1,721,050 research outputs found
From a state of shock to agency in liminality
No full textLess than 10% of the estimated total of 11 million Syrians who fled their homes, reached Europe; around 4.8 million Syrian refugees live in neighbouring countries, and over 6.6 million are internally displaced people (IDP) within Syria (Migration Policy Centre 2016). In 2014, the author travelled back to northern Syria, where she conducted anthropological fieldwork in the past between 1997 and 2002, and visited the IDP camps of Atmeh and Qah. This chapter maps out the situation of Syrian children in these IDP camps, compared to trajectories of Syrian refugee children to Europe. Located in so-called “hard-to-reach-areas”, IDP camps are camps of liminality by their locality and marginalization, “betwixt and between” (Turner 1969). The IDP camps are not supposed to be permanent, yet all signs are present they will grow into permanent settlements as observed with satellite imagery. By comparing the trajectories of Syrian children in Europe with those living inside IDP camps, the author considers the nexus between agency, locality, liminality, mobility and trajectories. The empirical material is based on personal field visits to IDP camps, satellite imagery and interviews with Syrians in Syria, Turkey and the Netherlands
From a state of shock to agency in liminality, Syrians and their children on the move
No full textLess than 10% of the estimated total of 11 million Syrians who fled their homes, have actually reached Europe; around 4.8 million Syrian refugees live in neighbouring countries and over 6.6 million are internally displaced people (IDP) within Syria (Migration Policy Centre, 2016). In 2014, the author travelled back to northern Syria, where she conducted anthropological fieldwork in the past between 1997 and 2002, and visited the IDP camps of Atmeh and Qah. This chapter maps out the situation of Syrian children in these IDP camps, compared to trajectories of Syrian refugee children to Europe. Located in so-called “hard-to-reach-areas”, IDP camps are camps of liminality by their locality and marginalisation, “betwixt and between” (Turner, 1969). The IDP camps are not supposed to be permanent, yet all signs are present they will grow into permanent settlements as observed with satellite imagery. Due to the lack of international aid, children in these camps struggle with a severe lack of basic needs supply and education. By comparing the trajectories of Syrian children in Europe with those living inside IDP camps, the author considers the nexus between agency, locality, liminality, mobility and trajectories. The empirical material is based on personal fieldvisits to IDP camps, satellite imagery and interviews with Syrians in Syria, Turkey and the Netherlands
Killing the dispensables : massacres perpetrated in the villages of Eastern Aleppo Province in 2013
No full textIn 2013, Aleppo province was engulfed in violence. The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and affiliated Shi'a militias executed a campaign of massacres in the rural areas located on the eastern fringes of the province. The violence caused an exodus from this region, eventually dissipating local rural communities entirely. What can explain such extreme and brutal political violence perpetrated at a local level in the east Aleppo countryside throughout 2013? To find an answer, I analyse the personal accounts of those who witnessed the violence and YouTube videos. Taken together, these sources provide a visceral description of the massacres-in particular the summary executions in the village of Rasm al-Nafl, as a case study of extreme violence in one of the poorest rural areas of Syria. Problematizing mono-causal sectarian explanations, I argue that a deeper non-sectarian complex of rurality and a process of subaltern othering in combination with opportunism, governmental retribution, and strategic military concern for territorial control in order to secure alternative supply routes to Aleppo, ultimately led to the eradication of life and cultural genocide in these rural areas
Every day peace: the ignored role of Civil Society in the Syrian Uprising
No full textThis paper discusses the role of civil society in the Syrian war between 2012 and 2016, specifically in the so-called "liberated areas" under the control of the Free Syrian Army and the Syrian opposition. A postdoctoral research project of Copenhagen University between 2014 and 2016, has investigated the role of citizen video journalists and peaceful activists in the Syrian uprisings. Responding to the humanitarian situation, Syrian activist groups and Community Based Organisations (CSOs) have become active in distributing food aid and providing medical, educational and other services in areas under the control of the Free Syrian Army. Much of the audiovisual data set contain graphic footage of war events and experiences, however a sizeable part of the video material uploaded from Syria also contain reports of meetings, local elections and institutional buildup. This indicates the democratic experiments taking place in these geographical areas inside Syria. The research methodology is based on image research and semi-structure interviews with civil society actors. The author maps out the important role that peaceful civil society activists have played since the beginning of the Syrian uprisings in 2011. Civil society groups are still active in Syria and continue to play a crucial role in resisting both the rule of extremist Islamic groups inside Syria as well as the authoritarian regime of Bashar al-Assad
Participatory communication for a culture of peace in a post-conflict context
No full textThis study aims at researching how a sustainable culture of peace can be built through civic engagement in the Abkhaz-Georgian post-conflict context. It does so by learning from locally based NGOs, working for a culture of peace in areas affected by the Abkhaz-Georgian armed conflict which occurred 1993 to 1994. The studied NGOs work for different components within a Culture of Peace such as; women’s rights, peace building, social and economic development, democratic participation and human rights. In order to answer the research question following sub questions are answered:
• What can we learn from the experiences of the studied organizations’ participatory communication for social change?
