Stopping it at source: Migration decision- and policy-making in Afghanistan
Lead Research Organisation:
City, University of London
Department Name: School of Social Sciences
Abstract
This project examines the impact of EU strategies to discourage migration and return rejected asylum seekers back to Afghanistan. It asks how information from different sources about migration is gathered, sorted and evaluated by potential migrants and by their government. The study focuses on a country with a history and culture of migration during a period of increasing insecurity, severe and growing unemployment, and rapidly changing circumstances and policies, where migration is seen as both a solution and a problem.
Afghanistan has been a source country for the largest number of forced migrants globally for the past four decades. The large scale returns from neighboring countries that followed the fall of the Taliban government have slowed significantly and outflows have continued. Over the past two years, migration has sharply increased in response to the resurgence of the Taliban and other insurgents following the withdrawal of international forces, a sharp contraction in the economy due to political uncertainty and growing insecurity, the acknowledgement by the President that the security forces could not protect individuals and the perception in summer 2015 that Europe had opened its borders to refugees.
By the end of 2015, the governments of destination (and donor) countries responded with information campaigns seeking to reduce and or deflect the number of migrants heading in their direction, and warned the Afghan government that further aid would be contingent on cooperation in reducing out-migration and accepting forced returns (the EU's new 'more for more, and less for less' strategy). This is a challenge given a culture in which migration has traditionally been a survival strategy, a 'normal' response to crises, and given the flow of information from family members abroad largely encouraging departure.
This study explores the pressures on both the Afghan policymakers and Afghan citizens. Both groups seek to make decisions in severely constrained circumstances, on the basis of competing, conflicting and imperfect information. The project has 3 work streams, developed in consultation with Afghan stakeholders:
We seek to understand how and why different information sources (families, friends, agents, the media, governments) are validated while others are discounted by potential migrants;
We will study Afghan migration policy-making with a focus on responses to pressures by destination/donor states to stop large scale emigration;
We will explore representations of forced migration in Afghan popular culture (survival strategy, adventure, investment), which forms the backdrop to the above processes. As a country with a long history of forced migration in particular, we will consider whether popular culture 'normalises' migration and the opportunities and risks associated with it. We will gather popular poetry and songs in the two national languages that refer to migration, migrants and those left behind.
The study is particularly important because it explores the response in Afghanistan to established (information campaigns) and new (more for more, less for less) strategies adopted by EU policy-makers in their drive to reduce migration from developing countries. Together with a team of Afghan researchers from the Social Sciences and the Arts, we will employ a range of methods (repeat interviews with potential migrants and with Afghan policy-makers over a period of 12 months, a textual analysis of popular culture [songs and poetry] leading to a filmed theatrical performance by Theatre students. This will be the first time that Afghan scholars have produced internationally excellent academic research on migration in Afghanistan in the national languages.
Afghanistan has been a source country for the largest number of forced migrants globally for the past four decades. The large scale returns from neighboring countries that followed the fall of the Taliban government have slowed significantly and outflows have continued. Over the past two years, migration has sharply increased in response to the resurgence of the Taliban and other insurgents following the withdrawal of international forces, a sharp contraction in the economy due to political uncertainty and growing insecurity, the acknowledgement by the President that the security forces could not protect individuals and the perception in summer 2015 that Europe had opened its borders to refugees.
By the end of 2015, the governments of destination (and donor) countries responded with information campaigns seeking to reduce and or deflect the number of migrants heading in their direction, and warned the Afghan government that further aid would be contingent on cooperation in reducing out-migration and accepting forced returns (the EU's new 'more for more, and less for less' strategy). This is a challenge given a culture in which migration has traditionally been a survival strategy, a 'normal' response to crises, and given the flow of information from family members abroad largely encouraging departure.
This study explores the pressures on both the Afghan policymakers and Afghan citizens. Both groups seek to make decisions in severely constrained circumstances, on the basis of competing, conflicting and imperfect information. The project has 3 work streams, developed in consultation with Afghan stakeholders:
We seek to understand how and why different information sources (families, friends, agents, the media, governments) are validated while others are discounted by potential migrants;
We will study Afghan migration policy-making with a focus on responses to pressures by destination/donor states to stop large scale emigration;
We will explore representations of forced migration in Afghan popular culture (survival strategy, adventure, investment), which forms the backdrop to the above processes. As a country with a long history of forced migration in particular, we will consider whether popular culture 'normalises' migration and the opportunities and risks associated with it. We will gather popular poetry and songs in the two national languages that refer to migration, migrants and those left behind.
