It all started with a name. An event name, to be more specific.
This Wednesday, October 28, 2015, McGill’s chapter of World University Service of Canada (WUSC McGill), a not-for-profit organization in international development that runs the Student Refugee Program, is scheduled to host an event meant to raise awareness for and inform the McGill community about refugee issues.
That’s all nice and well, right?
Well, not everyone seems to think so. The event which was originally titled “MOCK REFUGEE CAMP on Campus at the Y-intersection,” caused public outcry, which led to a counter campaign and an open letter against the original campaign to be drafted, which has now been signed by over two hundred people. The name of the event has since been changed to WUSC McGill Info Station.
Despite the name change, critics believe the problem is with the event itself. They argue that the event seems to attempt to recreate a refugee camp, as tents were to be used to draw the attention of passersby. WUSC McGill also drew criticism for the description of their event on Facebook, which states: “This event is designed to give an idea of what life is like in a refugee camp as a contrast to our life here in Canada through posters, fact sheets, and other information.” Critics have pointed out that it is impossible to get “an idea of what life is like in a refugee camp” and that this event perpetuates a single narrative of refugee life.
WUSC McGill has maintained that their aim is to raise awareness and that several organizers of the event are themselves refugees, who welcome the chance to share their experiences. They contend that they are not attempting to reproduce a refugee camp and were going to use the tents to increase visibility and attract attention.
It is important to note that this type of event is not new. Mock Refugee Camps have been organized by the WUSC chapters at Nipissing University, the University of Calgary and the University of Regina, and the event is showcased on the World University Service of Canada website.
Despite this, WUSC McGill yielded to the McGill community. At around 7PM on Monday, October 26, WUSC McGill released the following statement on their Facebook page and the event page:
“We have just spoken with SSMU VP University Affairs and SSMU Equity Commisioner. We are in the process of issuing a statement. We value your patience for our response. With regards to Wednesday’s event, we have decided to not have a tent or any physical embodiment. However, we will be at the Y-intersection with a table with printed information about World University Services of Canada (WUSC) Student Refugee Program (SRP) along with current SRP students, who are also the organizing members of this event.”
In addition to raising awareness, WUSC McGill’s goals also include student support; the group has been able to support the studies of two students each year as of 2010 through their Student Refugee Program and hopes to increase that number in the coming years.
Even though this ordeal started with an event name, hopefully it will end with WUSC’s successful transmission of the information they aimed to share.
*Please note that all the information above is as of Monday, October 27, 2015.
Sources:
https://www.facebook.com/events/934015713358166/
https://www.facebook.com/events/762469800523633/
http://wusc.ca/en/story/mock-refugee-campus-catches-eye-canadians-across…
Image Sources:
https://www.facebook.com/1479464488945333/photos/gm.934015736691497/1904…