Institute of International
Humanitarian Affairs
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IIHA HELEN HAMLYN SENIOR FELLOW REPORTS ON THE EUROPEAN MIGRATION CRISIS
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I spent 14 days in January filming a documentary about the medical aspects of the European migration crisis for the BBC. The premise was straightforward: to learn more about the health problems affecting migrants on different stages of their journeys. I have worked as a physician in humanitarian crises and for the last five years, I have taught and written about humanitarian responses in my job as the Helen Hamlyn Senior Fellow at the IIHA. I didn't think I was naive about the contradictions and complexities of humanitarian crises but those two weeks of filming presented me with the most appalling, astounding and complex set of circumstances I have ever seen.
I was co-presenting the documentary with my twin brother, Christoffer. We followed some of the migrants' possible journeys from their arrival on the shores of Lesbos in Greece, to Athens, to the Macedonian border and, for some, into Serbia and then Germany. We finished our journey in the camps in France at Calais and Dunkirk. Migrants are not a monolith: their origins, aims and ambitions vary so widely as to make the label almost meaningless and as a result, there is no typical route through Europe. We chose these particular locations for filming because they are all places where people are forced to pause at a border and where, therefore, various organizations are attempting to meet humanitarian needs. We hoped we might be able to meet people as they paused and investigate their health problems and the organizations working to assist them.
Each of these locations revealed extreme need and vulnerability: trench foot, hypothermia and exhaustion in Greece; frost-bite in Macedonia and Serbia; psychological trauma and depression in Germany; the extreme public health threats of the camps in France. And each site provoked the question: "what should be done
?"
Read the rest of Dr. Alexander van Tulleken's article!
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IIHA SPRING 2016 EVENT SERIES HIGHLIGHTS GLOBAL MIGRATION IN THE 21ST CENTURY
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With approximately 60 million people either forcibly displaced from their homes or migrating by choice, the international migration crisis presents a multi-faceted, global challenge. Beginning this Spring, the IIHA will host a series of events under the banner of
"Challenges & Opportunities: Global Migration in the 21st Century."
In line with our mission to serve the University, the IIHA will collaborate with other departments, centers, and institutes to co-sponsor and co-organize various events and also publicize and promote events that fall within the scope of the event series.
In addition, the IIHA will itself host a series of events that will offer different perspectives on the ongoing migration crisis. These events serve to educate and stimulate meaningful, critical discussions about the issues at hand. For more information, or to connect with the IIHA about events you would like to have featured within this series, please contact IIHA Executive Director, Brendan Cahill. Stay tuned for future events and keep up to date with news about the migration and refugee crisis on our Facebook page and Twitter with the hashtag #IIHAMigrationCrisis
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HUMANITARIANISM & ACADEMIA
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Noteworthy Articles, Reports, & Resources
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IDHA 47 CONTINUES IN GENEVA
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Anwar Gubara (HNTC 5) is now based in Beirut, Lebanon as a Human Rights Officer for the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Syria Monitoring Team. Previously, Anwar served as a Consultant for UNHCHR in Khartoum, before completing his Masters in Human Rights and Democratization in Africa at the University of Pretoria, South Africa, in 2013. Anwar's ambition is to return back to his country, Sudan, and work to empower people with albinism.
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In his latest blog post,
"Jobs for the Bots,"
Joe Lowry (IDHA 12) writes about whether the real threat to job security is technological advancement or migration. He argues about the detrimental effects of restrictions and resistance to migrants on our economies and economic development as a whole.
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Dr. Sr. Ephigenia Gachiri, IBVM (IIHA and IDHA Guest Lecturer) of the Termination of Female Genital Mutilation project has recently released the first
newsletter of 2016 with new updates on their projects.
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For the duration of the Spring 2016 semester, the IIHA Humanitarian Newsletter will be published on a monthly schedule. For the latest news, events, and opportunities, follow our
blog and our
Facebook and
Twitter platforms!
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UPCOMING IIHA TRAINING COURSES
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You can now support IIHA's work when you shop on
AmazonSmile
. All you have to do is select CIHC as your charitable organization and CIHC will receive 0.5% of the purchase price of eligible purchases at AmazonSmile. It's a way to give while you shop at no cost to you. We are grateful for all your support!
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THE HUMANITARIAN INNOVATION CORNER
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Meet the IIHA's Humanitarian Innovation Fellow! Giulio Coppi oversees the IIHA's Humanitarian Innovation program, with a special focus on Open Source technology and a community-based approach. Giulio is also the founder and administrator of the platform
High Tech Humanitarians (HTH)
, of which the IIHA is an official partner. Giulio recently represented the IIHA and HTH at the
Techfugees
event in NYC, which
gathered together
over 180 Tech professionals to address the European Refugee Crisis using the powerful leverage of technology.
Read more about Giulio!
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Monday, March 7, 2016 | 1:00-3:00 PM
The IIHA has partnered with the Refugee and Immigrant Fund (RiF) to provide support to and resources to immigrants in the NYC area! Bi-monthly meetings on Mondays and Saturdays will be held to to provide opportunities for support and discussion for asylum seekers.