The study is particularly important because it explores the response in Afghanistan to established (information campaigns) and new (more for more, less for less) strategies adopted by EU policy-makers in their drive to reduce migration from developing countries. Together with a team of Afghan researchers from the Social Sciences and the Arts, we will employ a range of methods (repeat interviews with potential migrants and with Afghan policy-makers over a period of 12 months, a textual analysis of popular culture [songs and poetry] leading to a filmed theatrical performance by Theatre students. This will be the first time that Afghan scholars have produced internationally excellent academic research on migration in Afghanistan in the national languages.
Planned Impact
AFGHAN MIGRATION POLICY MAKERS
The new and established EU strategies employed in Afghanistan are intended as policy tools for use to control emigration from developing countries globally. This study will therefore benefit policy-makers and stakeholders in developing and high emigration countries more generally. The policy brief prepared for the Afghan government will explain and assess the EU strategies and their implications. Schuster has already had discussions with Afghan government officials and provided informal briefings on EU policy developments.
This study will also benefit Afghan government departments in terms of capacity-building. While training has taken place within MoRR, funded by the International Organisation for Migration, much of it was of a very general nature (management and IT skills), so that there remain gaps in migration experience, knowledge and skills that the Minister is keen to address through knowledge transfer. Schuster will provide a series of workshops for staff within the Ministry, in order to improve policy making, build capacity in the Ministry and assist with better understanding of European policy and positions towards Afghan migrants in particular. Officials from MoRR, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Ministry for Labour and the President's Office will be invited to the conference in Kabul (at ACKU) at which findings will be presented and comments invited on early drafts of articles and policy briefs.
EU COMMISSION (AND COUNCIL)
EU (and other destination) governments are investing considerable resources in these strategies so an early evaluation of their impact will also benefit Member States and the Commission. A second policy briefing will be prepared for EU officials, including Mr Avromopolous (Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship) and Mr Odini (Deputy General Migration and Asylum) from the Commission with whom Schuster met in Bratislava. July 2016. Schuster will also visit EU presidency officials to brief on the impact/effectiveness of the new policy (including Mr Kalinak [Slovak Deputy Prime Minister, current president of the EU], Malta, UK and Estonia - who will take over the Presidency of the EU during the life of the project).
AFGHAN CIVIL SOCIETY
Other beneficiaries include Afghan civil society organisations advising migrants, policy-makers, and scholars. There is only one civil society organization that works explicitly and directly with potential migrants in Afghanistan and that is AMASO. AMASO provides advice to potential migrants, and working with Mr Ghafoor, this research will help to improve the information provided. However, AMASO is also linked to a number of Human Rights organisations in Kabul. All will be invited to the academic and press conferences, and to the seminars at ACKU.
KABUL UNIVERSITY STUDENTS
Graduates are among the most likely to migrate from Afghanistan for a range of reasons, including easier access to information from abroad, frustration with unemployment and the security situation in the country. The theatrical performance planned for Kabul University (but open to other students), and the conference scheduled to take place at ACKU will inform debate among this population about the impact of migration (negative and positive) on individuals and their communities.
AFGHAN SCHOLARS
This project will create a small group of migration scholars, capable of contributing to policy-making and public debates on migration. There are researchers in Afghanistan who have experience in this field, but as data collectors. These researchers will be involved in all stages of the research, including analysis, writing up and dissemination.
The new and established EU strategies employed in Afghanistan are intended as policy tools for use to control emigration from developing countries globally. This study will therefore benefit policy-makers and stakeholders in developing and high emigration countries more generally. The policy brief prepared for the Afghan government will explain and assess the EU strategies and their implications. Schuster has already had discussions with Afghan government officials and provided informal briefings on EU policy developments.
