Humanitarian Design: “Out with the Old, in with the New”
Humanitarians are continually working to create new designs and products to make aid work more efficient and effective. Although new technology and architectural designs have been created to support refugees, one major issue remains to be unanswered. How can refugee camps become self-sufficient?
“We’re doing humanitarian aid [work] as we did 70 years ago after the second world war,” said Michael Castle Miller, the founder of the non-governmental organization Refugee Cities (Dezeen). Refugee Cities is a U.S. based NGO that aims to expand opportunities for migrants, and create cities for refugees that allows them to practice more freedom. Currently, most refugee cities are only camps, and Miller thinks this could be changed. Refugees are usually not offered work or training opportunities in their camps. These lacking opportunities contribute to refugees fleeing to find work illegally in the host country or, other times, returning home (Dezeen). Take Saif Ahmed Saif for example. He and his family were displaced from Yemen due to the ongoing war. Awhile after, Saif’s family decided it was better to return home than be a displaced family, who had trouble finding employment and essential aid. As The New Humanitarian reported, many Yemenis are taking a similar route to Saif’s, which is to risk their lives and live in war, rather than stay in a camp that undermines their dignity.
It is not as if the workers of any refugee shelter intentionally subverts the abilities of the displaced people. Instead, it is the conventional system of aid work that does this. The humanitarian workers of refugee camps assist for the short-run. Individuals living in camps have become weary of this system, and in some cases, they take matters into their own hands. In the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan, individuals hacked the electricity to power their own businesses: they wanted to turn a “non-place” into their own place, reported Killian Kleinschmidt, a humanitarian aid expert (Dezeen).
Kleinschmidt has worked for the UN and the UN High Commission for Refugees for 25 years in various regions. He, like his collaborator Miller, believes in creating camps that are self-sustainable. The humanitarian aid expert thinks that the first wrong step aid workers take is creating structures that are not meant to last. In many instances, displaced persons stay in camps for years. So, why are aid workers creating structures that only last a few months? Creating vulnerable structures puts the entire system in peril. Possibly, if aid workers were to understand that these camps are more temporary homes than camps, the system could become more reliable.
The system of humanitarian aid has not changed for decades, and maybe this is a problem. UNHCR often falls short of providing basic needs for displaced persons, so it might sound almost impossible for them to implement long-term development strategies (Dezeen). Thus, while innovation is often most applicable to the realm of technology, sometimes, innovation must be applied to norms and processes. In this case, maybe the conventional way of providing aid creates as many problems as it solves. This position leads one to question if an “out with the old, in with the new,” mentality is where innovation may fit best in humanitarian design.
Written By Leonit Dedushaj, Marketing and Communications Intern, Summer 2019
About the IIHA
The Institute of International Humanitarian Affairs (IIHA) prepares current and future aid workers with the knowledge and skills needed to respond effectively in times of humanitarian crisis and disaster. Our courses are borne of an interdisciplinary curriculum that combines academic theory with the practical experience of seasoned humanitarian professionals. The IIHA also publishes on a wide range of humanitarian topics and regularly hosts a number of events in the New York area, including the annual Humanitarian Blockchain Summit and Design for Humanity Summit.
For media inquiries, please contact: Camille Giacovas, Communications & Research Officer, IIHA cgiacovas@fordham.edu
