All in Then & Now

Exploring the foundations of Philippine refugee policy towards Vietnamese refugees

Exploring the foundations of Philippine refugee policy towards Vietnamese refugees

Ria Sunga
Then & Now

From the end of the Vietnam War in April 1975 through to the 1990s, hundreds of thousands of refugees fled from what had been Indochina. Their exodus triggered an international response. The Philippines, like other Southeast Asian states and Hong Kong, was a country of first asylum. Refugees were allowed to stay temporarily until resettlement elsewhere. Under the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos (1965-1986), the Philippine government laid the foundations of the country’s refugee policy: the extension of temporary asylum ‘on humanitarian grounds’. The Philippines at this time was not party to the UN 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol.

The political history of Uganda’s refugee policies

The political history of Uganda’s refugee policies

Alexander Betts
Then & Now

Uganda’s ‘self-reliance’ policy for refugees has been widely praised, and described by UNHCR as a model of development-based assistance for other countries to emulate: it allows refugees the right to work and freedom of movement. But while there is evidence to suggest that there are positive outcomes from the 'self-reliance' approach, rarely have these policies been examined in historical or political context. This post argues that ostensibly liberal policies have often emerged from illiberal politics.

The dispersal of displaced persons in the British empire and beyond: from World War Two to the Partition of India

The dispersal of displaced persons in the British empire and beyond: from World War Two to the Partition of India

Uttara Shahani
Then & Now

The multi-layered history of the people who lived in Valivade reveals a connected feature of British imperial and postcolonial policy: ‘dispersal’. Following the precedent of holding their prisoners of war at locations across their vast empire, as they had during the Boer War and World War One, the British transported World War Two internees and evacuees all over the empire, including to India. This policy was underpinned by the desire to block refugees and internees from entering the UK. India became a central prong of the strategy, as the British government decided to disperse and ‘hold’ diverse groups of refugees and prisoners of war in British India and in the Indian princely states—semi-autonomous regions subject to a form of indirect rule under their own sovereigns. The princely states became important sites of dispersal when the British leaned on them to accept World War Two evacuees. Very soon afterwards the new Indian government did the same, for partition refugees.

The historical connections of search and rescue at sea

The historical connections of search and rescue at sea

Imogen Dobie
Refugees Today, Then & Now

Europe has recently witnessed an explosion of humanitarian efforts to assist stranded migrants in the Mediterranean and Aegean. The work of these search-and-rescue organisations was quickly propelled into the political limelight, and presented as a ‘pull factor’ encouraging migrant journeys. Rescue at sea has been swept up into a highly politicised crisis narrative one dominated by present-day anxieties surrounding ‘uncontrolled’ or ‘illegal’ migration. Aid workers at sea contest such an extraction of history by comparing their work to the past, referencing histories of migration and relief to dial down political rhetoric and legitimise their work. The historical experiences of seeking safety and of offering shelter have, as a result, become a central reference point for maritime rescuers.

Not just rescue: rethinking 30 April 1975 and Vietnamese diasporic history

Not just rescue: rethinking 30 April 1975 and Vietnamese diasporic history

Jana K. Lipman
Then & Now, Refugees & Representation

In American imagination, the iconic image of a helicopter on a Saigon rooftop, with a long line of South Vietnamese desperate to escape, has often served as a visual shorthand for the end of the US war in Vietnam and the ensuing refugee ‘crisis’. But the fixation of Vietnamese refugees in 1975 needs to be revised. Most of the hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese who fled the country did so after 1975: displacement continued throughout the 1980s and 1990s. The question of whether they would be granted refugee status became more and more precarious over time, and Vietnamese were subjected to a controversial ‘screening’ process. But in camps and in the diaspora, there were countless examples of Vietnamese activism.

SWAPO’s struggle children and exile home-making: the story of Mawazo Nakadhilu

SWAPO’s struggle children and exile home-making: the story of Mawazo Nakadhilu

Christian Williams
Then & Now

From the 1960s to 1990, the South West Africa People’s Organisation (SWAPO) opposed apartheid South African rule in Namibia, and administered camps for Namibian exiles in neighbouring countries. Mostly repatriated in time for Namibia’s political independence in 1990, many former exiles continue to appeal to the SWAPO-led government for assistance with their basic needs. Among them are ‘the children of the liberation struggle’, roughly ten thousand people born to at least one Namibian parent in exile. The struggle children emerged as a distinct group in 2008, presenting themselves to SWAPO as sons and daughters to whom the liberation movement and government bears an ongoing parental responsibility. This post tells the story of one of them, Mawazo Nakadhilu.

Dictatorship as a model refugee host?

Dictatorship as a model refugee host?

Karl Qualls
Then & Now

Images of refugee children in cages, on capsizing boats, and in overpacked camps fill our news and social media; yet scholars know that none of this is new and that many liberal democracies continue to fail in the most basic task of acting humanely. Democracies prevent refugees’ entry, push back boats, isolate the displaced on small islands, and prevent people from the dignity of learning and working. Assimilating refugees to a new land often leads to “cleansing” them physically, culturally, and linguistically. However, one of the most brutal dictatorships in human history requestedshiploads of children and provided housing, food, education, and job training all while preserving their native tongue and much of their cultural heritage.

Refugee times: seeking refuge in and beyond the 20th century – call for papers

Refugee times: seeking refuge in and beyond the 20th century – call for papers

Refugee History
Then & Now

We are pleased to announce a new Partnership Seminar Series with the Institute for Historical Research on Doing Refugee History. Across a year and a half of seminars, this series aims to create a new network of historians working on forced migration through time and space. We are currently seeking papers for spring/summer 2021, around the theme of Refugee times: seeking refuge in and beyond the 20th century.

Trading undeserving for deserving refugees: Afghan Jews and European displaced persons, 1945-1949

Trading undeserving for deserving refugees: Afghan Jews and European displaced persons, 1945-1949

Lauren Banko
Then & Now

Two weeks into 1947, Vaad Leumi (Jewish National Council) president Yitzhak Ben-Zvi wrote to Mandate Palestine’s high commissioner, Alan Cunningham, after receiving news from Peshawar and Bombay regarding an allegedly large number of Afghan Jewish refugees in India. A delegation of Palestine’s Jewish citizens originally from Afghanistan had recently warned Ben-Zvi that between 300 and 400 Afghan Jews – clustered in temporary housing in India and cared for by the charity of others – faced immediate danger as they waited on immigration certificates for Palestine.

Load More