Refugees and migration
Researchers work with refugees and migrants to change policy and practice
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Ravishaan Rahel Muthiah Director of Communications, The Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants
Climate breakdown: people must have the right to stay and right to move
Natural disasters have forced populations to uproot and relocate across our planet for as long as time can remember. As climate breakdown progresses, migration will become more common.
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he year 2023 has been the hottest since records began; we’ve seen an increasing number of extreme weather disasters and lives affected globally, with neighbourhoods submerged into local rivers or set ablaze by wildfires. What happens to the people whose lives are turned upside down overnight? Justice for climate-displaced people While we must do everything to prevent climate devastation and ensure people can stay in their communities if they choose to, we also need to adapt — expecting more movement and demanding justice for those who move. Despite the richest 1% of the world’s population creating twice as many emissions as the poorest 50%, it is the poorest 50% — 3.5 billion people — living overwhelmingly in countries most vulnerable to climate change. They are bearing the brunt of a crisis they did not cause. Lawyers at the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI) are representing clients who have moved to the UK due to climateinduced migration; we believe this is only set to increase.
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Countries in the global north are largely responsible for causing the havoc wreaked by climate change. The only practical and moral solution is for us to urgently open safe routes for those who come to our shores. How migration helps the UK The UK would not be the country it is without migration. Our NHS is held together by migrants — 35% of doctors and 27% of nurses are not UK nationals, and a significant percentage are the children of migrants. Nearly a quarter (24%) of care workers and 13% of the NHS’s scientific, therapeutic and technical staff are migrants. We have always been dependent on immigration. It enriches our communities and society and will be a key part of the climate crisis solution. The wise thing now is to embrace it, be honest about our history and take responsibility for climate change while recognising how our long history of migration is good for us.
How is climate change affecting education globally? While the impact of the climate crisis on education is global, developing nations are most vulnerable. UNESCO’s latest global report on the impact of climate displacement on the right to education reveals the extent of this crisis and guides policy-makers. The study showcases how the impact of the climate crisis on education is diverse and multifaceted in different parts of the world. For example, physical barriers — such as damaged schools and disrupted access routes due to extreme weather events — hinder education. Economic barriers appear as livelihoods are affected, leading to poverty and an inability to cover educational costs. Linguistic and administrative obstacles also emerge as climatedisplaced migrants relocate to regions without education in their mother tongue and face difficulties due to lost documents.
@MediaplanetUK
Lack of data on climate-displaced people A pressing issue is the lack of official data on climate-displaced people, due to challenges in distinguishing them from other migrants and the absence of coordinated data collection. Populations displaced due to the climate crisis are falling through the cracks and not being provided with the protection they need. Through its global initiative, UNESCO recommends collecting and combining data on migration, climate, and education and proposes an international information system for tracking displacements. Countries must invest in data and monitoring, redefine internally displaced persons to include climate-induced displacement and implement intersectoral measures between education and disaster risk reduction. Getting every learner climate-ready To prevent further acceleration of the climate crisis, it is also urgent to transform the way climate and sustainability are taught in classrooms. The new Greening Education Partnership aims to accelerate action and get every learner climate-ready through greening schools, curriculum, teacher training and communities. This can bring about the personal and societal transformation that is necessary to change course and limit the number of climate crisis migrants in the future.
Contact information: uk.info@mediaplanet.com or +44 (0) 203 642 0737
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reveal how this 28-day period often results in homelessness, labour exploitation and financial destitution,” explains Dr Hughes.
The climate crisis is impacting every aspect of life. This includes the right to education, as millions of people are forced to leave their homes and livelihoods to escape from the consequences of environmental degradation. n 2022 alone, 32.6 million people were internally displaced due to climate-related disasters, and the number is on the rise. On this year’s International Migrants Day, UNESCO is underlining the multiple barriers to education that climate-displaced migrants face. The absence of recognition in international law puts them in a particularly precarious situation, and their right to education is being violated.
