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Returning to fund refugeehood: dispersal and survival between Uganda and South Sudan

Return movements of refugees, even when gradual or temporary, are typically understood as part of a process of full repatriation or as a ‘strategy’ for leveraging socio-economic opportunities across borders. However, for some refugees, return is neither a step towards repatriation nor an empowering strategy. Drawing on qualitative and quantitative data from Uganda and South Sudan, this article shows how, due to gradual reductions in aid and the lack of livelihood opportunities in Uganda, South Sudanese refugees travel back to their homeland in order to financially support their relatives who remain in exile. These return movements and the phenomenon of split households among South Sudanese are responses to severe hardship and, paradoxically, are deployed to sustain their life in Uganda. While cross-border migration enables refugees to access subsistence opportunities, this article argues that it underscores how refugees must now find their own means to ‘fund’ their refugeehood, given ongoing reductions in international assistance for protracted displacement.

Analysing archives to write migration histories

Chapter 7 in 'Handbook of Research Methods in Migration': Second Edition, edited by William Allen and Carlos Vargas-Silva

Refugee Memoirs: Kouamé’s Revenu des ténèbres (2018) and Dina Nayeri’s The Ungrateful Refugee (2019) and the challenge of refugee narratives

In their introduction to Values of Literature, Hanna Meretoja and Pyro Lyytikäinen argue that ‘little attention has been paid to the ethical relevance of different literary genres and to the very different functions of literary texts that make literature valuable’.1 Literature has several ‘uses’ according to Rita Felski (2008), amongst which are the ‘knowledge’ and ‘shock’ elements insofar as they enable readers to change their perception of the world. Examining what I term ‘refugee memoirs’ as an emergent genre and its uses in enabling readers to interrogate dominant discourses about refugees in the UK, Europe and North America, I argue that refugee memoirs contest right-wing narratives that seek to shape society’s view of asylum-seekers and refugees and enable readers to see refugees' lived experiences through new perspective. Thereby, these narratives also permit a rehumanization of refugees and a comprehension of their losses and positions.

Encountering Nations: Interdisciplinary Perspectives

Introduction to the special issue: 'Encountering Nations: Interdisciplinary Perspectives'

Fragments of Home: Refugee Housing and the Politics of Shelter

Abandoned airports. Shipping containers. Squatted hotels. These are just three of the many unusual places that have housed refugees in the past decade. The story of international migration is often told through personal odysseys and dangerous journeys, but when people arrive at their destinations a more mundane task begins: refugees need a place to stay. Governments and charities have adopted a range of strategies in response to this need. Some have sequestered refugees in massive camps of glinting metal. Others have hosted them in renovated office blocks and disused warehouses. They often end up in prefabricated shelters flown in from abroad. This book focuses on seven examples of emergency shelter, from Germany to Jordan, which emerged after the great "summer of migration" in 2015. Drawing on detailed ethnographic research into these shelters, the book reflects on their political implications and opens up much bigger questions about humanitarian action. By exploring how aid agencies and architects approached this basic human need, Tom Scott-Smith demonstrates how shelter has many elements that are hard to reconcile or combine; shelter is always partial and incomplete, producing mere fragments of home. Ultimately, he argues that current approaches to emergency shelter have led to destructive forms of paternalism and concludes that the principle of autonomy can offer a more fruitful approach to sensitive and inclusive housing.

Refuge in the Levant and Eastern Mediterranean: Spaces of containment or places of choice?

After the Anglo-American invasion of Iraq in 2003, the European Union became fixated on keeping refugees from the Middle East out of Europe. By 2015, with the mass influx of Syrians, Iraqis, and others, seeking safety across the Balkans, the European response was an extraordinary effort to push back and contain these displaced people within the Eastern Mediterranean region through physical barriers, bilateral agreements, and the establishment of refugee camps. This paper suggests that Europe’s efforts to keep displaced Syrians and Iraqis out of Europe were misguided. That is, contrary to what much of the European main media reported at the time, relatively few of those displaced Syrians and Iraqis had a strong desire to seek asylum in Europe. Rather, depending upon socio-economic and kinship networks, and historical ties developed over 500 years of Ottoman suzerainty, they preferred to remain in the region following long-established transnational socio-economic networks and kinship ties.

