Beyond the Fence: Constructed and Found spaces for children's outdoor play in natural and human-induced disaster contexts – Lessons from north-east Japan, and Za'atari refugee camp in Jordan

Abstract

Play is part of the nature of childhood and affirmed as important internationally in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. It is therefore an anomaly that play is not a pillar of humanitarian aid and this is of particular concern because children are displaced and become refugees disproportionately compared to adults, as a result of both natural and human-induced disasters. Play can help children deal with some of the traumas resulting from a disaster and thus contribute to their health and well-being Sustainable Development Goal 3 (SDG3) and help prepare them for education Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG4). Using the theoretical framework of constructed and found spaces for children's outdoor play the paper explores these in two contexts: after the triple disaster in north-east Japan and Za'atari refugee camp in Jordan. The results indicate that in the temporary housing areas of these disaster contexts children play in found spaces which are proximal, associated with temporary housing, and distal, beyond the temporary housing. New constructed spaces were stand alone or associated with safety/educational facilities for children but there were differences in this provision between the two contexts, with more provision in the bounded refugee camp than in the geographically dispersed disaster area in Japan. This difference in provision is suggested as being the result of several factors but may also reflect the fact that provision for children's play is not a pillar of humanitarian aid, which it should be in order to protect the child's right to play in such traumatic situations.