Are refugee camps the best solution for people fleeing a crisis?

The Syrian refugee problem has reignited the debate on whether refugees are better off in camps or integrated into communities.

Maeve Shearlaw

Refugee camps spring to mind when there's a crisis. They are makeshift cities that become home to thousands of people in need. But, in reality, only a third of the world's refugees live in camps. More than half of the people the UN supports live in urban settings, the rest live outside camps in rural areas.

The crisis in Syria has caused more than a million people to cross the border into Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and Iraq.

In Jordan, most Syrian refugees live in Zaatari camp, with others housed in the smaller camps of Abdullah Park and Cyber City. The rest live within communities. In Turkey, refugee camps are controlled, and paid for, by the government. Iraq is home to 160,000 Syrian refugees. Most live in the Kurdish region. Domiz is the only camp, home to around 7,500 families, the rest live in urban areas with little or no support.

Apart from Jordan, in the other countries the majority of Syrian refugees are fending for themselves among the urban and rural population. In Lebanon there are no camps at all.

But are camps the best solution? Logistically, it's easier to get services to refugees in camps. The Danish Refugee Council says: "Camps are well-defined spaces with well-defined borders … organised like towns with schools, clinics, and providers of basic services." There is security to protect refugees from violence. Jordan's Zaatari camp has a bustling market.

But the reality of life in the camps is harsh. Temperatures dip in winter and soar in summer, and standard issue UNHCR tents offer little protection from the elements. People are bored, restless and unhappy with the conditions. Jack Byrne, Jordan director for the International Rescue Committee (IRC), says some refugees choose to "take a chance and be at greater risk at home than live with poor sanitary and hygiene conditions, lack of privacy [and] intense heat".

Paul Stromberg, the official assistant representative for the UNHCR's Jordan response, says integrating refugees within the community is a more natural way to live. "Camps are sometimes a necessity, but not a natural social structure," he says. Refugees outside camps are able to work, generate income and receive remittances from friends or family. Ultimately, it's ''a more humane way of coping with exile''.

External support for refugees can also benefit host communities, as funds go towards improving the infrastructure and capacity of schools and hospitals. The UNHCR estimates that $250m of humanitarian funds were spent in Jordan in the first six months of 2013. But low-income Jordanian families are bearing the brunt of the influx of refugees as the private rental market balloons. The IRC spoke to a family outside Azraq in Jordan whose rent had risen from 200 (£184) to 1,000 Jordanian dinars over four months. Increases in rents are a common complaint across the region.

The Norwegian Refugee Council has an innovative approach to housing refugees in Lebanon. Roger Dean explains that, because of the way the Lebanese build – slowly and when they have money – there are a lot of half- built homes. The council makes a deal with the owners of these buildings and pays for essential maintenance, such as putting in windows, or installing a water supply. In exchange, the owners host refugee families for a year for free, and by the end of that they will have a rentable property. Not only does this give refugees housing they need, the council hopes that by adding rentable housing stock it can make some impact on reducing rent inflation.

But refugees living outside camps can feel isolated, or apprehensive about mixing with other Syrians, and there have been reports of local communities becoming increasingly hostile to the new arrivals. A recent poll by the University of Jordan's Centre for Strategic Studies found that more than 70% of Jordanians wanted an end to the flow of refugees. A similar poll conducted in Lebanon by the Fafo Research Foundation found that half of those questioned believed refugees were a threat to the country's security and stability.

Byrne says urban refugees are being overlooked as the "refugee camp reflex" means they miss out on support. But there isn't enough money to go around. Dean says he is concerned about the lack of funds, "which could soon mean provision is cut and only a small proportion of those in need receive any blankets, food or access to health and other services. This will be very difficult for agencies to explain and for refugees to accept." (http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/2013/jul/25/refugee-camps-solution-people-fleeing-crisis?CMP=twt_gu)