Geography · 10th Grade · Population and Migration Patterns · Weeks 19-27

Internally Displaced Persons and Refugee Camps

Exploring the challenges faced by internally displaced persons and the evolution of refugee camps.

• Common Core State Standards
• C3: D2.Civ.14.9-12
• C3: D2.Geo.8.9-12

About This Topic

Internally displaced persons (IDPs) are among the world's most vulnerable populations, yet they receive far less international attention than refugees because they remain within their home country's borders and fall outside the legal protections of the 1951 Refugee Convention. With over 70 million IDPs globally as of recent estimates, internal displacement from conflict, violence, and increasingly from climate events represents one of the largest humanitarian challenges in contemporary geography. For US 10th graders, this topic extends and complicates the refugee unit by examining what happens to those who cannot or do not cross an international border.

Refugee camps, whether for refugees or IDPs, are often presented as temporary emergency installations but frequently become semi-permanent settlements lasting decades. Kakuma in Kenya, Zaatari in Jordan, and Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh have evolved into cities in their own right, with markets, schools, and informal governance structures. The geography of these camps, their location, size, infrastructure, and relationship to surrounding communities, shapes the daily lives of millions.

Active learning works well here because this topic combines geographic analysis (mapping displacement patterns, analyzing camp geographies) with design thinking (how to improve camp conditions) and civic reasoning (what obligations governments have toward IDPs). Students who engage with real camp data and design challenges develop both geographic knowledge and ethical awareness.

Key Questions

1. Explain how refugee camps evolve into permanent urban settlements.
2. Analyze the geographic factors contributing to internal displacement.
3. Design solutions to improve living conditions in long-term refugee camps.

Learning Objectives

• Analyze the geographic factors, such as conflict, climate change, and resource scarcity, that contribute to internal displacement within a country.
• Compare and contrast the evolution of refugee camps into semi-permanent settlements with the development of formal urban areas.
• Design a sustainable infrastructure solution for a long-term displacement camp, considering water, sanitation, and shelter needs.
• Evaluate the ethical obligations of host countries and international bodies toward internally displaced persons and refugees.

Before You Start

Population Distribution and Density

Why: Students need to understand how populations are spread across geographic areas to analyze patterns of displacement.

Causes of Migration

Why: A foundational understanding of push and pull factors for migration is necessary to grasp the specific drivers of internal displacement and refugee movements.

Key Vocabulary

Internally Displaced Person (IDP)	A person who is forced to flee their home due to conflict, violence, or natural disasters but remains within their own country's borders.
Refugee Camp	A temporary settlement established to provide shelter and basic services for people who have been forced to flee their homes, often across international borders.
De Facto Urbanization	The process by which informal settlements, like refugee camps, develop urban characteristics such as markets, governance, and infrastructure over time, even without official planning.
Climate Migration	The movement of people, either within a country or across borders, primarily driven by the impacts of climate change, such as sea-level rise, desertification, or extreme weather events.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

Internally displaced persons have the same international protections as refugees.

What to Teach Instead

IDPs remain within their home country and are therefore subject to their own government's authority, even if that government caused their displacement. The UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement provide a framework but are non-binding. IDPs often have fewer legal protections and less international assistance than refugees, despite facing similar or worse conditions. This legal gap is a core challenge of the international humanitarian system.

Common Misconception

Refugee camps are always temporary.

What to Teach Instead

While camps are designed as emergency temporary measures, many persist for decades. Kakuma camp in Kenya has existed since 1992. Protracted refugee situations, where refugees remain displaced for five or more years, are now the norm rather than the exception. This persistence fundamentally changes the geography and sociology of camps, which gradually develop economic and social characteristics of urban areas.

Common Misconception

Climate displacement is a future problem.

What to Teach Instead

The IDMC reports that weather events and disasters already displace more people each year than conflict. Cyclones in Bangladesh, flooding in the Sahel, drought in Somalia, and wildfires in California all produce displacement. Climate displacement is a present geographic reality, not a future projection, and it predominantly affects people who contributed least to climate change.

