Displacement Crisis Research Articles

Child poverty among refugees

There are now more violent conflicts globally than at any time in the past three decades, resulting in the largest forced displacement crisis ever recorded. Understanding at a granular level the well-being of refugees is essential to inform successful poverty alleviation strategies and unlock refugees’ potential. As forced displacement can lead to a reorganization of a family’s structure, we use a structural model in combination with data from refugee camps and surrounding communities in Uganda and Kenya to estimate the allocation of consumption within families. We compute poverty rates that account for intra-household inequality, finding that refugee children can be up to three times more likely to be poor than adults. So, refugee children not only suffer from the experience of forced migration, but also from potentially low nutrition and a disproportionately higher poverty risk. Using a supervised machine learning algorithm, we show that a small set of observable traits, such as a child’s age, household composition, and access to sanitation and clean water, predict child poverty in refugee settlements and surrounding communities remarkably well, often better than per-capita household expenditure.

Young Venezuelans’ experiences of migration on YouTube: Self-mediatization, consumerism and digital settlements

Venezuela’s displacement crisis has received extensive media coverage around the world. COVID-19 has exacerbated dramatic stories of border closures and increased prejudice against new arrivals. This article analyses videos of six young Venezuelan migrants who created YouTube channels to document their journey over four years (2017–21). A multimodal content analysis (MCA) captured themes and portraits that emerged from these videos. While these stories should not represent the full spectrum of Venezuelan self-mediatized migration, neither is YouTube free from commercial influences, these videos provide various reasons for their moving out, chapters of their integration into the new reality and plans for the post-settlement life. Most content makes sound evidence for understanding self-mediatized migration as interspersed with the capitalist underpinnings of social media platforms while casting genuine aspirations of a better life that contest the current stereotypical coverage.

Culturally Adapting a Digital Intervention to Reduce Suicidal Ideation for Syrian Asylum Seekers and Refugees in the United Kingdom: Protocol for a Qualitative Study.

The conflict in Syria has produced the largest forced displacement crisis since the Second World War. As a result, Syrians have experienced various stressors across the migratory process, putting them at an increased risk of developing mental health issues, including, crucially, suicidal ideation (SI). Despite their high rates of SI across Europe, there remain various barriers to accessing treatment. One way to increase access is the use of culturally adapted digital interventions, which have already shown potential for other minority populations. To culturally adapt the intervention, further research is needed to better understand Syrian asylum seekers' and refugees' cultural conceptualizations, coping strategies, and help-seeking behavior for SI. To do so, this study will use a unique cultural adaptation framework to intervene at points of lived experience with the migratory process where Syrian culture and signs of psychopathology converge. Likewise, co-design events will be used to adapt points of experience with the intervention where Syrian culture and the intervention conflict. As the first cultural adaption of a digital SI intervention for Syrian asylum seekers and refugees, this study will hopefully encourage further development of culturally sensitive interventions for the largest refugee population in the United Kingdom and the world. The objective of the study is to increase access to mental health treatment for Syrian asylum seekers and refugees in the United Kingdom by culturally adapting a digital intervention to reduce SI. The study will use experience-based co-design, an action research method, to culturally adapt a digital intervention to reduce SI for Syrian asylum seekers and refugees in the United Kingdom. This will involve conducting 20-30 interviews to understand their lived experiences with the migratory process, cultural conceptualizations of mental health and SI, coping strategies, mental health help-seeking behavior, and perceptions of digital mental health interventions. In addition, 3 co-design events with 6 participants in each will be held to collaboratively adapt the intervention. Touchpoints and themes extracted from each phase will be prioritized by a community panel before adapting the intervention. The study began in November 2022 and will continue until the last co-design event in August 2023. The results of the study will then be published by December 2023. Access to treatment for some of the most severe mental health issues is still limited for Syrian asylum seekers and refugees in the United Kingdom. Cultural adaptations of digital interventions developed for general populations have the potential to increase access to treatment for this population. Specifically, adapting the intervention for Syrian asylum seekers' and refugees' experiences with SI in relation to their lived experience with the migratory process may enable greater recruitment and adherence for users of various cultural and ethnic subgroups and levels of SI. DERR1-10.2196/47627.

