From October 9 to October 11, three young volunteers from Latvian Red Cross Rezekne branch participated at the role play event “On The Run” (Valdres mountains, Norway) that was organized by Norwegian Red Cross Oppland branch. The topic of the game was refugees and their needs.
Norwegian RC team explained the topic not only by telling what is happening in the world at the moment regarding refugee flow around Europe and other countries, but also stressing the fact that each of us can become a refugee in our own country or city. The question arises – how could you become a refugee in your own surroundings? Often people choose to run away from problems or failures without trying to solve them. It reveals the nature of a human being who sometimes chooses the easiest route and therefore becomes a refugee to some extent.
The role play game lasted 24 hours. Its main aim was to give an opportunity for 50 Norwegian young people to experience the role of refugees. The participants were divided into several groups. Each group’s role was to be a refugee family (consisting of a father, mother, children and relatives) and was required to leave Somalia (START) and arrive to Norway (FINISH) as successful as possible: to obtain Norwegian citizenship and to hopefully find new housing with better living conditions for the family. It turned out that this path was not easy at all, and it was a real test for the family’s strength. The participation at this role-play event gave a great opportunity for LatRC representatives to gain experience in dealing with as if tired and hungry people, they also experienced issues and circumstances which refugees are facing on the way to their final destination – new country.
Returning from Norway, Rezekne branch members shared their impressions:
Aleksandra:
“The trip to Norway gave a lot of knowledge and new experience. It was interesting to observe nature, culture, traditions, the Red Cross activities and its daily interests. In comparison to Norway, Latvia should pay more attention to such important issue.”
Evija:
“This trip was a great opportunity not only to experience the beautiful Norwegian Autumn, but also to learn more about one of the most current issues – refugees in various countries. The shared impressions of players made me think more about this topic. The role play showed the conditions quite similar that the refugees could be facing and they were not very pleasant. I think it was well understood by the participants who experienced it during the event. It was definitely very interesting experience that made me seeing things from a different perspective.”
Eva:
“Every trip, any participation at a camp or a game like this is an opportunity to learn something new, thereby increasing our knowledge about specific topics. During the visit in Norway and by participating in the role-play “On The Run”, I understood how hard it is to have a life of a refugee for a young person that has not experienced, for example, war or hunger, and it made me think how it could be to be a refugee. It was also an opportunity to develop our English language skills, to see the high mountains, to gain experience in organizing a large-scale event, to get to know the Norwegian Red Cross activities and its priorities, as well as to make friends from other countries. I think that the game would help also other Latvians to understand the issue by experiencing how it is to be a refugee, because before you have experienced something like that yourself, it is difficult to imagine the real circumstances and one can feel quite unrelated to the topic. I would like to thank both LatRC Rezekne branch and the Norwegian Red Cross Oppland branch for the opportunity to participate at the “On The Run” role-play event.”
Published on 20. 10. 2015.