The Important Difference Between IDPs and Refugees

Today I got my hands on a book that I had wanted to get for a very long time, but it was too expensive ($155!). The book talks about Internal Displacement (see citation at the bottom). While I was reading the first chapters, I realized that although I have talked extensively about the difference between internally displaced persons and refugees in the papers I have written on the subject, I had not addressed it here yet.

Most people confuse displaced persons with refugees, and erroneously believe that they are one and the same. This could not be farther from the truth, and this issue is very important in the way the international community handles displacement issues. Refugees are persons who have crossed a state border, and are thus protected by international laws. As you all know, the UN has long taken care of refugees and has created bodies to deal with the subject, most notably UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees). The internally displaced on the other hand, are persons who have been displaced but who have NOT crossed an international border. This is a very important difference as persons who are internally displaced are the sole responsibility of the state. There are no international laws that protect them, even though they outnumber refugees. The UN has created the "Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement," but that's just what they are, guiding principles. If you want to explore them further visit http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu2/7/b/principles.htm

The authors of the book put it much more eloquently; "Whereas international law entitles refugees to physical security and human rights protection in addition to assistance to offset their other vulnerabilities, no such legal guarantees exist for those who participate in an 'exodus within borders.' Thus, agencies seeking to help persons who have not crossed a border require permission from the very political authorities who may be responsible for the displacement." The bottom line is that there are no international agencies specifically mandated to override state sovereignty and reach in to assist and protect internally displaced persons.

The book also addresses the issue of sovereignty and argues for sovereignty as responsibility. This means that gvmts are responsible for protecting the human rights of their citizens and that when the state is unable or unwilling to ensure these rights the International Community should assume that responsibility.

Another issue that had already crossed my mind, but that I had never encountered in my archival research is the acronym itself. As some of you already know, the title of my project is "IDP: More Than Just an Acronym." This book discusses this issue, explaining that neither the term nor the acronym have been well received by journalists, humanitarians and others:

" 'Refugees' immediately evokes the image of people fleeing persecution. 'Internally displaced persons' is too many words, too clinical, too antiseptic. It does not automatically conjure up any identifiable image of distress. It does not convey the fact that in many instances these people are the most destitute of the destitute, those most exposed to hunger and disease and abuse by governments and rebel movements, the populations with the highest death rates recorded among all those whom humanitarians seek to assist. Or that they are, in their overwhelming majority, women and children, the most vulnerable of the vulnerable."

Internal Displacement is a very serious issue on a global scale, not just here in Colombia. We need to continue to search for better ways to provide the assistance they need and to ensure the enforcement of their rights.

Citation:
Weiss, Thomas and David Korn.
2006 Internal Displacement: Conceptualization and its Consequences. New York: Routledge

Big Problems in Bogota

There has been a recent development in the difficult story of Internal Displacement in Colombia. Last week, a large group of Internally Displaced Persons in Bogota (the capital of Colombia) mobilized in protest and took a large park in the city. Displaced Persons are fighting for visibility and inclusion. Bogota receives more Displaced Persons each day than it can deal with, and the system many times collapses under the pressure of so many families in need of attention. According to estimates, Bogota is also the city with the largest population of displaced persons in the country.

Reportedly about 2500 Displaced Persons have settled at the Parque Tercer Milenio (Third Millennium Park) in protest, and they are calling on others to join them. They have been there for about 2 weeks and are demanding several things, among them housing and COL$15 million, about US$7000 for a productive project (starting a business). City officials have brought the police to the park to prevent any more people from settling there and to prevent the construction of more permanent structures. The city has offered the displaced population settled at the park to move to "albergues" or shelters, but the displaced fear that once they are in the shelters they will be forgotten and their demands not met.

Although IDP legislation in Colombia is considered by experts as the most advanced in the world, assistance programs demand the displaced persons to be registered with the gvmt in order to be eligible to receive aid. There are many programs from school, to subsidies, to work programs, and many of them are wonderful, but many people are excluded from those kinds of benefits. The bottom line is that many displaced persons are very afraid of registering in the RUPD (Registro Unico de Personas Desplazadas - Unique Registry of Displaced Persons), because they fear retaliation. The affected persons and families have suffered a great deal and many times have lost their loved ones in violent ways. It is not hard to understand their fear. Making registration obligatory in order to receive aid makes sense because it is hard to classify who is really displaced and who is not, but at the same time, as I already stated, it excludes many people who deserve and desperately need that assistance from the gvmt.

This act of protest has been criticized by some government officials who argue that a public space is not a place for a long-term protest, and that young children are being abused by having them at the park. What they either don't realize or just omit from their discourse is the fact that the informal settlements in which they have to live at are not much better and, in some occasions, worse.

This is a new development, one in which displaced persons are being empowered by their will to become visible. It will be very interesting to see what kinds of other structures come out of this effort, and hopefully it will bring more attention to the subject, and better solutions to aid the displaced.

I am going to try to go to Bogota and speak to some of the people at the Parque Tercer Milenio, because I think this a very interesting development, but one that scares me because Internal Displacement is used as a way to destabilize the country and as a deliberate strategy of war. These people have suffered greatly, and I would not like to see them suffer any more.

I don't mean to romanticize displacement or the displaced, but it do mean to acknowledge their part in this fight, and their efforts for inclusion and visibility.

Thank you for reading...

Photo by David Campuzano - El Espectador.

First Days Back in Colombia

Well, I finally made it home after two very uncomfortable flights and some unexpected delays. I've spent the past couple of days catching up with family and friends. That is always the best part about coming home. Every time I come back it feels as if I had never left. The smell, the taste, and the feel of home invade me and all that has passed before seems to fade away. All the different places that I have visited seem like a dream, and I have to look at old photographs to convince myself that I was actually somewhere else.

Anyway, moving on to less emotional things, since my arrival I have been preparing for fieldwork. The whole Spring semester I spent doing just that, but I think you can never be too prepared, and for those of you who know me well, know how obsessive I can be about that. I've been reading methods books, theory books, etc, trying to be as prepared as possible for my first plunge into the field.

Since I was supposed to start my fieldwork on the second week of June, I am now waiting to hear from my liason here in the hopes that I can start as soon as possible. On Friday and Saturday, Medellin is hosting a very interesting and important congress. It's the congress for the victims of terrorism. Unfortunately, it's by invitation only, because many important people from different countries will attend. I applied for an invitation too late, because I only found out when I got here, so I can't make it. I'm a little bummed about that, because I am sure Internal Displacement will be an important topic in the agenda.

Well, I don't have anything interesting to report, but I'm hoping fieldwork will start soon, and I can share my experiences and lessons with you.

Getting Ready for Departure

A poster I presented at UC Berkeley about this project.

Well, it's that time again. Time to pack my bags and deal with the anxiety and excitement that come before an unprecedented experience. In this occasion it is an academic experience, my first field research. I have many expectations and hope to learn a great deal from the people I will be working with. Although I am a little scared because I don't quite know what to expect, I am very energized by the prospect of becoming an "anthropologist in the field."