Tuesday, July 08, 2008
Against all odds: a virtual refugee experience
The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has launched a new online game in the UK this month, Against All Odds
The simulation gives online gamers the experience of a refugee’s journey. It begins with your character taking part in a peaceful march in their home country and continues through to building a new life as a refugee in a foreign country. Like most games there are baddies to overcome such as repressive governments and goodies to help such as a border interpreter.
“Every day, desperate people must flee because of human rights abuse and war, with no choice but to abandon their homelands,” said Peter Kessler, UN Refugee Agency spokesman. “Players of ‘Against All Odds’ get to experience some of the challenges refugees have to face, including being persecuted and forced to flee their own home and having to confront discrimination while trying to start a new life abroad.”
Three gaming sections: ‘War and Conflict’, ‘Borderland’ and ‘A New Life’ ensure players are confronted with the different experiences of a refugee’s journey; the life changing but impulsive choices to make such as deciding what to pack into a small backpack from all your life belongings, within two minutes, to flee to an unknown destination.
The game picks up on all the characters involved in a refugee’s journey such as others fleeing persecution and people smugglers, but the main focus is on the player, personalising the experience so that the player’s name appears on documents and their letterbox. Although the game is an educational tool (with accompanying teaching resources for use in schools) it does not fall behind on graphics, with amazing cartoons and sound effects. Try it for yourself and send it to a friend.
For more information on the UN Refugee Agency please visit the UNHCR website
Posted by STAR team on 08/07/2008 at 12:31 PM
