What Can Virtual Reality Do That Books Can't?

Upon watching “Crossing the Line: Untold Stories of Refugees”, I was particularly drawn to the story of two women who had come to America to seek asylum from the rampant gang violence in Mexico; but when night fell at the border, they told by a border agent to go to Mexican immigration that night and come back the next day. After fruitless pleading, they returned to Mexican immigration. The people there called the two women a taxi which, they discovered upon boarding, was affiliated with The Gulf Cartel. That same night the two women were kidnapped. One recalls being held hostage for 18 days. She has been held in an immigration detention for over a year and her case is still pending.

Something I have heard this year more than ever is students claiming they don’t enjoy reading because they can’t form pictures in their heads. That the words aren’t enough. I think virtual reality is a sufficient response to this growing mentality. Especially in “Crossing the Line”, hearing a story directly from the source’s mouth and seeing it illustrated all around you eliminates the need for excess imagination or brain power. It is a somewhat sad ideation, but if someone truly can’t enjoy literature due to the inability to imagine, then virtual reality might be a feasible solution.

Response to VR

The biggest “wow” moment for me was in the video “Syrians Trapped by War” when Mashallah was telling her story of her experiences with the war and her emotions at the time. Her story alone would have been compelling and probably still would have been my “wow” moment but seeing it in VR only amplified my experience and made it all the more moving. Being able to get a good sense of the world that she lives in and imagining how different her setting and home would have been if not for the war was really moving. I think that VR is the best way to see these stories about refugees because no one can know how it feels to be in their shoes unless they are in the same situation. No one that’s not a refugee could ever comprehend having to pick up everything and leave their home but VR allows you to come as close as possible to putting you in their shoes. By being able to turn around and visualize more of the world refugees live in, the viewer can get a full sense of the weight of their stories because they can see the sadness, and the struggle, and the perseverance of everyone in the area and not just the speaker.

My experiences with the VR

While watching the Virtual Reality videos of the refugees, I was really impacted. Unlike watching a movie, having the video be in virtual reality, I was able to get the feeling of being there with them. Having that experience, although I still am not able to feel empathy towards them because I have never experienced the things they have, I was able to feel a sense of compassion that allowed me to connect to their stories. Although I have never had to deal with adversity like the kids in the video, the video had me connecting to there stories on a level more than I would have thought. Having family members around the world, and knowing that they are going through things, that aren't as drastic, it allows me to connect more on an emotional level because of my relationship with my family. Also having seen what my family lives in compared to what I saw in the video, it made me appreciate the things I have and the people in my life because the video brought to light how things can be taken from you out of nowhere and you can't do anything to change that.

Shatila refugee camp

The video I watched was Lives on Hold in Lebanon, which was looking at the refugee camp Shatila refugee camp located in Beirut, Lebanon. The camp was established in 1949 and originally held 3,000 refugees, but now it holds around 40,000. The camp has buildings and has a whole community inside of it. Unfortunately the camp is in deep poverty and has dangerous living quarters. The wiring that is set up in the camp is very dangerous because people can be shocked at any time and in the case of a short circuit, a house could burn down. The camp also suffer from disease outbreak, lacks basic infrastructure and need more water and sanitation services. I was unable to watch my video in VR because I only got too use it a lot bit in class, so I decided to just use a new video, but the specific times in the video that really got to me were when they got shots of the conditions of the streets and the interviews that they had with the people who lived there. The technique of having different people talk about their story was a main thing that also helped really get me into the video. The biggest “wow” moment for me was just the fact that people have to live this way for so long because a country is at war for such a long period. There was one man who was talking about the lifestyle of the camp and he was born their which is insane to think about coming from where we live and the privileges we have living in a suburb like Oak Park seems light years away from any type of war.

Refugees in Lebanon

After watching a 360 Virtual Reality video, "The Displaced," I made a connection to a recent trip I took to Lebanon.

My father met and became best friends with a man he was working with on a lawsuit. His name is Bassam Shaheen, and he grew up in Lebanon, up until the terrorizing environments of their civil war, beginning in the 1970s, and now lives in the United States. He was taken by militants and was on the bring on being killed before he was able to convince them that he was indeed on their side. He was forced into being a refugee who had to travel to America in hopes of a better life.

