GROUP DISPLACEMENT ACROSS THE MIDDLE EAST
Latest decades have seen an alarming growth on involuntary displacements of populations due to a wide set of reasons. In the Arab World, most literature has agreed upon focusing towards population movement caused by political conflicts that led to war. The extent of this phenomenon becomes evident after realizing its scope: Syrians, Palestinians, Lebanese and Egyptians have been the target of displacement caused by wars fought by the Arab and Israeli. It’s important not to look at this phenomenon as a mere isolated event, but more of a process that keeps developing. More recently, the occupation of parts of Syria by the Islamic State had captivated world attention, as more than 500,000 fled Mosul and other Syrian cities, adding to a total of 22,500,000 people, with a rate of 5,000 people fleeing the country for safety every day.
Understanding the continuity of this phenomenon reveals that implications must be studied in order to take actions that assess the possible solutions for the elicited problems. Social and economic structures are heavily affected by group displacements, as issues such as overurbanization, spontaneous settlements and population growth all change the existing dynamics in the context, and usually lead to friction between the host communities and the refugees. Nevertheless, these “outer” relationships are only one side of the issue, as the reality for refugees in their host community often begins with rushed temporary camps by the willingly host nations.
REFUGEE EMERGENCY SHELTERS
A set of rules must be set in place for emergency shelter buildings. Refugee emergency shelters are necessary in a society that’s been victimized after an act of disaster. These are considered the place where people can temporarily be relocated, having a sense of safety and protection. People have the right to live with peace, dignity and security, as stated by the international legal instructions. Protection from forced eviction, physical threats are part of the objectives for victims of arbitrary involuntary displacement. After the first settlement, emergency shelters are the primary determinants of survival during the initial stages.
Shelters must be able to do more than provide personal safety, and protection from natural conditions. Coping strategies are integral part towards ensuring self-sufficiency and self-management of the society. These responses should at any case minimize the long term adverse effects of the impact on the environment. It is a way of maximizing the opportunities for the affected communities so as to establish again the livelihood support activities of the society. Other pillars that ensure positively responding to the affected communities are the maintenance of health, the promotion of dignity and privacy, and provision of basic services, such as clothing, and hygienic upkeep supplies. These designs should ensure the dignity of the dwellers.
The tectonic and structural aspects of the emergency shelter must also be initially met. Frames of these facilities are to be build taking seismic loads and resist winds into account. Blast loads may hit the exterior façade and may affect foundations on the buildings. These structures must withstand extreme external loadings such as earthquakes and hurricane. In cases of creation of refugee’s emergency shelters, there are options to make a new structure and there are also ways to reconstruct already existing buildings.
Image 1 Example of Wind-resistant structures. The Sphere Project, 2004
The materials used and designs of the shelters should be familiar to enable the structure to be socially and culturally acceptable. Repairing damaged parts of the shelter and upgrading facilities must be top priorities. The alternative materials should also be practical, durable, and acceptable. In the construction and the sizing of the interior as well as the positioning of the openings of the building should be planned well so as to provide optimal ventilation and thermal comfort.
Baradaran then evaluates some existing transitional shelters currently used in countries such as America, Japan and Australia: (1) the Inter Shelter, (2) the Pallet House Shelter, and (3) various examples of innovative prototypes of tents specially design for emergency situations. All these options provided solutions to economical and time constraint-related problems, but little attention and emphasis towards the actual spatial and cultural values and needs. The proposals merely become finished prototypes or products.
Image 2. Inter Shelter, digital render showing a group of units. Baradaran, 2014.
Image 3. Inside of a Inter Shelter. Basic commodities. Baradaran, 2014.
Baradaran continues shaping the current refugee landscape with actual existing camps situation, introducing images of the Zatari Refugee Camp in Jordan, that was built in 2013. Rows and rows of containers follow the deserted landscape, offering superior protection to climate severity, and are easy to build. However, these did not involve the newly found refugee community into the construction, decreasing their sense of ownership, as well as their attachment. Personalization ensued, as inhabitants quickly started customizing each of the containers, fencing new “backyards” and setting up clothes lines.
Image 4. Zatari Refugee camps and their modifications, Jordan, 2013. Baradaran, 2014.
BEHAVIORAL AND CULTURAL ASPECTS OF MIDDLE-EAST RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS
“A house is representative of a society and its culture”. Traditional houses in the middle east feature a court yard. Social and private stances revolve around it. Barandaran explores the most important features of the courtyard houses, giving important details about its shape, disposition and design:
“(1) It’s lay out is appropriate for hot climates; with maximizing shading.
(2) Main entrances designed in a way, that who is at the front door cannot see private spaces in the house.
(3) Plants and water features help to cool the environment and also they are symbols of heaven in Islamic culture
(4) In Syrian culture, family and women gatherings have an important role in their family ties. They usually have family gatherings on Thursday nights in their court yards and women’s gathering in their private part of the house.
