Displaced Persons Research Articles

Soviet Repatriation in Postwar Politics and Private Life: Pro et Contra

This article studies the Soviet repatriation policy after the Second World War referring to Soviet repatriation mission officers’ correspondence with the United Nations Relief and Reconstruction Administration (UNRRA), as well as Russian DPs’ ego-documents. The authors of the article raise the question about the fact that Soviet repatriation policy sparked an information war in the media in the second half of the 1940s, which has never been done by researchers previously. A variety of sources are used in the work, including the Hoover Institution for War, Revolution and Peace (Stanford, USA), the Bakhmetev Archives of Russian and Eastern European Culture at Columbia University (New York, USA), the State Archives of the Russian Federation (GARF, Moscow), as well as the UN Archive. The authors argue that discussions of Soviet repatriation policy should be placed within the context of the Cold War era, which began with the breakup of the Big Three alliance. The Soviet government used a variety of information, political, and intellectual resources to ensure the return of the maximum possible number of USSR citizens to their homeland. In this paper, the authors demonstrate that for the purposes of counterpropaganda, the anti-communist forces used the idea of repatriation by utilizing the potential of displaced people who had survived the Stalinist repression of the 1930s to oppose the existing political regime in the USSR. Considerable attention is paid to the position of UNRRA officials, primarily the heads of its mission in Austria. Several of them were highly critical of the activities of the Soviet repatriation authorities, believing that their behaviour often failed to help displaced people become interested in returning home.

Socio-Economic Impact on Host Communities in Adamawa and Borno States, Nigeria

The Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria has become a protracted war characterised by humanitarian and socioeconomic consequences for the survivors due to displacements that rendered many people refugees in Niger, Chad, and Cameroon while internally displacing several people across state capitals and environs. Thus affecting the livelihood condition of the survivors as well as striking negatively on Nigeria’s national development. The paper utilised both primary and secondary sources of data collection as methodology. Primary data were sourced from key informant interviews (KII) and focus group discussions (FGD) with major stakeholders in the state capitals of Maiduguri and Yola, which served as host to most of the displaced persons. Secondary data were also sourced through content analysis of relevant archival materials while relying on state fragility theory as the theoretical framework of the study. It was argued that the displacement of many inhabitants away from their abode negatively affected the socioeconomic well-being of the people and human security in Maiduguri and Yola, the state capitals of Adamawa and Borno States. The study recommends that the federal and state governments, as well as private individuals and other philanthropists, should increase their level of intervention and support for the survivors of insurgencies by providing food supplies in addition to shelter for them in Maiduguri and Yola. It further recommends that the Nigerian government expedite action on the resettlement of the survivors by securing their communities with early warning, detection, and response commands. This will give room for genuine reconstruction and resettlement of IDPs in their localities, thereby reducing the pressure on existing infrastructure and lowering the cost of living in the cities of Maiduguri and Yola

“Syrian second wives”: Polygyny, gender relations, and the experiences of Syrian and Turkish women

Although banned in Turkey in 1926, the number of cases of polygyny has increased in the country as a result of forced migration from Syria. This patriarchal practice, which exposes women to violence before and during marriage, deepens gender inequality. This article seeks to better understand the experiences of women involved in polygynous marriages initiated by Turkish men, and to make gender-based violence visible. It relies on interviews with Turkish and Syrian women part of the same households located in three Turkish provinces bordering Syria. We found that both Turkish and Syrian women experience violence in polygyny, and that their different legal status and the validity of their marriages shape the experiences and demands of these two groups of women.

The Kashmiri Pandits’ 1990s exodus: An interview with Siddhartha Gigoo

ABSTRACT In this interview, Indian multi-genre author and documentary film-maker Siddhartha Gigoo describes the alienation and trauma experienced by Kashmiri Pandits following their exodus from Kashmir in the 1990s. The interview explores the insurgency in Kashmir, which led to the exile of the Kashmiri Pandits, referring to his 2010 novel, The Garden of Solitude. Gigoo elaborates on the challenges faced by Kashmiri Pandits post-migration in an alien land, where they struggled for food and shelter in the camps and as one-room tenants while also bearing the traumatic past as a heavy load. He discusses the growing sense of insecurity which the Kashmiri Pandits endured as a disconcerting consequence of forced migration and genocide. Underscoring their silent trauma, which had a deep impact on their physical and mental health, he concludes that after 33 years of exile, Kashmiri Pandits still cling to the hope of returning to their homeland.

