A Monopoly on Assistance? International Aid to Refugee Camps and the Role of the Diaspora

This article focuses on the neglected role of assistance provided by refugees themselves within the framework of international aid practices in long-term refugee camps. It builds on earlier work that argues that international aid systems that provide emergency aid or technical assistance to refugees fail to respect the complex gift-giving norms in refugee communities (see for example the pioneering work done by Harrell-Bond et al. 1992, 1994, 2002). I maintain that it is important to look not only at social norms of giftgiving, but also at actual and current social practices within refugee communities.