Journal Article > CommentaryAbstract Only
Refugee Survey Quarterly. 2016 April 28; Volume 35 (Issue 2); 116-136.; DOI:10.1093/rsq/hdw007
Hassan AM, Biörklund L
Refugee Survey Quarterly. 2016 April 28; Volume 35 (Issue 2); 116-136.; DOI:10.1093/rsq/hdw007
Large numbers of people continue to flee conflict and instability, moving along human smuggling routes, hiding in transit cities, and getting locked up in detention centres in the process of seeking safety and asylum. This is widely known, but the human cost and intricacies of individual journeys is often hidden behind statistics and political discourse. In this article, Ali Hassan from Mogadishu, Somalia shares the story of his two-year flight from Yemen to Sweden, illustrating the harsh conditions and dangers faced by forced migrants: the lack of food and water, the overcrowding inside vehicles or boats, the exploitation and abuse by smuggling networks, and the hostile reception from security and governmental officials. This detailed life story illustrates both the human impact of restrictive migration policies, and the problems this generates for aid workers, especially since information about the needs of forced migrants at different stages, and how and where they access assistance, is largely inadequate. By exploring how forced migrants negotiate invisibility and vulnerability, this detailed life story is an illustration of the challenges humanitarians face when responding to an unfolding crisis.
Journal Article > CommentaryAbstract Only
Refugee Survey Quarterly. 2016 April 15; Volume 35 (Issue 2); 79–97.; DOI:10.1093/rsq/hdw005
Chkam H
Refugee Survey Quarterly. 2016 April 15; Volume 35 (Issue 2); 79–97.; DOI:10.1093/rsq/hdw005
The refugee complex at Dadaab in North Eastern Kenya was established in the early 1990s. It has become known as the largest refugee settlement in the world since renewed fighting in south and central Somalia in 2006 pushed yet more Somalis into these long-established camps. Marked by problems related to poor living conditions and economic circumstances, camps of this size are very often a source of instability and insecurity, and their management has been widely discussed in the scholarly as well as policy literature. This article examines the role and responsibility of aid organisations such as Médecins Sans Frontières in the establishment and perpetuation of camps. When refugee camps become restrictive and repressive, the article asks, are aid agencies necessarily exempt from responsibility? Drawing on the Médecins Sans Frontières’ archives regarding their Dadaab operations up to 2011 and direct professional experience in this refugee camp, this article illuminates humanitarian complicity in situations of containment and protracted exile, arguing that this can have wider implications for the management of refugee populations all over the world.
Journal Article > ResearchFull Text
Refugee Survey Quarterly. 2020 February 20; Volume 39 (Issue 1); 26-55.; DOI:10.1093/rsq/hdz018
Schockaert L, Venables E, Gil-Bazo M-T, Barnwell G, Gerstenhaber R, et al.
Refugee Survey Quarterly. 2020 February 20; Volume 39 (Issue 1); 26-55.; DOI:10.1093/rsq/hdz018
Despite the difficulties experienced by asylum-seekers in South Africa, little research has explored long-term asylum applicants. This exploratory qualitative study describes how protracted asylum procedures and associated conditions are experienced by Congolese asylum-seekers in Tshwane, South Africa. Eighteen asylum-seekers and eight key informants participated in the study. All asylum-seekers had arrived in South Africa between 2003 and 2013, applied for asylum within a year of arrival in Tshwane, and were still in the asylum procedure at the time of the interview, with an average of 9 years since their application. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. The findings presented focus on the process of leaving the Democratic Republic of Congo, applying for asylum and aspirations of positive outcomes for one’s life. Subsequently, it describes the reality of prolonged periods of unfulfilled expectations and how protracted asylum procedures contribute to poor mental health. Furthermore, coping mechanisms to mitigate these negative effects are described. The findings suggest that protracted asylum procedures in South Africa cause undue psychological distress. Thus, there is both a need for adapted provision of mental health services to support asylum-seekers on arrival and during the asylum process, and systemic remediation of the implementation of asylum procedures.
Journal Article > CommentaryFull Text
Refugee Survey Quarterly. 2010 March 22; Volume 27 (Issue 1); DOI:https://doi.org/10.25071/1920-7336.34354
Derderian K, Schockaert L
Refugee Survey Quarterly. 2010 March 22; Volume 27 (Issue 1); DOI:https://doi.org/10.25071/1920-7336.34354
How does the aid system respond when insecurity and sudden forced displacement occur in what has long been considered a stable, development context? Can longer-term aid interventions adapt when challenged to “shift gears” to address acute needs resulting from forced displacement? Based on observations from Médecins Sans Frontières projects in Haut-Uélé in northeastern DRC in 2008–2009, this article examines assistance to displaced populations and the residents hosting them in LRA-affected areas—above all, the stakes and dilemmas involved in responding to such a sudden-onset emergency in what international donors and the national government considered an area in development.
Initially, a much-needed response to violence and displacement failed to materialize, with little permanent humanitarian presence on the ground, while development approaches failed to adapt and meet emergency needs. Short-term contingency support was provided through development NGOs, but with limited scope and maintaining cost-recovery schemes for health toward an impoverished population facing an increasingly precarious situation. A long-term development approach was simply unable to respond to the sudden population increase and a fragile health situation.
Initially, a much-needed response to violence and displacement failed to materialize, with little permanent humanitarian presence on the ground, while development approaches failed to adapt and meet emergency needs. Short-term contingency support was provided through development NGOs, but with limited scope and maintaining cost-recovery schemes for health toward an impoverished population facing an increasingly precarious situation. A long-term development approach was simply unable to respond to the sudden population increase and a fragile health situation.