Location: 155 W 60th St. | McMahon Hall | Fordham University | Room 109 | New York, NY 10023
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Friday, March 11, 2016
Registration is now open for the Devex Career Forum this spring. This event will provide opportunities for networking with over 60 organizations and more than 500 global development professionals, where valuable career advice and tips on the industry will be shared.
Location: Washington, D.C.
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Friday, April 1 - Monday, April 4, 2016
This two part event will first include a Symposium on Geography and Urban Health, jointly organized by the International Society for Urban Health and the Association of American Geographers, and co-sponsored by The International Geospatial Health Research Network and the AAG Health and Medical Geography Specialty Group. Sessions will highlight national and international cross-disciplinary approaches for enhancing collaboration in team science, technology transfer, designs for urban health, and advancing global urban health.
The following two days, the International Conference on Urban Health: Place and Health, is organized by the International Society for Urban Health. This conference will aim to share findings, methodologies, and technologies, and strengthen and create research and education collaborations focusing on the urban environment as an important "place" in population health research, interventions, and policies. Click
here
for more information on pricing and accommodations, and to submit an abstract to either program.
Location: Hotel Nikko |
222 Mason Street | San Francisco, California 94102
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Saturday, April 16 - Sunday, April 17, 2016
The Global Health & Innovation Conference is the world's leading and largest global health conference as well as the largest social entrepreneurship conference, with 2,200 professionals and students from all 50 states and more than 55 countries. This must-attend, thought-leading conference convenes leaders, changemakers, professionals and students from all sectors of global health, international development, and social entrepreneurship.
Location: Yale University | New Haven, CT
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Monday, April 18 - Wednesday, April 20, 2016
Registration is now open for InterAction's 32nd Annual Forum. This event will bring together leaders from not-for-profits, governments, philanthropy, corporations, and civil society and aims to advance the effectiveness of ending global poverty through cooperation and sustainable efforts. InterAction is also offering a Young Professionals Summit at this year's forum with a variety of different workshops offered throughout the three day event.
Location: Washington Marriott | Wardman Park 2660 | Woodley Road, NW | Washington, D.C. 20008
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Saturday, March 5 - Tuesday, March 8, 2016
The World Conference on Humanitarian Studies, "Changing Crises and the Quest for Adequate Solutions," will now take place from March 5-8, 2016 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. While some conflict areas are slowly emerging from crises, Syria, Iraq, Libya, the Central African Republic, Nigeria, South Sudan, the Ukraine and other ongoing crises continue to spur human suffering, displace millions of people, destroy infrastructure and livelihoods, impair local institutions and create increasingly wicked political problems. As the number and diversity of crises continues to increase, local actors, governments, and humanitarian organizations are struggling to understand what is going on and respond to them. At the same time, many other actors, varying from Private Military Security Companies and private foundations to religious groups have entered the fray. The fourth World Conference of Humanitarian Studies aims to deepen our understanding of how and why crises are changing, which actors play a role in them, how this changes the interplay between humanitarian action and other actors and systems, and how this affects the prospects of prevention, preparedness, response and development.
Location: Ghion Hotel
| Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
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Before the World Humanitarian Summit takes place in May of 2016, the Network on Humanitarian Action and the European Commission are organizing a series of four events to discuss the core themes and priorities of the WHS that will take place later this spring. The first event will take place on February 4th in Aix-en-Provence, France. A more detailed location and time will be provided upon acceptance.
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Monday, March 21 - Wednesday, March 23, 2016
DIHAD 2016 will highlight the importance of innovation in humanitarian aid and development. The conference, organized by UNOCHA, will include three sessions put on by government organizations, NGOs and the UN that aim to encompass all aspects of innovation in the field of humanitarianism.
Location: Dubai International Convention & Exhibition Centre | Dubai, U.A.E.
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Monday, March 21 - Wednesday, March 23, 2016
This event, hosted by UNHCR Innovation, Makerere University, and MIT-D Lab, brings together humanitarians, academics, and people from the private sector to discuss humanitarian innovation. This years event will have a special focus on refugee and host community innovators devoted to finding better solutions for the refugee crisis. Two questions will be asked, "How can we, as local innovators increase impact?" and "How can humanitarian organizations build up the creative capacity of communities, and empower them to innovate for themselves?"
Location: Makerere University - Wandegeya Campus | School of Food Technology | Conference Center | Kampala, Uganda
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Tuesday, March 8, 2016
In honor of International Women's Day this March, the #GenderDay event will bring together global thinkers, experts, and practitioners from developing nations to discuss the obstacles that women and girls experience when trying to achieve their potential. Keynote speakers and panelists will foster and celebrate a conversation on the unique experience of women worldwide.
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Tuesday, March 15, 2016
On 15 March 2016, Syria marks a sombre occasion - the 5th anniversary of the deadly conflict. Having claimed 250,000 lives and forced 12 million to flee their homes, to neighbouring countries or other areas in Syria, the five years of conflict has led to untold amounts of human suffering. But five years on, Syria needs more than short term emergency aid. Is longer-term development possible in a place like Syria? Perhaps - in opposition held territory, for example, work is underway to support the creation of local government bodies. This gives local people the opportunity to rebuild their society, in the midst of civil war. Bringing together leading humanitarian officials, Syrian aid workers and experts, this event will reflect on the impact of the war and look at how to help people in Syria survive - and even rebuild and recover - as the war continues.
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