Displacement Crisis Research Articles

Healthcare provision for displaced people in transit: Analyses of routinely collected data from INTERSOS clinics at the Ukrainian border with Moldova and Poland.

The Russian military invasion of Ukraine has sparked Europe's largest forced displacement since World War II, bringing about significant health vulnerabilities for migrants and refugees. European health information systems lack comprehensive data coverage, especially in underrepresented migration stages like transit. This study aims to address this gap by analyzing data from INTERSOS clinics at the Moldovan and Polish borders with Ukraine to identify the common health conditions prompting people to seek healthcare services during transit. From 6th March to 31st May 2022, this cross-sectional study observed migrants and refugees receiving INTERSOS services at two mobile clinics in Moldova, and a facility in Poland. We analyzed data by age, sex, nationality, and reported disease frequencies and care provided. This study used routinely collected data from 1756 patients. The majority of the adult population seeking healthcare were females (76.5 %), 26.1 % were children and 18.7 % were older individuals. Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) were the primary reason for seeking healthcare at these clinics, with 23.3 % of the study population being diagnosed with at least one chronic disease, and 3.4 % of people having multimorbidity. Mental and behavioural disorders were diagnosed in 12.6 % of the population, and somatoform disorders and related stress (F40-F48) in 10.8 %. Our study indicates the diversity of forcibly displaced populations and the corresponding diversity of their healthcare needs. In the shadow of a forced displacement crises triggered by the conflict in Ukraine, there is an urgent need to give more attention to subgroups of the population that are often neglected in humanitarian crises. These include older adults, females, and ethnic minorities. Additional attention should also be given to NCDs and sexual and reproductive health (SRH) care needs, especially given the high numbers of older adults and females in this population. Early medical support, psychological first aid and interventions in transit centers that promote survivor resilience and recovery are required. Our findings shed light on the healthcare needs of forcibly displaced populations during transit, a stage often overlooked in migration health research. They underscore the diverse healthcare needs of forcibly displaced populations, emphasizing the necessity for humanitarian aid programs to acknowledge and address this diversity. Accessing data on displaced populations' healthcare needs in transit can help the preparing and planning of healthcare services for these populations in host or destination countries. Ensuring objective anonymization and preventing patient re-identification are essential, particularly in safeguarding refugee privacy and data protection to avoid the misuse of their data.

The ethnographic crime scene: Tracing the violence within market relations on the Thai‐Myanmar border

AbstractIn a world of proliferating displacement crises and restricted mobility pathways, low‐wage labor migration has become, for many, a more feasible refuge than formal asylum. The refugee‐as‐displaced‐migrant has thus become emblematic of our time. But how do contemporary displacement crises, and violent ones at that, shape the predicament of the migrant‐refugee in countries of arrival? And how might the particularities of the displaced migrant's vulnerable condition be read as clues, both to violence committed abroad and to the profitable leveraging of said violence in countries of arrival? In this article, I engage these questions through an investigation into how displacement‐inducing violence lingers, as traces, in the lives of Myanmar migrant‐refugees in Thailand. Unfreedom, I find, is internal to ostensibly free market relations. Advancing this claim, I turn to a growing anthropology of borders to grasp the nation's geopolitical perimeter as a social relation that border crossers cannot easily discard—a relation that conditions social life, even at sites far from a given country's territorial margins. I show, in sum, how employers and other regulatory actors in countries of arrival internalize, across borders, displacement‐inducing violence perpetrated elsewhere.

Reflections on the shadow carceral state

In 2012 we urged scholars to explore the extension of penal power through the “shadow carceral state.” The shadow carceral state operates through legally hybrid and institutionally serpentine forms that stretch beyond the criminal legal system. Theoretical Criminology's special issue invited us to reflect on the issues we raised in that piece. We are impressed by the transformation of punishment and society scholarship, which has grown deeper and more sophisticated with each wave of activism. Yet it will take more than a thriving subfield to confront the present and likely future: tenacious and expansive carceral and shadow carceral states that are continually deployed to address the compounding global crises of climate change, mass displacement, and structural poverty.

Archiving the Housing Conjuncture

The past months have continued to exacerbate crises of housing, home, displacement, dispossession, and other state-sanctioned forms of violence and premature death. We witness erasure of histories, lives lived, belongings, and homes, which are intentional strategies to forcibly remove people from place and to make it seem as though they were never there. The authors thus document this conjunctural moment in radical housing struggles and collectively analyze and interpret the current political, economic, and social conditions, not for the sake of the analysis itself, but to inform strategies for action. This documentation encourages us to reflect on the role and value of archives in radical housing organizing. We define radical housing archiving as a collective intervention strategy responsive to the immediate housing crises built upon care for just housing futures. In this editorial, we aim to situate the archive while considering its possibilities for housing movements and radical care.

