How (not) to build a refugee camp in the desert
| Publisher | IRIN |
| Publication Date | 23 October 2012 |
| Cite as | IRIN, How (not) to build a refugee camp in the desert, 23 October 2012, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/508e7a582.html [accessed 20 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
When the Jordanian government went about setting up Za'atari camp on its northern frontier for up to 100,000 Syrian refugees, it had limited experience.
"I don't think anyone in Jordan has set up a camp in the middle of the desert before," Panos Moumtzis, the UN Refugee Agency's regional coordinator for Syrian refugees, recently told IRIN.
Someone came up with the idea of bulldozing the area to rid it of large rocks, unaware of the fact that sand has a crust that keeps it from being picked up by the wind.
"Now, the slightest wind [creates a sandstorm]," Moumtzis said, noting that 150 children are taken to hospital every day for respiratory problems. "That was a mistake."
Refugees at the camp have protested violently over the conditions there. Lesson learned: "Setting up a camp in the desert has its own impossible challenges," said Moumtzis. Now UNHCR is laying gravel on 9sqkm to keep the sand under control.