• How has the culture of communication in the Abkhaz-Georgian post conflict context been affecting the participatory communication for social change for the different organizations?
The method to collect data to the research has been through a field study in Abkhazia and outside its border on the Georgian side, in the city Zugdidi which is the closest city to the Abkhazian border. Participatory observations and interviews with representatives from the different organizations working for a culture of peace were conducted during two and a half months. The theoretical framework used for the study consists of three theories. The first is the theory of “Culture of Peace”, used to analyze how the studied NGOs are working for a culture of peace. The second is the theory “participatory communication for social change” which is used to analyze the work of the studied organizations in order to know how they work for sustainable civic engagement. Lastly, the theory used to look at how the Abkhaz-Georgian post-conflict context is affecting the communication, is the theory “culture of communication”. The findings of the research present solutions of how to practice participatory communication to build a culture of peace in a post-conflict context. However, the research also discovers how certain public values and views in a post-conflict context can hinder effective work through participatory communication as well as ways of overcoming these challenges
Women’s climate change advocacy in Kiribati: vulnerability, agency and storytelling
No full textClimate change has hit the Pacific Island nation of Kiribati hard over the past decade, with unreliable weather patterns, drought, flooding and king tides all affecting the homes, health and livelihoods of residents. As the effects of climate change increase, women are rising up as advocates, fighting for action on mitigation and adaptation strategies locally and internationally. Through in-depth interviews with five I-Kiribati women, this study explores the strategies and impacts of their climate change advocacy. It addresses the questions: ‘How are I-Kiribati women advocating for climate action?’, and ‘What impact do the I-Kiribati women mobilized for climate action hope their voices and stories will have locally and transnationally?’.
The qualitative study draws on feminist theory and discourses on vulnerability and women in development, with a view to breaking away from the rhetoric of women as ‘victims’ and focusing on women’s agency in climate change advocacy. It explores the nuances of gender and climate change in Kiribati and the effects of shifting gender roles in local communities. Findings highlight the role of narratives and storytelling in Kiribati and internationally to translate science-based arguments into easily understandable messages for the public
Traces of anthropocentrism versus ecocentrism in UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere Programme
No full textThis thesis seeks to examine what parts of the “Roadmap for the Man and
Biosphere Programme” document have their starting point in anthropocentrism,
contrasting to what degree a more ecocentrist orientation can be detected. The
document entails the MAB Strategy (2015-2015), the Lima Action Plan
(2015-2025) and the Lima Declaration. The methodological approach is
document analysis through the tool of idea analysis, a type of discourse analysis.
The theoretical framework consists of the ideal types of anthropocentrism and
ecocentrism placed on a four rung ladder designed by Susan Baker. As tools of
power analysis, the concept of value and Steven Lukes three dimensions of
power are used. The findings show that the joint documents indicate an overall
significant anthropocentrist focus, which is occasionally contradicted by more
ecocentrist statements, which however appear to have no rooting in the policies.
The documents are also found to show a strong organizational and economic
focus and do not seem to take into account Indigenous knowledge and
participation in the policy process as they attempt to claim
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