Introduction to Displacement Studies: Knowledges, Concepts, Practices

Perspectives on Transitions in Refugee Education

“…The duration of such transitions is unknown and can last decades (Refugee Health Technical Assistance Center 2021). In addition, the challenges encountered along the way, such as trauma, loss of loved ones, poor health, poverty and unemployment, have been found to make life mentally and physically difficult (Adey et al 2020;Kabranian-Melkonian 2015). Indeed, vast humanitarian implications stem from refugee crises, as refugees are vulnerable and they require shelter, water, medical care, food and other services (Adey et al 2020;Braithwaite et al 2019).…”

“…In addition, the challenges encountered along the way, such as trauma, loss of loved ones, poor health, poverty and unemployment, have been found to make life mentally and physically difficult (Adey et al 2020;Kabranian-Melkonian 2015). Indeed, vast humanitarian implications stem from refugee crises, as refugees are vulnerable and they require shelter, water, medical care, food and other services (Adey et al 2020;Braithwaite et al 2019). Dealing with the conditions in refugee camps involves transitions, particularly in terms of geographical dislocation and different social conditions, and these often create further vulnerabilities (Leaning 2001).…”

“…The peer education program demonstrated an educational response to the specific challenges that Adey et al (2020) and Kabranian-Melkonian (2015) described as characteristic of displacement. It offered education in a safe space and, unlike most peer education programs, it did not sit within a formal educational institution.…”

“…These coping strategies included learning how to deal with the challenges of the living conditions in the camp, how to make decisions that would ensure their health and safety, and how to manage emotions and relationships. Although the program explored issues similar to peer education programs in other locations (Southgate & Aggleton 2017), it was context-specific, focused on displacement (Adey et al 2020;Kabranian-Melkonian 2015), and operated at the intersection of transitions experienced by the adolescent girls. Their learning meant that they were more likely to become agentic and be able to respond in a more informed way when transitions affected their lives.…”

Letting failure be: COVID‐19, PhD fieldwork and to not (want to) learn from failures

“…Instead, it was to let my respondents reveal what it has been like to dwell in displacement by meditating on their lived experiences of being‐displaced and the socio‐spatial negotiations that emerged thereof. The purpose was to move beyond qualitative descriptions to discuss how Afghan refugees and migrants made sense of their encounters with the displacement, where displacement was not so much a condition of liminality but an existential experience that shaped their orientations vis‐à‐vis the world (Adey et al ., 2020).…”