Thesis 100dpi

Deprived of their statehood,
material possessions, and
in many cases, their loved
ones, refugees seek solace
in purpose-built refugee
camps and unplanned settlements,
where they wait
out their displacement, or
attempt to begin life anew.
At the beginning of 21st century, camps are constituting an increasingly
prominent feature of social landscapes around the globe. Of todays
60 million refuges and internally displaced people, around 15 million
live in refugee camps. Half of them are children. Although regularly
built as temporary emergency devices in an impromptu fashion for
refugees and people in refugee-like situations, camps often turn into
durable socio-spatial formations that can last for decades.
They are usually built and run by the government of a host country,
the United Nations, international organizations (such as the International
Committee of the Red Cross), or NGOs. There are also unofficial
refugee camps like Calais jungle in France (being demolished as this
text is written), Idomeni in Greece, or older Sahrawi Camps in Western
Sahara that have very little support of the governments or international
community.
Although the size of a small city, its residents are largely dependent on
the charity of others. Economic life is almost entirely controlled from
outside. However, when the community is well self-organized, the
camps can develop into fully fledged cities, replete with vibrant economies,
systems of governance, and even civic institutions (Sahrawi
refugee camps).
90 REFUGIUM
Refugees waiting in queue in order to register for entering a camp
repatriation
/riːˈpæt.ri.eɪt/ -process of refugee or group of
refugees returning to their home country, usually
with the assistance of government or a non-governmental
organization.
sanitation
/sanɪˈteɪʃ(ə)n/ -conditions relating to public
health, especially the provision of clean drinking
water and adequate sewage disposal.
According to UNHCR Emergency Handbook, an official guide for establishing
refugee camps, camp should include:
- Administrative headquarters that coordinate services such as the
police station can be placed outside the camp itself.
- Dwellings (frequently tents, prefabricated huts, or dwellings constructed
of locally available materials) where the norm is 3.5 sqm of
covered living area per person.
- Hygiene facilities, such as washing areas, latrines or toilets. UNHCR