Syrian Refugess in Jordan: Longing for Home

About 12,000 Syrians are calling the tents and trailers of the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan home, at least for the foreseeable future. Today, the New York Times features an interactive website exploring the Syrian refugee experience. The web feature explores the physical environment that the Syrian refugees are living in, as well as a deep longing to return home.

[Photo: Lynsey Addario, The New York Times]

The World's Displaced Population Reaches Record Levels

According to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC), the wars in Syria and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have caused the number of displaced people to increase dramatically, with the current world total at 28 million.

Here is some more information from an article in The Guardian (Photo: Kate Holt/Oxfam):

More than 6.5 million people were newly displaced within their own countries in 2012, almost twice as many as the year before, IDMC said in its annual report. Since these people have not crossed borders, they are not refugees and do not benefit from international protection.

The situation in Syria is particularly critical, as it is the world's largest and fastest evolving crisis in terms of new displacements. The number of Syrian internally displaced persons (IDPs) is now more than 3 million, of which 2.4 million were displaced last year.

"The crisis is in its third year and the escalation has gone beyond a tipping point," said Clare Spurrell, an IDMC spokeswoman. "Humanitarians can't save Syria, it has to be the politicians … what you are seeing are people who are utterly exhausted. The internally displaced are completely reliant on others, but host communities are themselves suffering from a lack of food, and diseases are breaking out."

The UN high commissioner for refugees, António Guterres, has described the Syrian civil war as the worst humanitarian disaster since the end of the cold war, and more brutal and destructive than the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Until the conflict in Syria is resolved, internal displacement will continue to accelerate, said the IDMC, pointing out that this phenomenon has been seen in other countries with drawn-out conflicts.

Colombia has the largest number of IDPs in the world, followed by Syria and the DRC, which has the third largest IDP population. The region with the largest number of IDPs last year was sub-Saharan Africa, where there were 10.4 million IDPs by the end of 2012, almost a third of the world's internally displaced population.

About a million people fled their homes in DRC as a result of attacks from the rebel group M23. In November, 140,000 people fled the North Kivu capital of Goma in a single week as M23 forces entered the city. Conflict in Mali and increased violence in Nigeria from the radical Islamist group Boko Haram also caused large new displacements.

The report suggests that while a resolution to the conflict, particularly in Syria, is critical to dealing with an internal displacement crisis, so too is bridging the gap between emergency response and development.

"Ninety percent of the countries monitored by IDMC have IDPs living in protracted displacement, often for decades, while second and third generations are born into displacement,'' said Kate Halff, director of IDMC. She added: ''Governments are responsible for finding long-term solutions for their displaced citizens. However, they can only be realised when the governments and the international community recognise that people forced from their homes require not only a humanitarian response at the height of a crisis, but sustained engagement until a lasting solution is achieved."

African countries have emerged as pioneers in addressing the problem of IDPs. In December, the Kampala convention, the world's first legally binding instrument to outline the obligations of governments to protect and assist IDPs, came into force.

So far, the convention has been signed, although not necessarily ratified, by 37 of the 53 members of the African Union. It binds governments to provide legal protection for the rights and wellbeing of those forced to flee inside their own countries due to conflict, violence, natural disasters, or development projects. Under the convention, governments must gather data and identify IDPs to understand where they are and what they need, provide personal ID documents, trace families and help to reunite them, and consult IDPs in decisions on their needs.

Talking Palestine with Rana al-Rabi and Julie Norman

Yesterday, I sat down with Rana al-Rabi, host of CKUT's caravan radio show, and Julie Norman, professor of political science at McGill to talk about Obama's recent visit to Israel and Palestine, doing research with Palestinian families and children. You can access the archive of the program here (we start the conversation about halfway through the show).

Current State of Refugees

This weekend, I am attending the 6th Annual Conference of the Canadian Association for Refugee and Forced Migration Studies at St. Mary's University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. This morning, Furio de Angeles, UNHCR Canada Representative, provided some updated and current statistics on the status of refugees:

• 15.5 million refugees in the world
• 26.5 million displaced populations (under the traditional definition of displaced because of conflict in their home country
• 3.5 million registered stateless people in the world; however, the complete number of stateless people is closer to 12 million

There are two categories of people not included in UNHCR's traditional definition of a "person-of-concern":

• persons displaced by natural disaster are currently not considered refugees or "traditionally displaced
• non-permanent residents (temporary foreign workers) displaced by political violence in places such as Libya and Syria

Mr. de Angeles commented upon four current contexts - Syria, Mali, DRC, South Sudan - that are drawing upon most of UNHCR's resources now. Yes, conflict in Somalia and Afghanistan are also important and ongoing, but the above conflicts are emerging and pressing now.

Regarding Syria, the crisis is producing a shocking 7000 refugees each day. Just to put this in perspective, in 2011, there were 2000 new refugees each day worldwide. Syria is a unique context, because 70% of refugees have been displaced from urban settings. Another important aspect is that children are becoming defining victims of this conflict. Unfortunately, Mr. de Angeles reported that there is currently a 70% funding gap in terms of what UNHCR needs to address the needs of people of concern as a result of the Syrian conflict.

Mali, DRC, and South Sudan represent more typical refugee contexts. South Sudan is facing a health crisis among it's refugee population. There is currently a Hepatitis B outbreak in the region, affecting thousands of refugees.

