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MIGRATIONreview
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Cover photograph: Mae La Camp for Karen
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Endnote
Prolonged stay in a refugee camp: some thoughts
by Liban Abdikarim Ahmad back cover
represent a poor solution for refugees. Ahlbrandt’s article (pp 8-11) on IDPs in
Rwanda demonstrates.
merging research has demonstrated various elements that constitute a stan- In discussing the negative consequences
explaining its causes. At different times, These two short contributions are char- the notion, as van der Borght and Philips
and in different places, different ele- acteristic of much of agency thinking on put it, that ‘easy integration’ is ‘wishful
ments of encampment may be more or the problem of camps, and the detail of thinking’. Yet in some respects, the con-
less relevant in influencing settlement their arguments deserves to be dealt flation of ‘settlement outside camps’
policy decisions. Indeed, justifications with, not least because both responses with ‘local integration’ is perhaps at the
for a policy of encampment are rarely accept that, in principle, refugees should root of this lack of certainty about non-
made in general terms by policy makers; not be housed in camps. A first point camp solutions. For example, just
rather, specific reasons are more often concerns the perceived advantages of because refugees are not housed in
cited to justify its ‘exceptional’ use in having refugees in camps from the point camps, it does not mean that they can or
should be ‘integrated’ with local popula-
tions in every sense of the word. In the
…refugees were not placed in camps in case of Guinea, cited by van Damme,
there was an opportunity to integrate
Tanzania or Zaire in order to ensure assistance to refugees and local popula-
tions where this was feasible and cost-
their accessibility. effective - as in the case of health
provision and joint use of educational
facilities7. But, socio-economically and
particular circumstances. Awareness of of view of efficiency and transparency of politically, the two populations main-
this specificity is crucial if a case is to be aid delivery. But the experience of camps tained a clear and distinct identity. Nor
launched in any particular place to influ- set up for Rwandan refugees in Zaire is it right to conflate ‘settlement outside
ence policy, or indeed if a general case and Tanzania from 1994-96 is hardly camps’ with ‘unofficial’ settlement that
against camps is to be seen to be water- encouraging in terms of the ability of is uncontrolled or uncontrollable. In
tight. international agencies to identify indi- countries where dispersed settlement
viduals and ensure accountable distribu- has been achieved, from Guinea and
Why, then, do governments and interna- tion of aid. Some of the camps, at least, Côte d’Ivoire to Senegal, Uganda, Sudan
tional agencies so often seem to prefer proved effectively to be ‘no-go’ areas for and Malawi, this has seldom been ‘spon-
the option of encampment? Some inter- international agencies beyond the distri- taneous’, involving at the very least
esting clues are provided by an exchange bution points for food delivery. Indeed, negotiations between refugee and local
in the medical journal The Lancet, according to some agency accounts, they leaders. More often than not, govern-
prompted by van Damme’s observations tended to function as zones in which ment and international agencies are
of the negative consequences for human those responsible for the Rwandan geno- involved too, with the latter especially
health of encampment policies in Zaire cide were able to continue to intimidate adopting a facilitating and supportive
in 19944. For example, writing from the camp populations and divert aid to mili- role, helping to ensure that the refugees
medical charity Medécins sans tary and para-military personnel. are not simply turned away.
Frontières, van der Borght and Philips5 Physical access was hardly maximised
agree that there is an ‘all too common either, with serious problems caused in This latter point is important, since it
link between refugee ill-health and Zaire as a result of the terrain. holds the key also to where any argu-
camps’. But they then go on to point out Numerous agency reports talk of vehi- ments against settlement in camps
the ‘practical advantages from the stand- cles being unable to leave roads, for fear ought to be directed. To a certain extent,
points of service delivery, accountability, of becoming bogged down. While this it is the international assistance agencies,
identification of individuals, physical might be seen as independent of the and especially UNHCR, that have borne
access, cost effectiveness of the relief question of whether refugees were in the brunt of criticism about the estab-
operations and monitoring of both the camps or not, it could be argued that the lishment of camps. These agencies are
refugees’ status and received assistance’. separation of refugees from local popu- seen as favouring a policy that either
They argue that refugees outside camps lations exacerbates their marginalisation helps them to carry out their mandate to
may become excluded from assistance, onto the poorest quality, and probably assist refugees or, alternatively,
while warning against ‘wishful thinking least accessible, land. What is certainly strengthens their control of camp popu-
of easy integration’ outside the camp true is that refugees were not placed in lations and accountability to donors,
setting. Meanwhile, writing on behalf of camps in Tanzania or Zaire in order to depending on one’s point of view. As
the Programme and Technical Support ensure their accessibility. Barbara Harrell-Bond puts it, ‘Refugee
Section of UNHCR, the section responsi- policy in the South [is] largely driven by
ble for settlement planning, Dualeh6 A second point raised above concerns the demands of donors and humanitari-
again agrees that ‘refugees do not the perceived negative consequences of an organisations’. However, donors and
belong in camps’. Yet he then suggests allowing refugees to settle outside international agencies can easily deflect
that ‘in Africa and elsewhere, huge camps. But concerns about refugees’ this criticism by pointing out - quite
influxes of refugees can completely over- ‘exclusion’ from international aid are rightly in a technical sense - that it is
whelm the capacity of the local popula- again perhaps a little misplaced in this not their job to decide where refugees
tion and the infrastructure, wreaking context since surely, if refugees were will settle. Either refugees settle ‘sponta-
havoc on the environment and socio- free to settle where they wished, this neously’ outside official camps or they
economic system.’ As a result, according could include settlement in areas con- are settled in sites chosen or sanctioned
to Dualeh, ‘local authorities sometimes centrated around points of aid delivery. by the government. In neither case do
have no choice but to seek separate sites More serious is the question of relations UNHCR or other agencies formally
for the refugees’. between refugees and host populations - decide where they should go. The fact
that camps appear in situations of inter- against settlement in camps might be sonable to expect governments to con-
nal displacement shows that it is not better put to governments, who have done the use of their territories by mili-
simply a problem of UNHCR. ultimate responsibility for settlement tary groups, allied to the refugees, for
By shifting the responsibility to host policy, rather than to international launching attacks on neighbouring coun-
government authorities, however, inter- organisations. This in turn requires us to tries - although obviously their attitude
national agencies can and do side-step be aware of host governments’ main rea- will depend much on higher level rela-
the ‘political’ issue of whether a policy sons for preferring settlement in camps. tions between the two states. Indeed, in
of settlement in camps is a good one or For them, issues such as accessibility, both such cases, resettlement of refugees
not, and are able to confine their atten- efficiency and transparency of aid delivery (whether in camps or not) may also be in
tion to more technical matters of camp are likely to be rather less important the interest of refugee protection.
