Palestinian Refugee Camps In The Arab East: Governmentalities In Search Of Legitimacy | Ifi Working Paper Series #1

Working Paper Series #1 | October 2010
Palestinian Refugee Camps in the Arab East: Governmentalities in Search of LegitimacySari Hanafi
“Camp crowdedness becomes unbearable. The size of Palestinian families is increasing relentlessly, and Iraqi migrants are invading our space. There are no green areas, or any playgrounds for kids. Yes this is painful … but nevertheless I like being here amongst my family and people. Here, I feel safe.” This is how one interviewee, a middle class Palestinian refugee, portrayed his paradoxical experience in Jaramana camp, Damascus. He describes its painful urban condition, but also the sense of comfort in belonging to a community. The camp setting has reinforced nationalism, yet when the local population stigmatizes the camp dwellers and the local authority neglects its infrastructure, the camp transforms into a ghetto, allowing a blend of nationalistic and problematic isolationistic identities to flourish.
While a few of the camp dwellers develop a sense of self-segregation, the large majority resist it. Although keen to keep the camp’s political specificity as an area populated by a forced refugee community so as to maintain their right of return (to their place of origin), they strongly denounce the transformation of their camp from a temporary space of residence to slum-like conditions without any clear mode of governance. The combination of a political space with slum-like settings raises concerns over the types of governance that may ensue; the involvement of humanitarian organizations, for example, is beneficial for providing emergency services, but what if that particular emergency situation has been drawn out for over 60 years? Furthermore, is it easier to govern a camp when it has reached slum-like conditions?