The virtual reality immersion experience we did in class Monday was extremely moving, it makes me extremely sad that there are families around the world that are living in war-torn places and terrible conditions. I wondered: “Is literature enough? Are their limits to its power? Especially when we are entering the world of Others — of people whose lives sit on the far opposite side of a global power dynamic that divides our world —- do barriers exist to understanding and action that literature cannot cross?”. I believe that barriers do exist, with the idea that we as observers of the things these children have to go through cannot truly be we are viewing lives on the opposite side of a global power dynamic and must settle for being sympathetic to their suffering. Because the truth is, one can simply take off their headset or close their book and be fine, but for those children, it is their everyday reality.
However, I believe that the VR immersive experience we are able to see new worlds in a unique way. I found myself immersed in my new surroundings and temporarily forgetting that I was at school while experiencing the new places. What is cool about virtual reality is that we get a glimpse of different worlds and different lives, in this case, we were able to see terrible conditions and war-torn places. Then it made me think, are their limits to its power? And the answer is yes, we are watching their lives, that doesn't mean we're helping the cause or even never getting a full understanding of life as a refugee. On the other hand, we are becoming more aware and educating ourselves better because before this I knew slightly of the issue but I was not as aware as I should've/could have been. But there is more we can do to help than just watch. I will never know what it is like to be a refugee as much as I read or experience VR, but that doesn’t mean I can’t sympathise or try and help.
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