layout, infrastructure and organisation. than potential conflict between refugees
If the issue of settlement policy is put in
this context, the immediate policy ques-
…arguments against settlement in camps tion becomes less one of what is best for
the refugees and more one of what is in
might be better put to governments, who have the interest of the security of both
refugee and host populations. In turn, to
ultimate responsibility for settlement policy, avoid there being a trade-off between
security (in camps) and refugee well-
rather than to international organisations. being (in the absence of camps), those
opposing encampment would need to
demonstrate that camps do not neces-
Such a position is of course a caricature: and locals; but uppermost on their sarily enhance the security situation or
many officers of UNHCR and other inter- minds are likely to be the political and reduce conflict between refugees and
national agencies at both field and head- security implications of the pattern of locals. Importantly, it is possible to
quarters level would recognise their refugee settlement. No government will make an argument along these lines,
quasi-political role in encouraging gov- be happy with the dispersed settlement even if not in an absolute or universally
ernments to adopt certain policies. of refugees in a border area if it makes applicable manner. Clearly there will be
Some at least have used that role to that area vulnerable to attack by parties circumstances in which the security
argue against encampment. Nonetheless, to the conflict from which the refugees threat posed by certain groups of
it highlights how general arguments have fled in the first place. Nor is it rea- refugees does require effective measures
photograph: Howard J Davies
of control. But it could be argued that, in life more ‘sustainable’ at higher densities.
normal circumstances, control - and Recent work by Tara Rao10 has shown New MA in Migration Studies
especially undue restrictions on how better settlement design can reduce
refugees’ activities within camps - or eliminate features that have a nega- The University of Sussex is offering a
increases rather than decreases the secu- tive impact on the situation of women. new MA course in Migration Studies,
rity threat that is posed by refugees. For based in the Sussex Centre for
example, those working with refugees Perhaps most importantly, whatever the Migration Research, starting October
from Somalia have commonly portrayed settlement type, both governments and 1998. This interdisciplinary MA is
Somalis as uncooperative and unruly international agencies can promote poli- aimed at students considering doctoral
populations, where the safety of human- cies that engage refugees and local pop- research in migration studies, as well
itarian aid workers is often put into ulations in project design and as those engaged in voluntary or
question. But, as Waldron and Hasci implementation. Like the growing con- professional work with migrants,
have pointed out8, this lack of co-opera- sensus against camps, such a participa- refugees and ethnic communities.
tion has much to do with the way tory approach is increasingly part of the It covers theories and methods of
Somalis have been forced into camps. rhetoric of international agencies. In migration research, legal and policy
both cases, the task for research may be aspects of migration, as well as
The point is that, while it is entirely less to provide further evidence of the offering courses on migration in
legitimate for governments to seek to appropriateness of the policy but rather particular regions and on refugees
exercise control over refugee popula- to help put that policy into practice. and development.
tions, there is also good evidence that
encampment does not provide a particu- Dr Richard Black is Lecturer in For further information, contact
larly effective means of control. Indeed, Human Geography in the School of Professor Russell King,
especially in conditions where the state African and Asian Studies, and co- University of Sussex, Falmer,
has a limited capacity, such control may Director of the Sussex Centre for Brighton BN1 9QN, UK
be much better exercised by local Migration Research, both at the Email: R.King@sussex.ac.uk
(traditional) authorities than by inter- University of Sussex.
national organisations with little direct
experience of the area. An example is 1 Kibreab G ‘Local settlements in Africa: a miscon-
ceived option?’, Journal of Refugee Studies, 2(4),
the case of rules on access to natural
resources such as firewood. Here, the
pp 468-490, 1990 RSP International
difference is striking between frequent 2 Jacobsen K ‘Refugees’ environmental impact: the
effect of patterns of settlement’, Journal of Summer School
non-compliance with agency-generated Refugee Studies, 10(1), pp 19-36, 1997
rules, which are seen by refugees as
3 Black R and Sessay M ‘Forced migration, land-use
1999 (12-30 July)
lacking legitimacy, and general compli- change and political economy in the forest region
ance with rules established by local cus- of Guinea’, African Affairs, 96(385), pp 587-605,
This three-week course aims to
tom, tradition or edict9. It is important 1997
placed populations had dispersed. The inappropriate training for what was basi- devastated infrastructure, in particular
IOC developed a strategy to reconcile the cally a police operation. its judicial system. At the same time,
Government’s preoccupation with donors provided substantial resources
national security with the international B. Analysis of the crisis for humanitarian assistance to refugee
community’s concern for ‘voluntary camps in neighbouring countries har-
return in safety and dignity’ [see C.i. The Kibeho tragedy was avoidable. Signs bouring forces of the former regime,
below for discussion of use of this term]. of an impending disaster existed. The without supporting efforts to separate
Although the use of force was to be first involved the divergent priorities those who should have been excluded
avoided, the strict meaning of ‘voluntary and perspectives of the Rwandan gov- from refugee status.
return’ was compromised: the camps ernment and international agencies
were to be closed by ending food and regarding IDPs. The IOC failed to appre- The inability of the IOC to reconcile
relief distribution and transferring IDPs ciate the urgent concerns of the humanitarian with political and strategic
to home communes. Rwandan government, thus heightening interests, and its reluctance to recognise
its suspicions about the international the fragility of the consensus between all
Massacre at Kibeho community’s intentions. The IOC also parties, allowed the Kibeho tragedy to
lacked the flexibility and resources to develop. The Rwanda experience indi-
However, even before the implementa- implement projects in order to encour- cates that solutions to the problems of
tion of this strategy, on 18 April the RPA age voluntary IDP return or to devise an internal displacement cannot ignore
moved to close the camp at Kibeho by effective camp closure strategy in a regional dynamics nor allow humanitarian
surrounding it and cutting off its food time-frame which could have responded action to substitute for military, political
and water supply. For the next three to the government’s security concerns. or diplomatic solutions.
days, the concentration of 80,000 people Furthermore, the
on one hill and the rapid deterioration integrated concept
of humanitarian conditions resulted in of the IOC did not The Kibeho tragedy underlined
panic and casualties when soldiers met reflect the current
stone-throwing with machine gun fire. reality. Not only did the necessity for agencies and
On the fourth day, a large group of IDPs UN agencies not
tried to break the cordon. The RPA ensure consistent governments to be able to refer
opened fire on the crowd, killing several representation on a
hundred people and causing a stampede high enough level to a body of guiding principles
which claimed more lives. The govern- within the IOC but
ment put the death toll at 338 while the the Rwandan govern- on internal displacement.
UN put the figure at 2,000. UNAMIR ment’s participation
troops were present during the massacre was sporadic and
but were ordered not to intervene did not include the key ministries of C. Lessons learned for the future
despite their mandate to “contribute to Defence and Interior. protection of IDPs
the security and protection of displaced
persons...” (Security Council Resolution Monitoring of the camps fell within i. Legal issues
918 of 17 May 1994). UNAMIR’s mandate but the force did not
ensure a sufficient presence in the The Kibeho tragedy underlined the
Over the next three weeks, the IDP camps prior to or during the crisis - only necessity for agencies and governments
camps in southwest Rwanda were evacu- a single contingent of fewer than 100 to be able to refer to a body of guiding
ated. Thousands of IDPs returned to soldiers (of a full strength of 5,529 sol- principles on internal displacement.
their home communes but several thou- diers) remained in the camp throughout A set of minimum international guide-
sand others crossed into Zaire. Many the events. UNAMIR officers and Human lines applying to situations of internal
returning IDPs refused to register with Rights Field Officers could have played a displacement would have facilitated the
local authorities or to proceed to their more substantial monitoring role in the channelling of political pressure on the
communes of origin, and instead hid in camps. A strategy for an increased UN government to encourage it to develop
rural areas. Some IDPs eventually min- presence in the camps, including Human more appropriate ways to deal with the
gled with Burundian refugees in camps Rights Field Officers, should have been IDP issue. The IOC had to elaborate its
in Rwanda. included directly in the provisions of own guidelines, which were more easily
Opération Retour. compromised because they were self-
The International Commission created.
