Older Refugees
By UNHCR
Older refugees make up a much larger proportion of the UNHCR caseload than might be expected. It has long been assumed that older people were more likely to choose to stay in their place of origin, or, unfortunately, to perish in flight or to pine away and die in exile. In fact, older refugees make up about 10% of the population of concern to UNHCR (up to 30% in Armenia). In many situations they are over-represented in refugee populations, particularly older women. Of course, definitions of "older" reflect average life expectancy of the region concerned; they range from the age of 46 in Ethiopia to 73 in Venezuela.
A 1998 UNHCR evaluation entitled UNHCR Assistance to Older Refugees, which was undertaken to identify the problems of, and propose solutions for, older refugees. Three crucial factors were identified: older refugees are in situations of social disintegration, negative social selection, and chronic dependency.
Economic decline is the main factor behind the erosion of social support systems, whether formal or informal, resulting in a drastic reduction of living standards for the poorest. Refugees are among the hardest hit; the separation and dispersal of families as a result of war, flight and economic or security pressures, results in a rise in the number of unaccompanied older persons in need. In many cases, families have to make painful choices to abandon older relatives in order to survive.
In Eastern Europe, the comprehensive pension, health care and social welfare systems of the socialist era have not survived the transition to a market economy. This has led to a dramatic drop in the standard of living of all those who previously depended on State welfare - principally older persons. Hardest hit are the victims of forced displacement such as those in the former Yugoslavia and in the Caucasus region who lost not only the value of their former entitlements, but also their homes and all their economic assets.
The gradual but no less painful erosion of traditional support networks in developing countries is much less well known. Economic decline, social mobility and the pace of social change have eroded traditional community values in refugee settings. Older persons no longer enjoy the same authority, care and attention they had in the past: not all elderly are elders. As a result, unaccompanied older refugees in developing countries may face situations of utmost misery and destitution. In both the Sudan and Yemen, the poorest among them live a totally marginalized existence as beggars. Poor nutrition, appalling living conditions and lack of medical attention result in their life expectancy being severely curtailed.
The term "negative social selection" is used in the former Yugoslavia to describe the manner in which camps and collective centres empty over time. Those who are young, healthy and able bodied are the first to depart, leaving behind the more vulnerable members of the group: the sick, the handicapped, single mothers with young children and older persons. At the end there remains a core of mostly older persons who have nowhere to go and no one to take care of them. In this way, some collective centres in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Serbia have become geriatric wards in all but name.
This phenomenon is not limited to the former Yugoslavia but is, to a greater or lesser extent, a spontaneous process characteristic of camps and collective centres everywhere. In the Sudan negative social selection has been an important factor in nullifying UNHCR's 20-year efforts to help wage-earning settlements become self-sustaining. These settlements now comprise a disproportionate number of small children, single-headed households and elderly who live in extremely poor conditions and remain wholly dependent on the continuation of assistance provided by UNHCR and WFP.
Government resettlement policies can contribute to the negative selection process by discriminating against elderly applicants who may not pass medical screenings and are left behind in countries of first asylum, painfully separated from the rest of their kin. Reports received from UNHCR Branch Offices in different parts of the world indicate that this is a common problem.
Many refugee situations produce a residual caseload of solitary older persons who have not found a durable solution, are unable to secure state benefits or family support, and may become dependent on UNHCR for long periods of time. UNHCR currently provides allowances to destitute Russians and Armenians, who became refugees in the 1920s, in countries as far afield as Argentina, Egypt, Morocco and Venezuela. Many of the 170 frail older persons in Cairo who currently rely on UNHCR assistance originally came to Egypt as orphans and remain stateless. While they were self-supporting as healthy adults, now they are dependent on support from UNHCR. Most are women who never married.
Handbook for Emergencies
The UN High Commissioner of Refugees (UNHCR) has just published the second edition of this Handbook for Emergencies. The revised and updated Handbook provides useful guidance as UNHCR continues to cope with the swift and increasingly dangerous nature of fresh displacement. It stresses the importance of pre-emergency planning, as well as planning throughout every stage of a crisis. It focuses on setting coordination priorities, as well as contingency and operational planning. Important information has also been included regarding staff safety and working with military personnel, as well as a section addressing the issue of how to cope with personal stress. Reflected in this edition is the dedication and experience of field staff and specialists both within the office and from partner organizations, which spans the last 17 years since the original UNHCR Handbook was first published. This Handbook will assist colleagues to meet the challenges ahead as we cope with the changing nature of emergencies. It should serve as a reminder that displacement crises require carefully prepared and well managed responses that optimize the unique strength and capacities of various groups and organizations.
