News

An article "How to Build a Perfect Refugee Camp" from the Times Magazine of the New York Times went on to describe in full detail the living conditions of a refugee camp for the refugees of Syria in Kilis, Turkey, globally unique of its kind. Describing basic amenities as though they were luxury features, "The front door is lockable. The bathroom is serviced by its own plumbing and hot-water tank; the kitchen is equipped with both a refrigerator and a stove." Kemal Kirisci, director of the Turkey Project at the Brookings Institution, says that the Turks may have invested in such elaborate camps. "It needs to be seen in the context of Turkey's policy to create one integrated market in the Middle East... the cost was worth the benefit."

Comment

Described as elaborate camps reveals the true nature of the lost human perspective towards millions of displaced throughout the world, the undertone of the article is raw revealing the lost human touch of the handling of the refugees. True to capitalist nature, humanitarian relief is measured by the greater benefit be it short term or in the long run. Another persistent undercurrent of the article is the necessary gratitude to the host country which opened its gates to the thousands of Syrians, one refugee was quoted as "So if I'm a good man, I must be grateful to them. They [Turkey] don't have to do this, after all." These people escaped from the persecution and massacres of the regime seeking refuge for their lives and integrity, the vast majority anticipated this as a short term relief escaping with few possessions in hand.

Where is the human element even more importantly the Islamic element of the Turkish government that treats and views its neighbor artificially carved out of its Muslim land as one of its own, instead of being smug that it provides running water to a group of 15-20 people crammed inside a shelter structure or polishing its image to the world in hopes to boost its economy? Describing the basic facilities as luxury amenities brings out a new low for the apathetic agents and administrators. Even by their own standards of humanism, they fall below par, as they set to peddle their own agenda using asylum seekers as further leverage in the economic and political arena.

The article mentioned in order for refugees to remain a catalyst for change that they must not fall into the comfort of the living condition in the Kilis camp, as claimed, "Refugees are not useful if they're not suffering." The question glaringly surfaces how are the refugees to act as a catalyst for change? As reported by numerous outlets of the horrors and suffering of refugee camps throughout the world from Jordan to Africa to Afghanistan, the displaced remain in their sub-standard living situation, with every day darker than the day prior. Those who escaped perishing in their homeland are left to suffer from malnourishment, disease, and rape in the refugee camps. Yet they continue to be overlooked and their dilemma filed away as new refugee camps are erected in Africa and elsewhere. These sub-standard refugee camps contrary to the highly praised Kilis camp are seeking to incite its inhabitants, mostly women and children, to bring about change. The scrutiny shifts to the Palestinian or Kenyan refugee camps; did any group of refugees liberate their homelands due to their suffering in their camps? Rather they grew accustomed and found it necessary to adapt to the squalid conditions in order to survive. This callous frame of thought has not failed to waste an opportunity to dehumanize a war crisis to stabilize its interests even if it entails stripping the most important factor - the human factor - by pouring acid into the wounds of the refugees of Syria and other usurped lands by somehow suggesting change of their living circumstances is in their hands.

As for the Turkish higher-end versus slum-like camps, all have a common denominator- all hate their situation and long for the comfort of their homes and the air of their homeland.

Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by
Um Muhanad