Limiting Social Assistance under the EU Temporary Protection Directive to Displaced Persons Working Remotely for the Public Administration of Their Country of Origin

This research focuses on the legal situation of displaced persons who benefit from Directive 2001/55/EC regulating the EU temporary protection mechanism. This law can be activated in the case of mass influx of persons in need of international protection. A displaced person (unlike a refugee) can work remotely for the authorities of their country of origin, although this should be verified individually. Thanks to this, the financial benefits from this type of work can be taken into account by the country of residence of the displaced person when determining the level of social assistance granted to that person under Directive 2001/55/EC.

Perceptions and Experiences of Psychotherapy Among Forced Migrants With Limited English Proficiency

This qualitative study focused on the perspectives of forced migrants’ and their pursuit of mental health services, specifically as they relate to language use in therapy. Semistructured interviews were held during two face-to-face focus groups consisting of 16 adult participants identifying as forced migrants. Analysis of translated and transcribed interviews was conducted by a research team utilizing a constructivist approach to grounded theory. A substantive theoretical model on engagement in therapy emerged, with the core category of culture, which influences forced migrants’ level of trust and mistrust in psychotherapy. Multiple factors, including perceptions of therapy and English language facility, impacted forced migrants’ willingness to engage in psychotherapy. Findings supported language as a barrier to psychotherapy, even when an interpreter was utilized. Consistencies and inconsistencies of findings between the present study and existing literature were offered. Clinical, training, advocacy, and research implications of this study were explored.

Principles of limitation of rights and freedom through the prism of ensuring human security

The article examines the basic principles of restricting rights and freedoms through the lens of ensuring human security, and characterizes the purpose of such restrictions in the modern conditions of Ukraine’s development as a legal state. It is noted that the possibility of limiting freedom is a measure of state influence, designed to ensure the safety of citizens in critical situations that pose a danger to their lives, health and well-being. Such restrictions are especially significant today, when both Ukraine as an individual country and the whole world in general, given the previously mentioned globalization, are facing many threats, both military (given the ongoing war on the part of the Russian Federation), and socio-economic (including one can count the large-scale destructive consequences of war, forced migration, demographic crisis, etc.), and epidemiological (the largest of which in recent years has been the pandemic caused by the coronavirus). It is emphasized that the restriction of freedom can be understood both in a narrow sense - through the use of measures originating from the state, and in a broad sense. A person is limited in his actions by a wide variety of factors, such as: moral norms, opinions of the environment and many other things, which people often directly encounter in everyday life. according to the content of these provisions, a person’s freedom in society is not absolute: a person is limited to the extent that it allows him not to harm society and not prevent other people from exercising their rights. On the one hand, this leads to the possibility of the state restricting human rights and freedoms, which in itself has a negative tendency, and on the other hand, due to restrictions, law and order is ensured, which ensures the observance of human rights and allows society to function normally. A mandatory condition for the restriction of constitutional rights and freedoms of a person and a citizen is that it can take place only on the basis and in the cases specified in the law, and, as a rule, by a court decision. The procedure for implementing such a restriction is fixed in the national legislation. Bodies of state power, bodies of local self-government, their officials and employees, depending on the actual circumstances, are authorized to choose methods of ensuring national security on their own or by applying to the court. Some rights enshrined in the Constitution of Ukraine cannot, in principle, be limited. Among them are the right to life, to protection of dignity, to freedom of religion and protection of private life. Having analyzed the above rights, it was concluded that the law does not provide for the restriction of those rights, exercising which a person cannot prevent others from exercising their rights, or simply pose a danger to other people (in contrast, for example, to the restriction of the right to free movement infected with coronavirus or persons who evade mobilization). On this basis, the principles were formulated, according to which the measures taken to ensure security cannot limit all the rights and freedoms available to a person, especially when it comes to such fundamental ones as the right to life, these are, in particular, the principles of proportionality, economic efficiency and regulation of the introduced restrictions.

