Layan
For Layan, home making within the refugee camp centres on improving the material conditions of the caravan, and is linked to the length of time they expect to be forced to stay away from their former home in Syria:
"When we came, we didn't really care how long (we were going to stay). We came with the clothes that we were wearing. If the problems in Syria were solved, we would go back there immediately."
"When they gave us the caravans, we started fixing them up, bit by bit, putting in the mattresses and the covers and pillows."
Fixing up the caravan is not just about material comfort, but also the search for psychological senses of freedom, escape, and the restoration of lost identity and pride – as explored in this report from Newcastle University and Northumbria University on the decoration of camp homes by refugees in Za’atari, which states: 'interior adornment serves a purpose in refugee lives that goes beyond that of functionality.'
