In Photos: Everyday resilience in a Lesvos refugee camp

Refugee camps save lives in emergencies – but often refugees languish there for decades. Two columns on programs that allow refugees to live normally in cities, with an ATM card taking the place of a camp.

Refugee resettlement is arguably one of our country’s noblest examples of foreign policy. It gives forcibly displaced people from around the world a chance to escape danger and rebuild a life for themselves in a safe environment.

Fueled by xenophobia, many countries around the world are refusing refugees at the border. But Canadian hockey moms, poker buddies, and neighbors are personally resettling Syrians, one family at a time.

American humanitarian aid and programs by the United Nations have proved beneficial to equip Middle Eastern refugees with resources for self-settlement outside of camps. The self-settlement model has empowered refugees to become more productive members of society when they return home.

In Germany child refugee homes are overwhelmed with unaccompanied minors. Adoption is one solution to quickly get these kids into homes, but many kids refuse because their family is far away but alive.

Since 2003, the Dublin Protocol has stopped migrants from traveling through Europe to auspicious countries before claiming asylum. However, many migrants travel by sea—which is more perilous and has led to high rates of death. Germany is the first country European country to break from the Dublin Protocol by letting in Syrian refugees.

Refugee camps typically look like a prison with squalid conditions and barbed wire tops. By contrast, the Kilis refugee camp in Turkey is orderly, secure, and clean; has schools for children; has grocery stores, and is powered with electricity. The camp is not run by the United Nations, but rather it is Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency that oversees every detail and pours billions of dollars into maintaining it every year.

Lost children in third world countries suffer from severe emotional distress without their parents. UNICEF has started using a new app called RapidFTR that helps reunite lost children with their families.

In the Middle East, refugee camps are expensive to run-- particularly because shipping food aid is expensive, and the refugees feel victimized in an environment where they have no agency or purchasing power. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees has moved refugees in Jordan out of camps and has given cash instead of in-kind aid, and new possibilities emerge with mobile money by the aid of new technology. The results have shown that refugees feel more empowered and the costs associated with their aid are reduced.

A Bhutanese refugee camp in Damak, Nepal is giving its displaced inhabitants a brighter future thanks to green investment through sustainable, eco-friendly projects that respond to refugees needs.