(5) The Rawaq is an important part of Middle Eastern houses, it is a covered space like a gallery that connects a series of aligned rooms; This is one of the aspect that one could see clearly in Syrian refugee camps; they created some type of covered galleries in front of their shelters, to create privacy for their families.
(6) The Iwan is an important covered open space, it is located on a platform; at north façade so it gets summer breeze. Iwan is a place in court yard houses for evening events and family gatherings.
(7) In court yard houses, windows face inside the courtyard rather than street to create more privacy.”
Image 5. Traditional Middle-East Courtyard House. Baradaran, 2014.
Emergency Shelters are often made with the express intention of accommodating a population the most rational way. But innovative shelter designs must take cultural values into account. Thinking about flexibility is an upmost concern that must be met, in order to let new residents, adapt their own space to their cultural values. The diatribe between their values and the current design of emergency camps shows the flaws of the past concerning emergency buildings.
Image 6. Woman and child inside their tent. Baradaran, 2014.
As an example, privacy will be taken as one of the core fundaments of the Eastern Muslim culture. By looking at the tent’s pictures, it’s evident that the semi-transparent design doesn’t match the opaque, private costumes of these refugees. Therefore, their inhabitants shaped their space to make it more private by placing pieces of cloth on the tent’s walls.
The privacy and safety of the women and children must also be considered due to their vulnerability to attacks. There should be separation of these due to the potential threats. Thus, internal subdivision must be ensured. In cases of mass shelters, internal subdivision can accommodate grouping of families, with access routes that are appropriately in place. Furthermore, the existing cultural practices must be considered. The shelter for women must be ensured that they are protected and ensured of their safety. There must be a particular attention that would be imposed to prevent and respond to violence that are gender based and other sexual exploitations. Thus, in the cultural set up of these shelters, it is also important to encourage the participation of women in the design, planning, and implementation of the shelter and other settlement programme.
Praying is also a sacred activity for Muslims. In Islam, praying several times a day is an obligation, not an option. Displaced families find prayer as both a need and a pleasure, because of its calming properties. These spaces are not designed for this particular use, leaving inhabitants to adapt and transgress their own culture to favor survival.
Drawing 1. Difficulty for Praying. Baradaran, 2014
Sleeping habits and patterns should be taken into account for the design proposal. In this case, Baradaran sheds some light on how the shelters struggled to provide a space where private spaces such as bedrooms could be separated from each other.
Image 7. Children in a tent. Constrained space. Baradaran, 2014
The space provision within the building should be maximized. There should be flexibility of the provided covered space to accommodate various activities that may happen during day and night. The overall structure design as well as the location of the openings must be allocated appropriately to provide comfort even with the presence of internal subdivisions. These subdivisions must be adjacent to external spaces to accommodate immediate support to all that may dwell in it. The collective settlement design should be plotted appropriately with consideration of the various resources that the people may need such as the sanitation facilities, food preparation, cooking, and distribution. The temporary plots of these shelters should maintain the dignity and privacy of the different families and households. This can be done by internal subdivision and offsetting the door openings, while at the same time ensuring that each household opens to the common space. The integrated living areas that are provided for other vulnerable and culturally sensitive factions of the population must also be safe. The provision for the additional facilities and access points must be implemented to ensure that all the people are granted with their needs. The social structure and the gender roles, as well as the requirements of the vulnerable groups must be considered even from the planning stage. Other extended plans can go as far as the provision of safe play areas for children, open access to schools and other educational facilities.
Image 8. Internal Layout Proposal
This proposal presents an internal space layout that features flexibility within its pieces, taking into account cultural values and needs. There’s both a social and private area, that can be split through the use of temporal closings, such as curtains. The social area can also transform into a bed that’s away from the original dormitory. Other activities can be held within the lengths of the social area, as the dining table can be withdrawn, leaving enough space for family gatherings (with recreational or spiritual motives). Furthermore, there’s space for future development of a restroom extension that can translate into the transition to a more definite home.
References
Baradaran Fallahkhair, Naseem. "The Interrelationship Between Built Environments and Displaced Peoples' Behaviors." Unpublished Dissertation. Canterbury: Kent State University, 2014.
BBC Irac. Isis Refugee Crisis Begins: 500,000 flee Mosul. Irac, June 09, 2014.
FEMA . Safe Rooms and Shelters, Protecting People Against Terrorist Attacks. May 2006.
Shami, Seteney. "The Social Implications of Population Displacement and Resettlement: An Overview with a Focus on the Arab Middle East." The International Migration Review (Center for Migration Studies of New York, Inc. ) 27, no. 1 (1993): 4-33.
The Sphere Project. Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards. London, 2004.
