Invisible Camps: The Case of Al Mafraq Improvised Refugee Camp

‘Random’, ‘wild’, and ‘unofficial’ are among the various terms used within the displacement discourse to describe improvised refugee camps. In Jordan, these clusters of makeshift accommodations are usually located in isolated areas lacking infrastructure and access to municipal services. While this phenomenon is not new in a country that has been responding to wars and political crisis for over 80 years, it has notably increased since 2014, following the arrival of Syrian refugees. Despite the rapid international aid response and the existence of three official camps where healthcare and education services are accessible, some refugees turn to unofficial improvised camps that lack basic services such as sanitary facilities and roads. There, they face higher risk of violence, disease, exploitation, detention, and deportation (Obi, Chinedu Temple, 2021).This paper documents the experience of an improvised camp located in north-eastern Jordan. It relies on working with the inhabitants of this camp using participatory methods which enable them to steer the research focus and co-formulate its recommendations. This choice of methodology stems from a commitment to prioritising participants’ interests and agency, by acknowledging the uniqueness of their experiences and complexity of their circumstances, especially in a context were lives are often characterised as either crisis or potential.

This paper is a part of a bigger project that investigates economic, political, and social factors which drive refugees to leave official camps and join makeshift settlements. It asks, how can global aid efforts and local response policies be reformed to eliminate the factors which push refugees to improvised camps, while documenting the innovative ways in which these refugees 'recreate’ their lives and interact with host communities. This contribution is an effort to bring focus to improvised camps and an invitation for feedback and collaboration with individuals and institutions who engage with similar phenomena around the world.