Refugee Camp

My teacher surprised me. She gathered a senior meeting to tell us that due to a drought, my school (High Tech High International) was shutting off the water. She assured us that the school would soon import portable toilets—this was not reassuring. We were disappointed, but what could we do? I suppose the joke was on us. The school did not really shut the water off. My teacher was making the point that drought is very real to many people. The other half of the surprise was that the teachers had chartered a bus for that day that would take us to see a refugee exhibit put on by Doctors Without Borders (doctorswithoutborders.org).

The conditions in refugee camps I learned are not pleasant—I could have guessed. The most shocking tidbit of information I learned at the pseudo refugee enclosure was about the mines. Throughout the hot countries (that is the African nations in conflict), militants set mines specifically designed not to kill, merely to maim. This way, three people (intended to be soldiers) are taken out of commission—the victim and the two others required to carry him. This disturbed me as much as the living conditions in the camps themselves.

In such circumstances, I am glad to have aid organizations providing care in refugee camps. They establish efficient systems for hygienic and medical aid, and do the best they possibly can with the materials and people they have. It is good that the care tents are spread out so that all refugees seeking assistance are not concentrated into one place. If at all realistic, I wonder if it would be possible to educate the inhabitants in how to care for each other as well as care for them. This would localize aid and make it more self sustaining.