Floods in Sahrawi refugee camps in southwest Algeria

A refugee camp is a temporary settlement built to receive refugees. Hundreds of thousands of people may live in any one single camp. Usually they are built and run by a government, the United Nations, or international organizations, (such as the Red Cross) or NGOs.

Refugee camps are generally set up in an impromptu fashion and designed to meet basic human needs for only a short time. Some refugee camps are dirty and unhygienic. If the return of refugees is prevented (often by civil war), a humanitarian crisis can result.

Some refugee camps have existed for decades and some people can stay in refugee camps for decades, both of which have major implications for human rights. Some grow into permanent settlements and even merge with nearby older communities, such as Ein el-Helweh and Deir al-Balah.

The Sahrawi refugee camps in Tindouf, Algeria, are a collection of refugee camps, set up in the Tindouf Province, Algeria in 1975-76 for Sahrawi refugees fleeing from Moroccan forces, who advanced through Western Sahara during the Western Sahara War. With most refugees still living in the camps, the refugee situation is among the most protracted ones worldwide.

The limited opportunities for self-reliance in the harsh desert environment have forced the refugees to rely on international humanitarian assistance for their survival. However, the Tindouf camps differ from the majority of refugee camps in the level of self-organization. Most affairs and camp life organization is run by the refugees themselves, with little outside interference.

The camps are divided into four wilayas (districts) named after towns in Western Sahara; Laayoune, Awserd, Smara and Dakhla. In addition comes the smaller satellite camp "February 27", surrounding the boarding school for women, and the administrative camp Rabouni. The encampments are spread out over a quite large area. While Laayoune, Smara, Awserd, February 27 and Rabouni all lie within an hour’s drive of the Algerian city of Tindouf, the Dakhla camp lies 170 km to the southeast.