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Refugees Magazine Issue 105 (Life in a refugee camp) - The inside story

Refugees Magazine Issue 105 (Life in a refugee camp) - The inside story
Refugees (105, III - 1996)

1 September 1996
Life in a refugee camp. The images of sprawling, smoke-filled tent cities are familiar enough to anyone who watches the nightly television news. But the reality of life in such a place - day after day, year after year - is almost unimaginable for most of us.

Life in a refugee camp. The images of sprawling, smoke-filled tent cities are familiar enough to anyone who watches the nightly television news. But the reality of life in such a place - day after day, year after year - is almost unimaginable for most of us.

Life in a refugee camp. The images of sprawling, smoke-filled tent cities are familiar enough to anyone who watches the nightly television news. But the reality of life in such a place - day after day, year after year - is almost unimaginable for most of us.

In this issue we take a close look at what goes on inside a refugee camp - how, why and for whom a camp is set up; the various sectors like water, health, food, sanitation and shelter; programmes for those refugees requiring special attention; the impact on surrounding communities and the environment; the difficulties in maintaining international interest and support; and, last but not least, the often evasive solutions.

Although no two camps are alike, we chose to focus on one long-established camp in Ethiopia - Hartisheik - to illustrate some of the common challenges UNHCR faces in its work with large refugee populations around the world.

While most people tend to think of camps when they think of refugees, it's worth noting that UNHCR actually prefers not to put people in large camps if it can be avoided. In many countries, for example, refugees live and work side-by-side with the local population. This is the preferred way of dealing with refugees, until such time as they can finally go home. But when huge numbers of refugees suddenly converge on a neighbouring country, there is often little choice but to establish camps.

The stories on the following pages were written by UNHCR staffers Fernando del Mundo, Peter Kessler and Mahary Maasho, who, along with photographer Wendy Stone, spent a week in Hartisheik and the surrounding area examining every aspect of life in a refugee camp.

Source: Refugees Magazine Issue 105 (1996)