THE BRAIN OF THE ORGANIZATION: TALÂT PASHA

Mehmet Talât Pasha, the most important figure of the Committee of Union and Progress, was born in Edirne in 1874. Although known as a Pasha in history, Talât Pasha had started civil service as a civil servant at Edirne Post-Telegraph Administration and he was called a Pasha since he became a Grand Vizier, according to the rules of the Ottoman Empire. In Thessaloniki, where he was exiled as an officer of Post-Telegraph, he became a founder of the Ottoman Society of Liberty with the influence of his brother-in-law İsmail Yörük and his other friends. Thus, the Committee, which initially operated as an underground organization, got stronger and became the Committee of Union and Progress as the Military staff in Rumelia began to become members of the Committee and the process which led to the declaration of the Second Constitutional Monarchy was experienced. Following the declaration of the Constitutional Monarchy on July 24, 1908, Talât Pasha entered the parliament as the Edirne Member of Parliament. He became the minister of Internal Affairs in the government that was established after the Bâbıâlî Raid. Before and during the First World War, as the minister of Internal Affairs, he dealt with the issue of immigrants from the Balkans, the issue of Armenians and especially the issue of forced Armenian migration. He became the Grand Vizier on February 4, 1917. During his Office as Grand Vizier while the Frist World War was continuing, he dealt with problems such as the subsistence of the army and cities. Towards the end of the war, on the night of November 2, following the Armistice of Mudros, he left İstanbul with the leaders of the Union and Progress. He moved to Germany and continued his political activities during the days he lived in Berlin. On March 15, 1921, he was killed by an Armenian terrorist. On February 20, 1943, his body was brought to Turkey and buried at Hürriyet-i Ebediye hill.

Adaptive religious coping with experiences of sexual and gender-based violence and displacement

Abstract This article examines the religious coping strategies among forced migrant women survivors of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). While it is acknowledged that faith and religion help people to survive crises, the patterns of religious coping with SGBV and displacement are little understood. I explore how displaced women use their faith and religious resources to cope with SGBV and migration-related daily stressors. Using qualitative methods and data collected in Turkey and Tunisia with thirty-eight Levantine and African women, I introduce the concept of adaptive religious coping, which they deployed over time and place as one main coping mechanism in experiences of SGBV and displacement. Survivors used cognitive, behavioural and spiritual/emotional religious coping strategies, drawing on their available religious resources—ideas, practices and experience. The study highlights the importance of religious coping in supporting displaced populations emotionally and spiritually, and offers implications for mental health responses in forced displacement contexts.

Can we do it together? Co-designing attentive practices with and for forced migrants in seven countries

ABSTRACT Designing feasible programmes for the attention of forced migrants’ needs is a demanding task that often relies on a group of experts at national levels. Moreover, programmes tend to be based on estimations of generic needs while migrants and fieldworkers are seldom included in the design process. Responding to the quest for a more tailored and participatory approach, we describe how attentive programmes were developed in seven countries along the migration route from the Middle East to Northern Europe. To be sensitive to local and particular needs, and to foster co-creation, we used principles of responsible research and innovation and action research. In 2019, we started with 176 migrants’ interviews, focused on detecting needs and understanding local contexts. During 2020–2022, we designed, implemented and evaluated attentive practices together with forced migrants, humanitarian agencies, NGOs and other stakeholders. Results showed that local conditions delimit the programme outcomes, but still, comprehensive conclusions could be drawn. Including migrants and fieldworkers in the process brought valuable insights and helped to challenge the top-down and nation-state centric framework of integration. We argue that collaborative methodology can produce both tailored and feasible programmes. However, the process demands time and human resources, flexibility and volunteer engagement.