The handbook is structured as follows: Section One summarizes UNHCR's mandate of international protection and the aim and principles of emergency response; Section Two deals with emergency management; Section Three covers the vital sectors and problem areas in refugee emergencies, including health, food, sanitation and water, as well as key field activities underpinning the operations such as logistics, community services and registration. The chapters in this section start with a summary so that readers, who might not need the full level of detail in each of these chapters, can understand the basic principles of the subject quickly; Section Four gives guidance on the support to field operations, primarily administration and staffing; and the Appendices include UNHCR's Catalogue of Emergency Response Resources, which set out what resources can be immediately deployed, and how and when. The appendices also include a "Toolbox" which gathers, in one location, the standards, indicators and useful references used throughout the handbook.
In addition to the Catalogue of Emergency Response Resources, another key companion reference is the Checklist for the Emergency Administrator to which is annexed many of the essential UNHCR forms, policy documents, and guidelines referred to in this handbook, which are necessary for the administrator establishing a new office.
UNHCR, Case postale 2500, Ch 1211 Geneva 2 Depot, Switzerland.
Inter-Agency Workshop on Assessment and Targeting in Ongoing Refugee Situations
This workshop was hosted by WFP on 3-5 November 1999 in Rome. Technical staff from NGOs were well represented; other participants included UNHCR staff, a donor representative, and independent consultants. The primary purpose of the workshop was to discuss and seek consensus on issues relating to assessing food security, targeting food assistance, promoting self-reliance and determining when and how to phase out food assistance among refugees in ongoing 'care and maintenance' situations. Presentations considered the limits of the current Joint Food Assessment Missions and the different types of food security/household economy methodologies currently in use. Several case studies outlined the difficulties of developing and undertaking efficient targeting and ration reduction systems. Examples were drawn from several situations including the Sudan, Kenya, Mauritania, United Republic of Tanzania and the Balkans region.
The full report of this meeting will be available through the Emergency Nutrition Network, Department of Community Health and General Practice, Trinity College, 199 Pearse Street, Dublin 2, Ireland.
The Global Internally Displaced Persons
(IDP)
Database of the Norwegian Refugee
Council
As a response to a growing need for information on IDPs, the Norwegian Refugee Council has created the Global IDP Database. The various facets of internal displacement are documented, ranging from population figures to specific protection needs of the IDPs at the different stages of displacement, as identified in the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement. All countries affected by internal displacement (currently over 50 countries) will ultimately be included in the database.
Even in countries strictly closed to external scrutiny, local NGOs, opposition groups in exile, and research institutions manage to collect and disseminate information on the web, much of which needs to be checked for accuracy. A good starting point to identify sources, which may not maintain a direct presence on the web but are likely to have useful information, is through resource directories, cross references, and discussion groups one the web. These sources must then be contacted individually by e-mail or other means. This time-demanding process is being performed by the Norwegian Refugee Council/Global IDP Survey from its office in Geneva. Much of the information is gathered through Internet access, although existing contacts from relevant NGOs, UN agencies, research institutions, and interested individuals, are encouraged to submit public information and to validate information posted in the database. The project provides a valuable service to a wide range of users: e.g., desk officers, researchers, journalists. Field workers who have already received compiled information by post or electronic mail, have expressed their satisfaction with the database results. Cooperative contacts have been established with other humanitarian information management systems, such as the ACC/SCN's RNIS, for the mutual enhancement of research and networking capacities. Humanitarian and human rights information cannot be embraced by one single system but is best served through a rational burden-sharing between specializing information projects, to which the Norwegian Refugee Council is proud to contribute.
