solutions.”
Themed?
People sometimes ask us, “Is this like a theme park?” Well, clearly not if you use that term synonymously with amusement park. It is not for anybody’s entertainment.
It is “themed”, though, in the same way that a history or science museum is themed to offer visitors an experiential learning opportunity. In fact, the ‘themed’ aspect of the simulation is closest in style to centres for humanitarian workers, globally, which offer training before they enter a situation under actual crisis.
Impactful?
The camp depicted in this simulation is not supposed to be a UNHCR camp. It is, rather, a camp that typifies the kind which affected persons erect in a desperate bid for safety and shelter. Often these camps are marked by corruption and a lack of control, highlighting the need for the kind of work the UNHCR does. During the debrief, we asked participants to describe what it was like in the camp. The answers:
“Utter powerlessness.”
“You lose control of your life.”
“No rights.”
“I felt dehumanised.”
“There was no protection.”
“I totally shut down.”
“You live in fear.”
“You never know what happens next.”
“There was no hope.”
“I felt like I wanted to die.”
“Treated like animals.”
“I was separated from my family.”
“I had no personal space.”
“No time for grieving.”
“No justice.”
“Hard to express feelings so deep.”
“Makes my normal life seem ostentatious.”
“Intense, shocking, terrifying, but good.”
“There is no control.”
“No peace at night.”
“So many people spontaneously helped the others.”
“Very realistic”
“There is no exaggeration. Camp life really is like this.”
“Really impressive”
“Very powerful”
“This should be compulsory for everyone at WEF.”
“We need reminders like these because we human beings too easily forget.”
“There’s no better way to communicate than simulation…”
Outcome?
We have held this “Run”, weekly, in Hong Kong, over the past 18-24 months and watched people become motivated in ways that they never have before.
Many of the Hong Kong corporate leaders who have participated say it is more powerful than other forms of presentation and, as a result, have remained involved with global issues, long after their simulation experience.
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