Sport, migration and diaspora: the case of Ivorian track and field athletes

PurposeThis study focused on Ivorian track and field athletes who were current or former members of the Ivorian national team to understand athletes’ experiences with migration, diaspora and sport.Design/methodology/approachParticipatory action research (PAR) methodology was used in this research study (Lenette and Nesvaderani, 2021). According to Schinke and Blodgett (2016), PAR is a type of qualitative research used to engage the researcher and researched. The researcher and researched work together to understand the issues of a situation and communicate a plan to work toward resolving those issues (Kemmis et al., 2014). Using PAR helped to engage multiple people in the study, and as more research studies explore forced migration and sport, more scholars are starting to lean on the methodology to create a more diverse perspective and to include marginalized populations in the world of scholarly research (Stone, 2018; Robinson et al., 2019).FindingsKey findings illustrate Ivorian athletes’ ability to forge a bond that transcended tribal and political differences through geographical proximity and sport opportunity, allowing them to (re)connect with their Ivorian diaspora by representing the national team.Originality/valueThis research paper expands on past studies in sport and migration by showcasing the fluid nature of how diaspora constructs an athlete’s national identity once they are forced to leave their homeland.

International Forced Migration and Employment Relations: The Case of Syrians in Turkey

Due to the political unrest following the civil war in 2011, several million Syrians had to flee from their own country to save their lives. This form of migration is called as forced migration given rise to reasons such as environmental disasters, climate change, civil conflict, and war. The mass migration movement of Syrians, first within the country and then towards neighboring countries, brought along many socio-economic problems. One of the most affected countries has been forced migration from Turkey to the Syrian hosts, including about 5 million registered and unregistered. Although it has been 9 years since the process, which was initially established through temporariness, a solution could not be found and the dream of returning Syrians has weakened day by day. This study aims to reveal how the Syrians, who are included in the labor market in an unplanned way, affect the Turkish labor market. Dynamic Panel data analysis was carried out using the data of 26 regions of Turkey. As a result, a 1% increase in the immigrant rate, which represents the share of Syrian immigrants in the region’s population, increases the employment rate by approximately 0.02%.

The Legal Framework for Assisting Displaced Persons from Ukraine in Meeting Their Housing Needs in Poland Introduced by the Act of March 12, 2022 on Assistance to Citizens of Ukraine in Connection with the Armed Conflict in the Territory of That State

The article presents the issue of assistance to displaced persons from Ukraine in meeting their housing needs in Poland, which is provided on the basis of a special act dated March 12, 2022 regarding assistance to citizens of Ukraine in connection with the armed conflict in the territory of that state. The aim of the article is to discuss this specific legal regulation with subsequent assessment of its effectiveness in meeting the housing needs of displaced Ukrainians who settled in Poland due to the armed conflict in their country. Logical-linguistic and comparative legal methods are used herein. The right to housing as part of the human rights system is discussed in the beginning, and then individual solutions for meeting housing needs introduced by the special aid act are reflected on. Finally, the conclusions from the analysis are formulated, on the basis of which it should be concluded that the introduced solutions should be assessed positively. The clearest proof of their effectiveness is the lack of camps for Ukrainian refugees in Poland. The efficiency of the solutions results primarily from the skillful combination of two pillars of assistance, i.e. the public and private sectors.

Outcome-Driven Dynamic Refugee Assignment with Allocation Balancing

Dynamic Assignment Algorithms to Boost Refugee Outcomes Amid record-breaking forced displacement in recent years, researchers and policymakers alike have become increasingly interested in the idea of algorithmically matching refugees to geographic localities in order to optimize their employment or other integration outcomes. In “Outcome-Driven Dynamic Refugee Assignment with Allocation Balancing,” Bansak and Paulson propose new dynamic assignment algorithms for this context designed to maximize a given outcome while meeting the operational needs of refugee resettlement and asylum agencies. Using resettlement data from both the United States and Switzerland, they demonstrate how one algorithm (currently being piloted in Switzerland) can achieve near-optimal results compared with a hindsight-optimal matching. They also show that, because of nonstationarities in the arrival process, outcome maximization (even when subject to location capacity constraints) can result in an imbalanced allocation to localities over time, putting periodic strains on limited local resettlement resources. They account for this problem in a second algorithm that achieves near-perfect balance over time with only a small loss in average outcomes compared with the first algorithm.

