Finding empathy for refugees

It’s been a long day at work. A warm blanket of relief engulfs you as you return home. You sit, unwind and perhaps have a glass of wine. But you cannot help but relive the day in your head. First, you missed your favourite gym class because you had to jump in the back of a pottery truck. It was the only means of escape available at the crack of dawn. Pressed for time, you rush to the border for midday and try to avoid random vehicle inspections. But now: you’re home. The Taliban didn’t catch you. At least not today.

Launched in April 2013, Road to Refuge is a not-for-profit organisation that encourages people to empathise with asylum seekers. Earlier this month they released a video in which features a middle-class Australian woman telling her partner about her “long day at work.” In fact, she’s describing horrors most of us can barely imagine.

Road to Refuge focuses on educating the people who wouldn’t generally engage with the topic of asylum seekers. They run workshops for schools and adults in both metropolitan and regional Victoria. Their director, Dana Affleck, says that their main game, however, is the educational web program, which guides the user in a “choose-your-own-adventure” interactive narrative. The website also provides users with the tools to gain a better understanding of asylum.

So what would you do if you were seeking asylum? Find out here.