Temporary Protection in Times of Crisis: The European Union, Canada, and the Invasion of Ukraine

<p>The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 triggered a major displacement crisis. In an unprecedented move, the European Union activated the 2001 Temporary Protection Directive to give those fleeing the conflict temporary protection, marking the first use of the directive in 20 years. Meanwhile, Canada announced its readiness to accept an unlimited number of Ukrainians and launched the Canada–Ukraine Authorization of Emergency Travel to fast-track their arrival. This article compares the policy responses of the EU and Canada to the crisis in Ukraine, focusing on the two temporary protection schemes and differentiating between their overarching goals, policy instruments, and settings. While the policies may seem similar at first, we show that a closer examination reveals underlying disparities, contradictions, and complexities, particularly when analyzing the precise policy instruments and settings. Considering that contemporary policy trajectories are informed by the past, we suggest that while the two programs build on the respective regions’ historical and political contexts, crises also create opportunities for change, raising questions about the future direction of immigration policy in both regions.</p>

Reframing Home and Making Oddkins through Posthuman Feminism

Historical factors have led traditional feminists to oppose the concept of home as being privileged. However, this paper finds rejection of home can lead to a crisis of ontological displacement and disorientated identity. As such, this paper wishes to remodel the idea of home rather than distance oneself from it. To do so, inspired by post-human feminism, this paper advocates an imagination of a home constituted of horizontally linked Oddkins, assembled and pieced together from heterogeneity. Furthermore, this paper believes that vulnerability theory provides a way to break through the closed subjects, enabling the subject to empathize with the Others horizontally and connect with Others and build an odd-kinship. The main purpose of this paper is to reframe the scope of both family and ethical accountability and thereby liberate the one oppressed or colonized by the traditional conception of home.

Cognitive Inhibition in Trauma Recovery Among Asylum Seekers: Test in a Randomized Trial of Mindfulness-Based Trauma Recovery for Refugees

Emerging evidence suggests that mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) may be one promising intervention approach within the global mental-health crisis of forced displacement. Little is known about the mechanisms of action of MBIs for trauma recovery or among diverse forcibly displaced people (FDP). Within a single-site randomized waitlist-control trial among 143 traumatized East African asylum seekers living in a high-risk urban postdisplacement setting, cognitive inhibition (CI) of trauma- and threat-related information was measured (modified Sternberg task) before and after Mindfulness-Based Trauma Recovery for Refugees (MBTR-R) or a parallel waitlist-control period. At preintervention, a deficit in the CI of trauma- and threat-related but not positively valenced emotionally evocative information was associated with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) severity. Although MBTR-R led to improved CI of trauma- and threat-related information, this change process did not mediate the therapeutic effect of MBTR-R on PTSD. Findings inform theory implicating CI in PTSD, MBI mechanisms of action, and FDP mental health.

Internally Displaced Persons in Nigeria: Durable Solution, Assessment and Reviews

The protracted internal displacement crisis in Nigeria has led to significant challenges for the affected population and has strained the country's resources and infrastructure. This paper focuses on the issue of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Nigeria, exploring the concept of durable solutions, the importance of comprehensive assessments, and the necessity of regular reviews in addressing their plight. The concept of durable solutions forms the cornerstone of addressing displacement crises, aiming to provide sustainable outcomes for IDPs. This study examines the three recognized durable solutions: voluntary return, local integration, and resettlement, and analyzes their applicability in the Nigerian context. It emphasizes the need for a holistic approach that considers socio-economic factors, security conditions, and the protection of IDPs' rights. Comprehensive assessments play a vital role in understanding the needs and vulnerabilities of IDPs, facilitating informed decision-making and resource allocation. This study highlights the importance of conducting thorough assessments, including demographic data, living conditions, access to basic services, and psychosocial support. It emphasizes the role of government agencies, humanitarian organizations, and research institutions in undertaking these assessments to guide effective interventions. Regular reviews of displacement situations are crucial to monitor progress, identify gaps, and adapt strategies accordingly. This study emphasizes the significance of periodic evaluations of policies, programs, and interventions aimed at addressing internal displacement in Nigeria. It underscores the importance of stakeholder involvement, including IDPs themselves, in these review processes to ensure their perspectives are considered and their voices heard. Furthermore, the work acknowledges the challenges inherent in addressing the plight of IDPs in Nigeria, including limited resources, security concerns, and the complexity of the underlying causes of displacement. It emphasizes the need for a coordinated and multi-stakeholder approach, involving the government, humanitarian actors, civil society, and the international community, to achieve durable solutions for IDPs.