Building an ethical research culture: Scholars of refugee background researching refugee-related issues

Abstract Recent scholarship on the need to decolonize refugee research, and migration research more generally, points to the urgency of challenging ongoing colonial power structures inherent in such research. Increased involvement of scholars with lived experience is one way to challenge and remake unequal and colonial power relations. Through discussions with researchers of forced migration, we aimed to explore the challenges, barriers, and supports related to involvement in such research, and to identify how research practices and structures could be improved to increase and facilitate the involvement of scholars with refugee backgrounds. In this field reflection, we highlight key points and suggestions for better research practice that emerged from these discussions. In doing so, we are endeavouring to contribute to the important ongoing conversation about ethics and decolonizing research. We build on existing ethical guidelines by opening up some of the complexities of ethical practice and offering concrete actions that can be taken to work through these.

Digital storytelling and intersectional identities: youth with refugee experiences (Re)claiming life stories

ABSTRACT This study addresses the urgent need to develop pedagogies that enhance language and literacy learning and identity affirmation (and resistance) opportunities for youth from refugee backgrounds. In Canadian high schools, this population of students enter school with varying levels of literacy in their first language(s), as well as potentially difficult experiences due to their forced migration. For many, language-content learning may become a formidable challenge, negatively impacting identities. A growing corpus of case studies is beginning to show how pedagogies that draw on youth’s everyday meaning making and their intersectional identities can effectively engage refugee-background learners in academic learning. In this qualitative case study involving nine refugee-background youth in an English language learning classroom in Western Canada, we explore the potential for digital storytelling to enable learners to draw from their full communicative repertoires to enhance language and literacy learning and enable intersectional identity representation, renegotiation and affirmation. Our study is informed by three interrelated conceptual frameworks: intersectionality , communicative repertoires , and digital literacies . We undertook a six-phase process for thematic data analysis of the collection of digital stories, using contextual data such as semi-structured interviews, participant observations and informal conversations to understand the relationship between the students’ digital stories and their lived experiences. Using an adaptation of Rose’s (2016) visual methodology, we provide a more in-depth analysis of the digital stories of two students with a focus on the intersectionality of the various contexts of their lives and identities. Across all participants, four interweaving themes emerged from our thematic analysis of the nine digital stories overall: 1) contesting single-axis labels; 2) reconciling mutually constitutive categories of difference; 3) (re)claiming life stories; and 4) recognizing the critical role of audience. (293)

A Generalizable Theory-Driven Agent-Based Framework to Study Conflict-Induced Forced Migration

Large-scale population displacements arising from conflict-induced forced migration generate uncertainty and introduce several policy challenges. Addressing these concerns requires an interdisciplinary approach that integrates knowledge from both computational modeling and social sciences. We propose a generalized computational agent-based modeling framework grounded by Theory of Planned Behavior to model conflict-induced migration outflows within Ukraine during the start of that conflict in 2022. Existing migration modeling frameworks that attempt to address policy implications primarily focus on destination while leaving absent a generalized computational framework grounded by social theory focused on the conflict-induced region. We propose an agent-based framework utilizing a spatiotemporal gravity model and a Bi-threshold model over a Graph Dynamical System to update migration status of agents in conflict-induced regions at fine temporal and spatial granularity. This approach significantly outperforms previous work when examining the case of Russian invasion in Ukraine. Policy implications of the proposed framework are demonstrated by modeling the migration behavior of Ukrainian civilians attempting to flee from regions encircled by Russian forces. We also showcase the generalizability of the model by simulating a past conflict in Burundi, an alternative conflict setting. Results demonstrate the utility of the framework for assessing conflict-induced migration in varied settings as well as identifying vulnerable civilian populations.