Social Protection in Conflict and Conflict-Related Displacement Crises

In recent years, efforts to encourage the use of social protection in response to conflict and displacement have increased. Yet many of the lessons from social protection and shock-responsive programmes emerged in response to climate shocks and other disasters and are not necessarily transferable to conflict and displacement settings. Ultimately, the concern must be how to sustain support to the poorest and most vulnerable populations during conflict. This shifts the focus away from simply maintaining the functions and delivery capacities of state‑directed social protection towards how to harmonise multiple channels and providers of social assistance. State‑directed social protection may not be the most appropriate channel to address the needs of conflict-affected and displaced populations. This article considers the challenges to introducing, extending, and sustaining social protection in crises characterised by conflict and displacement.

Identity Crisis, In-betweenness, and Psychological Trauma of Displacement

Identity Crisis, In-betweenness, and Psychological Trauma of Displacement

Flight-related determinants of health-related quality of life of asylum seekers and refugees in Germany: a longitudinal study based on the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP)

BackgroundGermany played a key role as receiving country during the so-called refugee and displacement crisis with about 5 million asylum seekers arriving in the EU between 2014 and 2020. It is well known that asylum seekers and refugees (ASRs) have a high burden of disease and are particularly prone to mental disorders such as trauma, stress-related and affective disorders. Not much is known about the determinants of health-related quality of life (HrQoL) among ASRs, especially in the context of the flight. Therefore, the aim of this study was to analyze the associations between flight-related characteristics and HrQoL of ASRs in Germany.MethodsThe sample of this study was based on five consecutive waves of the Survey of Refugees samples of the German Socio-Economic Panel (n = 8015; 14,314 observations). Mental and physical HrQoL was measured using the mental (MCS) and physical (PCS) component summary scores of the SF-12v2. Associations between flight-related characteristics and HrQoL were examined using multilevel mixed-effects linear regressions.ResultsThe different countries of birth were associated with varying MCS and PCS scores. The MCS and PCS scores were lower among ASRs with an economic situation below average in their countries of origin. Persecution, discrimination, and poor living conditions as reasons for leaving the county were associated with lower MCS scores. ASRs who were dissatisfied with their own living situation and who were discriminated often due to their origin had both lower MCS and PCS scores. Not feeling welcome in Germany and missing people from one’s country of origin were both associated with lower MCS scores. No worries about not being able to stay in Germany or not being able to return to one’s country of origin were both associated with higher MCS scores.ConclusionsThe economic situation in the country of origin and the presence of persecution, discrimination, and/or poor living conditions as reason for flight may be pre-flight-related determinants of HrQoL of ASRs in Germany. Possible post-flight-related determinants can be the residence status, the satisfaction with one’s living situation, discrimination due to one’s origin and a feeling of missing people from one’s country of origin. With regard to those determinants, the clarity about the residence status, reducing racial discrimination and the mourning of flight-related circumstances must be ensured.

The digital trail of Ukraine’s 2022 refugee exodus

When the 2022 Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine forced millions of people to leave their homes, officials worldwide scrambled to estimate the number of people who would seek refuge in their countries. There were a limited number of official tools in place to lean on to help determine this estimate. In this article, we investigate the possibility of using various publicly available organic (i.e. non-designed) data to predict forced movement from Ukraine early in the crisis. In particular, we establish Ukrainian-language insecurity and contextual indicators from multiple data sources, namely Google Trends, Twitter/X, local newspapers, the ACLED database, and the GDELT database. We compare the usefulness of these indicators in predicting forced migration into three neighboring countries: Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary. To minimize the challenge of temporal misalignment between the organic data and actual movement, we develop a lagging and aggregation framework. Findings reveal Google Trends variables are a robust leading indicator of observed forced migration for this conflict. While other indicators are less strong, they still capture shifts in forced migration flows, highlighting the potential for using publicly available organic data during emerging forced displacement crises.

