Research on forced displacement

P akistan ranks among the top countries with the highest number of refugees. The UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) puts Pakistan consistently among the first five countries on that list. Pakistan has more or less maintained that position for several decades now. Within the last two decades, a significant number of people have also been forced to flee due to conflict in the northwest. The exact number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) is debated, but conservative estimates put the number to be well above a million. The floods of a decade ago (2010) displaced between one to two million people, and many of them permanently lost their homes.

The most recent floods are likely to make an even bigger impact on forced migration. These numbers of the forcibly displaced are in addition to the stateless persons (largely ethnic Bengalis, but also Biharis and Burmese), who have been denied citizenship and basic rights for over a half century. Taken together, these numbers suggest a sobering statistic. Yet, the academic research on forced displacement in the country remains fragmented, nascent and poorly funded. It is not to say that there is no work that is being done in this area in the country. There are indeed individual researchers who focus on migration and forced displacement due to conflict and climate, and there are a couple of research centres as well (including one in Balochistan, supported in part by UNHCR).

However, these research efforts remain siloed and woefully underfunded by HEC. Institutional support for these efforts is also at a bare minimum. The research area is not a priority for most academic institutions in the country who would rather create a cool sounding department name (throwing a few buzzwords together — but with no real value or even meaning) than focus on the challenge facing millions in the country. Furthermore, due to lack of interest and funding, researchers focusing on various dimensions of forced displacement — for example those studying access to healthcare, emergence of diseases in camps and urban informal settlements, non-communicable diseases, labour markets, housing and intergenerational trauma — do not get a chance to engage with each other and as a result work in silos.

Political scientists and ethnographers rarely talk to public health professionals; and lawyers and urban planners do not get the opportunity to work together. A consequence of this neglect is that despite being one of the countries with the highest number of refugees and IDPs, our research output, or policy suggestions remain weak. Recent books — including a brilliant one by Dr Sanaa Alimia titled Refugee Cities: How Afghans Changed Urban Pakistan — that touch upon several facets of forced displacement are a welcome addition but there is a lot more that needs to be done. First and foremost, we have to recognise the importance of the discipline and the value that multi-disciplinary academic research would bring to urgent questions in this area.

There are critical questions about human rights and human dignity, social cohesion and xenophobia, and short and long-term wellbeing of those who are forcibly displaced. There are also questions about state’s policies and state’s neglect of the most vulnerable. These questions cannot be addressed through impulsive policies, or by sole reliance on international aid agencies. Given the geopolitical dynamics and increasing climate change, there is good reason to argue that the numbers of those who are forced to displace are likely going to increase in the coming years. Creating robust and vibrant academic structures will allow us to analyse the current — and often deeply disturbing — policies and prepare for the future. But most importantly, it will give us an opportunity to do what we rarely do — reflect on our past and ask who we are as a people.