This study will also benefit Afghan government departments in terms of capacity-building. While training has taken place within MoRR, funded by the International Organisation for Migration, much of it was of a very general nature (management and IT skills), so that there remain gaps in migration experience, knowledge and skills that the Minister is keen to address through knowledge transfer. Schuster will provide a series of workshops for staff within the Ministry, in order to improve policy making, build capacity in the Ministry and assist with better understanding of European policy and positions towards Afghan migrants in particular. Officials from MoRR, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Ministry for Labour and the President's Office will be invited to the conference in Kabul (at ACKU) at which findings will be presented and comments invited on early drafts of articles and policy briefs.
EU COMMISSION (AND COUNCIL)
EU (and other destination) governments are investing considerable resources in these strategies so an early evaluation of their impact will also benefit Member States and the Commission. A second policy briefing will be prepared for EU officials, including Mr Avromopolous (Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship) and Mr Odini (Deputy General Migration and Asylum) from the Commission with whom Schuster met in Bratislava. July 2016. Schuster will also visit EU presidency officials to brief on the impact/effectiveness of the new policy (including Mr Kalinak [Slovak Deputy Prime Minister, current president of the EU], Malta, UK and Estonia - who will take over the Presidency of the EU during the life of the project).
AFGHAN CIVIL SOCIETY
Other beneficiaries include Afghan civil society organisations advising migrants, policy-makers, and scholars. There is only one civil society organization that works explicitly and directly with potential migrants in Afghanistan and that is AMASO. AMASO provides advice to potential migrants, and working with Mr Ghafoor, this research will help to improve the information provided. However, AMASO is also linked to a number of Human Rights organisations in Kabul. All will be invited to the academic and press conferences, and to the seminars at ACKU.
KABUL UNIVERSITY STUDENTS
Graduates are among the most likely to migrate from Afghanistan for a range of reasons, including easier access to information from abroad, frustration with unemployment and the security situation in the country. The theatrical performance planned for Kabul University (but open to other students), and the conference scheduled to take place at ACKU will inform debate among this population about the impact of migration (negative and positive) on individuals and their communities.
AFGHAN SCHOLARS
This project will create a small group of migration scholars, capable of contributing to policy-making and public debates on migration. There are researchers in Afghanistan who have experience in this field, but as data collectors. These researchers will be involved in all stages of the research, including analysis, writing up and dissemination.
People |
ORCID iD |
| Liza Schuster (Principal Investigator) |
Publications
Jafari B
(2019)
Representations of exile in Afghan oral poetry and songs
in Crossings: Journal of Migration & Culture
Schuster, L K
(2020)
'Migration reflected through Afghan Women's Poetry'
in Migration reflected through Afghan Women's Poetry
Liza Schuster
(2022)
Janus Faced Migration Policymaking: A Case Study of Afghan-European Migration Policy
in Refugee Watch
Bhatia M
(2021)
Stealing Time: Migration, Temporalities and State Violence
Danish Refugee Council
(2022)
Afghanistan conference: The Huiman Rights Situation after August 2021
| Title | Migration Symphony |
| Description | The research team worked with members of the Theatre Department at Kabul University on a performance of the materials gathered for one part of the research project. A team of 12 students and 3 staff worked with Dr Schuster, Dr Alavi Jafari and Mr Shinwari to produce a 'script' consisting exclusively of the poetry and songs that were analysed. This was then performed by the students at ACKU (the Afghanistan Centre at Kabul University), in a cultural centre outside the University and in the Drama Department. The impact of the first performance to am audience of 200+ was very emotional as members of the audience saw their own experiences and that of their families represented on stage. Following the second performance there was a debate with the audience, which included poets and performers. It was noted that performances in Afghanistan tended to be either the declamation of classical poetry or plays following the European model. The audience found the idea of using traditional oral forms 'to hold a mirror up to nature' exciting, and a potent way to raise the issue of the emotional costs of migration. The third performance was very different - it occurred the day following a large and fatal explosion, in which some of the students had lost friends and family members. The performers were shaken and the point was made at the end of the performance that - whatever the emotional cost - so long as the conflict continued, flight and exile would continue to be part of Afghan culture. |
| Type Of Art | Performance (Music, Dance, Drama, etc) |
| Year Produced | 2018 |
