Year 9 Student Leaders attend a refugee experience tour to consider the lived experience of refugees.
On Tuesday, 30th July the Year 9 Leaders participated in an excursion at Western Sydney University in Parramatta called ‘Refugee Camp In My Neighbourhood’.
In 2023, 117 million people were forcibly displaced and 43.4 million of those people were refugees. The experience allowed us to follow the footsteps of refugees and people seeking asylum in a simulated recreation. Through this simulated tour we experienced the journey of a refugee and gained a better understanding of their challenges as they searched for safety and settlement in Australia.
The tour was delivered by guides with ‘lived experience’ from a range of refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds. Interactive activities provided an opportunity for us to engage with refugee issues and consider real refugee camp experiences of shelter, food, education and choices for resettlement.
It was an eye opening experience for us as we were able to immerse ourselves into the journey of a refugee and understand their experiences - the harsh conditions during their journey and the challenge of moving to a foreign country where people speak different languages.
One thing that we all took away from this experience was that we should be grateful that we are living in a country like Australia, where we don’t live in constant fear and we don’t need to flee from our homes to seek safety because of war or violence.
Katalina Ah Hen | Year 9
Catherine McAuley Westmead
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