Forced Displacement in Conflict Scenarios

Forced Displacement in Conflict Settings The phenomenon of the displacement of human communities is not new. Since the beginning of time, the need to leave the homeland for various reasons (wars, famines, or natural disasters) has been part of history. However, it is precisely in our days that this phenomenon has become more complex and has reached global connotations. Therefore, this situation requires a multidisciplinary, comprehensive, broad, and purposeful approach. In this sense, both ethics and bioethics offer us a privileged angle for criticism, analysis, and understanding of this problem.

This book brings together the research work that authors worldwide have developed around forced displacement in conflict settings, from various perspectives that have the peculiarity of being located in different geographies. In this way, the book is the perfect occasion to have a conversation between the multiple authors and the themes that it is composed of. A conversation in which, through its encounters and contrasts, will be possible to approach answers to a complex subject that challenges contemporary societies in an increasingly, insistent and pressing way.

The consideration of the political, economic, and social crossings in the conflict scenarios discussed in this book, allows the authors to delve into the consequences that forced displacement brings to the field of subjectivity. As we understand it, (bio)ethics is a practice of thought that invites us to the arduous but urgent exercise of making what marks of our time thinkable.

The mosaic that this book offers, allows us to draft a picture of forced displacement in conflict scenarios as one of the tragedies of our time that demands urgent attention. In the different lines and approaches that make up the pages of this text, we will find the role that legislation, legal frameworks, and political systems can play in offering solutions to this crisis, not only regarding urgent matters but also on the structural and strategic aspects that must be considered in the medium and long term.

Thus, for example, it is worth highlighting the need to address the dire challenges of our time, such as the defense of Human Rights and the need for the various governments and political systems (the European Union, for example) to maintain an adequate asylum policy and migrants’ protection.

We are in a time when it is necessary to speak frankly, honestly, and seriously about the (bio)ethical and biopolitical implications of concepts such as refugees, borders, displacement, and asylum. It is striking that in our time the subject of migration is still considered a matter of “national security”.

The refugees and displaced are subjected to immense suffering. Leaving behind their lands and communities and arriving at places where they are not always welcome, imposes an extra burden, in addition to those already brought by their previous situations. Of course, we speak about those who leave not by choice but because they had no other choice. The impact on the life and health of these people is enormous. The abuses and segregation displaced people are exposed to shed light on the lack of humanity that modern societies have reached in our time. Moreover, things can be even more drastic in the case of children, the elderly, or those with disabilities.