The divergence between the internation-
of Inquiry
al community and the Rwandan govern-
ment concerning internal displacement The Guiding Principles on Internal
In an effort to restore its reputation, the
reflected a lack of political will on the Displacement, submitted by the
Government of Rwanda established an
part of the international community to Representative of the Secretary-General
Independent International Commission
develop a coherent approach to the post- on IDPs to the 54th session of the
of Inquiry. The Commission’s report,
genocide situation in Rwanda and in the Commission on Human Rights and
issued on 17 May 1995, indicated that
larger Great Lakes region. The Rwandan endorsed by the Inter-Agency Standing
the government could have taken steps
Government pledged to respect human Committee (IASC) on 26 March 1998,
to prevent the massacre. The Commission
rights and refrain from reprisal killings should help to facilitate the work of
correctly faulted the RPA for its lack of
but lacked the resources to rebuild its organisations acting on behalf of IDPs as
communication, its inexperience and its
well as to provide a basis for the
development of more effective responses Having no clear or specific basis upon supporting the efforts of institutions
to internal displacement in the wake of which to insist upon the concept of “vol- currently undertaking activities on
complex humanitarian emergencies. untary return in safety and with dignity” behalf of IDPs. The UN Secretary-
Section V of the Guiding Principles, con- for IDPs (Principle 28 of the Guiding General’s 1997 Programme of Reform
cerning return, resettlement and reintegra- Principles), the international community reaffirms that the Emergency Relief
tion, could have been of particular use in could only negotiate with and exert pres- Coordinator’s (ERC) role is to ensure that
the Rwandan context given the lack of sure on the Government to resolve the issues of protection and assistance for
clarity and consensus on principles on problem through means consistent with internally displaced people are
IDP issues. Such principles may also a peaceful solution to the IDP problem. addressed. The IASC recommended that
have encouraged a more serious invest- A humanitarian disaster ultimately pre- the ERC should help mobilise resources
ment of resources and energy in the first cipitated the Kibeho massacres. and identify gaps; assign responsibili-
phase of the plan espousing voluntary Attempts by UN agencies and the Special ties, including camp management; devel-
return. In addition, these principles Representative of the Secretary-General op information systems; and provide
could have helped foster an internation- to exercise their good offices to address support to the field. The ERC and its
al consensus after they were violated in the denial of camp access by humanitari- Working Group, which has recently been
Kibeho, by providing the Independent an agencies during the RPA cordon were designated as the main inter-agency
International Commission of Inquiry ineffective in addressing the extreme forum on IDPs, should be able to play a
with objective principles upon which to food and water deprivation which resulted mobilising role with regard to the inter-
base its evaluation and conclusions. in the escalation of the crisis. In this nally displaced by initiating a division of
regard, Section IV of the Guiding labour of agencies, by developing agreed
The Rwanda example shows that the Principles relating to Humanitarian strategies where necessary and by help-
Guiding Principles are useful where a Assistance could provide a future basis ing to ensure that humanitarian assis-
general legal norm exists but a more for coordinated UN intercession with tance is not substituted for political
specific right, that would ensure imple- governments, especially in humanitarian action. The participation of the High
mentation of the norm in the case of crisis situations involving IDPs. Commissioner for Human Rights and the
IDPs, has not been articulated. The term Representative of the Secretary-General
‘voluntary return’ was borrowed from ii. Institutional issues on IDPs in the IASC and its working
refugee law. Since no international legal Implementation of the Guiding group should help ensure the integration
norm exists explicitly protecting people Principles will depend on the existing of a protection perspective in decisions
against individual or mass transfer from institutional arrangements and political involving IDPs. In appropriate contexts,
one region to another within their own will in any given country. The case of one agency can assume primary respon-
country, the norm must be inferred from Rwanda demonstrated that where the sibility for ensuring that protection and
the right to freedom of residence and authorities’ will to protect IDPs is weak, assistance are provided to IDPs by
movement. However, the Rwandan only strong institutional arrangements increasing awareness of their plight and
government did not consider itself with substantial political weight and mobilising support on their behalf. This
bound, through inference, by the right of expertise can make a difference in IDP lead agency model has been found to
its citizens not to be forcibly relocated. protection. better meet the needs of IDPs than when
no single agency is designated as such.3
Rwandan authorities repeatedly invoked One means for improvement in the
their sovereign right to address the international institutional protection of Agreements between agencies are also a
security threat presented by the camps. IDPs thus lies in better coordinating and welcome form of coordination. For
example, UNHCR and HRFOR (UN
photograph: Mark Cuthbert-Brown
From village to
with international human rights stan-
dards, providing support to independent
national human rights institutions and
roads, railways, irrigation ditches and large camps with more than one school, cooking food for sale, or running small
other infrastructure projects. in the middle of sections. Most children shops. Most camps have at least a few
The camps need to walk for no more than 10 min- small shops, located along the main
utes to school.
The first Karen camp was established in Queuing for water is
1984, not far from the border town of
Mae Sot in Thailand’s Tak Province. By
rare as the water sup- Camp administrative systems
ply is generally ade-
1986, there were 12 Karen refugee
camps with a collective population of
quate and accessible, maintained by the refugee
with water tanks or
18,000 people in Tak and Mae Hong Son
provinces. The first Karenni camp was
wells at frequent inter- communities themselves…
vals. Most camps are
established in Mae Hong Son province in
1989. Mon refugees came to Thailand in
located near streams, have been integral to refugee
which are used for
1990, after the Mon and Karen opposi-
tion bases at Three Pagodas Pass were
bathing and washing autonomy and self-sufficiency.
clothes. In some camps
overrun by the Burmese army. there is space for peo-
ple to plant small vegetable gardens or road or scattered among the houses, and
The border is over 2,000 km long, with
even to rear animals next to their homes, larger camps maintain significant markets.
thousands of potential crossing points.
although these activities vary depending Camp administration
New camps have often been established
on the quality of the soil and how strictly
close to wherever large groups of new As each new refugee group came across
an RTG ban on refugee crop planting is
refugees crossed, frequently in the wake the border, they established refugee
enforced.
of military offensives. Individual families committees, with offices in the nearest
and smaller groups arriving in Thailand Thai towns, to seek and coordinate relief
The size, location and openness of the
separately have gone to established assistance. The camps are administered
camps allowed the refugees to gather
camps. While some camps are located on by camp committees with a camp leader
building materials, firewood and food
main roads and near Thai villages, many and section leaders drawn from the
from the surrounding forests. House
are in remote areas. The terrain along camp community. The school head
walls and floors are constructed out of
the border is mountainous and heavily teacher and/or representatives of the
split bamboo and roofs out of leaf
forested in places. women’s or youth organisations may
thatch. (According to RTG regulations,
no permanent buildings are allowed to also serve on the committee. These com-
The camps, particularly the smaller
be built.) Refugees gather edible forest mittees are responsible for all aspects of
ones, have traditionally had a village-like
vegetables, such as bamboo shoots, wild camp administration, including the reg-
atmosphere. Planned by the refugee
beans and leaves, to supplement their istration of the population in new camps
communities, the layout of camps varies
diets; they can also earn cash by selling or recording births, deaths, and new
a good deal. In some camps, houses are
forest vegetables, leaf thatch or charcoal. arrivals in established camps, mainte-
built in rows facing a main road through
nance and sanitation, resolution of dis-
the centre of the camp. In others, houses
Although RTG regulations technically putes, transport and referral of medical
are built in clusters around a network of
forbid refugees to engage in economic emergencies, and camp security.