Refugee Afterlives: Home, Hauntings, and Hunger

This book compares fiction and non-fiction written by two generations of the Vietnamese diaspora, the so-called 1.5 and second generation in France and Canada, namely, Kim Thúy, Doan Bui, Clément Baloup, Hoai Huong Nguyen and Viet Thanh Nguyen (USA) as they grapple with their positionality as refugee(s’) children and the attendant problematics of loss. How they recuperate this loss by deploying notions such as home, hauntings and hunger is central to this analysis. Refugee Afterlives identifies the tools deployed by the 1.5 and second generation, tests their limits while understanding that these writers’ creations are constantly changing and shifting paradigms and will continue to be so over the next decades. Each writer is finding their own voice and pathway(s) and while these may sometimes overlap and contain commonalities, afterlives by default imply plurality and differences. This book offers ways of examining these texts, juxtaposing them, contrasting them, putting them in dialogue with each other, underlining their differences, but ultimately demonstrating that there is much to be gained in seeing how 1.5ers and the so-called second generation Vietnamese refugee writers contribute to a wider discussion of Vietnamese refugee(s’) children and what happens to them after resettlement.

The economic lives of refugees

The economic lives of refugees are often viewed as relatively homogeneous, and sources of within-group variation remain largely unexplored. We describe the socio-economic diversity of refugees in one particular region: East Africa. Drawing upon first-hand quantitative and qualitative data collected in Kenya, Uganda, and Ethiopia (n = 8,996), the article systematically compares 12 refugee subpopulations living in seven refugee camps and the three capital cities. In order to identify sources of variation, we examine three main questions: (1) What variation is there in socio-economic outcomes? (2) What strategies and resources do refugees rely upon, and how do these vary? (3) How are opportunities and constraints shaped by differences in institutions and identity? Overall, we show that, although the economic lives of refugees have some distinguishing and common features, they are also heterogeneous by host country, urban/camp context, nationality, and household. We explain why describing and understanding sources of within-group variation matters for research and policy.

Refugee Debt and Livelihoods in Northern Kenya

While humanitarian assistance to refugees has increasingly focused on fostering self-reliance, refugees are highly exposed to economic shocks that make self-reliance difficult to achieve. With limited access to employment and low wages, refugees are rarely able to put aside savings in case of emergency. Those who have recently fled their country of origin may have no assets to sell if needed. Informal social protection mechanisms may be unavailable or less effective in contexts of mass displacement where existing networks are disrupted and vulnerability becomes widespread. Given these constraints, borrowing is often the only coping strategy available to refugees. Based on quantitative and qualitative data collected over a one-year period, this report studies how debt is used as a coping strategy by refugees living in Kakuma refugee camp and the Kalobeyei settlement in Kenya, which, together, constitute one of the largest refugee camps in Africa, hosting more than 270,000 refugees in October 2023 (UNHCR, 2023).

Ambivalent encounters in Calais

‘The term encounter has been used in various disciplines to indicate a bringing together of difference (people, groups, ideas, etc.) with an aim of some form of positive or beneficial outcome’ [Standish, K., 2021. Encounter Theory. Peacebuilding, 9 (1), 1–14.]. Allport [Allport, G.W., 1954. The Nature of Prejudice. Cambridge, MA: Perseus Books] suggests that contact between different groups might lead to a positive change and the reduction in stereotypes, but later research shows that often conflict is more likely to arise. Nonetheless, while contact might presuppose co-existence and thereby, the enduring presence of conflict, encounter ‘is much more than that and involves a space where being with is the outcome itself’ (Standish 2021: 40). It is my contention that the ambivalent nature of the encounters that occur in the Calaisian space generates a layered level of dislocation for those who are entering this space. By definition 'ambivalent’ implies that feelings and reactions are mixed or contradictory. It argues that the ambivalence of these encounters shape not only people of the move’s experiences but also the discourses around them, leading to constant tensions and shifting allegiances, and ultimately the maintenance of the status quo.

