Information on evacuee camps?
November 1, 2007 1:39 PM Subscribe
Where can I learn more about contemporary evacuee/refugee camps, in particular, how they are designed, administered and what life is like in these camps? What are the standard texts/reference works on camp design theory and so forth?
I want to write a novel about a hypothetical camp in the US, but I want to learn about camps around the world, to get a broader perspective. I would love to read first hand accounts of life in any camps as well. So, everything from Katrina to Africa.
I want to write a novel about a hypothetical camp in the US, but I want to learn about camps around the world, to get a broader perspective. I would love to read first hand accounts of life in any camps as well. So, everything from Katrina to Africa.
Best answer: Norwegian Refugee Council's 'Refugee Camp Management Toolkit.'
posted by ericb at 1:51 PM on November 1, 2007
posted by ericb at 1:51 PM on November 1, 2007
Best answer: Academically, you can hit up the Journal for Refugee Studies. Memoir-wise, We Shared the Peeled Orange seems to cover the Thai-Cambodian end of things quite well. And for American history, take a gander at On the Dirty Plate Trail: Remembering the Dust Bowl Refugee Camps. And Doctors Without Borders just finished touring a model refugee camp through downtown American cities.
And check out Worldchanging's take on the matter. Or come on down here to the Gulf Coast. Even two years later, Katrina can screw with your head.
posted by laughinglikemad at 2:46 PM on November 1, 2007
And check out Worldchanging's take on the matter. Or come on down here to the Gulf Coast. Even two years later, Katrina can screw with your head.
posted by laughinglikemad at 2:46 PM on November 1, 2007
Response by poster: Thanks for the info. What about black markets and/or the internal politics of camp life? Is it common?
posted by clockworkjoe at 3:34 PM on November 1, 2007
posted by clockworkjoe at 3:34 PM on November 1, 2007
Dave Egger's novel What is the What describes life in Ethiopian and Kenyan refugee camps in detail, written after extensive interviews with a refugee. Talks a lot about black markets, social relations, etc.
And hey, you can always read UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie's online diaries about her visits to refugee camps!
You might also read up on Japanese-American WWII internment camps. I don't know what the plot of your story is, but a camp started deliberately to intern undesireables is probably going to be much, much different than the kinds of chaotic situations that happen in active war zones.
posted by footnote at 4:11 PM on November 1, 2007
And hey, you can always read UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie's online diaries about her visits to refugee camps!
You might also read up on Japanese-American WWII internment camps. I don't know what the plot of your story is, but a camp started deliberately to intern undesireables is probably going to be much, much different than the kinds of chaotic situations that happen in active war zones.
posted by footnote at 4:11 PM on November 1, 2007
The book Engineering in Emergencies provides all of the practicalities for setting up and running a refugee camp from scratch (as well as all sorts of other things that are cool to know, like how to build a bridge out of tree trunks). I'd suggest getting hold of a copy to learn about the nuts and bolts of how a camp should be set up, knowing that in reality things are less perfect, and many compromises are made.
For a less third-world focus, consider looking at novels set in the DP camps after WWII -- I think that at least one of Leon Uris's novels about the founding of Israel begins in one of those camps, for example.
I'm pretty sure that there is a US Army field manual on the setting up and administration of camps, but can't swear to that.
posted by Forktine at 4:31 PM on November 1, 2007
For a less third-world focus, consider looking at novels set in the DP camps after WWII -- I think that at least one of Leon Uris's novels about the founding of Israel begins in one of those camps, for example.
I'm pretty sure that there is a US Army field manual on the setting up and administration of camps, but can't swear to that.
posted by Forktine at 4:31 PM on November 1, 2007
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posted by ericb at 1:50 PM on November 1, 2007