paths. Larger camps are sub-divided into
activities, some refugees have been able Ultimately, the responsibility for
sections but there are no barriers
to find work as daily labourers on nearby accountability and transparency in aid
between sections. Communal buildings,
Thai farms or forest plantations. Other distribution, particularly food aid, also
like hospitals and schools, are located in
economic activities include weaving, rests with them. Camp administrative
the middle of the camp or, in the case of
systems maintained by the refugee
photograph: Edith Bowles
Assistance
The original RTG mandate for NGO
assistance covered only food, medi-
cines, clothing and other essential
items. A mandate for educational
assistance was added at the end of
1996. The RTG has always insisted
that NGO activities remain low-profile
and that there be no permanent expa-
triate presence in the camps. The
NGOs operating along the border
have also sought to create non-intru-
been completely burned down, and and supplementary food, such as yellow result, the official caseload has shrunk
millions of Baht in cash or property beans and cooking oil, in addition to the while the number of refugees without
belonging to refugees or Thai villagers regular rations. The moves themselves protection and assistance has grown.
have been stolen. With the emergence of cause insecurity as refugees lose access As economic cooperation between the
the DKBA, protection has become the to their gardens and opportunities to RTG and the Burmese government has
most important issue for the Karen forage, while having to expend more grown, the Burmese opposition groups
refugees. energy in moving and re-building. and refugees along the border have gone
from being a convenient buffer for
The RTG has responded to the DKBA Other new restrictions seem to be aimed Thailand to an increasingly intolerable
incursions in a number of ways. Arguing at further lowering living standards in embarrassment to both countries. On
that a few large camps are more easily the camps and/or deterring new one occasion during the 1997 dry season
defended than many small camps, the refugees. For example, Tham Hin (8,000 offensive, several hundred Karen men
RTG has developed and partially carried residents) and Ban Don Yang (1,500), and boys were refouled by the Thai
out a policy of camp consolidation. In both established in 1997 in army into an area of active conflict.
1995, seven Karen camps were combined Kanchanaburi provinces, have been des- Since then, some other groups of new
into two, then consolidated again in ignated ‘temporary shelters’. Almost one arrivals have also not been allowed to
cross the border or enter camps, but
have had to stay in the forest or in ad
…the official caseload has shrunk while the hoc camp sites. The RTG has made it
plain that it would like to see the refugees
number of refugees without protection and repatriated as quickly as possible, lead-
ing to fears that the refugees may be
assistance has grown. coerced into repatriation before there is
any solution to Burma’s ongoing political
crises.
early 1998 into Mae La camp, with a year after the camps were set up,
population of some 30,800. In 1997, refugees have still not been allowed to Conclusion
nine other camps were combined to build houses but only bamboo platforms
form three camps of between 8,000 and with a roof of plastic sheeting - insuffi- In addition to creating new needs and
10,000 people each. In early 1998, cient protection in both dry and rainy deterring asylum seekers, the drastic
another seven, relatively small Karen seasons. Queues for water are much changes, particularly in the Karen
camps were consolidated into three longer than in other camps, space is con- refugee camps, have had other, less tan-
camps with populations ranging from sidered inadequate, and overall condi- gible, social effects. The refugee and
4,000 to 7,000. In December 1993, tions are far worse than in other camps camp committees were able to manage
55,000 Karen refugees lived in 19 on the border. The camps are completely the camps and maintain low levels of
camps; by 1998, approximately 90,000 closed: refugees are not allowed to go social conflict because the camps were
Karen refugees lived in 12 camps, seven out of the camps and access is strictly small and disagreements could be
of which had over 6,000 residents. It is limited. In older camps the once flour- resolved within the community itself.
possible that eventually all the Karen ishing markets have been drastically With the establishment of larger camps,
camps will be consolidated into a few scaled back; no ‘luxury’ can be sold, only social problems have become more sig-
large camps, although in some areas the small, inexpensive items. nificant. While increased rations can
consolidations have faced stiff refugee address food insecurity, there is also a
The new restrictions and controls, while clear loss of morale. Tensions rise as
resistance. Additionally, the RTG has
carried out in the name of refugee pro- soon as there are rumours of impending
deployed Thai militia in the camps. In
tection or creation of ‘temporary’ camps, camp moves. People stop tending flower
1997, fences were erected around six of
also give the RTG more direct control beds and crops or repairing their homes
the largest Karen camps, including Mae
over the refugee communities. Some fear when they learn they have to move. The
La, and strict controls placed on the
that these measures may be aimed at education of children is disrupted, lead-
movement of people in and out.
facilitating an eventual repatriation. An ing to higher drop-out and failure rates.
Furthermore, it is likely that the RTG will
obvious solution to the problems posed The cultural and administrative auton-
allow UNHCR to set up a number of per-
by the DKBA would have been to relo- omy, self-sufficiency and village atmos-
manent offices on the border.
cate the camps further inside Thailand, phere which had previously been integral
well away from the border. However, this to life in the camps are rapidly being
While the new restrictions may serve to
solution was unacceptable to the RTG lost.
protect the refugees, they have also
which feared that it would encourage
severely cut into refugee livelihoods and
the refugees to feel more settled in Edith Bowles is currently a consul-
self-sufficiency. No longer able to go out
Thailand, rendering any repatriation tant at Pathfinder International in
of the camps to forage in the forest or
effort logistically, and politically, more Boston, USA. As Burma Project
earn a cash income, and living in camps
problematic. Finally, the consolidations Officer for the Jesuit Refugee
too crowded for gardens or livestock,
reduce the number of refugees living in Service from 1993 to 1996, she
many Karen refugees are now more
the camps. With each camp move, some worked on food aid, education, and
dependent on NGO assistance. Where
refugees have dispersed into forested information/advocacy programmes in
refugees are not allowed to cut bamboo
areas, gone into Thai towns, or even refugee camps along the Thailand-
or gather firewood, NGOs have had to
made their way back to Burma. As a Burma border.
provide building materials, cooking fuel
many refugees to opt for repatriation, neous reaction of the ‘old settlers’ of beyond the camp management’s jurisdic-
not from an informed voluntary decision Tenedba refugee camp as I watched tion. Despite the tremendous efforts
but from despair. Furthermore, the inte- them carrying their traditional food, made by the staff of the settlement, they
gration of refugees was never govern- angaira, for their kinfolk on board the were hampered by the lack of adequate
ment policy; their presence was viewed trucks. The incident confirmed the spirit resources. UNHCR insisted on applying
by the Government as temporary as it of solidarity which refugees possess, its ‘modular approach’ by implementing
was assumed that they would return as despite the shock and trauma of having the operation with the settlement’s exist-
soon as the causes which precipitated to abandon their homeland and turn to ing resources, no matter how meagre.
