Refugee simulation

Social Studies teachers made the most of a week of long blocks, presenting a refugee simulation designed to replicate the passage of refugees fleeing from conflict zones. Student “families” had to navigate border crossings and dangerous roads and cross water, all while working as a team to solve problems.

The students’ journeys started in Mitchell Hall. When the simulation began, the lights went out and air raid sirens and the sounds of bombing boomed over the speakers, adding a level of anxiety as families scrambled to select five items they were allowed to take from their imagined homes before fleeing. The items were selected from pictorial representations of 20 different objects, including water, passports, money, jewelry, books, a Swiss Army Knife, a first aid kid, pets, food, and blankets. Each family member was also issued a passport that they carried on their journey.

Families were allowed the use of one cell phone each on their journey. Moving between various checkpoints scattered across campus, students interacted with QR code stations that prompted them to reflect on a short video, an image or a question connected with specific course curriculum. 20th Century History students experienced a historical journey mirroring the Jewish diaspora pre-WWII and those refugees' attempts to flee on the SS St. Louis, while the Human Geography 11 students’ simulation was based on the experience of refugees fleeing either Honduras or South Sudan.

The refugee simulation enacted annually at Shawnigan is based on the Doctors Without Borders' Forced From Home initiative, an interactive exhibition designed to educate the public about the global refugee crisis.