This review of the literature on refugee camps was carried out between late 2019 and mid-2022 at the request of the Nutriset company[1]See the review of the book by the founder of Nutriset: “Plumpy’Nut beginnings”, p. 147., for which I work as an anthropologist. As an actor in the fight against malnutrition, this company wanted to know more about how refugee camps are organised and run, given that many people in such camps (young children, people classified as vulnerable such as pregnant and breast-feeding women) receive nutritional products made by the company and typically distributed by humanitarian organisations.This work was conducted with a view to producing a comprehensive, descriptive exploratory study of refugee camps, in terms of their organisation and how people live there, through the prism of the humanities and social sciences (geography, anthropology, sociology).
As regards academic disciplines, geography has produced numerous studies on camps, carried out from a spatial and territorial perspective and also from the standpoint of human migrations.[2]Véronique Lassailly-Jacob, Jean-Yves Marchal et André Quesnel, Déplacés et réfugiés. La mobilité sous contrainte, Éditions de l’IRD, 1999 ; Luc Cambrézy, Réfugiés et exilés. Crise des … Continue reading Sociology and anthropology have contributed to knowledge of “encamped” communities, with some studies highlighting their invisibility, linked to high levels of marginalisation.[3]Michel Agier, Gérer les indésirables : des camps de réfugiés au gouvernement humanitaire, Flammarion, 2008. The institutionalisation of camps and the systems for protecting refugees have also been described from a socio-anthropological perspective.[4]Alice Corbet, Nés dans les camps : changements identitaires de la nouvelle génération de réfugiés sahraouis et transformation des camps, thèse de doctorat EHESS, sous la direction de Michel … Continue reading Within the context of camps, those taking refuge there are very often considered victims, a status that can come to dominate their life stories and everything that shaped them before becoming “refugees”.[5]Virginie Tallio, « La construction de la catégorie “réfugié” dans un camp en R.D.C. : rôle de l’institution, stratégies des exilés et place du chercheur », e-Migrinter, n° 9, 2012, p. … Continue reading
The literature drawn on covers various aspects and facets of camp life, in relation to migration histories, mechanisms of aid delivery and humanitarian action, actors involved, the territories and the environment, socio-economic life within the camps, food security and health issues.
The review is divided into seven parts, giving first a rapid overview of refugee camps in the 21st century and of the major social science works on this subject. The second part presents the main actors involved (state, international, non-governmental, etc.).[6]Éloïse Benoit, « Criminalité et justice sans souveraineté dans les camps de réfugiés du HCR : des systèmes de justice parallèle à l’impunité pour le personnel humanitaire », Revue … Continue reading The third section describes the position of the anthropologist in a refugee camp,[7]Aurore Vermylen, « Une anthropologue dans un camp de réfugiés. Comment faire une ethnographie dans un contexte d’imposition discursive institutionnelle ? », Parcours anthropologiques, n° 11, … Continue reading with a view to grasping the complexity of this field and the analyses that have come from this standpoint, such as concerning relations between aid workers and refugees, the figure of the refugee or the relationship to time. In a fourth part, the camp space and its organisation are described, with insights into the Middle Eastern context in the historic Nahr el Bared camp in Lebanon and those merged into the informal urban fabric in Jordan, as well as into the Asian context with the Kacha Garhi camp in Pakistan. Then, in an African context, a window is provided on the camps of Dadaab (former camp in Kenya) and Maheba (Zambia). In the fifth section, the theme of food is addressed with researchers’ views given first, followed by a brief overview of humanitarian literature, and then information from scientific studies (articles and theses). The sixth part depicts the camp as a “place of experimentation”, as defined in the work of Léa Macias,[8] Léa Macias, « Entre contrôle et protection : ce que les technologies de l’information et de la communication font au camp de réfugiés », Communications, 2019, n° 104, p. 107-117. who portrays the camp “as an ever-changing space within which emergency situations become chronic, it is a place for humanitarian experimentation”. Finally, the seventh part broaches the issue of health in the camps, through articles mainly describing research into certain pathologies (scurvy, anaemia, diabetes or HIV) or detailing hygiene practices, perinatal health and the economic issues surrounding health care.
This first version of this bibliographic work aims to give an overview of refugee camps that have been in place for a number of years in various regions, mainly in Africa and the Middle East. The human and social sciences approach makes it possible to both describe these locations and analyse how life there is organised.
Camps can seem paradoxical places. Originally designed in response to emergencies, they become established over a long period with an unknown timeframe. Their durability is reflected in the “solid” nature of the structures serving as shelters: tents are gradually replaced by “temporary constructions”, which – in certain cases and when this is possible – incorporate some of the styles or materials of the country or countries of origin.[9]Lucas Oesch, « L’amélioration des conditions de vie dans les camps de réfugiés palestiniens à Amman ou la dé-théâtralisation de l’urbanisme jordanien », Journal of Urban Research, n° 7, … Continue reading Over time, a form of urbanisation is forged as they merge, in some instances, with informal settlements but remain highly marginalised and hidden. The various stakeholders involved contribute to the “cosmopolitan” nature of the camps, where identities are strengthened or diluted…[10]Liisa H. Malkki, “Speechless Emissaries: Refugees, Humanitarianism, and Dehistoricization”, Cultural Anthropology, vol. 11, no. 3, August 1996, pp. 377–404.
