Elena Fiddian-Qasmiyeh

Bio

Elena Fiddian-Qasmiyeh is Departmental Lecturer in Forced Migration at the Refugee Studies Centre, and Junior Research Fellow in Refugee Studies at Lady Margaret Hall. At the RSC, she lectures on the MSc core course in ‘Research Methods in Forced Migration’ and convenes the MSc option in ‘Gender, Generation and Forced Migration.’ She also co-convenes an MPhil Option in 'Gender and Development in the Middle East and North Africa', for students taking the MPhil in Modern Middle Eastern Studies. Between 2010 and 2012, Elena was the Director of the RSC’s International Summer School in Forced Migration. 

In January 2013, Elena was awarded the Lisa Gilad Prize by the International Association for the Study of Forced Migration (IASFM) for 'the most innovative and thoughtful contribution to the advancement of refugee studies' in 2011 and 2012. The prize was awarded in recognition of her article 'The Pragmatics of Performance: putting 'faith' in aid in the Sahrawi refugee camps' which was published in the Special Issue of the Journal of Refugee Studies which she edited on Faith-Based Humanitarianism in Contexts of Forced Displacement in 2011 (vol. 24, issue 3).

Elena completed her DPhil in Development Studies at the Refugee Studies Centre/Oxford Department of International Development in 2009; she also holds a BA (Hons) in Social and Political Sciences from Cambridge University, an MSc in Gender and Development from the London School of Economics and Political Science, an MA in International Relations from the University of New South Wales (Sydney), and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Conflict Resolution and Mediation from the Universitat Abierta de Cataluna (Spain). 

From February 2009 to September 2010 Elena was Senior Teaching Fellow in Development Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, where she convened MSc options in ‘Issues in Forced Migration’ and ‘Migration and Mobility in the Middle East and North Africa,’ in addition to lecturing on the MSc core course in ‘Migration and Development’. Until January 2009, she was Research Fellow in Diaspora Mobilisation and International Security at the Department of Politics and International Studies (also at the School of Oriental and African Studies); she has previously worked as a legal advisor for refugees in Cairo (with AMERA-Egypt), as a refugee case-worker with Amnesty International Australia’s Refugee Team, and as a legal clerk at the International Criminal Court, conducting research on crimes committed in Darfur (Sudan).

Elena's recent publications include the following (see complete list in "Publications" section below):

Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, E. 'Transnational Abductions and Transnational Jurisdictions? The politics of "protecting" female Muslim refugees in Spain,' Gender, Place and Culture, iFirst article 2013.

Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, E. 'Transnational Childhood and Adolescence: Mobilising Sahrawi identity and politics across time and space,' Journal of Ethnic and Racial Studies, 36(5), May 2013.

Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, E. and Ager, A. (Eds), Local Faith Communities and the promotion of resilience in humanitarian situations, RSC/JLI Working Paper 90, Oxford: Refugee Studies Centre, February 2013.

Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, E. ‘The Intergenerational Politics of “Travelling Memories”: Sahrawi refugee youth remembering home-land and home-camp,’ Journal of Intercultural Studies, iFirst article, January 2013.

Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, E. "Human rights activism and migration" in The Encyclopedia of Global Human Migration, Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell. 2013. 

Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, E. "Community-based responses" in R. Zetter (Ed.) World Disasters Report 2012, Geneva: ICRC. pp. 219-221.

Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, E. 'Invisible Refugees and/or Overlapping  Refugeedom?  Protecting Sahrawis and Palestinians Displaced by the 2011 Libyan Uprising,' International Journal of Refugee Law, 24(2):263-293, May 2012.

Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, E. ‘Paradoxes of Sahrawi Refugees’ Educational Migration: Promoting self-sufficiency or renewing dependency?’ Comparative Education, 47(4):433-447, November 2011. 

Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, E. Guest Editor of Special Issue on “Faith Based Humanitarianism in Contexts of Forced Displacement,” Journal of Refugee Studies, 24(3), September 2011.

Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, E. ‘Introduction: Faith-Based Humanitarianism in Contexts of Forced Displacement.’  Journal of Refugee Studies, 24(3):429-439, September 2011.

Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, E. ‘The Pragmatics of Performance: Putting ‘faith’ in aid in the Sahrawi refugee camps.’ Journal of Refugee Studies, 24(3): 533-547, September 2011.

Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, E., Ruiz, I., Vargas-Silva, C. and Zetter, Z. Study on Impacts and Costs of Forced Displacement: State-of-the-Art Literature Review, Refugee Studies Centre Report, June 2011.

Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, E. 'Protracted Sahrawi displacement: Challenges and opportunities beyond encampment' Policy Briefing 7, Oxford: Refugee Studies Centre, May 2011.

Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, E. 'Histories of Displacement: Intersections between ethnicity, gender and class', Journal of North African Studies,  16(1):31-47, March 2011.

Monographs and Edited Volumes 

Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, E, Loescher, G, Long, K and Sigona, N (Eds.) The Oxford Handbook of Refugee and Forced Migration Studies, forthcoming with Oxford University Press, 2014.

Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, E. South-South Educational Migration, Humanitarianism and Development: Views from Cuba, North Africa and the Middle East, forthcoming with Routledge, 2014.

Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, E. and Lacroix, T (Eds.) Guest Co-Editor of forthcoming Special issue on "Refugees’ Diasporic Memories," Journal of Intercultural Studies, 2013.

Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, E. The Ideal Refugees: Gender, Islam and the Sahrawi Politics of Survival , forthcoming with Syracuse University Press, Spring 2013.

Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, E. (Ed) Guest Editor of Special Issue on “Faith Based Humanitarianism in Contexts of Forced Displacement,” Journal of Refugee Studies, Vol. 24, No. 3, September 2011.

Articles

Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, E. 'Invisible Refugees and/or Overlapping Refugeedom? Protecting Sahrawis and Palestinians Displaced by the 2011 Libyan Uprising,' International Journal of Refugee Law, 24(2):263-293, May 2012.

Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, E. 'Palestinian Refugees Affected by the 2011 Libyan Uprising: A Brief Overview,' Journal of Palestinian Refugee Studies, 2(1):7-12, Spring 2012.

Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, E. 'Transnational Childhood and Adolescence: Mobilising Sahrawi identity and politics across time and space,' Journal of Ethnic and Racial Studies, iFirst article, January 2012.

Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, E. ‘Paradoxes of Sahrawi Refugees’ Educational Migration: Promoting self-sufficiency or renewing dependency?’ Comparative Education, 47(4):433-447, November 2011. 

Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, E. ‘Introduction: Faith-Based Humanitarianism in Contexts of Forced Displacement.’  Journal of Refugee Studies, 24(3):429-439, September 2011.

Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, E. ‘The Pragmatics of Performance: Putting ‘faith’ in aid in the Sahrawi refugee camps.’ Journal of Refugee Studies, 24(3): 533-547, September 2011. [Awarded the 2011-2012 Lisa Gilad Prize by the International Association for the Study of Forced Migration]

Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, E. 'Histories of Displacement: intersections between ethnicity, gender and class', Journal of North African Studies, 16(1):31-47, March 2011.

Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, E. “Ideal’ Refugee Women and Gender Equality Mainstreaming: ‘Good Practice’ for Whom?’ Refugee Survey Quarterly, 29(2):64-84, October 2010.

Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, E. and Y M Qasmiyeh, ‘Muslim asylum-seekers and refugees: Negotiating politics, religion and identity in the UK’, Journal of Refugee Studies, 23(3): 294-314, September 2010.

Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, E. ‘Education, Migration and Internationalism: Situating Muslim Middle Eastern and North African students in Cuba’, The Journal of North African Studies, 15(2): 137-155, June 2010.

Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, E, “Representing Sahrawi Refugees’ ‘Educational Displacement’ to Cuba: Self-sufficient Agents or Manipulated Victims in Conflict?" Journal of Refugee Studies, 22(3): 323-350, September 2009.

Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, E, ‘Relocating: The Asylum Experience in Cairo’, Interventions: International Journal of Postcolonial Studies, 8(2): 295-318, 2006.

Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, E. with G Crivello and D Chatty, ‘Holidays in peace: Sahrawi children visit Spain’, Forced Migration Review, Issue 25: 59-61, 2006.

Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, E. with G Crivello and D Chatty, 'Mobility and the Care of Sahrawi Refugee Youth', Anthropology News 47(5): 29-30, 2006. 

Chapters

Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, E.  “Gender and Forced Migration” in E Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, G Loescher, K Long and N Sigona (Eds.) The Oxford Handbook of Refugee and Forced Migration Studies, forthcoming with Oxford University Press, 2014.

Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, E. “Inter-Generational Negotiations of Religious Identity, Belief and Practice: Child, youth and adult perspectives from three cities,” in J Garnett and A Harris (Eds.) Migration and Religious Identity in the Modern Metropolis, Ashgate, forthcoming 2013. 

Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, E. with Y M Qasmiyeh “A Conversation between Refugee Camps and Cities,” in J Garnett and A Harris (Eds.) Migration and Religious Identity in the Modern Metropolis, Ashgate, forthcoming 2013. 

Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, E. "Conflicting Missions? The politics of Evangelical humanitarianism in the Sahrawi and Palestinian protracted refugee situations," in A Horstmann and J-H Jung (Eds.) Refugees and Religion: Missionization, Shelter and Transnational Communication, Palgrave MacMillan, 2013/2014.

Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, E. "Human rights activism and migration" in The Encyclopedia of Global Human Migration, Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell. 2013. 

Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, E. "Community-based Responses to Displacement," in R Zetter (Ed.) World Disasters Report 2012, Geneva: ICRC. October 2012.

Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, E. “Human Rights, Activism and Migration,” Wiley Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Global Human Migration. Oxford:Wiley-Blackwell. 2012.

Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, E. “Diaspora,”  Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Globalization, Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell. 2012.

Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, E. “Nomads,” Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Globalization, Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell. 2012.

Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, E. ‘When the Self becomes Other: Representations of gender, Islam and the politics of survival in the Sahrawi refugee camps’ in D Chatty and B Findlay (eds),Dispossession and Displacement: Forced Migration in the Middle East and North Africa,Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010.

Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, E. ‘Concealing Violence Against Women in the Sahrawi Refugee Camps: The politicisation of victimhood’ in H Bradby and G Lewando-Hundt (eds), Global Perspectives on War, Gender and Health: The Sociology and Anthropology of Suffering,Farnham: Ashgate, 2010.

Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, E. with D Chatty and G Crivello, ‘Identity With/out Territory: Sahrawi Refugee Youth in Transnational Space’ in D Chatty (ed), Deterritorialised Afghan and Sahrawi Youth: Refugees from the Margins of the Middle East, Oxford: Berghahn Books, 37-84, 2010.

Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, E. with G Crivello, ‘The Ties that Bind: Sahrawi Children and the Mediation of Aid in Exile’ in D Chatty (ed), Deterritorialised Afghan and Sahrawi Youth: Refugees from the Margins of the Middle East, Oxford: Berghahn Books, 85-118, 2010.

Policy and Research Reports  

Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, E. and Ager, A. (Eds), Local Faith Communities and the promotion of resilience in humanitarian situations, RSC/JLI Working Paper 90, Oxford: Refugee Studies Centre, February 2013.

Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, E. Conflicting Missions? The politics of Evangelical humanitarianism in the Sahrawi and Palestinian protracted refugee situations, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity Working Paper, April 2012.

Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, E. Invisible refugees: protecting Sahrawis and Palestinians displaced by the 2011 Libyan uprising, UNHCR New Issues in Refugee Research, No. 225, November 2011. 

Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, E. El prolongado desplazamiento saharaui: Retos y oportunidades más allá de los campamentos, Policy Briefing 7, Oxford: Refugee Studies Centre, July 2011.

Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, E. التَّهجير المُطوَّل للصحراويين. Oxford: Refugee Studies Centre, July 2011.

Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, E. 'Protracted Sahrawi displacement: Challenges and opportunities beyond encampment' Policy Briefing 7, Oxford: Refugee Studies Centre, May 2011.

Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, E., Ruiz, I., Vargas-Silva, C. and Zetter, R. Study on Impacts and Costs of Forced Displacement: State-of-the-Art Literature Review, Refugee Studies Centre Report, June 2011.

Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, E. (Ed.) Faith-based humanitarianism: The response of faith communities and faith-based organisations in contexts of forced migration, Workshop Report, Refugee Studies Centre, Sep. 2010.

Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, E. with G Crivello and D Chatty, The Transnationalisation of Care: Sahrawi Refugee Children in a Spanish Host Program, Project Report, Refugee Studies Centre, University of Oxford, 2005.

Book Reviews

Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, E. ‘Book Review of Diaspora and Transnationalism: Concepts, Theories and Methods, edited by Rainer Bauböck and Thomas Faist.’ International Affairs, 82(2). 2011.

Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, E. ‘Book Review of Ethics of Migration Research Methodology: Dealing with Vulnerable Immigrants, edited by Ilse van Liempt and Veronika Bilger.’ Journal of Refugee Studies, 24(1): 211-213. March 2011.

Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, E, ‘Book Review of Saviors and Survivors: Darfur, politics and the war on terror, by Mahmood Mamdani’, International Affairs, 85(6): 1282-1283, November 2009.

Other Publications

Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, E. The 27 February Camp: Sahrawi Refugees in Algeria, Forced Migration Online, 2010.

Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, E. Migration and statelessness in the Dominican Republic - Interview with Bridget Wooding by Elena Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, Oxford Diaspora Programme, 2011.

Further Information

2010-2012 Director of the RSC's International Summer School in Forced Migration

Junior Research Fellow in Refugee Studies, Lady Margaret Hall

Co-editor and co-founder of the Religion and Global Migrations Palgrave-Macmillan book series

Book Reviews Editor, Journal of Refugee Studies

International Advisor, Forced Migration Review

Member of the Independent Advisory Group on Country Information

Member of the International Association for the Study of Forced Migration

Member of the Joint Learning Initiative Advisory Group on Local Faith Communities and Resilience in Humanitarian Situations

Member of the Southern Refugee Legal Aid Network

Research Associate of the International Gender Studies Centre

RSC Disability Officer

Spokesperson for the World Disasters Report 2012: Focus on Migration and Displacement

Doctoral Students

Kerrie Thornhill
Harris Manchester College
Reconstructed Meanings of Sexual Violence in Post-Conflict Liberia
Co-supervised with Dr Patricia Daley (School of Geography and the Environment)

Chloe Lewis
Linacre College
Rape as a 'Weapon of War' in DRC: Uncovering the Elusive Male 'Victim'
Co-supervised with Prof Dawn Chatty (RSC)

Recent interviews with the media

'Eviction worries for Palestinians in New Libya' (29 Aug. 2012) 

'Palestinians Live on the Edge in New Libya' (23 Aug. 2012)

'Western Sahara: Women's Rights Flourish in Difficult Times' (8 Mar. 2012)

'The Middle East's Invisible Refugees' (31 Jan. 2012)

Selected podcasts (available to download)

Listen to Dr Fiddian-Qasmiyeh's presentation on 'The Politics of 'Travelling Memories': Refugee youth remembering home-land and home-camp' at the conference Refugees’ diasporic memories and the politics of democratisation (Feb. 2011)

Listen to Dr Fiddian-Qasmiyeh's presentation on 'Protecting "Invisible" Sahrawi and Palestinian Refugees in the 2011 Libyan Uprising' at the conference 'North Africa in transition' (mins. 00:35:11 - 00:53:02) (May 2011)

Listen to Dr Fiddian-Qasmiyeh's presentation at the Launch of RSC Policy Briefing 7 on protracted Sahrawi displacement (June 2011)

Listen to Dr Fiddian-Qasmiyeh and Dr Nando Sigona's presentation on 'Stateless diasporas and immigration and citizenship regimes in the EU' as part of the RSC Public Seminar Series, 'Stateless Diasporas and Forced Migration' (Oct. 2011)

Watch Dr Fiddian-Qasmiyeh's interview with Bridget Wooding on 'Migration and statelessness in the Dominican Republic', Oxford Diaspora Programme (Nov. 2011)

Current projects:
South-South humanitarianism in contexts of forced displacement

Impact and costs of forced displacement

Stateless diasporas and migration and citizenship regimes in the EU

Faith-based humanitarianism in contexts of forced migration

Gender, Islam and asylum

Associated events:
The tyranny of tolerance? Mobilizing evangelical humanitarianism in the Sahrawi refugee camps

Workshop – North Africa in transition: mobility, forced migration and humanitarian crises

Oxford Diasporas Programme Launch – Diaspora studies: past, present and promise

Transnational abductions and transnational jurisdictions? Coercive, discursive and legal battles over ‘abducted’ refugee girls and women in Spain

Launch: Policy Briefing 7 'Protracted Sahrawi Displacement: Challenges and opportunities beyond displacement'

Conflicting Missions? The politics of Evangelical humanitarianism in Middle Eastern and North African protracted refugee situations

Stateless diasporas and immigration and citizenship regimes in the EU

Workshop – South-South Humanitarianism in Contexts of Forced Displacement

Refugees’ diasporic memories and the politics of democratisation

Faith-based humanitarianism: The response of faith communities and faith-based organisations in contexts of forced migration