Foreign Policy Blogs

A day in the life of a refugee

A day in the life of a refugeeYou see their faces plastered across newspapers and even catch a glimpse on the evening news, but you never really get a clear picture of what a day in the life of a refugee is like, and now you can thanks to Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), where you can take a virtual tour of a refugee or internally displaced persons (IDP) camp. With A Refugee Camp On The Web you begin your journey like all displaced persons with your ‘search for safety’, questioning where you will live as you begin your journey of survival in the face of disaster and conflict. Food, water, and disease become your daily battles, while you linger in what is quite literally a no mans land, wondering what the future holds and when and if you can ever return home…and if you do what will ‘home’ even be like. While the MSF site spares you the sounds of spraying bullets, confusion and rush to search for shelter and food, seeing the look of fear in a mothers eyes who cannot save her child, it does give you great insight into the life and struggles of a refugee for an eye opening experience to better let you understand what some 42 million people around the world are forced to live like.

The IRC also has a refugee quiz, take the quiz and see how much you really know about refugees, the answer may surprise you!

 

Author

Cassandra Clifford

Cassandra Clifford is the Founder and Executive Director of Bridge to Freedom Foundation, which works to enhance and improve the services and opportunities available to survivors of modern slavery. She holds an M.A., International Relations from Dublin City University in Ireland, as well as a B.A., Marketing and A.S., Fashion Merchandise/Marketing from Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island.

Cassandra has previously worked in both the corporate and charity sector for various industries and causes, including; Child Trafficking, Learning Disabilities, Publishing, Marketing, Public Relations and Fashion. Currently Cassandra is conducting independent research on the use of rape as a weapon of war, as well as America’s Pimp Culture and its Impact on Modern Slavery. In addition to her many purists Cassandra is also working to develop a series of children’s books.

Cassandra currently resides in the Washington, D.C. metro area, where she also writes for the Examiner, as the DC Human Rights Examiner, and serves as an active leadership member of DC Stop Modern Slavery.


Areas of Focus:
Children's Rights; Human Rights; Conflict