During the summer going into my junior year, my family took a three week trip to Lebanon. We stayed with my dad's friends who had grown up in the country, who now owns a lot of real estate, and has built his dream house. Lebanon is still a third world country facing problems of infrastructure and refugees. Although many parts of the country are very poor, we stayed in an upper class neighborhood full of mansions.

In the video that I watched, Hana is a little girl from Syria who is seeking refuge in Lebanon. She speaks on how the country treats refugees poorly, and they have little care for them.

Upon arriving in Lebanon, our driver, who my dads knows from previous trips, started to speak to us on the topic of Donald Trump, and the travel ban of muslim countries. He told us that he and other citizens of Lebanon agree with Trump's tough stance on immigration, as they see first hand of the problems that they face with an abundance of refugees across their nation.

I was able to experience both sides of the story by watching the VR video, and by going to Lebanon and seeing how the Syrian refugees are treated. I understand the side of the refugees just wanting a better life, but I also get how the citizens feel as though they are being invaded, as refugees flood the streets around the country.

The story of my dad's friends being a former refugee and being able to come back to his country to relive a better life with more opportunities, is very similar to the future aspirations of many refugees that are fighting to live another day. He understands what it felt like to be a refugee and experience the hardships of being unwanted in a different country.

Bassam has also hired Syrians to work on his property, as he is understanding of their experiences. He came up from nothing, having to immigrate to the United States in hopes of a better life, and has risen above expectations by living the American Dream.

Can We Truly Understand the Life of A Refugee?

I think it's difficult for us to truly understand other people's lives that are so radically different than ours because we will never be in their shoes. We can view their lives through a lens, but we will never feel the pain and loss that they deal with every day. It really struck me when the young African American boy was in the boat and he had no parents, and was told he was going to die.

I can not imagine the fear he must feel every day as their are no role models to guide him. Literature and film allow us to know what people are going through, but we can not feel the emotions they go through. Seeing the refugees being beaten at the border is horrible to watch, especially cause we view America as the land of opportunity.

These people may have been separated from their families, and are detained for an extended period of time before someone else determines their fate. Not having control over where you are going to live is something we will hopefully never have to go through, but these refugees deal with every day.

A Virtual Escape To Lebanon

I'm a huge fan of virtual reality, and putting myself into the shoes of someone else. Whether it's virtual reality race car driving, or looking through the eyes of a Syrian refugee, I'm always fascinated with the point of view. When delving into The Displaced (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecavbpCuvkI&t=435s), a virtual reality video following three children refugees, I was really shocked. Unlike the virtual reality car racing, the visuals and topics that the viewer sees are not fun or entertaining. The children who are forced to flee their country live such a drastically different life than anyone I know. They are forced to be extremely independent in order to survive, and they are doing things I could never do. What shocked me most is when Hana, a girl from Syria, told us about her experience living in Lebanon. She escaped to Lebanon when she was only nine, and now lives in a poor settlement. She talks about how the Lebanese don’t like the refugees and how they aren’t good to them. I know seeking asylum isn’t easy, and a lot of people will try to get in the way, but I would think locals would be understanding of those who need safety and are just fighting for their life. Hana also makes Syria sound like heaven before they were forced to leave. She talks about all the toys she had, and all the things she had with her. She seemed to love her life in Syria, which sounds strange to me because life in Syria seems so bad compared to somewhere like America.

Syria is always portrayed poorly in the news, and it is a very scary place, but it doesn’t mean children can’t have fun or be happy. Locals who live in poor communities still make the best of it, and find ways to have a good life, which is something I find interesting. Hana’s story about moving to Lebanon and her escape from Syria was extremely fascinating, and a lot of what she had to say about Syria surprised me. Although I didn't actually experience what Hana went through, or even see most of it through the virtual reality, I do believe I have a better understanding of her struggle, and the video was very eye opening to me.

A Cause for Reflection

The biggest wow moment for me when watching the Syrian refugee video was when the family in focus was eating breakfast together and talking about how people around the world don’t realize how fortunate they are to have electricity and water on a daily basis. The mother goes on to explain the resources that the western world takes for granted, which can be directly applied to my life in America. As she talks about this, her family is sitting cross-legged on the floor (there’s barely any furniture in the room), eating small amounts of food.

