JOAC Jordan

Living in a camp a size of a city - Zaatari refugee camp, Jordan.

With a population of 80,000, Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan needs a level of infrastructure similar to that of a large town. Looking after displaced Syrian refugees escaping the war I went on behalf of the Jersey Evening Post and the Jersey Overseas Aid Commission to see how charities and organisations provide electricity, clean water and sewage facilities to give refugees a basic standard of living.

How do you provide safe drinking water to tens of thousands of refugees in the middle of the desert?

And what about ensuring that there is an electricity network which can cope with the demand from not only the camp’s schools and hospitals, but also the general population?

These are just some of the challenges that the 36 organisations and charities which operate in their camp are faced with on a daily basis. Gavin White, the external relations officer for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, said: ‘Generally, camp populations are about 20,000. This is the second-largest camp in the world. We are grappling with many of the issues that are dealt with on a municipal level, but without the municipal administration.’​

When the Zaatari refugee camp was set up in 2012, charities initially concentrated on providing emergency assistance. However, that focus has now shifted to improving the standard of living, with tents being swapped for caravans and toilet blocks being replaced by home latrines. The caravans are also being connected to water and sewage pipes.‘We are now five years in,’ Mr White said. ‘Our focus is now more on how to invest in refugees so that we can make sure, as far as possible, that they have access to the same life chances that we have in our home countries’ It has been a steep learning curve for the organisations which work across the camp’s 12 districts, because the refugees expected the high standards of living they had enjoyed in Syria. ‘Clearly our ability to respond to people’s needs was not good enough,’ Mr White said. ‘It has been quite a learning process for UNHCR about how we respond to the evolved needs of the Syrian refugees.‘What we see on the ground is a reflection of the aspirations of the Syrians themselves. Take the electricity network – initially it was for safety at night, but quickly the Syrians made illegal connections to their shops, businesses and homes.’He added that the different organisations which are made up of 300 internationals and 3,000 Jordanians, worked closely together to ensure that services were properly implemented and maintained across the camp.However, Mr White said that despite the move towards bringing in more permanent solutions to improve living standards, solving the problems in Syria should be the priority.‘Most Syrians would favour return,’ he said. ‘Look at the availability of natural resources in Syria –it is far more beneficial there than in north Jordan, where there are constraints, water being one of them.‘Investing in a political system across the board is a more durable solution.’

Water and Sewage

WATER is clearly a precious resource in a desert, so ensuring that the 79,253 refugees have access to enough clean water to drink and wash in is a logistical nightmare for the charity organisations which work in the camp.Although the camp is based on three bore- holes which can provide 3.3 million litres of water daily, the problem is delivering it across the 5.3 square kilometres.Currently, 82 trucks are used to take the water to communal vats throughout the camp.

However, this trucking system comes with its pitfalls, according to Habibur Rehman, of Unicef’s Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Programme.Water is wasted through the transfer from the borehole to the trucks, and again when it is poured into the communal vats. Likewise, the tanks which carry the water leak, and if water wastage was not enough, the system is expensive and far from environmentally friendly, what with the 350-plus trips that are undertaken every day. With a total of 1.2 million litres of waste water being produced daily, getting rid of human waste is also problematic for the camp’s managers. Initially, the refugees dug their own waste water collection pits, but it was later identified that the sewage could seep into the groundwater and contaminate the drinking supply.Waste water is collected by a fleet of sewage trucks, with 80 per cent of it being treated at a water treatment plant on the site. And a total of 983 cubic metres of ‘sludge’ is collected by trucks every day, with 750 cubic metres of solid waste taken by trucks daily to a waste facility 45 km away.

Charities have been spreading messages about personal hygiene, how to get rid of human sewage, how to stay clean in the camp and how to conserve water. But a more permanent solution to delivering clean water and taking sewage away has now been agreed by the camp’s manage- ment representatives and the Jordanian government. A scheme is now under way to lay wa- ter and sewage pipes to every caravan in the camp. Refugees themselves are helping to lay the pipes, and it is hoped that the systems will be fully up and running by the end of next year.

Rehman said. ‘Without waste water management, lives are at risk. This is one of the most urgent areas where we need support.’

Electricity​

WHEN camp officials installed electric lights along the main streets of the camp, it did not take long for refugees to illegally tap into the supply to bring power to their own homes.Now households are linked to the grid and have access to electricity 11 hours a day. In its Energy Strategy 2015-17, the UNHCR said that it needed $14 million in funding to be able to provide adequate energy to refugees.A solar power plant is under construction and is expected to be operational by the end of 2016. According to the UNHCR, this plant will cover all the energy needs of the camp at minimal operational costs as well as providing energy to other parts of the region.

‘Without water, no one can live,’