Camps

In this chapter, we explore how humanitarians use camps when responding to complex emergencies, specifically displacement crises. First, we acknowledge that refugee camps are frequently deeply problematic and insecure places, whose inhabitants are often forced to suffer overcrowding in poor housing with limited access to work or education, their freedom of movement severely restricted. We then ask why – despite a long history of both recognizing and condemning these abuses – camps continue to exist. Among the factors we identify are the logistical convenience of camps as distribution centres for agencies, especially in the early days of a crisis, and states’ political interests in containing refugees. We note that camps can save lives in the short term, and in addition we question the extent to which Agamben’s view of the refugee camp as a place of ‘bare life’ is accurate or helpful, given that many camps are also spaces of resistance, resilience and development. However, we equally emphasize that when crises become protracted, camps cause enormous harm, especially when used to prevent local integration, even after many decades of exile. Recent years have seen concerted efforts to advocate for alternatives to camps. However, we conclude that given the current political realities, camps will continue to be viewed by humanitarians as a necessary evil.