Refugees and states in the modern Middle East: current challenges and historical perspectives

Dates
Tuesday 30 July 2013 (09:30-13:00)
Contact

Dr Ben White

The event will bring together academic experts on the history and politics of refugee crises in the modern Middle East and practitioners from UK-headquartered international humanitarian organizations currently working with Syrian refugees, as well as Syrian diaspora organizations, for a morning of exchange and joint analysis. Academics will speak about their research into refugee crises across the last hundred years: Armenian refugees in the 1920s, Palestinians after 1948, and Iraqi refugees after 2003.

Practitioners will speak about their experiences in trying to provide aid to Syrian refugees in the region today. Facilitated discussions will draw out how historical perspectives might inform humanitarian programming, and what academics might take from the experiences of people on the ground. The particular focus is on the complex relationship between refugees and states, which creates the context in which humanitarian organizations must operate.

http://www.odi.org.uk/