Reconceiving or reframing the humanitarian consequences of displacement in terms of 'dispersed dependencies', a term drawn from the field of mental health, sheds light on the disruptive experience of displacement and on affected individuals' relations with other displaced people, hosts, states and humanitarian actors. Dependency for a person is neither a problem nor abnormal; independence is in effect about having a viable set of dispersed dependencies. This description, when applied in the context of disaster or displacement, challenges some humanitarian attitudes and offers some positive directions for humanitarian actors who seek to engage in assistance that is sustainable, contextual, and focused on human choice and dignity.
Poverty, failing ecosystems, vulnerability to natural hazards and gradual climate-driven environmental changes are all linked to environmental migration. The degradation of ecosystems, and/or All evidence points towards climate-and environmentally induced migration becoming one of the major policy challenges of this century. Adequate planning for and management of this phenomenon will be critical for human security.
Front cover: Palestine refugees in Yarmouk Camp wait for food aid, January 2014. Behind them can be seen the destruction from bombing in the region. UNRWA Yarmouk Camp is a 2.1 sq km district of the city of Damascus, populated by Palestine refugees. Once home to over 160,000 Palestinians, Yarmouk was overwhelmed by fighting in December 2012; a siege began in July 2013 and now only about 18,000 Palestine refugees remain, deprived of food and medicine, their clinics and schools closed, their streets and buildings damaged, their access to the outside world largely cut off. Over 50% of Palestine refugees in Syria are estimated to have been displaced within Syria or to neighbouring countries. Forced Migration Review (FMR) provides a forum for the regular exchange of practical experience, information and ideas between researchers, refugees and internally displaced people, and those who work with them. It is published in English, Arabic, Spanish and French by the Refugee Studies Centre of the
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