“Home” as a Theological Problem for Politics: Weil, Arendt, and the Common Desire for the Common

ABSTRACTThis article engages the global displacement crisis by rendering the concept of ‘home’ as a theological problem for politics, linking contemporary geopolitical conflict to broader issues of forced migration. For help, we engage Simone Weil's theopolitical critique of domination‐based political organising, Hannah Arendt's insights into the texture of political space and belonging, and Jodi Dean's concept of a ‘collective desire for collectivity’ to propose a lateral, connective politics of home that secures local communities while also fostering global connection. Our constructive theological proposal is that the power of love for home entails the embrace of neighbour (near and far) that moves beyond the usual options of liberal cosmopolitanism, communitarian localism, and the Realpolitik of geopolitical alliances. By reconsidering and intensifying the Christian concept of neighbour‐love and linking it to the common reality of displacement and the common longing for home, we take the first steps towards illuming and unveiling a political theology of home that is neither preferential nor naively inclusive.

The Causes and Consequences of Refugee Flows: A Contemporary Reanalysis

The world faces a forced displacement crisis. Tens of millions of individuals have been forced across international boundaries worldwide. Therefore, the causes and consequences of refugee flows are the subjects of significant social science inquiry. Unfortunately, the historical lack of reliable data on actual refugee flows, country-specific data reporting timelines, and more general pre-2000 data quality issues have significantly limited empirical inferences on these topics. We replicate 28 articles on these topics using data newly released after a multiyear collaboration with the United Nations on annual dyadic flows. We observe major inconsistencies between the newly released flow numbers and the stock-based flow estimates upon which decades of research are based; we also find widespread inappropriate treatment of missing historical values. When we replicate the existing literature using the newly introduced flow data, correcting the treatment of missing historical values, and temporally extending/restricting the study periods, we produce significantly different results.

Internally Displaced Persons and Socio-territorial Integration in the Commune of Kaya in Burkina Faso: A Sustainable Solution Study

Burkina Faso, previously spared from destabilization of all kinds, suffered its first terrorist acts in April 2015 in Samorogouan. These first terrorist acts were followed by several others that led to the forced internal displacement of nearly 2,000,000 people. These IDPs have chosen 301 municipalities spread across the 13 regions of the country as destinations for refuge. The main objective of this study is to analyse the living conditions and socio-territorial integration of IDPs and durable solutions to address the crisis of forced internal displacement in the commune of Kaya. The research methodology consisted of conducting a literature review on the study topic, collecting primary data through field surveys, interviews and direct observations in the study area. The results of this study show that IDPs in Kaya commune face precarious living conditions. On the other hand, their conditions for socio-territorial integration are good in view of the cordial relations that the IDPs maintain with the host populations of the commune. In addition, durable solutions to address the forced internal displacement crisis include the resettlement of IDPs in other parts of the country, return to areas of origin and integration in IDP-hosting areas. These solutions could address forced internal displacement and address those affected. This would facilitate the reintegration or socio-territorial integration of IDPs either in their areas of origin or in their reception areas.

Prevalence of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Depression and Associated Factors Among Internally Displaced Persons in Al-Galgala, Sudan.

Conflict and war can have profound psychological and physical consequences, including the displacement of civilians. Sudan currently has the greatest child displacement crisis and the highest number of displaced individuals worldwide. Stressors, such as unemployment, poor socioeconomic conditions, and lack of social integration can increase the risk of developing mental health conditions and worsen pre-existing ones. This study aims to determine the prevalence of PTSD and depression and to investigate the association of sociodemographic and displacement characteristics with both PTSD and depression. An observational descriptive cross-sectional community-based study was conducted among 143 IDPs, in Al-Galgala village, Sudan. The data was collected by seven, well-trained individuals over 2 weeks. The PTSD Checklist - Civilian version (PCL-C) scale was used for PTSD symptoms, and the Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9) scale was used for depression symptoms. The diagnostic criteria for PTSD and depression symptoms were based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-IV). Descriptive statistics and Binary Logistic Regression analysis were adopted to determine the predictors for PTSD and depression symptoms. A P-value of 0.05 or lower was considered statistically significant. The prevalence of PTSD symptoms was found to be 25% based on DSM-IV symptoms' criteria and that of depression was 62%. Moreover, 23.1% of the participants had comorbid depression and PTSD symptoms. Being female (AOR = 8.434, 95% CI [1.026-69.325]), and having depression increased the risk of developing PTSD (AOR = 45.631, 95% CI [7.125-292.232]). Whereas, being older (40-59 years) (AOR = 6.473, 95% CI [1.054-39.766]) and having PTSD (AOR = 24.736, 95% CI [4.928 -124.169]) increased the risk of developing depression. The estimated prevalence of PTSD and depression among IDPs in Al-Galgala, Sudan was found to be relatively high. This study revealed that depression, gender, occupation, education, and with whom you are currently staying were significantly associated with PTSD. In contrast, factors associated with depression were PTSD, age, and the duration of exposure to the armed conflict. The mental health among IDPs needs to be prioritized by implementing effective programs and providing psychosocial support to civilians residing in post-conflict regions.

