A 'refugee camp' is a temporary camp built up by governments or
NGOs (such as the
ICRC) to receive
refugees. Thousands of people may live in a camp.
Since refugee camps are generally set up in an impromptu fashion and designed to meet
basic human needs for only a short time, when the return of refugees is prevented (often by
civil war), a
humanitarian crisis can result. Some refugee camps, such as
Ein el-Helweh have continued in a temporary manner, for decades, which has major implications for
human rights.
People may stay in these camps, receiving emergency food and medical aid, until it is safe to return to their homes. In some cases, often after several years, other countries decide it will never be safe to return these people, and they are resettled in "third countries," away from the border they crossed.
Facilities of a refugee camp can include the following:
★
Sleeping accommodations (
tents)
★
Hygiene facilities (
cleaning and
toilets)
★ Medical supplies
★ Communication equipment (e.g.
radio)
Globally, about 17 countries (
Australia,
Benin,
Brazil,
Burkina Faso,
Canada,
Chile,
Denmark,
Finland,
Iceland,
Ireland,
Mexico, the
Netherlands,
New Zealand,
Norway,
Sweden, the
United Kingdom, and the
United States) regularly accept "quota refugees" from
refugee camps. Refugee camps are typically used to describe settlements of people who have escaped war. In recent years, most quota refugees have come from
Iran,
Afghanistan,
Iraq,
Liberia,
Somalia, and
Sudan, which have been in various wars and revolutions, and the former
Yugoslavia, due to the
Yugoslav wars.
Examples of refugee camps:
★
Nabatieh camp
★ Four camps near
Tindouf
★
Buduburam refugee camp, home to 40,000 Liberians
★ Camps in the east of
Chad, hosting approximately 250,000 refugees from the Darfur region in
Sudan
★ Camps in the south of
Chad, hosting approximately 50,000 refugees from
Central African Republic
See also
★
Tent city
★
Transitional shelter
★
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
★
United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East
External Links
★
Camp Management Toolkit published by
Norwegian Refugee Council
★
Shelter Library Resource for organisations responding to the transitional settlement and shelter needs of displaced populations
★
U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants' Campaign to End Refugee Warehousing in refugee camps around the world, people are confined to their settlement and denied their basic rights.
References