A new book edited by York University Professor Ali Asgary examines the complexity of population displacement.
Resettlement Challenges for Displaced Populations and Refugees seeks to better understand population displacement challenges and the role that reconstruction, recovery knowledge and practice play.
Ali Asgary
According to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the total number of people forcibly displaced due to wars and conflicts, disasters and climate change worldwide exceeded 66 million in 2016. Many of these displaced populations may never be able to go back and rebuild their houses, communities and businesses.
“Imagine a population of people as big as France, Italy or Canada displaced by conflicts, disaster events and climate change,” said Asgary, in the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies (LA&PS). “Many of them with young children and seniors living in highly vulnerable and insecure conditions are deprived from basic human rights. This book highlights some of these challenges and examines policies, interventions and actions taken by various stakeholders to address these challenges.”
This text brings together recovery and reconstruction professionals, researchers and policy-makers to examine how displaced populations can rebuild their lives in new locations and recover from disasters that have impacted their livelihoods and communities.
It highlights:
- that the increasing number of displaced populations and refugees are among the key global challenges of the 21st century;
- that more than 65-million people are currently displaced, and this number is larger than the population of countries such as France, Italy, Greece, Canada and Australia;
- that displaced populations and refugees face many challenges in their daily lives, including meeting their basic human rights on a daily basis; and
- the challenges that different types of displaced populations and refugees are facing, including the vulnerability of the displaced populations and refugees, sheltering and design of living spaces, access to employment and resources, and host countries' policies.
The book, said Asgary, has a very specific focus on Syrian refugees, including an interesting chapter called "Resettling Syrian Refugees in Canada: Challenges Faced by Nongovernmental Service Providers."
To learn more about the book, visit springer.com/us/book/9783319924977.