For many refugees, economic survival in refugee camps is extraordinarily difficult. Drawing on both qualitative and quantitative research, The Myth of Self-Reliance challenges the reputation of a ‘self-reliant’ model given to Buduburam and sheds light on considerable economic inequality between refugee households.

By following the same refugee households over several years, the book also provides valuable insights into refugees’ experiences of repatriation to Liberia after protracted exile and their responses to the ending of refugee status for remaining refugees in Ghana.

The Myth of Self Reliance: Economic Lives Inside a Liberian Refugee Camp is published by Berghan Books.