their flight were eliminated. What can be others for help. By taking this initiative, The continuous reduction in programme
the refugees budgets was clear evidence of UNHCR’s
emphasised the intention to halt its programmes in
Had the level of assistance in the fact that good Sudan by executing a fast and final
reception is phase-out. Not surprisingly, services ren-
camp been satisfactory, refugees extremely impor- dered to refugees reached breaking
tant for refugees. point and the already fragile settlement
would not have resorted to rioting Having gone infrastructure nearly collapsed, dashing
through the same refugees’ hopes of leading an indepen-
at two o’clock in the morning. harrowing experi- dent life and leaving them in uncertainty
ence themselves, and despair.
the older refugees
said with certainty is that, under such of Tenedba, though materially poor, Fed up with empty promises and pro-
conditions of underfunded settlement were concerned to do everything possi- crastination in effecting the promised
infrastructures and dubious government ble to comfort and alleviate the suffer- airlift, the transferred refugees eventually
policy, to ask refugees to become self- ing of the new arrivals. set fire to the grass and bamboo pur-
sufficient was to ask the impossible. chased for the construction of their
Re-encampment as a pre- Although initial requests by the camp tukuls. Had the camp administration not
repatriation stage administration for urgent logistical sup- taken rapid action to diffuse the situa-
port appeared to fall on deaf ears, even- tion, the consequences could have been
It was not until the 1990s that voluntary tually a UNHCR mission visited the camp serious, with loss of life. Refugees
repatriation became UNHCR’s ‘most and took prompt action to send cooking resorted to rioting and violence in order
desirable solution to the problems of utensils and other essential relief items. to attract attention to their ordeal after
refugees’. There were two major reasons they realised that it was not possible to
behind this. The first was the growing The majority of the transferred refugees get a definite answer regarding the date
reluctance of donors to fund protracted had registered for repatriation prior to of their airlift. The incident did, however,
refugee assistance programmes, particu- their transfer from Demazine and so send an unmistakable signal to aid agen-
larly in Africa. The second was the were not prepared for a lengthy stay in cies that refugees can and will stand up
spread of complex emergencies which Tenedba. Poor preparation by both for their rights. Had the level of assis-
the world witnessed in the wake of the UNHCR and COR was to blame for a tance in the camp been satisfactory,
Cold War’s demise - Somalia, Bosnia- lengthy delay in repatriation, which refugees would not have resorted to
Herzegovina, Rwanda - all of which over- became intolerable for many refugees. rioting at two o’clock in the morning.
shadowed UNHCR’s ongoing open-ended Potential repatriates made their resent- The incident was reported to the head-
programmes. However, voluntary repa- ment known to the camp management quarters of the two offices who were
triation is far from ‘problem free’, as the but the decision to start repatriation was urged to take immediate action to sur-
experience in Sudan showed. photograph: Howard J Davies
mount the obstacles delaying the airlift. is the presence of more than half of the are perceived as transient structures.
In addition, given the difficult living con- Ethiopian/Eritrean refugees hosted by Most importantly, there was a miscalcu-
ditions in the camp and since the arrival Sudan outside of the assistance net and lation on the side of the Government
of the transferred refugees coincided living spontaneously in major Sudanese which did not anticipate that a time
with weeding time, I used my discretion towns. Lamentable conditions in camps would come when rapid donor response
as Project Manager to offer to all those have compelled many refugees to head to humanitarian emergencies would turn
interested the opportunity to work as for urban centres, despite the risks of to reluctance and, ultimately, to the
casual labourers in the agricultural being harassed by the authorities or termination of assistance.
scheme in the vicinity of the camp. exploited by their employers since their • Humanitarian values should be viewed
presence in cities is illegal. Inadequate as an end in themselves, not purely as a
In order to easily locate refugees in the funding has always been an insurmount- means to the attainment of political ends.
event that repatriation would start soon, able obstacle on the road to viable settle- • Re-encampment of refugees who have
owners of the agricultural schemes ment infrastructure. The Government’s spent considerable time in urban sur-
agreed to cooperate with the camp’s reluctance to adopt a clear integration roundings can be counter-productive.
administration by lodging a list contain- policy has been an additional factor in Proper preparation for repatriation is
ing the names of all registered potential subduing refugees’ willingness to vital and should always prevail over bud-
repatriants working with them. expend energy on developing self-suffi- getary constraints.
ciency when they discovered that they
This was not the end of the saga. When were isolated in barren areas known as • Constructive cooperation between
trucks were sent to Tenedba to transport ‘planned settlements’. With the impend- COR/UNHCR is sorely needed since the
ing UNHCR welfare of refugees is their ultimate goal.
phase-out, Sudan Since the military coup of 1989, rela-
Inadequate funding has always is going to be left tions between the two agencies have
with shattered been negatively affected as a result of
been an insurmountable obstacle settlements and the politicisation of COR. Inept and inap-
with no economic propriate handling of refugee affairs
on the road to viable settlement leverage to main- under the ‘politicised COR’ has been the
tain, let alone direct consequence of sacking most of
infrastructure. ameliorate, the COR’s competent staff. The recrimina-
existing level of tions and mistrust that have dominated
service for the the relations between the two agencies
the repatriants to Kassala airport when remaining refugees and the neighbour- over the last few years must be
the airlift finally materialised, strategies ing Sudanese alike. improved, to foster mutual confidence
such as ‘family splitting’ and ‘go and and concerted effort, since the harden-
see’ were at work. A number of refugee Lessons ing of attitudes has proven deleterious
families were reported to have sent only both to cooperation between them and
one or two members with the repatri- This article has attempted to highlight to the lives of the refugees.
ants’ convoy. Lack of border control some of the problems encountered dur-
made it easier for ‘repatriants’ to come ing the course of the implementation of Tarig Misbah Yousif joined the
back to Sudan without being stopped at camp-based settlement projects from Sudanese Commissioner’s Office for
any border point. Not surprisingly, some the perspective of a practitioner. It must Refugees in 1987. During his time
‘returnees’ managed to collect the cash be said that the establishment of there, he worked as Project Manager
component of the UNHCR’s repatriation refugees in camp-based settlements in of Abu Rakham settlement. In 1996
package and later re-join their kinfolk eastern and central Sudan was necessi- he attended the RSP’s International
who were left behind in Sudan. Refugees tated by the massiveness and sudden- Summer School. He is now living in
were clearly sceptical about the guaran- ness of refugee flows. However, there are Ireland and has just been awarded
tees of their prospective reintegration lessons to be drawn from the experience: an MPhilForced
in PeaceMigration
Studies at Trinity
when they returned home. The UNHCR College,Discussion
Dublin. Group
reintegration package proved to be far • The seclusion of refugees on the
from adequate in helping refugees to assumption that their presence is a tem- 1 One feddan equals 4,200 sq metres (one acre equals
The RSP’s
approx 4,067 Forced Migration Discussion
sq metres).
reintegrate. Given the thin literature on porary phenomenon, and the adoption
Group has over 400 members worldwide.
the subject, reintegration of returnees of an anti-integration strategy, can hin-
would be a fruitful area of research, pro- der rather than help refugees to become
To join, please follow these instructions:
vided that returnee areas were accessible self-supporting. Had donor funding been
to those wishing to conduct empirical directed to zonal development and
1. Send a message to:
studies. refugees given the chance to release
mailbase@mailbase (for JANET users in
their energies, they might have con-
the UK) mailbase@mailbase.ac.uk
tributed positively and given an impetus
Conclusions (for overseas users)
to the country’s development process.