Two-stage stochastic program for environmental resettlement decision-making

Large and irregular movements of forcibly displaced people are an escalating global issue today. As a result, forced displacement has become an international problem. It requires planning for the relocation and integration of displaced people. However, forced displacement is not a one-time event. On the contrary, it is an ongoing, long-term process with dynamic parameters. We are interested in the long-term displacement problem, especially for climate-driven cases in which people will be forced to leave uninhabitable regions to escape slow-onset climate change impacts. Creating an optimization model that could cover all the requirements and considerations of such a problem would encounter many challenges. Nonetheless, planning in advance for the upcoming climate-change-driven displacement crisis is critical. Unfortunately, this topic has not been explored sufficiently, especially in the operations research literature. To fill this gap, we focus on developing a mathematical model for the long-term relocation planning of people displaced due to climate change. In this model, uncertainty in demand is represented with various demand scenarios, demand and capacity are managed dynamically, and integration outcomes and related costs are optimized. Ultimately, the purpose of this paper is to provide decision-makers with an initial resource for preparing for upcoming movements under uncertainty. To this end, we propose a two-stage stochastic model to determine optimal flow and location decisions. We run this model under three different demand scenarios with and without considering societal impacts measured by diversity indicators. The results show how profoundly the uncertainty in demand and differences in our focus change the future steps that should be taken.

Ukrainian refugee women’s experiences in Poland in the first months of Russian invasion: a qualitative account

ABSTRACT Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has become the world’s fastest-growing human displacement crises since World War II. Disconnected families, difficulties related to adaptation and integration to life in new conditions are far from a complete list of challenges and threats society and host communities are facing. The research focuses on Ukrainian refugee women, including mothers with children, who form an exceptionally vulnerable social group, since women must take on the responsibility for themselves and their children. Moreover, women, including mothers with children face serious dangers, such as human trafficking and the risk of falling into forced labor or sexual exploitation. The research is aimed at studying the adaptation potential of Ukrainian refugee women in Poland, analyzing the challenges, risks, threats and opportunities caused by the migration of a large number of people, in particular women and children. The article emphasizes on the exploration of the life and ways of survival of Ukrainian refugee women in the new social reality of Poland, a factual reality where women, including mothers with children, have to live. The article is based on data from qualitative research conducted in June-July 2022 in Warsaw by the author of the article. The collected material includes 32 interviews (IDI).

The dynamic space of aid relations in protracted internal displacement: the case of Sri Lanka's northern Muslims.

Aid relations in protracted displacement comprise a diversity of actors with different influence and involvement over time. Building on the case of Sri Lanka's northern Muslim's expulsion from the north of the country in 1990, this paper investigates the dynamic space of aid relations in their drawn-out internal displacement. The study draws on 38 key informant interviews and 10 focus-group discussions, conducted in Sri Lanka (Jaffna, Mannar, Puttalam, and Colombo) in 2022. The paper contributes new knowledge of the local dynamics of assistance in protracted displacement, by analysing the roles of a wide set of actors within this dynamic space of aid relations over time. The analysis incorporates angles and voices often overlooked in mainstream humanitarian studies, including internally displaced persons, hosts, and Middle Eastern aid funders. The study argues that a long-term perspective and a variety of voices provide foundations for more productive engagement with localisation in humanitarian action in protracted displacement crises.

Girls on the Move

As we write these words to introduce this Special Issue, scores of girls and young women around the world are facing a myriad of challenges as they are forced to flee their homes, leaving behind friends, family, communities, and being propelled into uncertain and very often precarious migratory journeys. Without a doubt, we live in deeply troubling times. While numbers provide a mere glimpse into the devastating humanitarian crisis of forced displacement, they are shocking. Forced displacement, migration, and (re)settlement following conflict, violence, human rights violations, persecution, disasters, and the impacts of climate change, both in nations and across borders, is an ever-escalating crisis affecting tens of millions of people worldwide. Acknowledging that these numbers are unprecedented, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (2023a) reported that by the end of June 2023, over 110 million people were forcibly displaced worldwide and projected that this number would increase to 130 million by the end of 2024. This projected increase takes into account the mass displacement caused by the war between Israel and Hamas as well as ongoing and escalating conflicts in Sudan, Ukraine, and Afghanistan. While current headlines focus principally on the continuing crises in the Middle East and Ukraine, we cannot lose sight of the millions of forcibly displaced persons elsewhere in the world, including those in Eritrea, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia, Syria, Türkiye, Myanmar, India, Venezuela, and Haiti. Recognizing regional diversity in the staggering numbers serves to underscore forced displacement as a transnational issue that requires urgent global attention.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR REVITALIZATION OF RURAL AREAS IN POLAND AND BULGARIA AFTER THE WAR IN UKRAINE