As more people are forced to move, governments like ours are closing their borders and making it harder for people to seek safety.
Our NHS is held together by migrants — 35% of doctors and 27% of nurses are not UK nationals.
@GlobalcauseUK
Stefania Giannini Assistant Director-General for Education, UNESCO
Guaranteeing the right to education of climate-displaced learners
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This photo shows a young refugee who gained entrepreneurial skills as a volunteer. She then started her own business in Nakivale refugee settlement, Uganda, in order to improve her standards of living. Photo by Issa Bagarira, Refugee Youth Volunteering Uganda (RYVU) research project.
The life experiences and challenges facing refugees and migrants across the globe are key areas of research expertise at Northumbria University.
Professor Matt Baillie Smith Dean of Research Culture at Northumbria University and Co-Director of the University’s Centre for Global Development
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cademics with specialist knowledge in humanitarian crises, volunteering and livelihoods are working with international organisations and groups of refugees and migrants to deliver research which improves understanding and promotes changes in policy and practice. Volunteering among young refugees Reliance on volunteering was evident in Uganda where partner universities in the UK and Uganda carried out research involving over 3,000 young refugees. We mapped the kinds of voluntary labour these young refugees are involved in and explored the relationships between their volunteering activity, development of skills and their employability. We found high rates of participation in volunteering work among communities of young refugees facing considerable daily challenges. However, the findings also reveal barriers to participation and how Covid-19 reduced volunteering opportunities — exacerbating existing inequalities.
For many, volunteering also becomes a source of livelihood because of the precarious living conditions. Refugee experiences in the UK Devastating global conflict has been a key factor in the number of people seeking refuge in countries across the globe. Researchers are working to document the treatment in the UK and Europe and highlight the rights of those fleeing uncertainty — many of whom find their arrival in the UK is far from the end of their struggles. Dr Sarah Hughes is working on British Academy-funded research, which explores what it’s like to be a new refugee in the UK. Working with third-sector organisations supporting forced migrants in detention centres, dispersal accommodation and those who were recently granted leave to remain, Dr Hughes has gained insights into navigating a system that allows just 28 days for refugees to access the essential services they need to begin rebuilding their lives. “I’ve conducted dozens of interviews with new refugees, as well as representatives from local authorities and charities in the north of England. Their comments
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Policymaking for refugees Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and the related displacement of millions of people, also prompted a range of responses from the public and policymakers, including the removal of many barriers to travel to and settle in certain countries. Professor Kathryn Cassidy and her team’s work with the academic thinktank, UK in a Changing Europe (UKICE), is analysing responses to the displacement of people from Ukraine in three countries — UK, Poland and Romania — working with policymakers, organisations from the voluntary and community sector, host communities and people from Ukraine. Professor Cassidy says: “We are already seeing that the involvement of many individuals, organisations and institutions — in providing temporary protection across and within both EU member states and the UK — has led to very variable experiences for those who have left Ukraine. Responses to accommodate people from Ukraine are counter to policymaking in a number of European countries in recent years, which has broadly sought to strengthen measures to exclude those seeking sanctuary.” This research calls for a need to review policies and support for refugees and migrants. Engagement across communities Finally, resilience and innovation in the face of marginalisation are also key themes in the work of Dr Sarah Peck, an Early Career Research Fellow at Northumbria. Supported by The Leverhulme Trust, Dr Peck is collaborating with three diaspora groups based in the UK to explore and document how they have engaged in different forms of social, political and community development in Britain and their countries of heritage from the 1970s to the present day. Dr Peck explains: “Diaspora groups have been heavily involved in many different forms of development in Britain, their countries of heritage and globally, including struggles against racism and inequality, campaigns for workers’ rights and advocating for social and environmental justice. This engagement is shaped by historical and contemporary relations, the changing nature of civic space in Britain as well as everyday experiences and perspectives.”
Northumbria University partners and collaborators include communitybased organisations and refugee groups, as well as global organisations such as the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). Scan the QR code to discover more about the global reach of research at Northumbria.