A medical history of refugee camps: medical humanitarianism in Palestinian and Sahrawi refugee camps, 1948-1976

Carr, Jennifer Ann (2024) A medical history of refugee camps: medical humanitarianism in Palestinian and Sahrawi refugee camps, 1948-1976. PhD thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

This doctoral thesis investigates two refugee camp contexts: the Palestinian refugee camps in Middle East host countries, and the Sahrawi refugee camps in Algeria. From the point in history of their establishment—in 1948 in the Palestinian case and 1975 in the case of the Sahrawi—this thesis will discuss histories of medical emergency and the role of actors and institutions in the delivery of medical humanitarian action.

At the heart of this subject—the medical history of refugee camps—there is an absence of detail and understanding. The grand narratives of humanitarian history describe complex arcs of postwar humanitarian adventure; anthropological scholarship analyses twentieth century and twentyfirst century refugee camps whilst reflecting on their longer histories; refugee camp histories detail the broader experiences of life in exile; socio-political scholarship discusses the interplay between camps and humanitarianism. This thesis is a contribution to a multi-disciplinary landscape; and I have taken the opportunity to find, analyse, and illuminate the medical and health history of refugee camps and their inhabitants. The Palestinian refugee camps and the Sahrawi refugee camps became the focus of this thesis because historical documentation of the camps’ experience with medical humanitarianism specifically has been uncovered in the archives, and the detail of this action has been under-represented in the historical literature.

This task is important. Medical history is crucial to our understanding of and respect for the human experience—and for the refugee experience. Without detailed discussion of the full, lived experience of refugees and their health, we become increasingly distanced from our understanding of how refugees lived and live. Without detailed discussion of the lived health experiences of refugees, we are in danger of perpetuating an understanding of humanitarian action in the post-war era that lacks nuance.

Here, in the details of refugee health and medical humanitarian action we gain insights into key moments in the arc of humanitarian history, in the post-war period (1945-1953) and as the development century takes hold (1965-1976). During this time, when international humanitarian action was an interplay between global dynamics and local experience, two refugee crises triggered responses of emergency relief from humanitarian actors and institutions, and the foundations were laid for what would become decades of encamped life.

• Item Type: Thesis (PhD)
• Qualification Level: Doctoral
• Subjects: D History General and Old World > D History (General) > D839 Post-war History, 1945 on
• Colleges/Schools: College of Arts & Humanities > School of Humanities > History
• Funder's Name: Wellcome Trust (WELLCOTR)
• Supervisor's Name: White, Dr. Benjamin Thomas and Nicolson, Professor Malcolm
• Date of Award: 2024
• Depositing User: Theses Team
• Unique ID: glathesis:2024-84691
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 16 Oct 2024 15:49
• Last Modified: 13 Nov 2024 16:15
• Thesis DOI: 10.5525/gla.thesis.84691
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/84691