Darfur Is Dying Essay

The Game Darfur is Dying is a game where you have to go through what the people in Darfur are going through. You are given the experience of suffering through hunger, loss of a family member or friend, and torture and pain. You are given the option to choose an avatar that varies from male to female from the age of 10 to a fully grown adult in their thirties. The first part of the game is to forage for water, but it is not as easy as it sounds. You have to run and hide from Janjaweed militias that pass by; if you are caught you are subject to terrible torture and even death. After you are able to pass this part, you are given the responsibility of keeping the camp alive by taking care of crops and supplies, and being prepared for attacks by the Janjaweed militias. The game is quite challenging giving the player a virtual experience.
The game Darfur is dying is addressing the
social issue of refugees. More specifically, it is focused on the 2.5 million refugees that live in the Darfur region of Sudan. It has been more than ten years in which the start of the conflict in Darfur started. Approximately 300, 000 people have been murdered and 2.3 million people have been displaced. The game shows how difficult the life can be for these refugees. In the game, the player has to keep the camp going and be prepared for attacks by Janjaweed militias. What is great is that the game gives you real life options to get involved and help stop this crisis people are facing. It is not the best way to address the issue but it definitely will help. When there is a possible attack by the Janjaweed militias, you are given the option to write a letter to Obama. I think this is realistic, however I am sure Obama knows what is going on and he is helping how he can.
The game also talks about other social issues such as genocide. Genocide is often defined as the annihilation of entire group of people because of a specific characteristic, most of the time physical. In the game you are supposed to be prepared for an attack by the Janjaweed militia who will murder the people of the village. The game mentions what happens to most characters if caught by the Janjaweed militia. Men are most likely to be killed. Women are usually enslaved and the younger they are the bigger chance they will be victims of abuse and rape.
The game left you without information since the beginning.
You are told how to move the avatar but not how to complete your goal. When I had to forage for water, I spent a lot of time looking for the water. I was going in circles for a good ten minutes. The first time I played the game I lost all of my characters to the Janjaweed militia. After that, I played again and was able to get water.You are also not given any indication on how to survive on your own. I had no idea what to do in the camp failing at the game again and having to start over again. Despite that it left me clueless on what I was doing, I believe it is quite realistic. I don’t think that refugees are given instructions on how to survive so the game also gave us that experience. Given that I have to say I did not enjoy the game very much but it present the social issue of refugees quite well in my opinion. It does not give a lot of information but in reality how much can we experience of a social issue through a game? Most people would want to experience in real life to actually know what it feels like and what is going
on.