2. In the text of the message (not in the
Encampment as embodied in the settle- Despite the generosity displayed by
subject field) write: Join forced-
ment policy implemented by COR (with donors at the beginning of the refugee
migration [your first name] [your last
UNHCR and NGO funding) has achieved crisis, nebulous government policy prob-
name] eg Join forced-migration
little success, if any. The striking fact ably discouraged them from pumping
Marie Ferrez
which stands in testimony to its failure more resources into settlements which
Psychosocial
responses to the
Saharawi refugees:
refugee experience: life after the camps
a training module
Work has started on a two-year
by Natali Dukic and Alain Thierry
project, funded by the Andrew
Mellon Foundation, to produce a
psychosocial training module and
The prospect of the imminent - and long
associated resources to facilitate awaited - referendum on self-determination
the training of humanitarian assis- raises a number of issues which the
tance workers in response to the
psychosocial needs of forced
Saharawis will have to confront.
migrants. The module is targeting he referendum on self-determina-
the development of critical compe-
tences in the planning, implemen- T tion, due to be held in December
1998, should end the 20-year exile
of the Saharawi people in the Tindouf
tation and evaluation of
refugee camps of Algeria. But how will
psychosocial programmes. The these people, who have endured the
module will be 30 hours long and hardships of refugee camps for 20 years,
will feature a variety of teaching find the individual and collective will to
resources, adaptable to different embark on economic and social develop-
settings and needs. Capitalising ment and build a long-term future with-
out international aid?
upon the current digitisation of the
RSP Documentation Centre, the The Western Sahara, a former Spanish
project will develop interactive colony, was ceded by treaty to Morocco
teaching materials that can be and Mauritania in 1975. The Polisario
used alongside the digitised mate- Front1 proclaimed the independence of
the Independent Democratic Arab
rials through CD ROM and the
Republic of the Sahara and demanded
Internet. full sovereignty. Mauritania renounced
its territorial claims in 1979 and
Institutions such as developing Morocco took over the whole of Western
centres of refugee studies will be
invited to suggest materials for
inclusion in the module as well as Standards of nutrition, hygiene
provide critique of materials as
they are developed. This should
and medical care have been
ensure that the module is relevant deteriorating steadily over the
for different cultural settings and is years, despite international aid.
sensitive to resources available in
developing countries.
Sahara. Thousands of Saharawis fled the
The module will be available for fighting which then broke out between
dissemination by December 1999. the Polisario and the Moroccan army,
and took refuge in the Tindouf region in
south-eastern Algeria.
Project directors:
Maryanne Loughry Twenty years on, some 150,000
(maryanne.loughry@qeh.ox.ac.uk, Saharawis live in the camps in Algeria.
RSP, and Alastair Ager, Many have known no other way of life.
Queen Margaret College, The prospect of the imminent - and long
awaited - referendum raises a number of
Edinburgh University.
issues which the Saharawis will have to
confront.
indicates that the long stay in the otitis, and has affected a whole generation of
Saharawis; and the prevalence of malnu-
childhood
desert has affected a whole diseases trition, childhood illness and hearing
deficiences will inevitably have a long-
such as
generation of Saharawis… meningitis. term impact on their development and
the general health of their future society.
Although
these con-
living conditions are extremely difficult cerns are not as high a priority for the c. Drinking water
and survival comes at the price of total Saharawis as supplies of food and drink-
dependence on international aid. Since UNHCR is aware that the water used in
ing water, some initiatives have been
1993 the European Community the Tindouf camps (for drinking and
mounted, including a psychiatric hospital,
Humanitarian Office (ECHO) has been farming) has been of poor quality for at
day centres for children with disabilities,
running annual aid programmes2 which, least 12 years. According to Daniel
training of specialist teachers, and system-
because of the population’s complete Mora-Castro, UNHCR administrator
atic checks on children’s hearing.3
dependency on aid, are made up of responsible for water, the water in the
emergency food aid (84%), medical/sanita- Saharawi refugee camps is either of bor-
b. Nutritional deficiencies
tion aid (9.4%) and rehabilitation/logistic derline quality or unfit for human con-
aid (6.6%). To make aid as effective as sumption (according to
possible and to avoid overlaps, there recognised chemical and
46%
bacteriological standards)
is close liaison with other interna- of children have low height for
and is also highly contami-
tional and bilateral aid sources: the their age due to nutritional
Saharawi Red Crescent, WFP, UNHCR nated with faecal matter.
deficiencies. Most water supply points in
and various European NGOs that
the camps suffer from
10%
work in partnership with ECHO.
of under-fives suffer from acute design and construction
These operations aim to deliver sup-
malnutrition, 46% from chronic faults and are in a poor state
plies of essential food products and
maintain the living conditions and
malnutrition. of repair. Most of them are
health of the refugees at an accept- dug manually. Apart from
able level. There will be a consider-
able period of adjustment for the
returning Saharawis in moving from
71% of children under five have
moderate to severe anaemia.
some wells that have been
equipped with manual
pumps, few are suitably pro-
tected at ground level and
In an independent Western Sahara 6 French NGO which works with ECHO and carries UNICEF has concentrated on three
out projects to aid disabled children and prevent
people would diverge from each hearing problems.
aspects of IDP work:
other; the current unanimity would
7 Letter to ECHO, April 1998. 1. developing a firm conceptual foun-
fracture the people’s long-post-
dation for its programme work;
poned longings, not least perhaps 8 Ibid. 2. collecting and disseminating sound
for the trappings of consumerism, programme practices; and
would come into play. 3. global advocacy to raise awareness
about internal displacement. Key activ-
(The New Internationalist, ities include a partnership with the
Women’s Commission for Refugee
Women and Children, to highlight gen-
der issues in internal displacement;
active promotion of the Guiding
Principles on Internal Displacement;
financial and technical support for a
global IDP database; and efforts to link
IDP emergency aid with durable solu-
tions for displaced children and ongo-
ing development work.
when conditions are conducive Hansen A (1979) ‘Once the running among refugees’ JRS, Vol 5, No. 3.
(Sepulveda 1994). Where governments stops: assimilation of Angolan refugees
have been able to provide sufficient land into Zambian border villages’, Disasters RSP (1991) Refugees as Resources for
to sustain a population and where they 3-4, 369-74; (1981) ‘Refugee dynamics: Development: Opportunities and
have not imposed restrictions on move- Angolans in Zambia, 1966-1972’, Constraints, Report on Southern Africa
ment or their employment within the International Migration Review, Vol 15, Regional Workshop on Refugee Policy,
wider economy, refugees have proven to No 1; (1982) ‘Self-settled rural refugees Arusha, 22 September - 4 October 1991
be an economic asset (Kuhlman 1989; in Africa: the case of Angolans in Sepulveda D C (1994) ‘Challenging the
Mollett 1991; Harrell-Bond 1996). Zambian villages’ in Hansen & Smith assumptions of repatriation: Is it the
(eds) Involuntary Migration and most desirable solution?’, RSP
In cases where host governments have Resettlement: The Problems and Toole M and Bhatia R (1992) ‘Somalie
maintained control of refugee policy, Responses of Dislocated People, refugees in Hartisheik A Camp, Eastern
using international aid to expand their Westview Press 13-35 Ethiopia’, JRS, Vol 5 (3/4)
economies as a whole, it has benefited
both refugees and local populations Harrell-Bond B E, Voutira E and Leopold Van Damme W (1995) ‘Do refugees
(Zetter 1992). In the process, they have M (1992) ‘Counting the refugees: gifts, belong in camps? Experiences from
avoided the inevitable tensions which givers, patrons and clients’, JRS, Vol 5 Goma and Guinea’, The Lancet 346:360-
result from earmarking aid for certain (3/4), pp 205-225 362
beneficiaries (Harrell-Bond 1986, Chap
Harrell-Bond B E (1994) ‘Pitch the tents’, Wilson K (1992) ‘Enhancing refugees’
4; Chambers 1985).