Active Learning Ideas

Case Study Analysis: Zaatari Camp, From Emergency to City

Provide groups with data on Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan: its founding in 2012, population growth to 80,000+ residents, evolution of markets and informal infrastructure, and current services. Groups map the camp's evolution, identify what made it transition from emergency camp to semi-permanent settlement, and evaluate whether this transition represents success or failure of the international humanitarian system. Groups present to the class.

45 min·Small Groups

Concept Mapping: Internal Displacement Patterns

Provide pairs with IDMC (Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre) data on the top 10 countries by IDP population. Pairs map the displacement, identify whether each crisis is conflict-driven or climate-driven, and note the geographic relationship between IDP concentration and the source of displacement. Class discusses what patterns distinguish conflict displacement from climate displacement geographically.

30 min·Pairs

Design Challenge: Improving Long-Term Camp Conditions

Groups receive a brief describing a long-standing refugee camp facing specific challenges (inadequate water supply, lack of economic opportunities, poor shelter quality). Using a fixed budget and a menu of interventions (solar water pumping, skills training programs, improved shelter materials, expanded health clinic), groups design an improvement plan. Groups present plans and receive feedback on feasibility and geographic appropriateness.

50 min·Small Groups

Think-Pair-Share: Should Camps Become Cities?

Present the dilemma: if a camp has existed for 15 years and has schools, markets, and social infrastructure, should it be formalized as a permanent settlement? Students individually argue a position; partners debate using geographic and legal considerations; class discusses what formalizing camps implies for the international norm of eventual repatriation and what it means for host countries.

25 min·Pairs

Real-World Connections

• Urban planners and humanitarian aid organizations, such as the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), work to map and manage large-scale displacement sites like the Rohingya camps in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, assessing needs for shelter, water, and sanitation.
• Geographers use Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to analyze patterns of internal displacement caused by drought in regions like the Sahel, identifying vulnerable populations and informing disaster relief efforts.
• Architects and engineers collaborate on designing modular, climate-resilient housing solutions for protracted displacement situations, drawing lessons from settlements like the Zaatari camp in Jordan.

Assessment Ideas

Exit Ticket

Provide students with a map showing a hypothetical region experiencing internal displacement. Ask them to identify three geographic factors that might have caused this displacement and one potential challenge for IDPs in reaching safety.

Discussion Prompt

Pose the question: 'Should refugee camps be designed with the expectation that they may become permanent settlements?' Facilitate a debate where students use evidence from case studies to support their arguments, considering economic, social, and geographic factors.

Quick Check

Present students with a list of characteristics (e.g., informal markets, established schools, lack of legal status, reliance on aid). Ask them to classify each characteristic as typically found in a temporary emergency camp versus a semi-permanent settlement.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between a refugee and an internally displaced person?

Refugees have crossed an international border and receive protection under the 1951 UN Refugee Convention. Internally displaced persons (IDPs) have fled their homes but remain within their own country's borders. IDPs are technically under the protection of their own government, even if that government caused their displacement, and receive fewer guaranteed international protections than refugees.

How do refugee camps evolve over time?

Emergency camps established for short-term displacement often become long-term settlements when the conflict or crisis causing displacement persists. As years pass, residents build more permanent structures, establish markets and services, and develop community organizations. Zaatari in Jordan and Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh have become cities of hundreds of thousands with functioning economies, despite being designed as temporary installations.

What are the largest IDP crises in the world today?

As of recent data, Syria, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Colombia, and Ukraine have the largest IDP populations. Climate-related displacement is growing fastest, with South and Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa seeing the largest annual displacement from floods, storms, and drought. Internal displacement now affects every inhabited continent.

How does active learning improve student engagement with internally displaced persons and refugee camps?

These topics combine geographic analysis with design thinking and ethical questions that students find both challenging and meaningful. Design challenges for improving camp conditions require students to apply geographic knowledge under constraints, making the learning practical. Case studies of specific camps give abstract displacement statistics human scale and geographic specificity.