Housing and integration of internally displaced persons: The case of Ukraine in 2018

Housing is a widely recognized yet understudied domain of integration of internally displaced persons (IDPs) into their new communities. This article examines the role of housing for integration of Ukrainian IDPs displaced by Russia-fueled political violence in Eastern Ukraine that started in 2014 or by Russia's annexation of Crimea that year. In Ukraine, housing holds particular significance for integration because homeownership is both widespread and a vital source of people's sense of wellbeing, security, and normalcy. Our evidence comes from an original 2018 survey of housing experiences of both IDPs and long-term residents in IDPs' new localities. The survey design enables us to assess housing integration relationally, by comparing gaps in housing status and subjective housing-related wellbeing between IDPs and locals. We find that for IDPs in protracted displacement, deprivation of culturally normative housing conditions, particularly homeownership, impeded both material and experiential housing integration. Disparities in housing status drive differences in subjective experience, ranging from satisfaction with one's housing to feeling at home in one's community. These results from our 2018 study may help anticipate challenges of the massive, nationwide displacement crisis precipitated by Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Whether Ukrainians resettle in new communities or return to their old ones, divisions between those who have homes to return to and those who do not are likely to be salient. Policies aimed at restoring housing resources, particularly pathways to homeownership, will be essential to rebuilding Ukraine.

The role of developmental ‘buzzwords’ in the international refugee regime: Self-reliance, resilience, and economic inclusion

Buzzwords play an important role in setting up the scope and direction of aid policies. Alongside the growing focus on development-led approaches in the international refugee regime, three buzzwords – self-reliance, resilience, and economic inclusion – have achieved particular prominence in recent refugee policy-making. Drawing upon a review of policy documents and multi-sited empirical research in Sub-Saharan Africa, this article gives a detailed analysis of how these buzzwords intersect with one another and elucidates the roles they play in shaping development-oriented approaches to refugees. While this trifecta is painted with positive connotations, empirical research shows that developmental approaches underpinned by these buzzwords can have detrimental effects on both refugees and hosts. Building upon this analysis, it offers a theoretical approach to understand the current mainstreaming of developmental support within the international refugee regime from a lens of ‘reframing’, which is a strategy to redefine social problems and thereby control discourses around their solutions. The study shows that as a discursive apparatus, this triad of buzzwords is instrumentalised by policymakers to reframe the absence of solutions for ‘displacement crisis’ as ‘development opportunities’ in order to protect the damaged global refugee system. In so doing, such buzzwords play a crucial role in redefining the responsibility of refugees and their hosts in undertaking neoliberal development, while simultaneously reducing the ambit of responsibility of the international refugee regime. By analysing these popular buzzwords as a set, the article contributes to a deepened understanding of the ways in which these innocuous words are embedded in a broader ‘ideological project’ informed by the political and economic incentives of the global policymakers. It also sheds light on the possible wider consequences of the current mainstreaming of development-led approaches for refugee rights and protection issues.

Moving humanitarian-military relations forward: a new typology

This article presents a new typology for humanitarian-military relations (HMR). This typology can serve as an analytical framework for assessing, during humanitarian emergencies, how civilian responders can and should engage with armed actors. The typology considers two factors: (1) the nature of crisis-affected population’s perceptions of an armed actor, and (2) the extent of alignment of civilian responders’ and armed actors’ interests and objectives. This typology is empirically rooted in an in-depth analysis of HMR across four humanitarian response contexts: (1) the Kivu Ebola Epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, (2) the Rukban forced displacement crisis along the Jordan-Syria border, (3) the Taal volcano eruption in the Philippines, and (4) the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines. The analysis presented in this article is based on 175 qualitative interviews conducted with civilian responders, armed actors, and crisis-affected individuals across these contexts.

Considerations in designing trauma-focused interventions for displaced Afghan women.

