Wednesday, March 14, 2007
“Refugee”, the videogame for mobiles with a cause, arrives
They cross minefields to reach a refugee camp threatened by the guerilla. They search for food and water in a foreign country to avoid the death of their children. These are just some of the challenges which millions of women all over the world come across and which Aissa must overcome. The heroine of a new humanitarian videogame for mobiles with a cause presented today by Intermón Oxfam in the Nuevos Ministerios underground station, in Madrid.
“With this videogame we intend to inform the population on a reality which is often forgotten, and when it takes place in the real life it is not a game at all. The refugees require protection and assistance in order to survive as they have had to flee from their homes and have lost all they possessed. We see situations like these every day in places like Chad, where there are more than 230.000 refugees from Darfur, in Sudan, which depends completely on international aid in order to survive in a semi-desert landscape”, as Irene Milleiro, responsible for the area of Conflicts and Humanitarian Action in Intermón Oxfam, explains.
If you play, refugees win
After three years under refuge in camps of up to 30.000 people – to which they fled due to the violence in the Sudanese region of Darfur–, the refugees in Chad must face not only poverty but also the violence which has extended to the entire region. The funds raised with the downloads of the videogame – which costs 2.40 Euros – will go to humanitarian aid programs of Intermón Oxfam in the southeast of the country, concretely to the refugee camps of Djabal and Goz Amer.
“When you become a refugee you no longer have a home, a job and, on many occasions, you lose your family and community. We must be aware that this is taking place all over the world and that it is necessary that the governments act rapidly against armed conflicts and natural disasters in order to avoid people from losing all they have. New technologies allow us to bring these realities to many people, especially to the younger ones, as it is very important to be aware of them and to act”, Irene Millerio adds.
“Videogames and mobile telephones represent at present one of the most direct forms of introduction to the youth sector. Therefore a product has been developed in which the technological characteristics are not innovating; but the use it is intended for is, to help resolve a forgotten situation, the conflicts which still exist in Africa. What we value the most is the interactivity it offers the player to lend a hand directly in this problem together with IO.” according to Juan Antonio Muñoz-Gallego, Unkasoft partner.
Labels: advergaming, mobile games, NGO
