Mixed media projects on the conditions and potential interventions in Domiz, Iraq.
These research and projects were conducted through the Yale undergraduate architecture studio course Urban Lab: An Urban World in 2019. The map project was created in collaboration with C. Gormley.
Since 2012, almost 12 million Syrians have been forced to relocate due to the Syrian civil war. Approximately half moved within the country, becoming internally displaced persons, and the other half fled to another country, becoming refugees.
The Domiz Refugee camp was opened in 2012 as a response to the Syrian crisis. Originally meant to house 6000 refugees for a few months, the camp is now at 10x capacity and is closed to newcomers. As months-long stays have become years, tents have become brick and sheet-metal shelters, and small bakeries have become economies. Though Domiz has similar characteristics and faces the same problems as many urban environments, the fact remains that it is not equipped to become a permanent city.
Refugee camps are not a permanent solution.
Refugee camps should be a transitional environment, in which refugees can take the time they need to heal from the physical and psychological trauma of their situation, develop new skills, become accustomed to a new environment, and eventually find a more permanent home either through local integration or resettlement, assuming that repatriation is not an option.
These projects, which comprised an exhibition, examine the realities of displacement at a global scale, where international policies rule, and at the level of Domiz, an environment that seeks to find and define ‘home.’ My intervention aims to empower refugees. My booklet contains information on refugee rights, laws within the Kurdistan Regional Governorate, Iraq, and relevant international jurisdiction, and local and regional resources available to refugees, often free of charge. My hope is that when refugees are equipped with this knowledge, they are better able to advocate and plan for the futures they want for themselves.
Refugee camps like Domiz have an unmistakably urban characteristics. In this map, the creation of new cities around the globe largely spurred by capitalist interests is compared to the new camps created in response to the Syrian crisis. Though not documented in the map, many of the new cities remain unoccupied, while the camp populations swell. An interactive 3D version of the refugee percentage map can be made available upon request. This map was created in collaboration with C. Gormley using ArcGIS and Adobe Illustrator.
Domiz is primarily populated with Syrian refugees. These two maps compare the outflux of Syrians and where they travel to the influx of refugees to Iraq and from where they come. This map was created with ArcGIS.
Finding Home
This film short created by collaging found videos to create a visual and auditory narration of the lived conditions in the Domiz camp. While the sentiments of the interviewed people range from gratitude for their newfound safety to hopelessness for the future, their mixed feelings have a tense relationship with what it means to be home. This video was created using Adobe Premiere Pro.
This map, described more fully in the refugee handbook above, locates camp resources based on what kinds of needs they meet. While this information is documented by the UNHCR, it is not disseminated to the camp residents in a meaningful way. This map was created on Adobe Illustrator.
While many refugee resources exist in the KRG within Iraq, there are many more resources that are not solely dedicated to refugee use that could provide valuable support. A large problem is that these resources are not advertised or recommended in camps in a formal, accessible way. This map was created through ArcGIS and Adobe Illustrator.