To see her two, young children in acceptance of their situation and not complaining makes me rethink how I need to view my life. I have the opportunities to take long showers, to have a comfortable bed to sleep in, to have heating and cooling systems, to drink when I’m thirsty, to contemplate what I want to wear, to sleep in on weekends. Almost all of these listed items aren't basic human needs, which they struggle with everyday. After watching this video, I feel the need to be more conscious of how I interact with the people and things around me and be more appreciative of what I have. Although I’ve felt this need for self-reflection in the past, I’ve always failed to maintain this mind-set because I get wrapped up in my own life and “problems”.

I have found that simply watching this 9-minute video was more impactful than reading about Saeed and Nadia’s life. There is no replacement for seeing and hearing about the devastation that plagues so many of the Earth’s population. That is not to say that I can understand in anyway how migrants feel or live. But, I feel that the 360 experience leaves a larger imprint than Exit West. Literature leaves too much to the imagination, and it doesn’t pull on our ability to sympathize as much. Although Hamid crafts an enthralling narrative, I cannot visualize the war zones or refugee camps or begin to imagine leaving behind a family member simply because I have not been exposed to that extreme desperation and poverty.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=cNraqiAwTPQ

VR Isn't Empathy

Virtual reality is exciting. It entices us to new experiences, and it symbolizes the revolution of technology in our modern world. For some, though, it can be literally and figuratively dizzying. Especially when paired with a topic as heavy as the migrant plight, I am hesitant to suggest VR to someone who is looking to better his/her understanding of the topic.

It was not my first time using virtual reality headsets when I strapped one onto my head in my English class a few days ago. It most likely would not be the last time, either. As my eyes adjusted to the somewhat blurry picture, I saw the title of the video: The Displaced. As I had been given background on what I was going to watch, I thought the title was clever and poignant. It had captured my attention, and the allure of VR had worked its magic and made me excited to continue watching. Here, I caution the audience to recognize that "excitement" is not the emotion they may expect someone to feel before watching a video about the not-so-pretty tales of migrant children. But nonetheless, there I was.

As I continued watching, I could not find myself to focus so much on the children's stories as I could the heavy box weighing on my cheeks and the captions that required me to physically turn my body to read. Sure, I absorbed the story, and I understand that this blog should be centered around that. However, I find myself challenged to do so when the VR experience was so much on its own that I could not fully articulate a deeper understanding of the refugees' situations. And however I may wish to sympathize -- for I do not feel capable of empathizing, as I do not know their experiences for myself -- I think that in what was supposed to be the most real and raw way to see their lives, I found myself distracted and annoyed with the device I was using.

So what I must say of my takeaways, from the parts I was able to focus on, is that the children in the video are our near-polar opposites. We attempt to feel what they feel through a video on our phones, and a piece of technology only available to the most advanced. They, on the other hand, are perhaps some of the most non-materialistic humans I have ever seen. Among the rubble of what was once their homes and neighborhoods, the video ended on clips of the kids explaining how they find fulfillment and happiness in each other's presence, without a piece of tech in site. I think we have a lot to learn from them.

Children Losing Their Childhoods

Towards the end of the video, the film cut to the three kids right in a row and they gave little overviews of their lives. The girl, Hana, said she wanted the war to end so she “could go back to being a little girl again.” That was the biggest wow moment because it really hits you how these kids lose their childhoods. Obviously there are physical losses of family or homes, but psychologically, they have to worry about things that a child should never have to consider. They have to fear for their lives at such a young age, which sounds insane that a child as young as 9, in the case of Chuol, has to experience their father being burned alive. He also says he thinks being eaten by a crocodile would be better than dying in the fighting, which is incredibly sad because no child anywhere should have to be quite literally considering different ways to die.

The only child who was able to go home was the child from Ukraine, who lost his grandfather, but also had to witness coming home to his completely demolished village. The emotional weight of the destruction of everything that he knew and was familiar must have been crushing for such a young boy. The loss of physical things seems so trivial in comparison to the loss of lives, but for kids like the ones in this video, the loss of a place or item that previously provided comfort and a feeling of safety could be devastating to young kids.

Focusing on the experience of these kids really puts into perspective how, on top of every other terrible thing happening in their homes that caused them to leave, they can never experience a childhood in the way that so many of us elsewhere in the world get to. It really hits you how privileged we are to simply feel safe waking up in the morning and not fearing for our lives the way some children in other places in the world have to.