In light of the 2021 United States military withdrawal from Afghanistan, as well as the humanitarian crises of mass displacement and subsequent health system strain that have ensued, practitioners worldwide will need to develop a more nuanced understanding of the adverse life experiences that women from Afghanistan frequently endorse. As they bear a disproportionate impact of constraints within Afghan society, and as patriarchal systems affect most of their life domains, women from Afghanistan may present with high levels of baseline trauma upon resettlement, and health systems may seek to attenuate this distress; However, the nature of these traumatogenic events may shape women's receptivity to psychosocial interventions, particularly those which are at least partially rooted in Western modalities. In the absence of sufficient literature on evidence-based interventions for this population, a diversity of ethnographic and clinical literature is synthesized, including literature on interventions alleged to be compatible with Afghan norms. As it will be essential to support Afghan women's mental health following social reorganization on a massive scale, considerations arising from the interdisciplinary literature are offered so that they may inform the development of structured, trauma-focused interventions and so that the health systems with which they interface may be better prepared to serve them.

Hierarchical Governance and the Refugee Compact in Central America: Host States, Containment, and the Absence of International Resettlement

Central America is experiencing rapidly-accelerating displacement crises. 400,000 have fled to neighboring states, and 500,000 throughout the Americas. In response, the international community implemented the Global Compact on Refugees through the MIRPS regional mechanism (Marco Integral Regional de Protección y Soluciones). Though framed as a platform for responsibility-sharing, MIRPS focuses narrowly on host states, and ignores resettlement or regularized mobility pathways. This article uses an International Relations lens to argue that the absence of regional governance means the scope for responsibility-sharing is dictated by hierarchical power dynamics and extraterritorial containment agendas, with regional states complying through coercion or allying.

Displacement as Heterotopic Space: The Syrian Refugee Crisis in Jordan

ABSTRACT The idea of a sovereign territorial order dominates representations of space in International Relations through ubiquitous dichotomies such as international/domestic, inside/outside, and citizen/foreigner. Yet, phenomena of forced displacement question the perceptiveness of these binaries justifying an enquiry into the possibility of different accounts of the type of space that displacement constitutes. This essay revisits critically the Foucauldian concept of heterotopic space and proposes its redefinition. It then uses the revised concept for the reconstruction of the Syrian displacement crisis in Jordan. The objective is to show the validity of heterotopic space as a concept to represent the site that states, refugees, and international organisations constitute through their interactions in displacement response. The argument is that interpreting displacement as heterotopic space allows for a more credible representation of this phenomenon that supplants the assumptions of sovereign territoriality. This leads to an interpretation of displacement as an ‘other-space’ in its own capacity, thus offering an account that differs from displacement as liminality or as an exception to the territorial order.

BOKO HARAM INSURGENCY AND FORCED DISPLACEMENT IN NORTH-EAST NIGERIA: AN ASSESSMENT OF STATE MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES

Nigeria has contended with violent expressions of conflicts since the return to civil rule in 1999. The Boko Haram uprising is the most devastating of these crises and it has given rise to serious humanitarian challenges. The manifestation of the emergency is revealed in the extent of internal displacement it has generated. Thus, this study assessed the depth of the humanitarian needs of those internally displaced by the insurgency and the nature of state management of the displacement crisis. Data for the study was sourced from national policy documents, media documents, reports and other publications on the displacement crisis. Relying on these sources, the study highlighted the nature of state management of the displacement crisis, assessed recorded successes and noted challenges.

Trends in forced displacement due to conflict from 2009 to 2021: A decade forecast for effective humanitarian emergency response system in Nigeria

Internal displacement figures in conflicted affected regions of Nigeria is a significant problem that poses a risk of humanitarian crises accounted for by poor and a neglected emergency response system. The present study analyzed annual conflict/violence-induced internal displacement trends in Nigeria from 2009 to 2021 and predicted the annual figures for the next 10 years. Using the R software, the Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) was adopted for analysis, while model (0, 0, 1) was chosen as the best fitting model with the minimum AIC coefficient. From the ARIMA forecast, 2022 showed a 4% decrease in displacement figures, further decreasing by 7% in 2023. The figures remained constant for the rest of the forecasted years, showing neither increases nor decreases from 2024 to 2031. Close observation revealed the overlapping trends between increased annual internal displacements and pre-election periods in Nigeria. This study will help inform humanitarian bodies on the significance of early detection and preparation for future displacement crises while considering the cycle of ethno-religious-related electoral violence. Furthermore, future studies should compare the accuracy of ARIMA with other models to ensure its validity using a similar sample.

