Azraq refugee camp 3.62

The Azraq refugee camp is a refugee camp, located near Azraq, Jordan, built for refugees of the Syrian Civil War. It was developed, and is operated, by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in conjunction with the Government of Jordan. It first opened in April 2014. As of March 2016 it has over 32,000 refugees in it.Development and goalsBuilding of the camp began in May 2013. The site, located 20km west of Azraq in hot desert terrain and 90km from the Jordan–Syria border, had been previously used during the Gulf War of 1990–91 as a transit camp for displaced Iraqis and Kuwaitis. The camp itself stretches for some 15km.The signature element of the new camp's appearance was the rows and rows of white cabins with insulation and sloping roofs, to be used as the shelters. One British reporter described the "desolate encampment" as that it "appears over the horizon like an alien version of a music festival."The shelters were built with zinc and steel in an effort to withstand the hot and windy conditions. Cement and concrete was not used in construction of the camp, to emphasize the point that Jordan has made that the camp is not intended to be permanent.The camp was designed to overcome some of the problems that had been experienced at the overcrowded and trouble-ridden Zaatari refugee camp that was located closer to the border. The facilities of the Azraq camp, such as health clinics and playgrounds for children, were structured in a decentralised manner, with the idea of emulating villages within the camp. In particular, a goal was to support the preservation of the traditional social structures of Syrian communities. Security concerns were also paramount in laying out the camp. The UNHCR head of the camp said in April 2014, "We've studied what's been done in Zaatari and other refugee camps around the world and tried to plan carefully. It's not a luxury that we normally have – to prepare for months with our partners." Another UNHCR official said, "What you see when driving around is possibly one of the best refugee camps in the world." The cost of building the camp was stated at $63.5 million, with funding coming from international donors.