Про зміни щодо порядку призначення виплат для внутрішньо переміщених осіб України

The article analyzes financial support from the state for internally displaced persons. On the basis of the current legislation, the concept of “internally displaced persons” was characterized. It is noted that internally displaced persons are citizens, foreigners, and stateless persons who permanently or temporarily reside in the territory of Ukraine and are forced to carry out internal displacement within the borders of their country either forcibly or of their own free will. It is indicated that precisely because of the military aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, a large number of Ukrainian citizens were forced to migrate to safe places, saving their lives and the lives of their relatives, therefore, since 2022, the number of displaced people has increased, both within Ukraine and abroad. Statistical data on forced displacement by internally displaced persons are indicated. It is noted that the fact of internal displacement is confirmed by a certificate of registration of an internally displaced person. It was established that the state contributes to providing effective support and assistance in overcoming the challenges caused by the war in Ukraine for internally displaced persons. It is indicated that persons who lost their homes or were forced to relocate from places where hostilities are taking place or from temporarily occupied territories are most in need of housing and financial support. It is indicated that internally displaced persons are provided with financial support for accommodation in the amount of UAH 3,000 for persons with disabilities and children and UAH 2,000 for other persons. However, the Government made changes to the legislation on the appointment of payments for internally displaced persons. It is noted that the payment will not be extended for persons staying abroad for more than 30 calendar days in a row; are serving sentences in places of deprivation of liberty; were convicted of a criminal offence; returned to the abandoned place of residence. It is emphasized that state payments will be stopped to those internally displaced persons who: purchased a new vehicle; purchased for more than UAH 100,000 a plot of land, an apartment, a house of other immovable property; have funds in the deposit bank account(s) in the total amount exceeding UAH 100,000, etc. It has been proven that it is very important for internally displaced persons to continue receiving payments.

Внутрішньо переміщені особи як особливий об'єкт соціального захисту України

The article is devoted to the study of certain issues related to the social protection of internally displaced persons in Ukraine through the prism of security and economic aspects, which are the main ones for this category of persons. It is emphasized that the issues of migration processes throughout all the years of Ukraine's independence were quite acute for our state. The issue of the legal status of persons who returned to the state from the territories of the republics of the former Soviet space was replaced by the issue of refugees, deported peoples, illegal and labor migration, and since 2014, a new category of migrants has emerged – internally displaced persons. Terrible events: the annexation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, the armed conflict in the East of the country, and in 2022 – a full-scale aggressive war by the Russian Federation, which continues to this day, caused the largest internal displacement of the population of Ukraine. All this became a good reason for the adoption of a number of legislative acts that created the basis for regulating their status and creating an appropriate mechanism for the realization and protection of the rights and freedoms of this category of persons. It has been established that today in our country an extremely terrible mass forced migration crisis continues, which in terms of its scale and consequences is considered to be almost the largest in terms of its nature and number of forced displacement of the population. The large-scale military aggression shown by the Russian Federation against Ukraine left a large number of residents of our country without homes, radically changed their security, economic and financial situation, as well as the state of their social security and well-being. Such vulnerability of IDPs requires the state to create and use a whole range of possible measures and means that will ensure the proper social integration of these persons in the new environment, among which the most important are the issues of: provision of housing, employment opportunities, realization of the right to medical care and education, psychological support, etc., as well as financial support, which is almost the most important element of providing social services.

Exploring resistance in family policy transfer: a comparative analysis of the Czech Republic and South Korea

PurposeFamily policy is an area where policy transfer has garnered a lot of attention lately. A growing body of research demonstrates policymakers' interest in and willingness to adopt foreign family policies. However, previous studies have tended to neglect the second mechanism of policy transfer: resistance. This manuscript aims to address this research gap by exploring both the willingness and resistance to policy transfer in Czech and Korean childcare and leave policies.Design/methodology/approachThis study employs a qualitative research design, incorporating structured expert interviews instrumental in in-depth thematic analysis.FindingsThe analysis shows that policymakers in both countries demonstrated interest and willingness to transfer family policies, albeit employing different strategies and to varying extents. Moreover, the two countries exhibited significant differences in resistance to family policy transfer, with resistance in the Czech Republic being more frequent and effective. Resistance is directed towards both forced and voluntary transfers, although it isn't always against transfers that require a paradigm change. Policy transfer and non-transfer can concurrently be perceived as threats.Originality/valueThe study concludes that integrating both policy transfer and resistance in the analyses helps to shed light on cross-national differences in family policy change and contributes to a more nuanced portrayal of the world of policy transfer in this policy field.