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Refugee Finder Could Locate Lost Loved Ones, Give Hope to Haiti

by Matthew Zuras on February 4, 2010 at 08:28 AM

When the recent earthquake struck Port-au-Prince, the blow to Haiti's communication infrastructure severely debilitated rescue operations. Thousands of homeless refugees who are without access to telephones or the Internet have been effectively taken off the map. As a result, rejoining their loved ones is currently impossible.

Students at the Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design have come up with a simple but seemingly effective way of locating the displaced. Their prototype of the Refugee Finder system is sort of like a Facebook for people unwillingly shaken off the grid. Refugees without access to cell phones, land lines, or other methods of communication would first be photographed by administrators with a mobile device. Then, their names, locations, and other basic biographical information would be attached to their photos, and eventually uploaded to a central database. This database would be accessible via any media channel, potentially helping to reunite separated friends and families. The students' video below takes our breath away by simply explaining how the system would operate; putting it into use would be even more remarkable. [From: Recombu]

Tags: ciid, concept, haiti, haitiearthquake, refugee finder, RefugeeFinder, refugees, top

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