Children in Refugee Camps

One issue that has recently been  brought up when talking about refugee camps is the topic of Children within Refugee camps. Mainly whether or not it is good for a child to grow up in a refugee camp. The reasoning behind this question is that while refugee camps tend to be organized by the government of the host country, who in the government is watching after the children? Who is giving them an education, or ensuring that they are even recognized a member as members of that camp? Furthermore is it healthy for a child to grow up in a camp, both in the physical and mental sense? Disease tends to be a problem in camps as so many people live in close quarters, but more importantly can a child grow up in a confined, controlled setting and then adjust to life on the "outside" world? The mental development of a child within a camp has to be different from one that grows up in a "regular" society. Even the idea of personal space does not develop the same way in a camp, as everyone lives in close quarters. Physically a child could be easily affected by malnutrition, as despite the food provided by aid workers, there is not enough for a child to maintain all of the necessary nutrition needed to grow up healthy. A child growing up in a refugee camp creates an interesting situation as it really is a completely different setting that anywhere else of earth, yet one counter-argument may be that they might be better suited for the world as they learn how to effectively interact with people from an incredibly young age. Only time can tell how a refugee camp may effect the development of a child. 

Works Cited

Bond, Barbara H. "Are refugee camps good for children?" Journal of Humanitarian Assistance. 27 Mar. 2009 .

A day in the life of a Refugee

 

 This video does an excellent job of illustrating some of the hardships that refugees face in a single day. This particular video focuses on the struggle of the Ogadeen refugees. Numerous numbers of Ethiopans have been driven from their homes due to the struggle between the Ethiopian rebels and the Ethiopian military. In this particular video Al Jazeera's Mohammed Adow reports from Ogadeen about the refugees that have taken shelter in Ogadeen, which is a region of Ethiopia.

Works Cited

Hafsa

Interview by Mohammed Adow. Arabic-language news network. Al Jazeera.

"EthioBlog - Ethiopia - A day in the life of an Ogadeen refugee - Al Jazeera." Nazret.com Ethiopian News Portal. 27 Mar. 2009 .

Effect of Refugee Camps of their host country

When a refugee camp is created in a host country it has many effects of said country. For example, the economy of the host country must be strong enough to support an influx of people that they will be housing for an undermined amount of time. Most refugee camps are created as short term destinations, but many end up being there for much, much longer. The country must be able to maintain a strong economy, supply the needed supplies to the camps, although many countries receive outside aid from organizations. Yet more important than this is the fact that must be political and socially stable enough to maintain an influx of people who maintain a different set of cultural beliefs and values. As these people are likely to have an impact on the current population of locals living nearby. Anything from religious beliefs to cultural practices may be influenced by the arrival of a large number of refugees. This is especially true when the camp does not include fences in their security measures as it allows refugees to mix with locals and vice versa. Imagine if your neighborhood was suddenly used a refugee location for thirty refugees. After mixing for even a week, do you think that some of your viewpoints might be altered? You would be speaking with people who not only have a different set of beliefs and values but also whose personal life experiences are completely different form your own. While the effect that refugees have on the country may be great, the effect that they have on the culture of their surrounding areas is even stronger and will likely influence the culture of those areas for a long time to come. 

Works Cited

Salehyan, Idean, and Kristian S. Gleditsch. "Refugees and the Spread of Civil War." Cambridge Journals 60 (2006): 335-66.

Refugee Camps

A refugee camp is the site in which any number of people may be housed. They are usually situated on the outskirts of towns and cities in a zone that has been decreed safe from war, violence or land-mines. A camp can have any number of people, anywhere from hundreds to millions. The Gerieda refugee camp, which is located south of Darfur, at one point housed 3.5 million people (The Independent). Within these camps the tents tend to be positioned randomly as people often position themselves independently, which creates an interesting community in terms of location and space. Something to consider is how do people mark off their own space, or is personal space really available in a refugee camp? There are several issues that can arise from having all of these people confined to a space. One such issue is security, not everyone in this area is going to get along, not to mention that there are probably some previous cultural disputes to take into account. However it is up to the host country to provide security for any refugee camp within their borders. Most countries attempt to work with the refugees in order to create a system that allows the refugees to police themselves. Yet protective measures can include anything from soldiers to barbed wire fences. Security is only one such issue that may arise within a refugee camp. Yet whatever issues may arise it is up to the host country to provide the refugee camps with whatever they need to function. This usually causes a strain in the host country and create serious tension between the refugees and the local population. In this situation a question to consider is how does a refugee camp affect the country in which it is housed?

Works Cited

"CBC News In Depth: Anatomy of a refugee camp." CBC.ca - Canadian News Sports Entertainment Kids Docs Radio TV. 27 Mar. 2009 .

Smith, Alex D., and Jonathan Erasmus. "Aid groups pull out of Darfur refugee campe after rape." The Independent [London] 22 Jan. 2007.

What is a Refugee?

The USA for UNHR defines a refugee as "... someone who has been forced to flee his or her country because of persecution, war, or violence. A refugee has a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group. Most likely, they cannot return home or is afraid to do so. War and ethnic, tribal and religious violence are leading causes of refugees fleeing their countries." Think about this, a human being is forced to flee their country because of fear, and then travel to a foreign location, where life does not necessarily get easier, but most likely harder. This is the definition of a refugee: someone who flees for fear of their, and their families, life, to a place and culture that might not understand them, and a land that does not necessarily wants them similair ; try to imagine that situation and you will have begun to put yourself into a refugees shoes. When arriving in their host country, a refugee will usually take housing in a refugee camp, along with any number of other refugees who are in a similar situations. (I will be talking about refugee camps later in this blog). While a refugee has been assigned a label, they are still human beings, and this is a point that I cannot stress enough. Despite losing their homes and being forced to flee their country they still retain their humanity, and this must not be forgotten. So, to redefine a refugee, they are human beings who have been forced to flee their homes and everything they know for a place where things are not necessarily easier. 

Works Cited:

"What s a Refugee?" 26 Mar. 2009.

http://www.unrefugees.org/site/c.lfIQKSOwFqG/b.4950731/k.A894/What_is_a_refugee.htm