Al-Hol Camp, located in northeastern Syria, is one of the largest camps in the country. It has been associated with sheltering ISIS members and their families. The majority of the camp’s residents are Iraqis who fled Nineveh and Anbar during the war against the terrorist organization in 2013.
However, the camp’s history dates back to 1991, when it was established to house Iraqi refugees fleeing the Second Gulf War. It was administered by the Syrian authorities at the request of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
In 2003, the camp, which spans an area of 2.9 square kilometers, was reopened to receive Iraqis leaving the country following the US occupation of Iraq.
In 2013, the camp fell into the hands of ISIS, which expelled its residents and established several prisons and centers for managing the organization’s operations. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) regained control of the camp in 2015 with support from the international coalition. The camp remains under their administration to this day.
Since Al-Hawl Camp was transformed into an isolation camp for families of fighters from the so-called “Islamic State” organization, it has become a safe haven for fugitives, detainees, and those wanted for crimes other than those related to joining the terrorist organization.
A review of the camp’s history, which has witnessed varying waves of displacement since 1991,
After the emergence of the so-called “Islamic State” organization in Syria and Iraq, displacement to it increased again, especially from Mosul in northern Iraq. The camp once again became crowded with Iraqi refugees and displaced Syrians whose areas were affected by the ongoing war in the country, and the burden was far beyond its capacity. The camp’s capacity was estimated at about 11,000 refugees, and it now accommodates approximately 100,000 refugees, according to unofficial reports that appeared in 2021, nearly four years ago.
As for official reports, they indicate approximately 72,000 refugees, which has transformed the camp into a free camp for recruiting fighters for organized crime, whether through remnants of the organization or the formation of a nucleus. To organize a new refugee population, the number of youth refugees and under exceeds 50,000 people. It is expected that within 10 years, the number of refugees will increase by approximately 55,000 children in a camp that has been stretched nearly 20 times its capacity and is suffering from the most basic necessities of life. What can we expect from this new generation that has grown and continues to grow over the past ten years?
Here, we review previous experiences with camps established in many Arab countries after 1948.
In some Arab countries, the vast majority have been transformed into overcrowded cities, closer to slums, lacking proper infrastructure such as electricity, water, and sanitation, and with poor medical and educational conditions. Yet, they have produced many politicians, athletes, businessmen, and highly educated individuals. What if we provided the new generation of refugees with the right environment through several measures, the most important of which are:
- Establish a new camp close to this camp, where the new camp will serve as a rehabilitation center. More than one center will likely be needed. We will also work to divide the camp into areas based on the refugees’ nationalities and ensure, through specific methods, the refugees’ honesty regarding their information. Their displacement locations, nationalities, and circumstances are being addressed, paving the way for a solution to a dilemma that is currently considered the most dangerous, as it creates a reality even darker than that of 2013.
- Establishing an appropriate educational system that operates effectively, with educational experts on hand to reshape the thinking of children born in this camp who have never known any other reality.
- Establishing an integrated health system.
- Utilizing the existing human resources and employing them in establishing productive projects that create an economic environment for this city.
In short, it is possible to establish an acceptable structure for a small or medium-sized industrial city that includes a number of different factories that can be operated with the existing human cadres (of course, this will not happen until the rehabilitation phase, refugee sorting, and repatriation from other countries are completed). This process will only cost a very small fraction of the amount of money spent on wars in the region during the previous four decades alone. All of the above is being worked on to create a healthy environment for these people, and this is better for all countries in the region and countries with direct interests in the region, because it is not fair to leave them to struggle for death, let alone if a change occurs on the ground and the refugees are able to leave, the consequences are known and dire.