20. Refugee Republic

Refugee camp as a city in the making

Camp Domiz in northern Iraq is home to nearly 60,000 Syrian Kurds who have fled. They expected to return soon, but most of them have been there for years. The camp has twelve neighbourhoods packed with tent houses, two hospitals and seven schools. The community abides by its own laws and regulations. Many refugees have found work, make use of mobile internet and commute by public transport. The interactive documentary ‘Refugee Republic’ by Rothuizen et al. explores the world behind this city in a special way. As the makers explained to De Volkskrant newspaper: “One could consider refugee camps as small welfare states in areas where facilities tend to be scarce or absent. That raises numerous questions. Does camp democracy exist? Or is this a humanitarian dictatorship? What about economic freedoms: people get food stamps, but do they pay taxes? (…) How do locals view camps – perhaps they’d welcome refugee status themselves? Or do they look down on refugees?”