57th Commission on the Status of Women

Worldwide, it is estimated that one in every three women has been beaten, coerced into sex or abused in some other way. Women and girls who have been displaced by conflict are at particular risk of gender-based violence (GBV). From the Democratic Republic of Congo to Syria, forms of GBV such as rape, sexual exploitation and forced prostitution turn women’s lives upside down, leaving lasting physical and emotional scars. GBV doesn't just affect women, but it has deep and lasting effects on families, communities, and societies.

Violence against women can and should be prevented. Also, survivors of GBV must be able to access the care and services that they need, including medical and mental health services.

Today, non-governmental organizations and activists are gathering at the United Nations for the first day of the 57th Commission on the Status of Women. As one of the participants in the Commission, the Women's Refugee Commission is also starting a social media initiative called "Power of Prevention: Ending Violence Against Women and Girls in Crises", which aims to raise awareness about the prevention of GBV in crisis settings and highlight tools and resources to help make displaced women and girls safer.

International Humanitarian Opportunities

Students often ask me how they can volunteer and/or work abroad. This space will be regularly updated with resources for students who are interested in gaining international experience.

One of the best way to get experience overseas is to attend talks and lectures on international topics, and make connections with people who are working abroad. You are more likely to get a job or internship if you know someone at the organization and have made a personal connection.


Volunteering:

One of the easiest ways to work abroad is to volunteer, especially if you have not yet earned an advanced degree. As an American, I joined the United States Peace Corps, which was an experience that greatly influenced my desire to live and work abroad. If you are Canadian, and equivalent organization is Volunteer Services Overseas. There are other volunteer organizations, but unfortunately, most of them demand a fee for airfare, housing, etc. However, this is a great way to get your foot in the door. Here are some volunteer organizations that offer a diverse range of service projects throughout the world for a fee:

• Cross-Cultural Solutions 
• Crossroads International
• Global Volunteers Canada
• The Global Work and Travel Company
• International Student Volunteers
• International Volunteer HQ
• Projects Abroad
• Volunteer International
• Volunteers for Peace

The International Volunteer Programs Association is an association of non-governmental organizations involved in international volunteer work and internship exchanges. IVPA is an association of volunteer sending organizations but does not organize or run its own volunteer programs.

If you have a specialized health-related degree (e.g., medical, nursing, social work), then you might want to check out Médecins sans frontières (Doctors without Borders), which posts volunteer positions.


Working:

The following websites are great places to look for international humanitarian internships and jobs:

• Idealist
• International Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE)
• ReliefWeb 

The United Nations is its own enormous ecosystem of intergovernmental agencies that are charged by UN member states with carrying out some function of international policy or implementing some treaty or other. They are diverse in their form and function, but all carry a mandate from the UN to act on behalf of member nations. You will come across organizations like the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) who are charged with special responsibility for certain groups or issues (in these cases refugees, children and hunger). UNOCHA (the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) is perhaps worth a special look because of its non-operational role in coordinating UN agencies and NGOs in the humanitarian domain.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (the ICRC) that is mandated by the Geneva Conventions protects victims of international and armed conflict is one part the second is the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (the IFRC). It is a federation of 180 or so national Red Cross or Red Crescent societies (one in each country, in the main). These national societies generally operate in their home country (running blood banks, responding to disasters etc) but some larger national Red Cross’s (notably the American Red Cross) sometimes operate under their own auspices outside of their home country.

Non-governmental organizations are private (in the sense of not representing a government) non-profit groups that act in the international arena. They typically claim to represent concerned citizenry, a religious group, or some other interest. They also often post internships and jobs on their websites:

• American Jewish World Service
• Care International
• Catholic Relief Services
• International Rescue Committee
• Islamic Relief Worldwide
• Mercy Corps 
• Oxfam Canada
• Save the Children Canada

Reading:

For further reading, please check out the following books or articles:

• Fiona Terry's book Condemned to Repeat? was one of the first books I read on the state of humanitarian aid, and it opened my eyes to the harm that aid can do in various contexts.
• Larry Minear’s book The Humanitarian Enterprise is a good introduction to the landscape of the humanitarian system, and an analysis of some of the bigger issues it faces.
• Peter Walker’s book Shaping the Humanitarian World is another great analytical look at the global institutions of humanitarian response.

The Concept and Meaning of Place for Young Palestinian Children

Here is the link for my latest publication exploring young children's experience in the oPt.

Young children’s lives are shaped by the socio-spatial, and there is a growing body of literature examining how they interact with place. However, there has been little investigation into what happens when young children’s places are compromised by adverse situations, such as war and political violence. By adopting a socio-spatial approach, this paper aims to illustrate how the concept of place interrelates with the experiences of young children and their families who experience political violence, with the occupied Palestinian territories as an example. Using an interdisciplinary approach, my research begins by exploring the multiple and diverse definitions of space and place. I then turn to an analysis of the places that are specific for children in times of political violence. In order to further understand how young children conceptualize place as a meaning-making process and a source of well-being, certain critical elements of place must be understood. Though there are many relevant concepts to explore, I have limited my inquiry to two elements—place access and place use—that are central to an understanding of place, and which can be applied to the lived experiences of young children affected by political violence in the occupied Palestinian territories.