The database will be accessible on the web from 10 December 1999 under the following URL: http://www.idpproject.org (The evaluation version of the database is available at: http://tornado.jstechno.ch/nrc/nrcdefault.html)
Christophe Beau, Norwegian Refugee Council, Chemin Moise-Duboule, 59, 1209 Geneva; More information can be obtained at idpsurvey@nrc.ch
Gender Issues In Natural Disaster Emergencies
By Shubh Kumar-Range
In the past year, natural disasters were responsible for more damage than ever before, and there is authoritative evidence of a trend towards more weather triggered super-disasters such as those caused by Hurricane Mitch.1 According to the 1999 report by the International Federation of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent Societies (IFRCRCS), natural disasters created more 'refugees' than wars and conflict in 1998. In the past six years, the number of people to whom such assistance was provided rose from less than half a million to more than five and a half million. The report also indicates that declining soil fertility, drought, flooding, and deforestation drove 25 million 'environmental refugees' from their land into the already vulnerable squatter communities. This group represented 58% of total refugees worldwide. The main reasons for this are increasing environmental problems created by global warming and deforestation, overlapping with increasing concentrations of poverty. In the past, natural disasters were seen to occur as a result of natural forces impacting on human systems, and requiring technological and engineering solutions for their mitigation. Increasingly however, it is the social dimensions of natural disasters that are seen to be responsible for the human suffering in the aftermath of these events. As disaster relief and recovery efforts have consumed more and more development resources, sociologists and relief professionals are increasingly examining the social and political characteristics of human organization that contribute to vulnerability in such disasters, so as to more effectively mitigate their effects. This body of work persuasively argues that characteristics of human organization produce inequalities and vulnerabilities, which in turn influence the dimensions of natural disasters.
Gender relations, being an intrinsic part of human organization, are thus central to understanding how communities are affected by, and respond to, natural disasters. A recent paper reviewing the experiences of disaster mitigation and recovery efforts and the relevance of gender dimensions2 shows that a combination of weaker entitlements and home based responsibilities tend to limit women's coping capacity, However, women are active in their communities and families in assisting the recovery, despite being less likely to benefit from official disaster assistance. Recognizing and mobilizing women's social force and channeling it to enhance efforts to protect their safety and that of their dependent children, is a necessary ingredient of effective disaster preparedness and response.3 better understanding of socioeconomic and gender dimensions brings the interface between sustainable development and disasters into clear focus. Unsustainable patterns of development, or the absence of development, can be precursors of disaster. Natural disasters are especially devastating for the poor, who depend on natural resources for all aspects of their livelihood - income, food, fuel, water and housing. This makes already precarious living conditions in disaster prone areas suddenly much worse. From this perspective, disasters in low-income countries often produce only a more acute, more extreme form of the chronic daily suffering of many people. Women's effective participation in development is at the core of sustainable poverty eradication. Their involvement in both economic production and household maintenance is key to human capital investment in terms of health and education of children, and hence to future economic performance. To the extent that gender inequities limit sustainable development, they also contribute to predisposing populations to disasters. Counteracting the foundations of gender stereotypes (in which women face obstacles to organizational success and in participation in institutional recovery efforts within disaster programs) could have large developmental benefits as well. Surprisingly, disaster conditions may offer even better opportunities for enhancing gender equity, than under the 'business as usual' of development programmes. Following a disaster, the political environment may favour a much higher rate of economic and social change than before, and facilitate long term benefits.
Extensive case material on disaster experiences suggests that community based mitigation is more likely to meet needs of vulnerable groups, and also to better involve women.1 Women's groups or associations that have formed spontaneously during disasters, or have reoriented their activities to deal with disaster responses, are a resource to be fostered and used in facilitating community involvement. These have demonstrated community leadership, and can inspire trust. When built on these emerging institutions, disaster responses can be effective in mitigation, and also promote long term involvement of women in their community's development.4,5 It is necessary, however, to provide better guidance to government officials and outsiders who generally find it easier to deal with the prevalent male power structures in communities. In order to achieve this, a more systematic analysis of local institutional development and capacity building, and on success of alternative community based approaches for incorporating gender perspectives, is needed.
References
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1. |
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent
Societies (1999) World Disasters Report. IFRCRCS, Geneva. |
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2. |
Kumar-Range S "Gender Issues in Natural Disaster Mitigation
and Recovery", Discussion Paper (forthcoming) Interamerican Development Bank,
Washington. |
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3. |
Enarson E, Morrow BH, eds. (1998) The Gendered
Terrain of Disaster: Through Women's Eyes, Praeger Publishers,
Westport, Connecticut |
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4. |
Bari F (1998) "Gender, Disaster and Empowerment: A case study
from Pakistan" in The Gendered Terrain of Disaster: Through Women's Eyes,
eds. E Enarson and BH Morrow, Praeger Publishers, Westport,
Connecticut. |
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5. |
Byrne B, Baden S (1995) Gender, Emergencies and
Humanitarian Assistance. Bridge Briefings on Gender and Development,
Institute of Development Studies, Brighton. |
