Oct 31

Update on Syria’s IDPs

Syria’s IDP update:
Oct 31, 2013
Specifically referring to “dire” conditions in Homs, UNHCR reports that conditions of the IDP camps, generally within Syria are devastating. Per the agency it is providing for about 75,000 people with their daily subsistence. However, as my research shows in the context of IDP camps for the Kashmiri Pandits within Delhi and Jammu, there are difficulties of locating these camps, being located away from the mainstream. In Syria’s case, the camps have been built away from the conflict areas to provide greater security to the people. The agency’s effort is helping the families meet their “most basic needs, preserve their dignity and prevent health problems”. Per the report, the agency strives to provide for “3 million” IDPs of the Syrian conflict, in addition to its support for “more than 2 million Syrian refugees” who have fled to neighboring countries. The plan is in place to provide “200 housing units in rural Damascus”.
It is gratifying to see the UNHCR initiative in Syria’s case.

Original story at:
http://www.unhcr.org/print/527148296.html

srajput2

Dr. Sudha G. Rajput is the author of Internal Displacement and Conflict: The Kashmiri Pandits in Comparative Perspective (Routledge). Her 31-year career at the World Bank touched on multiple aspects of international development, working on thirteen countries of the former Soviet Union. Her co-authored book chapters appear in Scientific Explorations of Cause and Consequence across Social Contexts (Praeger) and in State, Society, and Minorities in Southeast Asia (Lexington Books). She writes for the Forced Migration Review. Her doctoral research has investigated issues of conflict-induced displacement in Kashmir, with a focus on societal and policy reform, leading her efforts to the development of a graduate course, Refugees and IDP Issues, drawing students from fields of conflict resolution, international development, humanitarian assistance and peacebuilding. She is a Senior Researcher at the Refugee Law Initiative, a U.K. based think-tank. She is a Consultant/Trainer for USAID, designing and conducting capacity building workshops in Khartoum, Sudan, promoting cross-border co-existence. As a Professional Lecturer, at George Washington University, she teaches at the Elliott School of International Affairs, where she brings multi-disciplinary approaches to her course on Refugee and Migrant Crisis. She is a trainer for the Forage Center for Peacebuilding Education, where during a 4-day humanitarian assistance simulation, she coaches students on systematic understanding of protracted displacements. She teaches at the University of Maryland Global Campus, delivering the MBA program for the military students. Her interests on post-conflict issues include her past travels to: Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Sudan, and Ukraine. Sudha’s blog on internal displacement can be found at www.internaldisplacement.info. Dr. Rajput lives in Washington, D.C. and can be reached at sudha_rajput@yahoo.com

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.