Can Humanitarian Work with Refugees be Humane?

Harrell-Bond, Barbara E.

doi:10.1353/hrq.2002.0011

Cited by 218 publications

(81 citation statements)

References 4 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Refugee resettlement organizations specifically are asymmetrical and power laden by nature (see Harrell-Bond, 2002). Refugee resettlement organizations are gatekeepers of resources (informational, material, cultural, etc.…”

Section: Empowering Clients In Refugee Resettlement Organizationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Negotiating Refugee Empowerment(s) in Resettlement Organizations

Steimel

2016

Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract:In-depth interviews with both organizational staff and refugee-clients in two American refugee resettlement organizations explore how empowerment is communicated to and understood by refugees being "empowered." This study found that while organizational staff professed empowerment focused on self-sufficiency as self-determination, in practice their communication to clients defined self-sufficiency a priori in economic terms. Refugee-clients instead constructed empowerment(s) in economic, educational, personal, and family terms.These findings highlight the need for changes in US resettlement policy and for theoretical and practical understandings of refugee empowerment to recognize polysemic and conflicting empowerments in different life arenas and from different positionalities.

show abstract

Section: Empowering Clients In Refugee Resettlement Organizationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Negotiating Refugee Empowerment(s) in Resettlement Organizations

Steimel

2016

Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Thus, this practice somehow balances the power relationship generally existing between external aid and those receiving assistance. The anthropological work of Mauss and Cunnison (1970) and then Harrell-Bond (2002;Harrell-Bond et al 1992) have been critical about the norms of charity and gift giving that dominate humanitarian assistance. Harrell-Bond et al (1992) claim that within this approach there is no gift-giving reciprocity possible, and thus, the recipient is in an inferior position in relation to the aid provider.…”

Section: Remittances As Powerful Mechanism To Face Disastersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Remittances in the face of disasters: a case study of rural Samoa

Dé

Gaillard

Friesen

et al. 2014

Environ Dev Sustain

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In Samoa, like in most Small Island Developing States, remittances are important to sustain people's daily livelihood and become even more significant in the face of disasters. This study investigates the role of remittances in households' response to disasters. The focus is on Samoa, where participatory activities and interviews were carried out in coastal communities affected by the tsunami of 2009, and some of which were further hit by cyclone Evan in 2012. It is found that remittances are very fast in reaching those affected and remain high in the long term in order to cope with and recover from disaster. Moreover, remittances interact with external aid since remittances increase when external aid is low and decrease when external aid is higher. Households receiving remittances were able to deal more easily with immediate security needs and recovered more quickly than those with no or limited access to this resource. However, remittances also benefit the wider community, economically, socially, and culturally, for example in perpetuating local tradition. We conclude that governments and aid agencies should take into account remittances in their relief actions and recovery programs.

show abstract

“…23 However, increased training opportunities might not necessarily translate into better practice, as Harrell-Bond warns: 'there is yet no evidence that education per se has a direct impact on behaviour in the field'. 24 Furthermore, while professionalisation certainly has many advantages, it can be exclusionary. 25 Depending on how (and by whom) the skills are defined and how and where they can be acquired, some might be privileged and other disadvantaged in accessing them.…”

Section: Professionalisation Processesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Professionalisation Trends and Inequality: experiences and practices in aid relationships

Roth¹

2012

Third World Quarterly

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Can Humanitarian Work with Refugees be Humane?

Cited by 218 publications

References 4 publications

Negotiating Refugee Empowerment(s) in Resettlement Organizations

Negotiating Refugee Empowerment(s) in Resettlement Organizations

Remittances in the face of disasters: a case study of rural Samoa

Professionalisation Trends and Inequality: experiences and practices in aid relationships

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About