| Impact | One objective of the project was to inform public debate on migration, and we succeeded in a limited way. We also left a mobile stage in the department so they could give performances elsewhere. The impact was however limited by a number of factors. The most serious was the death in October 2017 of the head of the theatre department. Professor Hussainzada and Dr Schuster had developed a close working relationship and had a clear idea of what the collaboration would be (ie based on workshops with the students, in which the themes emerging from the poetry and songs would be explored). Professor Hussainzada's replacement, while committed to the project, had much less time (understandable given the loss caused by Professor Hussainzada's death) to devote to the project, and was very uncomfortable with a project that departed from the traditional European model of a script with dialogue performed by actors. The general security situation also meant that rehearsals were sometimes cancelled. For the performance to have wider significance, it would have been necessary to build on this experience - both by staging more performances and by continuing this style of work. Professor Hussainzada's death was a huge loss in many ways. However, we still have the script, and we are negotiating with Afghan diaspora associations about staging it in European cities. |
| Description | The project had four main objectives a) To understand how potential migrants from Afghanistan evaluate and compare information from destination countries with that from family and friends who have migrated, agents, the media and the Afghan government. By following 18 families throughout the project and interviewing them at regular intervals, it became clear that while information about migration is important and does play a role, it is much less significant than assumed by policy-makers. Instead, we have clear evidence from potential migrants that it is conditions in the origin country that drive migration, and information about the risks, costs and outcomes of migration are sifted and information that does not conform to what the families/individuals wish to hear is disregarded. Among the most important factors are situational and existential uncertainty (about the security situation, about the economic and political situation), lack of faith and trust in the government, lack of faith in the future, and diminishing hope and trust in social structures. We also observed the extent to which decisions are contingent and maybe rapidly revised and acted upon. Further analysis of the data revealed the extent to which the drivers of migration and the decision making process is gendered. b) To explore the reception and impact of the new EU 'more for more, less for less' strategy within the Afghan government. This part of the project was focused on the pressure being brought to bear on the Afghan government to develop a migration policy. In the course of the past 18 months, it has become clear that the Afghan government does not have the capacity to devise, much less implement, such a policy, but it has also become clear that there is growing resistance to just signing off policies written by international experts (including those funded by the EU) that do not speak to the concrete realities on the ground. The lack of capacity makes implementing the preferred policies of the EU Member States impossible, and results in significant waste of money and time, without any increase in capacity. A further key finding is that policy making has become a business deeply shaped by neo-colonial and neo-liberal ideologies. c) To analyse the place and representation of migration in traditional and contemporary Afghan popular culture - the key finding in this part of the project is that, coinciding with the 'refugee crisis' of 2015, there was a shift for the first time in the tone of popular culture - whereas the short oral poems and popular songs had until recently been overwhelmingly nostalgic, expressing regret at having to leave and longing to return, in the last two years we are seeing poems and songs that voice anger and frustration at conditions in Afghanistan and at the failure of the government to address security and economic failures. d) To create a core of Afghan migration scholars in the Arts and Social Sciences in Afghanistan - as a result of the project, there was in place a team of four national researchers with the commitment and skills necessary to conduct academic research into migration. Unfortunately, ACKU was unable to access funds to maintain the team. The senior researcher completed a migration related research project in France, the research manager has completed a MA in Poland and been awarded a grant to pursue a migration related PhD in London, while a 3rd member of the team is completing a Masters dissertation on Afghan migrant in Japan. continue their studies abroad. |
| Exploitation Route | The data from the family project will be cleaned and archived in the national languages in ACKU, Kabul and with the ESRC in the UK. We would like to see Afghan scholars in particular make use of this data, and explore further the issues and questions raised. The material from the cultural section is available for performance by others, and one member of the team is intending to conduct further research into the cultural production of Afghans in exile. It is hope that the forthcoming articles on the challenges of conducting academic research in Afghanistan, and the critique of policy-making might inform future policies and projects. |
| Sectors | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Government, Democracy and Justice,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections,Other |
| URL | http://acku.edu.af/pashto/2018/06/20/papers/ |
| Description | The work with the Ministry for Refugees and Repatriation has led to ongoing collaboration and strengthened the capacity of the Ministry to assess policy drafts prepared by international experts unfamiliar with the Afghan context. The collaboration with the Theatre Department introduced a new perspective on performance. Traditionally students have learned to declaim classic Persian poetry and to perform 'plays' written in the European tradition with a strong narrative structure. Our collaboration led students to explore ways in which their oral traditions could be performed in a more naturalistic way that allowed them to examine contemporary issues (such as migration). The three performances were well received, with powerful emotional responses from the different audiences. The work with families revealing their fears for the future fed into a conference contribution in Denmark. The organizers, the Danish Refugee Council, contacted me afterwards to say that the government had decided to recognize Afghan women as a social group entitled to refuge. That data has also been used to inform expert reports for asylum lawyers in Britain and the US. The findings from the family section of the project are now being written and the impact has not yet been fed into policy. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2022 |
