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Refugee Camp Opens Eyes At SF's Crissy Field

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Oct 15, 2008 5:13 pm US/Pacific

Refugee Camp Opens Eyes At SF's Crissy Field

Reporting
Simon Perez

Doctors Without Borders has brought the plight of millions of refugees from around the world to San Francisco.

The group set up a refugee camp at Marina Green.

San Francisco resident Sokie Saechao remembered being in a refugee camp in Thailand, after her parents fled Laos three decades ago.

"A lot of the medical care was being provided by Doctors Without Borders," she said. "It's just a really touching thing for me to see this in San Francisco, when this is what I left."

Doctors Without Borders volunteer Donna Canali said the first job is to provide shelter.

Job number two: set up a clean water supply.

The ideal amount of water in a refugee camp is five gallons per person per day. A mom and two kids would need 15 gallons a day, and that would weigh 105 pounds. Canali said water isn't necessarily nearby, it could have to be carried in from miles away.

Beans and rice are the ideal foods Doctors Without Borders tries to dole out, but short off that, BP 5 biscuits will do.

"This is a compact emergency food," Canali said.

Volunteers also try to prevent the spread of disease, as "one of the biggest killers in a crowded situation is measles," Canali said. "250 million children a year die of measles."

Stan Cordes had his eyes opened by the display.

"Thank God every day you live in this country," Cordes said. "And maybe when you get that brochure in the mail asking for some money, give a couple bucks to doctors without borders."

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