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.
No comments:
Post a Comment