Displaying items by tag: Refugees

The Middle East is an atypical context for Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). The increasing complexity of humanitarian action, particularly the blurring of the lines between humanitarian and military actors and the increasing use of humanitarian language to justify wars, have made it even more difficult for MSF to negotiate independent operational space. This is especially so in some countries in the Middle East. Moreover, we are unaccustomed to working in middle-income countries where addressing non-communicable diseases is the priority. Although MSF is used to responding to acute crises, the Middle East suffers mostly from the chronic consequences of conflict. In…

The Dadaab refugee complex in north-east Kenya was established in 1991. Originally designed to accommodate 90,000 refugees, the camps now hold over five times their intended capacity, making Dadaab the third-largest population centre in Kenya after Nairobi and Mombasa. The region is remote and harsh, with temperatures of up to 48 degrees Celsius in the dry season and extreme flooding in the rainy season. The main Dadaab complex consists of the ‘older’ Dagahaley, Hagadera and Ifo refugee camps, with three further sites, Ifo East and Ifo West (combined they are known as Ifo 2) and Kambioos. These sites are being…

The Haitian earthquake in 2010 displaced thousands of people, forcing them into overcrowded spontaneous settlements. Women and girls in particular are at risk of violence in the camps, including sexual violence. This is a huge problem.In the first two months after the earthquake, the Commission of Women Victims for Victims (KOFAVIV)[1] logged 230 incidents of rape in just 15 camps in Port‐au‐Prince. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) reported 68 cases of rape in one month (April) at just one of its clinics in Port‐au‐Prince. The actual figures are likely to be substantially higher given significant under-reporting. A lack of adequate lighting…

In late 2006, the humanitarian community was alerted to the growing number of Iraqi refugees seeking assistance from NGOs in countries close to Iraq. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) convened a donor conference in April 2007 to set up a humanitarian response in the countries receiving the largest numbers of refugees, namely Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Egypt. It quickly became clear that the Iraqi refugee crisis was different from previous urban refugee situations, prompting UNHCR to revise its existing urban refugee policy in 2009. Over the last two years, UNHCR and its implementing partners have made considerable progress…

The special feature of this issue of Humanitarian Exchange focuses on humanitarian action in the Middle East.

La relation entre les désastres naturels, le relèvement et la réduction de la pauvreté est en passe de devenir une question scientifique, économique et politique cruciale.  Il est maintenant généralement reconnu que certains désastres « naturels » sont le produit de structures économiques et sociopolitiques et de processus de développement.  A leur tour, les désastres mettent en relief de façon frappante les inégalités socioéconomiques et créent une pression pour un changement.  Et pourtant la reconstruction reproduit habituellement les vulnérabilités.  Ainsi, le processus de développement contribue au nombre et à l’échelle des désastres ; les désastres retardent le développement, augmentant la vulnérabilité et sapant…

La sécurité de l’usage foncier a une influence directe sur la vulnérabilité de gens aux désastres et sur leur capacité à se rétablir.  Le type d’usage affecte directement la probabilité de déplacement et les chances d’un retour rapide.  La sécurité d’usage ne signifie pas nécessairement une propriété formellement enregistrée, légalement reconnue dont on peut hériter.  Elle peut également s’appliquer à des manières formelles et informelles, à court et à long terme d’assurer un abri à des particuliers, des ménages, des communautés et des entreprises, et prendre la forme d’une location, d’un droit de propriété ou d’un bail sur terrains.  Les…

Pierre Salignon writes from Libya's easterly border with Egypt on 8th March, in the days before the UN Security Council resolution.   The border crossing into Egypt, an escape route for many foreign nationals fleeing the violence in Libya, is four kilometres away from the small port town of Saloum at the extreme west of Egypt’s Mediterranean coast. More than 100,000 people have already crossed here, heading back to their home countries. They go unnoticed by the media, more preoccupied by events at the Tunisia crossing.                    There are more than 30 nationalities in total, but the majority are Egyptian men, with some families…

Michal Lyons began by highlighting that we are at the moment in a time of flux with regard to what is considered the best way to go about reconstruction – there is potential to change things now. She brought out a number of points in her presentation. People-centred reconstruction (PCR) has a number of advantages: it often costs less, livelihoods can be rebuilt earlier, local political structures are engendered, and there are fewer complaints from users. How can PCR be scaled up? The best method is to work in clusters, with participation and work being carried on at the local…

22 October 2010 13:00-15:00 (GMT+01 (BST)) - Public event, Overseas Development Institute and screened live online In the first of three events in the series Stabilisation, development and humanitarian action, this event launches the supplementary Theme Issue of the journal Disasters States of Fragility, considers the implications of stabilisation for international humanitarian action. The guest editors and some of the contributors to the supplementary Theme Issue will present the key findings of the articles, critically assessing the discourses, policies and practices associated with stabilisation. They consider whether stabilisation efforts that combine military, political, development and humanitarian responses have reduced ‘humanitarian…