From a Temporary Emergency Shelter to an Urbanized Neighbourhood: The Abu Shoak IDP Camp in North Dārfūr

The focal point of the paper in our hands is the metamorphic processes in the life of IDPs at Abu Shoak camp during the twelve years since its inception in 2004. It discusses the general features of changes that have taken place in the life of the families that lost their economic assets due to the armed conflicts and bailed up from the countryside to El-Fāsher town and the extent of their adaptation to, and integration into the new style and conditions of life in the town. It focuses in particular on measuring the extent to which the displaced families have melted in the urban community during the period of time that this longitudinal study took room. The primary data were collected through field visits in 2004, 2008, 2013 and 2016, using group discussions with some of the IDPs and individual interviews with heads of displaced families, officials at the camp administration and representatives of organizations operating inside the camp. This was beside the direct field observation of the camp environment, the nature of housing, the distribution and planning of residential sectors, and the behaviors and dealings among individuals within and outside the camp. Secondary data have been derived by reviewing some newspapers, scientific reports, documents and statistics.