| Sector | Education,Other |
| Impact Types | Policy & public services |
| Description | Collaboration with Ministry for Refugees and Repatriation to develop a Costed Action Plan for implementation of Comprehensive Migration Policy |
| Geographic Reach | Asia |
| Policy Influence Type | Implementation circular/rapid advice/letter to e.g. Ministry of Health |
| Description | Contribution to Migration Policy |
| Geographic Reach | Asia |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Description | Danish Government agrees Afghan women should have asylum |
| Geographic Reach | Europe |
| Policy Influence Type | Citation in other policy documents |
| Description | Ethics Workshop for Social Science researchers in conflict zones |
| Geographic Reach | Asia |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Description | Participation in UN OHCHR Expert Meeting |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| URL | http://www.ohchr.org/EN/pages/home.aspx |
| Description | Building an inter-disciplinary research network on Migration, Displacement and Resilience. |
| Amount | £12,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | City, University of London |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 01/2019 |
| End | 07/2019 |
| Description | Newton Fund Official Development Assistance Allocation |
| Amount | £5,212 (GBP) |
| Organisation | British Council |
| Department | British Council - Newton Fund |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 02/2017 |
| End | 03/2017 |
| Description | Pilot Comparison of Forced Return to Afghanistan and Somalia |
| Amount | £12,500 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | 48241AY |
| Organisation | City, University of London |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 04/2018 |
| End | 07/2019 |
| Description | Theatre Department at Kabul University, Kabul, Afghanistan |
| Organisation | Kabul University |
| Country | Afghanistan |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The 'culture' team I manage has collected more than 400 short oral poems and 150 popular songs, all of which describe aspects of the Afghan migration experience. We are in the process of analysing these. Dr Belqeis Alawi, the senior researcher in this part of the project, Riaz Shinwari, the assistant researcher and myself have been working closely with members of the Theatre Department on the script for a series of performances of our data to be held mid-April 2018. |
| Collaborator Contribution | In June 2016, I met with Ustad Hussainzada, then Head of the Theatre Department at Kabul University. We worked together on the research proposal. We met again on a number of occasions once the project began in November 2016. In June 2017, Ustad Hussainzada and two colleagues (Ustad Samadarry and Ustad Sroush) from the department met with the research team and they began to work on a script based on the material we had collected. Sadly, Ustad Hussainzada was killed in October 2016. His replacement as Head of Department, Ustad Samadarry, continued to work with us and in November 2016, recruited 15 students to work with us. The script became a collaborative project. They are now (February 2018) beginning rehearsals for the performances in April 2018. |
| Impact | The script has now been completed and will be revised for publication after the performance. |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | 2nd Afghanistan-Iran Cultural Dialogue (AICD-II) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The Dialogue was co-organized by an Afghan think tank, the Afghan Institute for Strategic Studies (AISS), in collaboration with the Allameh Tabataba'i University (ATU) of Tehran. It brought together 55-60 policy-makers and scholars to discuss migration generally and migration from Afghanistan to Pakistan in particular. The focus on oral culture was new, and there was considerable interest in the paper delivered by Dr Alawi, who has been offered a fellowship in Tehran after the project ends. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | 3 working papers published, each in two local languages (Dari and Pashto) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | We created a 'research papers' section on the ACKU website (http://acku.edu.af/dari/?page_id=925 and http://acku.edu.af/pashto/?????/???????-?????/). The papers presented in the seminar series were subsequently revised and published in that section. A press release was issues and sent to all University Social Science departments to publicise the research series. Given that there is very little academic work available in local languages, this is very important. We will add at least three more papers in each language and it is our hope that the series will continue with papers from other local scholars. It is anticipated that the papers will be read by more than 100 scholars in 2018. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017,2018 |
| URL | http://acku.edu.af/dari/?page_id=925 |
| Description | Conference organised by anti-deportation campaigners |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Supporters |
