Refugee Camp in the Heart of the City

This spring 2010, Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (MSF) will be bringing The Refugee Camp in the Heart of the City exhibit to Ontario and Québec on a four-city tour.

Ottawa: Confederation Park, May 13-16, 2010

Montréal: Parc Jeanne-Mance, May 20-23, 2010

Toronto: Christie Pits, May 27-30, 2010

Waterloo: Waterloo Public Square, June 3-6, 2010

The goal of the exhibit is to raise awareness about the plight of the world’s 42 million refugees and internally displaced people (IDPs) uprooted by war and conflict.

The Refugee Camp in the Heart of the City exhibit is an outdoor reconstruction of an actual refugee camp, where experienced MSF staff (doctors, nurses, logisticians) guide visitors through a 40 to 60 minute interactive tour explaining the crucial elements for survival in a refugee or IDP crisis.

During the tour, each visitor will learn some of the challenges a refugee or IDP faces in trying to access food, shelter, water and medical care. The 740 m² (8,000 square feet) exhibit is designed to accommodate approximately 800 to 1,200 visitors per day, and consists of the following areas:

• Shelter area
• Food distribution area
• Latrine area
• Water supply
• Health clinic
• Nutrition treatment centre
• Cholera treatment centre
• Vaccination tent

About the Refugee Camp exhibit

Guided by MSF aid workers, visitors are asked to imagine that they are among the millions of people fleeing violence and persecution in, for example, Somalia, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, or Sudan.

The exhibit is made up of materials used by MSF in its emergency medical work around the world, including emergency refugee housing, a food distribution tent, water pump, health clinic, vaccination tent, therapeutic feeding center, and a cholera treatment center. It addresses questions such as:

• Will I be safe?
• What will I eat?
• How do I find water?
• Can I get medical care?
• Where will I live?

Learn more about the issues refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) face with this interactive guide.

The exhibit is free and open to the public. If you are planning to come with a group of 15 or more please schedule a group visit for your city. Individuals are welcome without reservations.

The Refugee Camp in the Heart of the City was first launched in France in 1995, and has toured in countries in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and North America. In 2008, the exhibit attracted close to 30,000 visitors during a 4 city tour of Western Canada and 4 city tour of California.