Involuntary Resettlement In Africa

Annex 3. Opening speech.

Global trends suggest that the number of people involuntarily displaced will increase exponentially in the coming decades. The authors argue that when the agency, time-tested adaptations, innovative capacities, dignity, and human rights of displaced people are respected as full participants in the rebuilding of their communities, livelihoods and standards of living, resettlement outcomes are more positive. The goal of resettlement must be the sustainable social, economic and human development of affected communities, requiring a praxis of ethical commitment to effective, actionable recommendations based on empirical observation. The authors draw on case examples from Asia, Africa and the Americas. This book will be of interest to resettlement specialists, planners, administrators, nongovernmental and civil society organizations, and scholars and students of anthropology, sociology, development studies, and social policy.

As the plight of refugees around the world looms large as one of the central problems facing the international political community at the beginning of the 21st century, the situations facing displaced persons in Africa are both acute manifestations of this global trend, and unique in their particularities. As the powerful nations of the world are mobilized to tackle domestic conflicts and their ensuing refugee problems in the Balkans, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and elsewhere, African societies have typically been abandoned by the international community to resolving their own conflicts through their own means. The authors of this volume examine both causes and effects of displacement in terms of both local and global politics, environmental risks, socio-economic costs, and policy and identity issues. Combined, these papers provide a powerful if not comprehensive overview of the variety and complexity of circumstances concerning displaced persons.

A collection of oral histories that reveal the loss of cultural continuity, identity, shifts in family responsibilities, gender roles and fractured relationships between generations that are just some of the challenges people face as they attempt to rebuild lives and communities.

Of the world's refugees, more than a third live in Africa, displaced from their homelands by war, poverty, famine and political persecution. In this book, contributors explore key issues related to these refugee populations. The first section looks at the legal framework for defining and assisting refugees, and the second deals with the issue of relief by considering specific cases, the general problems faced and particular relief efforts. Subsequent chapters examine forced migration, resettlement and repatriation, conflict with local populations, integration of refugees, and sustainable development.

Cover -- Half Title -- Title -- Copyright -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- 1 Anthropological Approaches to Involuntary Resettlement: Policy, Practice, and Theory -- 2 Anthropological and Sociological Research for Policy Development on Population Resettlement -- 3 Legal Aspects of Involuntary Population Resettlement -- 4 Involuntary Resettlement, Human Capital, and Economic Development -- 5 Resettlement Planning in the Brazilian Power Sector: Recent Changes in Approach -- 6 Resettlement After Involuntary Displacement: The Karefians in Finland -- 7 The Yacyretá Experience with Urban Resettlement: Some Lessons and Insights -- 8 Resettlement in Ghana: From Akosombo to Kpong -- 9 The Navajo-Hopi Land Dispute and Navajo Relocation -- 10 Peasants, Planners, and Participation: Resettlement in Mexico -- 11 Resettlement at Manantali, Mali: Short-Term Success, Long-Term Problems -- 12 The Dynamics of Social and Economic Adaptation During Resettlement: The Case of Beles Valley in Ethiopia -- 13 Involuntary Displacement and the Changing Frontiers of Kinship: A Study of Resettlement in Orissa -- 14 Involuntary Resettlement: A Plea for the Host Population -- 15 A Spatial Analysis of Involuntary Community Relocation: A South African Case Study -- 16 Successful Involuntary Resettlement: Lessons from the Costa Rican Arena! Hydroelectric Project -- 17 Disaster-related Refugee Flows and Development-caused Population Displacement -- About the Contributors.

Content Description #Includes bibliographical references.