As a result of the armed conflict in Ukraine, nearly a third of Ukrainians have been forcibly displaced from their homes. This is one of the largest displacement crises in the world and in our time. Bulgaria and Poland were among the first EU countries to welcome the migrant wave in the early hours of the war. The aim of this paper is to identify the current problems and certain socio-economic prospects of Ukrainian migrants in Poland and Bulgaria after the start of the military conflict The article also aims to try to answer the question of whether it is possible to revive rural areas in Poland and Bulgaria, given the potential that incoming foreigners (mostly Ukrainian citizens) represent for our countries. To achieve the set goal, the authors use quantitative and qualitative methods, representative official statistical data from the NSI, migration services, non-rovernmental organizations, results of primary research, office studies, Internet sources etc. The application of the scientific method, as well as the inductive and deductive methods helps to analyze demographic and socioeconomic processes in their dynamic development and highlight their impact on the socio-economic environment in Bulgaria and Poland. The authors reveal the need to make more effective use of the economic and social potential of migrants and the opportunities for rural revitalization in both host countries. The integration of migrant business into the economic environment of Bulgaria and Poland requires not only training of the migrants themselves, but also of the institutions and society as a whole regarding the benefits of this activity. This is definitely an underestimated area with huge potential that is underutilized for the socio-economic development of rural areas and ensuring a normal and peaceful existence for Ukrainian families in the chosen host country. Key words: refugees, migration, Ukraine, rural areas JEL: J15, J24, F51

Unpacking the current internal displacement crisis in Ethiopia: root cause, governance and response

ABSTRACT Forced internal displacement has become one of the prominent issues in the world today. Ethiopia is not an exception to this problem. The country has been witnessing the internal displacement of millions of people particularly since Prime Minister Abiy assumed power in 2018. However, the topic has not received adequate scholarly attention and this paper aims to fill in this gap and provide a contextualized and distinctive perspective by examining the root causes of the current internal displacement crisis, the governance mechanisms, and the responses taken by the government. As the finding reveals, the ideological antecedent of ethnic federalism has been the underlying drive behind ever-increasing conflict-induced internal displacements across different parts of the country. The government has been reluctant to recognize IDPs existence (particularly conflict-induced displacements) up until now and tried to address the IDPs issue in a fragmented manner. Yet, these governance and response undertakings were not without their setbacks. In conclusion, conflict-induced displacements are likely to continue unabated and remain a challenge for the country for the foreseeable future unless the ethnic-based political structure is somehow addressed.

REGULATORY SUPPORT OF THE EUROPEAN UNION SOCIAL POLICY REGARDING THE INCLUSION OF EXTERNALLY DISPLACED SCHOOL STUDENTS FROM UKRAINE

This article examines the European Union’s (EU) social policy framework regarding the inclusion of school-age individuals displaced from Ukraine due to the ongoing conflict. The displacement of millions of children and youth from Ukraine into EU countries presents significant challenges that require a comprehensive approach. The scale and urgency of this displacement crisis, particularly concerning school-age children, are unprecedented. These displaced individuals carry with them the individual and collective traumas of war, violence, and separation. They require shelter, protection, and recovery support following their traumatic experiences before, during, and after their escape from Ukraine. Notably, children who have been affected by the conflict and displacement require specific support, including rapid access to education and vocational training to enable them to continue their education and transition to a semblance of normalcy.The EU’s social policy, as outlined in various documents by the European Commission, plays a pivotal role in addressing this crisis. To address these challenges, member states have implemented special measures, such as creating emergency programs and providing guidance to educational institutions on receiving displaced children and teenagers. This collective effort builds upon international commitments and standards, including those of the INEE Minimum Standards and the UNHCR Global Framework for Refugee Education, to ensure the quality of education for this vulnerable population.In conclusion, this article highlights the critical importance of the EU’s social policy in addressing the inclusion of externally displaced school-age individuals from Ukraine. It underscores the urgency of rapid integration and the need for psychosocial support, language acquisition, and orientation in the new environment. The study also emphasizes the preservation of ties to Ukrainian culture and language. While progress has been made, there remains a need for further research and policy refinement to facilitate the successful inclusion of this vulnerable group.

Identity Crisis, In-betweenness, and Psychological Trauma of Displacement

Identity Crisis, In-betweenness, and Psychological Trauma of Displacement