Forced Migration Online: Blog

The film ‘Iraqis in Egypt: Time is Running Out’ is now available to view online. The documentary looks at the lives of six Iraqi families who have been forced to flee their homes and are now living as refugees in the massive urban sprawl of Cairo. As the years pass by, their situations are becoming increasingly desperate, with little or no rights in their country of first asylum.

• Iraqis in Egypt: Time is Running Out

UPDATE: Visit iraqisinegypt.org for the latest media releases, films, podcasts and more.

This podcast was recorded in Amman, Jordan in December 2007 with additional interviews recorded in February 2008. The Amman recordings include interviews with a number of Iraqis now living in Jordan from a range of backgrounds and current situations. The podcast includes comments from Rana Sweis UNHCR, Amman and Dana Graber Ladek International Organisation for Migration (IMO), Iraq.

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The film ‘West Bank Stories‘ is now available to view online. The film presents the views of three Palestinians living in the Dheisheh refugee camp in the West Bank. The Dheisheh camp was established in 1949 within the municipal boundaries of Bethlehem on 430 dunums. It has a registered population of 12,045 of which approximately 6,000 are children. The camp’s residents were particularly active during the intifadah. The Israeli authorities built a fence around the camp and a metal turnstile for the main entrance, which were in place for almost eight years to prevent stone throwing at passing Israeli cars on the main Jerusalem-Hebron road. In 1995, the camp came under Palestinian Authority control, and the fence has since been removed.

The film offers tours of a disused Israeli military base, the Dheisheh camp and the Ibdaa (Innovation) cultural centre at Dheisheh which promotes cultural activities including a dance troupe and basketball team.

Attendees at the recent Dispossession and Displacement Conference were able to see a preview of the film as part of the film panel.

• West Bank Stories

The final podcast in the series recorded at the bi-annual conference of the International Association for the Study of Forced Migration (IASFM) is now available online.

The fifth plenary event began with a commemoration of the Journal of Refugee Studies’ 20th Anniversary by Dr Barbara Harrell-Bond and Richard Black, followed by a review of the conference by IASFM 11 Rapporteur John Nassari. The video review of the event is also available on this blog.

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The latest podcast in a series recorded at the bi-annual conference of the International Association for the Study of Forced Migration (IASFM) is now available online.

The fourth plenary event began with poetry readings by Mehmet Yashin and Stephanos Stephanides, followed by a panel discussion ‘The Voices of the Displaced in Forced Migration Research’ chaired by Elzbieta Gozdziak, with Eftihia Voutira, Giorgia Donna, Arild Birkenes and Zachary Lomo as the panelists.

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The latest podcast in a series recorded at the bi-annual conference of the International Association for the Study of Forced Migration (IASFM) is now available online.

The third plenary event included a panel discussion ‘Regions at the Crossroads: Transregional Forced Migration’ chaired by Susan Martin, with presentations by Mark Schlakman, Aicha Belarbi, Jeffrey Crisp and Ahmet Icduygu and Susan Kneebone.

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The latest podcast in a series recorded at the bi-annual conference of the International Association for the Study of Forced Migration (IASFM) is now available online.

The second plenary event began with the keynote address ‘Palestine refugees in the contemporary context: a view from UNRWA’ by Karen Abu Zayd, Commissioner General of UNRWA, followed by a panel discussion ‘The situation of refugees in the Middle East’ chaired by Maysa Ayoub, and including Helen Young, Patricia Fagen and Shahira Samy.

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FMO has launched the first of a series of podcasts recorded at the bi-annual conference of the International Association for the Study of Forced Migration (IASFM), held in Cairo between January 6th and 10th 2008. The 11th IASFM conference was hosted by the Forced Migration and Refugee Studies Program of the American University in Cairo. A large proportion of those attending and giving presentations were researchers and practitioners from the global South. The FMO team made audio recordings of the conference’s plenary sessions and these will be launched gradually over the coming weeks. The further details about the conference can be accessed on the FMO event page.

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The research guide on Iraq has been updated to reflect rising levels of displacement and other recent developments. Since 2003, UNHCR estimates that at least 2 million Iraqis have left Iraq and a further 1 million have been displaced inside the country. One in eight Iraqis has been forcibly uprooted, and according to UNHCR estimates, some 40,000 to 60,000 are leaving their homes on a monthly basis. There are an estimated 1.4 million Iraqis seeking refuge in Syria and a further 750,000 in Jordan. See also the resource summary which highlights a selection of web-based resources that focus on Iraq.

UPDATE: Also worth noting, the NGO Coordination Committee in Iraq have published a series of 6 briefing papers summarizing current issues, trends and lessons learned facing operational humanitarian organisations in Iraq. The papers address the following areas:

1. Adapting to Insecurity in Iraq
2. Operational Modalities
3. Personnel Management
4. Interactions Between Aid and Conflict
5. Humanitarian - Military Interactions
6. Perceptions of Humanitarianism

• Iraq Research Guide

The Palestinian Register provides unique record of contemporary Palestinian civic and political voices. Carried out by Palestinian refugees and exiles and implemented by activists and local leaders, the report of the Civitas collective research project is now available online. This project provides a platform for those Palestinians voices that are rarely heard - the men and women who live in al Shatat (the Palestinian dispersal in 1948 and after). They discuss issues of political representation and the concerns and mechanisms for engagement and renewal. Crucially, they also address the connections that do and do not exist with the PLO and the host countries where they currently live, and with other refugee camps and communities.

• Palestinians Register