The Juba Peace Agreement and the Protection of Displaced Persons: Between Regional Migratory Routes and IDP Camps

A major strength of the historic Juba Peace Agreement (JPA) lies in its specific provisions relating to the displacement crisis in Sudan, particularly its commitment to tackling both its root causes and consequences. Nevertheless, even before the JPA was signed, there were questions from various stakeholders, including displaced persons, protesting their exclusion from the negotiations. This article examines the peace deal’s provisions relating to displaced persons, looking at the prospects, expected outcomes, gaps and challenges, and focusing on Darfur, a region with a long history of conflict-induced displacement. Examining the JPA within the framework of the new wars and new humanitarianism, it argues that for the agreement to achieve its stated goals, the issue of displacement must remain front and center throughout the implementation phase. Notably, the comprehensive character of the JPA, coupled with the multifaceted and “glocalized” nature of the crisis in Sudan, presents an ideal context for the Sudanese state and its international partners to work collaboratively to operationalize the much-vaunted security-humanitarian-development nexus approach, through which the plight of displaced persons can be effectively addressed.

Migrants, Vagrants, and the Making of the Anthropocene

Migrants, Vagrants, and the Making of the Anthropocene

Assessment of treatment efficiency by non-energy consuming aeration system for faecal sludge management in an emergency human settlement in Bangladesh

Rohingya issue is the world's fastest growing force displacement crisis. Around 8,99,349 Rohingya people have been driven to seek sanctuary in Bangladesh. In this high densely populated emergency settlement, management of faecal sludge is now-a-days becoming a great challenge with the limited resources and space. Wastewater treatment is an indispensable part of faecal sludge management. This study was carried out to identify the wastewater treatment efficiency of the up-flow filtration system with constructed wetland. The treatment plant was found good at the removal of excess nutrients though NH3 concentration was not within the standard limit. However, the nutrient removal percentages were high in comparison with other parameters. BOD5 concentration of the final treated water were high that is almost twice than the DoE permissible limit. It is due to that no complete biological unit was present in the treatment process Though the BOD5/COD value of raw wastewater was good enough for treatment. A very partial anaerobic process might happen both in the filtration chamber and constructed wetland. Conventional biological process consumes energy and costs to maintain and operate which is not sustainable in the context of Rohingya emergency settlement. In this study, considering the crisis of energy, a non-energy consuming aeration system has been recommended to incorporate into the existing treatment process. This aeration system has been analyzed theoretically and found efficient to improve the water quality.

Problematizing Access to Higher Education for Refugee and Globally Displaced Students: What’s the Problem Represented to Be in Canadian University Responses to Syrian, Afghan and Ukrainian Crises?

The UNHCR’s 15by30 campaign to increase refugee student enrolment in higher education to 15% by 2030 is a lofty goal. Canadian higher education institutions have a role to play in contributing to this policy goal, along with advocacy efforts from refugee student groups, community-based organizations, government, and international organizations. The aim of this study is to look critically at how the issue of access to higher education for refugee and globally displaced people is represented through Ontario’s universities’ responses to federal government initiatives to crises in Syria, Afghanistan and Ukraine. In this study, we use Bacchi’s (2009) “What’s the problem represented to be?” approach to policy analysis and, drawing on Dillabough’s (2022) critique of modernity in higher education, we argue that university responses related to refugee and globally displaced student access to higher education offer the possibility to reflect on the paradoxical tensions of the problem space in Canadian higher education. In our findings, we discuss how the problem of refugee and displacement crisis was represented differently in response to differences in geopolitical conditions and government policies, as we demonstrate how representations of material problems and categories of “citizenship” and “geographical location” in the universities’ responses contributed to creating boundaries of inclusion and exclusion for access. Finally, we show how the creation of educational programs for “globally displaced people” during the period related to the Ukrainian crisis perpetuates the logic of colonialism in the universities’ responses.

Living with Absence, Missing Migrants and the Red Cross and Red Crescent’s Restoring Family Links Program

Abstract The chaos and confusion that accompany war, disaster, and international migration separate families when they need each other most. The Red Cross and Red Crescent join the search across international borders, offering a unique service that allows families to reconnect. This paper examines the role of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, and specifically their Restoring Family Links (RFL) program in the search for missing migrants. Based on interviews with the RFL program’s officers and those individuals who have been reconnected with their missing family members, this paper evaluates the results and implications of the RFL program model, draws out lessons and insights (local, regional, or global), and makes policy recommendations. Also, by sharing migrants’ experiences and insights, it aims to raise awareness of the less well-known legal, economic, and social consequences of the displacement crises.