Mock refugee camp comes to UPEI campus

This week, a refugee camp is coming a lot closer to home it's coming to the UPEI campus.

Members of the World University Service of Canada are building a mock refugee camp at the Murphy Student Centre on Wednesday to show what the living conditions in refugee camps are like.

It's part of the effort to help Syrian refugees, said committee chair Katie Van Leeuwen.

"So the main goal would be that once people are more aware of it, then they'll be more eager to help," explained Van Leeuwen.

"We're hoping then that our committee will be able to grow and take more students to sponsor them so that they can come to UPEI."

To date,Van Leeuwen said 21 people have been sponsored to come to UPEI through the WUSC Student Refugee Program.

An estimated 1.4 million refugees are expected to flee to Europe this year and next, most of whom are fleeing the Syrian civil war.

The mock refugee camp will also feature personal stores from a Syrian refugee, a computer simulation and a film screening.

It runs between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.