Refugee camp

When there is a war or some other armed conflict in a country, many people will try to flee (run away) from that country. They will go to other countries, around the country where there is no war. Because they fled, they are called refugees.

If there are just a few refugees coming into a country it is generally no problem to get housing for them somewhere. However, if there are many (or if the government of a country expects many) refugees, it may build what is called a refugee camp. This is usually done by putting many tents, and a few toilets and showers on an unused plot (stretch) of land. This is usually land where no one wants to live.

Usually the governments hope that conflicts get resolved soon, and that those camps are only temporary.

This has not been the case for the refugee camps in the Gaza Strip, for example. Those camps have existed since the mid-1970s.

Related pages
 Tent city
 Burj el-Barajneh refugee camp in the Lebanon
 United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
 United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East

Other websites

 Camp Management Toolkit  published by Norwegian Refugee Council
 Shelter Library  Resource for organisations responding to the transitional settlement and shelter needs of displaced populations
 U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants' Campaign to End Refugee Warehousing  in refugee camps around the world, people are confined to their settlement and denied their basic rights.

Category:Forced migration
Category:War