Skilled Worker Visas for Refugees: An Evaluation of the UK's Displaced Talent Mobility Pilot (DTMP)

There has been growing recognition of labour migration as a complementary solution for refugees and displaced people in recent years. Several pilots and programmes have emerged to match displaced people in the Global South with employers in the Global North in need of their skills and then facilitate their movement to these countries. One such example is the Displaced Talent Mobility Pilot (DTMP) announced in July 2021 by the Home Office, in partnership with the charity Talent Beyond Boundaries (TBB). TBB was established in 2016 out of the simple idea that displaced people do not need to be a burden for host societies. They have skills and talents, and can positively contribute to companies and communities globally when barriers to their mobility are removed. TBB uses the Talent Catalog, with over 100,000 registered people, to match skilled people in displacement with public-service providers or private companies and then works with employers, governments, and civil society to facilitate displaced people’s migration. The DTMP was launched in October 2021 and the first candidate arrived in the UK in December 2021. Initially, the DTMP aimed to move 50–100 displaced persons and their family members from Jordan and Lebanon to the UK as skilled migrants in non-healthcare roles by the end of October 2023. The pilot has since been extended until 1 November 2024. Utilising the Skilled Worker migration route, it will continue to provide a pathway for up to 200 skilled displaced people to come to the UK. Refugees and displaced people of any nationality or location are now eligible to benefit from the Displaced Talent Mobility Pilot. This report assesses the achievements, impacts, and sustainability of the DTMP. It draws on qualitative research, including interviews with individuals who moved through the pilot, as well as staff from employing organisations, TBB, the Home Office, and partner organisations. The research highlights that the DTMP achieved most of its stated objectives (e.g. number of employers expressing interest and number of sectors recruiting displaced talent) but fell short of meeting the expected numbers of displaced people relocated. As of 1 September 2023, only 17 displaced individuals received job offers, of which only 12 had moved to the UK. The relatively low take-up of the pilot can largely be attributed to demand-side barriers and challenges in engaging employers, including the significant cost of recruiting internationally and the economic and political environment. The report also highlights the strong positive impacts of the pilot on candidates and their employers. Candidates relocating to the UK experience transformative changes in their livelihoods, safety, and overall well-being. Employers similarly report high levels of satisfaction with the programme as new hires fill skill gaps and bring wider benefits to the office through their past experiences. The report unpacks the challenges and lessons learnt until September 2023 to make recommendations for how the programme should continue in the future. Disclaimer: The views expressed in this independent report are the authors’ and do not necessarily reflect the views of the UK Home Office, TBB, or other stakeholders involved in the DTMP.

Refuge in Syria: Where Duty Outweighs Human Rights Based Approaches

Chapter in Urban Displacement: Syria’s Refugees in the Middle East (Are Knudsen and Sarah Tobin, eds). About the book: Syria’s massive displacement (from 2012 onwards) is one of the largest, most complex and intractable humanitarian emergencies of today. More than 5.7 million Syrian refugees live mainly in cities and urban areas throughout the Middle East. Urban Displacement examines multiple dimensions of this crisis from political and socioeconomic predicaments to questions of social belonging, the complexity of the international, regional and national responses and how they affect urban spaces. The volume brings together experts in the field of forced migration studies and displacement in the Middle East and presents a range of in-depth ethnographic data, cross-sectional surveys and policy analyses.

Resisting domestic violence

This article analyses the jurisprudence on domestic violence in international refugee and human rights law. It identifies and offers an original response to shortcomings in both bodies of law. Drawing on the work of Michelle Madden Dempsey, its focus is on domestic violence in its ‘strong’ sense: violence that sustains or perpetuates patriarchy. Decisions on women’s claims for international protection from domestic violence have generated strands of case law which contradict each other, as well as the Refugee Convention’s object and purpose. Decision makers have delineated overly restrictive social groups and ignored, identified, or imputed a range of political opinions. A disproportionate focus on ‘private’ motives has also obscured the nexus between persecution and the Convention ground(s). Similarly, issues left unresolved by the European Court of Human Rights have resulted in the European Convention on Human Rights’ prohibition of discrimination being applied inconsistently, and recently, not at all, in cases involving domestic violence. These deficiencies are traced to a lack of conceptual and legal clarity as to the nature of domestic violence. A response is offered that understands such violence as political and discriminatory. The article concludes by arguing that victims of domestic violence, properly understood, have experienced unlawful discrimination and are members of the ‘simple’ particular social group of ‘women’. It also answers calls within the literature for gender-sensitive approaches to the political opinion ground, offering an analysis that recognizes women’s resistance to violence, including in cases where commitments to gender equality are not expressed. Overall, the article contributes an improved understanding of domestic violence that could be relied on to ground principled decision making on discrimination, persecution, and the Convention grounds.