The New Republic, Sept 19&26; (1986) own food acquisition strategies’, JRS,
Dr B E Harrell-Bond, founder of the ‘Imposing Aid: Emergency Assistance to Vol 5 (3/4)
Refugee Studies Programme and Refugees’, Oxford University Press;
director until January 1997, is cur- (1996) ‘Refugees and the reformulation Digital Library Project
rently a University Research of international aid policies: What donor
Lecturer at the RSP, University of governments can do’ in Schmid (ed) The RSP’s Documentation Centre is the
Oxford. Whither Refugee?, LISWO, Leiden largest in the world dedicated to the subject
of forced migration. Its catalogued collection
Hyndman M J (1996) ‘Geographies of of unpublished ‘grey’ literature holds current-
Bibliography displacement: gender, culture and power ly around 30,000 items and is growing at a
in UNHCR refugee camps, Kenya’, PhD rate of 3-4,000 documents (90-100,000
Black R (1994) ‘Forced migration and Thesis, Faculty of Graduate Studies, pages) per annum. The catalogue is accessi-
environmental change: the impact of Department of Geography, University of ble and searchable through keywords on the
refugees on host environments’, Journal British Columbia, September RSP website at http://www.qeh.ox.ac.uk/
of Environmental Management 42, rsp/rspdoc.htm.
261-277 Karadawi A (1983) ‘Constraints on
assistance to refugees: Some observa- The RSP’s Digital Library Project began on 1
Bulcha M (1988) ‘Flight and integration’, tions from the Sudan’, World September 1997 with some $500,000 fund-
Scandinavian Institute of African Development, Vol 11, No 6, pp 537-547 ing from the Andrew Mellon Foundation,
Studies, Uppsala. PHARE, the Eastern European Democracy
Kibreab G (1989) ‘Local settlement in Programme, and the Electronic Libraries
Chambers R (1979) ‘Rural refugees in Africa: A misconceived option? Concepts Programme of the UK Higher Education
Africa: What the eye does not see’, of local settlement and local integration’ Funding Councils. Over three years most of
Disasters, 3(4) 1979; (1985) ‘Hidden JRS, Oxford University Press; (1991) ‘The the collection will be digitised and a
losers? The impact of rural refugees in state of the art review of refugee studies sustainable plan put in place for continued
refugee programmes on the poorer in Africa’, Uppsala, Paper in Economic digitisation beyond that time for new acquisi-
hosts’, International Migration Review, History tions. The documents will be made available
Vol xx, No 2.243-263
over the World Wide Web, with delivery in
Kuhlman T (1990) Burden or Boon? A
a variety of other electronic and non-elec-
Clark L (1985) ‘The refugee dependency Study of Eritrean Refugees in the
tronic formats customised to the disparate
syndrome: physician health thyself’, Sudan, Anthropological Studies VU no
technologies of users throughout the world.
Washington DC, Refugee Policy Group 13, UV University Press, Amsterdam
The Digital Library Project also plans to
Clark L and Stein B (1985) ‘Older Mollett J A (1991) Migrants in make available other kinds of materials in
refugee settlements in Africa: A final Agricultural Development, London, electronic form in the future. These will
report’, Washington DC, Refugee Policy Macmillan include distance learning packages related
Group to the courses and summer schools taught by
Morss E (1984) ‘Institutional destruction the RSP, as well as multimedia archives of
Goyen P D, Soron’gane E M, Tonglet R, resulting from donor and project prolif- images, film, video and sound.
Hennart P and Vis H (1996) eration in the sub-Saharan countries’,
‘Humanitarian aid and health services in World Development, Vol 12, No 4, 465- For more details, contact: Marilyn Deegan,
Eastern Kivu, Zaire: Collaboration or 70 Project Manager, RSP Digital Library Project,
competition’, Journal of Refugee RSP (address/fax below).
Studies (JRS), Vol 9, No 3 Nieburg P, Person-Karell B, and Toole M Email: marilyn.deegan@qeh.ox.ac.uk
‘Malnutrition/mortality relationships Tel: +44 (0)1865 270435.
This two-part article presents a series of reflec- favour of the project, it was impossible
to collect testimonies and was necessary
tions on the experience of the Project for the to establish contact with other social
organisations.
Reconstruction of a Historical Memory in Methodology
Guatemala (REMHI). This first part analyses The research model for the project com-
the evolution and approach of the project. prised categories traditionally used in
human rights work in the field of col-
The second part of this two-part article, lecting, analysing and understanding the
experience of populations affected by
which deals with the contents and practical war. However, these categories proved
inadequate from the start. Which catego-
implications of the project report, will be ry covers being compelled to kill a
brother? Which concept can be applied
published in the next issue. to public ceremonies where everyone
was compelled to beat a victim on the
head with a stick until s/he died? The
happened, or denounce those responsi-
more experiences were shared, experi-
Zetter R (1992) ‘Refugees and forced ble. The project - REMHI - was initially to
ences which had in many communities
migrants as development resources: the provide material for the future
been kept secret, the more challenges
Greek Cypriot refugees from 1974’, Commission for the Clarification of
emerged.
Cyprus Review, Vol 4, No 1:7-38 History (Comisión de Esclarecimiento
Histórico - CEH). However, with its The first of the changes that the project
Voutira E and Harrell-Bond B E (1995) underlying mandate to discover the team considered making was in the tools
‘In search of the locus of trust: the social truth and investigate those responsible, to be used in collecting the testimonies:
world of the refugee camp’ in Daniel and REMHI developed into an alternative how to break down into basic elements
Knudsen (eds) (Mis)Trusting Refugee
here are over 34,000 Guatemalan
In 1995, two years before the signing of force complementing what the official those experiences - such as military
the peace agreement between the commission (the CEH) was able to do. harassment, assassination of specific
Guatemalan Government and the URNG Various dioceses of the Catholic church individuals, massacre, escape to the
(Unión Revolucionaria Nacional took on the role of starting up REMHI mountains, and resistance in extreme
Guatemalteca), the Archbishop’s Office and committed themselves to aiding and conditions - which formed part of the
for Human Rights initiated a project to promoting its work in different districts. daily reality of communities living in
collect testimonies of human rights vio- The involvement of important sectors of some regions; and the long process of
lations in Guatemala. This project was the church was a key aspect in being displacement, first into the mountains,
based on the conviction that the political able to advance the project, given the then from community to community,
repression had wiped out the popula- church’s credibility, its geographical until finally into exile or displacement in
tion’s power of speech. For many years, extension and its ability to turn itself one’s own country.
survivors and their relatives had been into a ‘protected’ space. In places where
unable to share their experience, come those people holding positions of Moreover, focusing on the injuries ran
to an understanding about what had responsibility in the church were not in the risk of victimising the survivors.
Carlos University (Guatemala), Federal For several decades now, there has been
philosophical underpinnings, however,
University of Paraiba (Brazil), a growing body of opinion that argues
stem from a long African colonial and
Intermediate Technology Development for a more pluralistic way of thinking
post-independence tradition. In East
Group (Peru), Deusto University about the world and how to change it
Africa and elsewhere, pastoral popula-
(Spain), University of the Basque (eg Vickers, 1981; Pretty, 1994). Eco-
tions were long ago forced off their
Country (Spain), Autonomous systems are now more clearly regarded as
grazing lands in order to create parks
University of Barcelona (Spain), Centre dynamic and continuously changing, and
for wildlife and tourists (Turton, 1987;
for Development Research (Denmark), the importance of people in their devel-
Howell, 1987; McCabe et al, 1992).
Trinity College, University of Dublin opment is being acknowledged. This
Conservation meant the preservation of
(Ireland) and the RSP, University of concern is based upon a new under-
flora and fauna and the exclusion of
Oxford (UK). Network representatives standing of human populations as nur-
people, and indigenous peoples were
come from diverse disciplinary back- turers and conservers rather than simply
often regarded as impediments, not only
grounds including social anthropology, destroyers of their own environments. In
to the state’s conservation policy but also
economics, health sciences, law, politi- conservation circles there is a growing
to its general desire to modernise and
cal science and sociology. recognition that without local involve-
develop.
ment there is little real chance of pro-
For more information, contact tecting wildlife, and the concept of
Seán Loughna at the RSP. There are numerous examples of such ‘conservation with a human face’ (Bell,
Email: sean.loughna@qeh.ox.ac.uk displacement in Africa, including farmers 1987) and the need for community par-
and pastoralists in Chad, the Maasai who ticipation (IIED, 1994) are now at least
International organisations and NGOs have the field on the basis of the principles’
provisions. Although the Commission
an important new document to turn to when was not asked or expected to adopt the
principles, it took an important step
they advocate on behalf of internally displaced toward advancing protection for IDPs by
at par with the birr, leaving cross-border them, rather than across state frontiers. aging consequences for displaced people
trade undisturbed, but when it rapidly Displaced persons should therefore be and the welfare of the region as a whole.
fell in value, the Ethiopians sought to absorbed fairly readily into host popula-
protect the birr by insisting on exchange tions, and return to their homes as soon by Christopher Clapham, Professor of
and the new Yugoslavia. The new factor torial integrity of states. Accordingly, the by Michael Barutciski, Research
Publications
On 18 May 1998, the RSP hosted a workshop enti-
tled ‘Preventing a humanitarian crisis in Kosovo’;
participants included a mixture of practitioners
(UN,
NGO,
gov-
ern-
ment)
and
acade-
mics
from
sever-
al dis-
8. Development-induced displacement We would like to thank ECHO for their generous spon-
and resettlement (DIDR) sorship of this issue of Forced Migration Review.
The UK Department for International
Development is funding four desk stud-
ies as the first stage of a programme of
ECHO is the European Community Humanitarian Office, a service of the
research into development-induced dis-
European Commission which is under the direct responsibility of
placement and resettlement (DIDR). The
Commissioner Emma Bonino. It manages humanitarian aid on behalf of
research will look at: dam-induced dis-
the European Union. Part of its mission is to raise public awareness of
placement, mining and petroleum
the issues at stake.
extraction-induced displacement and
urban clearance, as well as parkland and
Working with partners in the field
conservation-induced displacement.
The desk studies will focus on: the role ECHO funds relief to victims of both natural and man-made crises out-
of funders in the design and outcome of side the European Union. Aid is channelled impartially, straight to victims,
DIDR; legal frameworks and the rights of regardless of race, religion or political beliefs. ECHO has over 180 part-
the displaced; conflict, resistance and ners, organisations which have signed a Framework Partnership Contract
identity formation in resettlement; and with the Commission. Its partners are the specialist agencies of the
the significance of social variables, such United Nations, the Red Cross family, other international organisations,
as age and gender. The authors of the and NGOs.
desk studies are (in order): Alan Rew,
University of Wales at Swansea; Michael ECHO is the biggest single source of humanitarian aid in the world. In
Barutciski, RSP; Dolores Koenig, 1996, it donated funding of almost 442m ECU, not including aid that the
American University, Washington; EU’s 15 Member States gave separately. ECHO funding supported projects
and Anthony Oliver-Smith, University in over 60 countries worldwide. ECHO funding is spent on goods and
of Florida. services such as food, clothing, shelter, medical aid, water supplies and
sanitation facilities, emergency repair work to the infrastructure, trans-
Proposals currently before funders include port and mine-clearing technical assistance. ECHO also funds disaster
the following: prevention, preparedness and migration projects in regions prone to
• a sociological study of medical humanitarianism
natural catastrophes.
and human rights witnessing, focussing on two
international NGOs which have played an influen-
tial part in linking international humanitarianism Evaluation and training
and human rights
• an assessment of primary health care delivery to ECHO projects are evaluated by independent consultants with a view to
pastoralists in Syria and Jordan improving quality in humanitarian aid. ECHO also supports the training
• developing an appropriate role for UNHCR in
of humanitarian aid workers in the field through a postgraduate pro-
humanitarian crises: prevention and repatriation
• a study of conservation-induced displacement in gramme available at seven European universities: the Network on
Humanitarian Assistance (NOHA).
Website
Conferences • A series of conferences is planned for Geneva (June and October), The Global IDP Survey website includes a
UK (July), Southern Africa and Canada (October), Horn of Africa full IDP bibliography and can be accessed
(November, led by the Brookings Institution Project on Internal on http://www.nrc.no/idp.htm
Displacement) and Colombia (early 1999, led by the US Committee
for Refugees). Additional workshops may be held in Thailand and For more information
elsewhere as interest develops. The conferences will be an opportu- If you would like more information about
the project, or would like to receive Global
nity to disseminate the various 1998 publications, to develop a net-
IDP Survey publications and are not a sub-
work for the database and - most importantly - to focus the scriber to Forced Migration Review,
attention of field workers, governments and human rights organisa- please contact:
tions on the practical use of best practice materials, including the
Global IDP Survey
Chemin Moïse-Duboule 59
Through Forced Migration Review and the above initiatives, the CH-1209 Geneva Switzerland
Global IDP Survey will continue to build an international Tel: +41 22 788 8085
advocacy network and an information centre on IDPs. Fax: +41 22 788 8086
Email: idpsurvey@nrc.ch
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Real or simulated dependency and an unavoidable behaviour pattern go hand-in-glove with a prolonged stay in a
refugee camp. It is not only obvious in the attitude of those refugees who hang around the administrative complex
in a camp, clamouring for non-food items - the hard currency in many camps - and jobs, but it also affects
refugees with entrepreneurial skills: those who boast that they would manage well if the assistance programme
came to an end but who can hardly hide their concern about their mini-enterprises when a certain food item is
excluded from the weekly or monthly food
distribution or when there is a general
reduction in refugee rations. The refugee
camp is a fertile ground for credulity
and false expectations, preventing
young refugees from genuine
participation in human develop-
ment programmes such as skills
development projects and
income-generating schemes.
Few refugees would regret their decision to stick to a camp life if refugees and those working with them
cooperated in pursuit of a fundamental goal: arming refugees with experience, knowledge and skills.