| Results and Impact | The conference was organised in Sweden by campaigners against deportation to Afghanistan, and brought together Afghan experts from Australia, germany, Sweden and the UK to discuss the current security situation in Afghanistan and the pressure on Afghans to leave. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | DRC prentation/report |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | I was invited by Danish Refugee Council (DRC) to speak in Copenhagen to speak to asylum decision makers, lawyers and refugee support groups. My contribution and that of the other panelists was subsequently published as a report to be provided to asylum decion makers. After publication, the DRC contacted me to say that our report had led to a shift in government position and that Afghan women would not be returned to Afghanistan and would be given asylum. My contribution relied on data from this project and a previous project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Media interviews |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Following the fall of Kabul, I undertook a number of media interviews (print and broadcast) in which I drew on data collected for the project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | MoRR Internal Policy Briefing |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | The policy briefing was based on participant observation and interviews with staff from the Ministry for Refugees and Repatriation and was presented in the Ministry to the Minister and 14 of his staff. Its purpose was to offer staff an overview of our initial findings and an opportunity to give feedback on those findings. Relations with the MoRR had stagnated and the policy brief was in part designed to re-present the project to the Minister and his staff in the hope of improving relations. The Ministry disagreed very strongly with our findings, but his response provided us with further interesting insights. While we stand by the original analysis, the meeting and response of the Minister allowed us to see how his position had changed and new alignments within the government. It also reset relations with some of his staff. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | MoRR technical seminar |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | I was invited by Minister Balkhi to give a presentation on EU asylum and return policy as it affected Afghan asylum seekers. The occasion was a Ministry organised conference/seminar in which presentation were made by the country directors of a number of INGOs, the Minister, the deputy Vice President Moaqeq, and the head of the Political Section of the EU delegation in Kabul. The presentation summarised policy developments in the EU in the past 3 years, explaining to the Afghan audience the European perspective on the recent 'refugee crisis'. There was an exchange of views with the EU representative, which led to further interviews with the EU delegation. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Presentation at conference for campaigners and supporters of Afghan asylum seekers |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | A group of anti-deportation campaigners in Munich invited three Afghan experts to talk to Afghan asylum seekers, their supporters and the general public about the situation in Afghanistan at a one day conference. We also participated in a press conference at the end of the day. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Presentation of research findings to mixed audience hosted by INALCO-LIMINAL Paris |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Supporters |
| Results and Impact | INALCO-LIMINAL is a research project in Paris working with new asylum seekers. Hearing about the Stopping it at Source project, they hosted an afternoon where Belgheis Alawi and I presented two papers from our research, and a young Afghan film-maker showed his documentary. The former French Ambassador to Afghanistan and the Director of the Inftitute Francais in Kabul attended, together with a number of Afghan students and asylum seekers, their supporters and members of the public attended and there was a very lively Q&A at the end. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Seminar papers presented in ACKU research series |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Through 2017, members of the team presented 4 working papers in a research series organised at ACKU to audiences of 50-75 people, including undergraduate and postgraduate students, research consultants and NGOs representatives. Academic research in Afghanistan is very limited - most is applied - and so our goal was to introduce the practice of critical literature and open discussion on methodology.Following the seminars team members were frequently approached from advice on conducting academic research, and the PI was asked to speak about ethnography and ethics to a research consultancy. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Talk to French University students |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | 12 students had the opportunity to ask about the research, the methods used, working in different environments and there was discussion about the different treatment of Afghan and Ukrainian refugees (and the fact that only one member of the research team is still in Afghanistan - the others have become refugees themselves). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Talk to staff and students hosted by Calcutta Research Group and Asia in Global Affairs |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | The talk was to students interested in migration studies and/or Afghanistan. It had two purposes - to offer an opportunity to discuss an issue of relevance to India, since it hosts a number of Afghan refugees; and to offer an opportunity to discuss collaboration with Indian colleagues. It was successful on both accounts, and I was interviewed by a PHD candidate and Masters dissertation students afterwards. My Kolkata colleagues put me in touch with other colleagues in Delhi. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |