Disasters
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This paper contributes to ongoing debates about the possibilities/impossibilities and particular challenges related to conducting field research in conflict settings by addressing a particular topic of concern: collaboration between researchers, organisations, respondents, and other actors present in the field. Whereas collaboration with local actors has been common for reasons of access and security, there seems to be a lack of recognition of the manner in which collaboration in the field shapes the generation of knowledge on conflict and post-conflict settings. The objectives of this paper are twofold: (i) to highlight the potential contribution of research collaborations in conflict environments beyond pragmatic considerations of access and security; and (ii) to argue for more explicit attention to how such forms of collaboration influence the construction of knowledge and for more rigour in tracing the implications of such cooperation. The paper seeks to contribute to continuous learning on the possibilities/impossibilities of working with interactive research under conditions of conflict and insecurity.
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Humanitarian aid remains largely driven by anecdote rather than by evidence. The contemporary humanitarian system has significant weaknesses with regard to data collection, analysis, and action at all stages of response to crises involving armed conflict or natural disaster. ⋯ The case studies serve to show how proper collection, use, and analysis of SADD enable operational agencies to deliver assistance more effectively and efficiently. The evidence suggests that the employment of SADD and gender and generational analyses assists in saving lives and livelihoods in a crisis.
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Some 60,000 people worldwide die annually in natural disasters, mostly due to the collapse of buildings in earthquakes, and primarily in the developing world. This is despite the fact that engineering solutions exist that can eliminate almost completely the risk of such deaths. Why is this? The solutions are expensive and technically demanding, so their cost-benefit ratio often is unfavourable as compared to other interventions. ⋯ Building regulations in developing countries appear to have limited impact in many cases, perhaps because of inadequate capacity and corruption. Public construction often is of low quality, perhaps for similar reasons. This suggests the need for approaches that emphasise simple and limited disaster risk regulation covering only the most at-risk structures-and that, preferably, non-experts can monitor-as well as numerous transparency and oversight mechanisms for public construction projects.
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The rise in the number of interventions by faith-based organisations in the humanitarian field has reignited debate about the role of religion in the public sphere. This paper presents a nuanced examination of the part played by religious institutions and networks in the strategies of forced migrants in urban contexts. ⋯ Drawing on two case studies and ethnographic fieldwork and in-depth interviews with Iraqi refugees and refugee service providers in Damascus, Syria, carried out between March 2010 and March 2011, it evaluates how Iraqi refugees, as active social agents, utilise religious institutions and networks in conjunction with established international humanitarian organisations to produce a distinctive geography of exile. In addition, it draws attention to how the Syrian state exerts influence over religious actors and how ultimately this affects the decision-making of forced migrants.
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Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, has been central to life, war, and peace in the country for almost two decades. Its urban characteristics, though, have been put to one side for the most part. ⋯ The aid system is just starting to discover how specific aid in cities at war should be, both from an organisational and a technical standpoint. The enhancement of aid practices in an urban setting implies, among other things, a more strategic approach to the specific spatial characteristics of the city, a more fine-tuned analysis of the technical requirements of the urban service delivery systems, and a better understanding of the role of urban institutions.