DALLAS TWP. — Six-foot-three-inch tall Luke Kresge found sharing a 37-square-foot refugee tent with six other people a little bit of a tight fit.
“It was cramped,” the 19-year-old said. “I couldn’t imagine living like that.”
Kresge, of Lake Winola, was one of more than 100 Misericordia University students who participated in a refugee simulation exercise Thursday called “Walk a Mile in My Shoes” and held in the Sandy and Marlene Insalaco Hall.
“This is really to raise awareness and educate the students on what refugees go through and how they live,” said Christine Somers, the director of campus ministry at Misericordia University.
Jesuit Refugee Services developed the program, Somers said.
Two classrooms contained seven stations for participants to learn about life as a refugee, including housing, food and water rations, medical care and educational opportunities.
The program started at the “border crossing,” where attendees received a refugee’s name, nationality and backstory. Then, the participants visit each section to learn how to meet the basic needs of survival.
Kresge assumed to role of Juan who was born in the Dominican Republic and lived in a shanty town near a sugar plantation.
Juan’s story revealed his “papers” were taken by an official and he was told to pick them up from the Migration Office. When he went to collect them, he was arrested and forced across the border into Haiti.
“I do not know why they took me away, maybe because of the color of my face,” Kresge’s refugee description read.
Kresge spent about 25 minutes in the simulation stopping at each station.
At the food table, students learned how many refugees eat only rice, beans and lentils three times a day with little vegetables.
“The average refugee eats about 1,300 calories a day,” Somers said. “The average American male eats between 2,000 to 3,000 calories a day and has a variety of food choices.”
At the water station, Breann Hunsinger, a sophomore from Hazleton, was surprised to hear that in a refugee camp a person is allowed one gallon of water a day.
“That water goes toward eating, drinking and anything that you need water for,” Juli Stella, a junior at the university, told a Hunsinger’s group. “Women and children usually have to walk far distances to get water from wells, which puts them at risk for sexual violence.”
“One gallon of water is used in a two-minute shower,” Hunsinger said ,repeating a fact she heard. “It is definitely an eye-opening experience.”
Twenty-three-year-old Syrian refugee Bilal Allouz attended the event in hopes he could answer any questions students or faculty might have about being a refugee.
Before the war in Syria, Allouz said his family had a “really nice house.” After the war, tents similar to the one used in the presentation were common, he said.
“The tents were a little taller,” Allouz said.
Stephanie Helsel carries buckets of water with the help of Stephanie Buck during a refugee simulation exercise at Misericordia University on Thursday.
http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/web1_TTL022417refuge1-1.jpg
Stephanie Helsel carries buckets of water with the help of Stephanie Buck during a refugee simulation exercise at Misericordia University on Thursday.
Sean McKeag | Times Leader
Justin Matzoni tells stories of the daily life of refugees to students Rebecca Keeny, left, and Leah Berlin underneath a makeshift tent that represents shelter that a refugee would sleep in.
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Justin Matzoni tells stories of the daily life of refugees to students Rebecca Keeny, left, and Leah Berlin underneath a makeshift tent that represents shelter that a refugee would sleep in.
Sean McKeag | Times Leader
By Eileen Godin
egodin@timesleader.com
Reach Eileen Godin at 570-991-6387 or on Twitter @TLNews.