Must refugees be grateful?

The idea that refugees should be grateful is pervasive in popular culture and is also evident in political theory, most notably in discussing whether refugees have an obligation to obey the law in their state of asylum. We examine the normative argument that refugees have a duty to be grateful to their host society, arguing that when the workings of the system of refugee protection are examined, it becomes clear that no such duty exists. Our main concern is that state-imposed barriers and hardships that refugees must endure to access asylum undermine any gratitude to the asylum state. Indeed, if any gratitude duties are owed by refugees, it is to those social actors who help them evade state restrictions. We conclude by suggesting that, once we take account of those features, resentment rather than gratitude often seems a more apt response by refugees to their asylum state.

Reviewing the contribution of the private sector to economic and labour market development in forced displacement contexts

There has been an increasing shift away from hallmarking refugees based on their persecution experience and instead viewing them as economic actors and agents of development. This is particularly the case in protracted refugee situations where historically the humanitarian response system is not designed or funded to understand livelihood strategies that displaced persons are pursuing and the general development opportunities that may be available to them. As a result, different actors have been welcomed into the fold such as the private sector, which is well positioned to expand markets, deploy a variety of business models, create employment opportunities and integrate into value chains in forced displacement contexts. This study primarily uses a mixed methodology and charts the burgeoning literature that defines the private sector, its emerging role and, in some cases, its concrete contribution. It considers the current barriers faced by refugees in accessing economic systems and the conditions required for the private sector to enter this sphere. The paper also reviews overarching themes and identifies key questions that might advance our understanding of the most recent trends in relation to private sector development in refugee settings. In particular, the capacity of multi-national corporations and international financial institutions to provide solutions to displacement, and the emerging role of private sector actors in the digital economy which may help us reconsider opportunities for refugee inclusion. Finally, the paper highlights some examples of concrete access for refugees to labour markets and avenues for refugee entrepreneurship. Despite the growing literature on the private sector’s contribution in forced displacement contexts, there remain additional questions which the authors highlight in the hope that it may inspire others to pursue further research in this area.

When Treaties are Forbidden

“Against the Flow”: Exile and “Willful Subjects” in Malika Mokeddem’s Mes Hommes and Kim Thúy’s Vi

Exile is a move away from one’s homogeneous cultural background, and the exile constantly experiences “both the old and the new environment” as “vivid, actual, occurring together contrapuntally” (Said186). While exile might be a rift, it can also be chosen as a mode of interior movement away from repressions and oppressive values. I contend that the indeterminacy of the notion of willfulness (Ahmed, Willful Subjects) and the implied dissent involved are a productive lens through which to analyze Malika Mokeddem’s Mes hommes (2005) and Kim Thúy’s Vi (2016). In both texts, I investigate how willfulness is conducive to freedom along with subjectivation, demonstrating how postcolonial migrant women recuperate not only their individuality but also showcase the different changes that operate within their family due to their exilic experiences.

Forward to the Special Issue Fragile Selves

In March 2022, I gave a keynote address at the PhD Symposium on Fragile Selves at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice. The focus of my talk was to examine the extraordinary efforts of Circassian forced migrants to maintain their culture, their language, and their traditions, during their involuntary migration to new lands. Although I did not use the term ‘fragile’, what I was examining was indeed a delicate balancing act to identify and maintain what many regarded as special and evocative of their native land and culture.

Global approaches to refugee response: what difference can they make?

The Global Compact on Refugees: inadequate substitute or useful complement?

The Global Compact on Refugees is touted by its supporters as a soft law instrument that advances solutions for refugees in a way that complements the fundamental human rights protections afforded by the hard law Refugee Convention. In practice, however, the Global Compact appears to have replaced the Refugee Convention as the centerpiece of multilateral dialogue about states' actions vis-à-vis refugees. This paper argues that the substitution of the Global Compact for the Refugee Convention is problematic from a human rights perspective because the Global Compact makes very little provision for refugees' rights and interests, instead focusing on the rights and interests of states. The Compact thus exerts a gravitational pull that distances the forced displacement response sector from the objective of realizing refugees' human rights. To counter this, the paper suggests a need for increased attention and deeper investment in bolstering the use of human rights treaty mechanisms and processes to enforce refugees' human rights.