Syria – The Journeys Project

Financial Inclusion in Refugee Economies

February 28, 2017April 7, 2021 Lori Zimmermann 410 Views 0 Comment Afghanistan, Algeria, Burundi, denmark, DRC, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Family, Friends and Networks, Gender, Greece, Humanitarian aid, Identity and documents, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Money and finance, Palestine, Senegal, Syria, Technology, Turkey

An essay by Kim Wilson and Roxanne Krystalli. Financial inclusion as a term and topic has become popular in humanitarian settings. A mounting global refugee crisis has brought financial access into the focus of donors and practitioners. In this paper, we ask questions that concern both donors and practitioners: Is digital, formal finance – at the heart of most financial inclusion strategies – suited to the needs of refugees, migrants, and displaced populations? Must financial inclusion approaches be tailored for maximum relevance in contexts of protracted displacement or resettlement?

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Financial Journeys in Greece, Turkey and Jordan

September 20, 2017April 9, 2021 Lori Zimmermann 351 Views 0 Comment Afghanistan, Algeria, Burundi, DRC, Ethiopia, Family, Gender, Greece, Humanitarian aid, Identity and documents, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Money and finance, Palestine, Senegal, Smuggling, Syria, Turkey

In this video, Kim Wilson and Roxanne Krystalli discuss their research exploring the formal and informal financial systems used by refugees in Greece, Turkey and Jordan.

Central and South Asia Europe Long-Distance Journeys Middle East-North Africa Middle East-North Africa Publications Reports Sub-Saharan Africa

The Financial Journey of Refugees: Evidence from Greece, Jordan, and Turkey

September 30, 2017April 5, 2021 Ellysse V. Dick 505 Views 0 Comment Afghanistan, Algeria, Barriers, Before the journey, Burundi, Dangers and trouble, Destinations, DRC, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Family, Forgery bribery and corruption, Friends and Networks, Gender, Greece, Humanitarian aid, Identity and documents, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Language, Lodging and food, Money and finance, Palestine, Saving and Lending, Senegal, Smuggling, Syria, Technology, The journey, Turkey

A full report, executive summary, and a compendium of field notes, by Kim Wilson and Roxanne Krystalli. The Financial Journeys of Refugees investigates what money and financial transactions can reveal about the journeys and experiences of forced migration. We examine money as a key node of the displacement experience: fueling transactions among formal and informal actors along the way; determining livelihood options; shaping or restructuring kinship networks; and coloring risks, vulnerabilities, or protective forces available to refugees. Our inquiry highlights these transactions and the power dynamics that unfold among refugees as well as between refugees and formal or informal authorities.

Central and South Asia Essays & Articles Europe Long-Distance Journeys Middle East-North Africa Middle East-North Africa Publications

‘I followed the flood’: A Gender Analysis of the Moral and Financial Economies of Forced Migration

December 31, 2017April 7, 2021 Lori Zimmermann 408 Views 0 Comment Afghanistan, Dangers and trouble, denmark, Family, Gender, Greece, Humanitarian aid, Iraq, Jordan, Smuggling, Syria, Turkey

An article by Roxanne Krystalli, Allyson Hawkins, and Kim Wilson, published in “Disasters.” What would a gender analysis of refugee crises reveal if one expanded the focus beyond female refugees, and acts of physical violence? This paper draws on qualitative research conducted in Denmark, Greece, Jordan, and Turkey in July and August 2016 to spotlight the gendered kinship, hierarchies, networks, and transactions that affect refugees. The coping strategies of groups often overlooked in the gender conversation are examined throughout this study, including those of male refugees and those making crossings outside of the context of a family unit. The analysis is theoretically situated at the intersection of critical humanitarianism and the politics of vulnerability, and rooted in debates about the feminisation of refugees and corresponding protection agendas. A key contribution of this work is the ethnographic tracing of how refugees embody these politics along their journeys.

Central and South Asia Essays & Articles Middle East-North Africa North America Publications Putting Down Roots Sub-Saharan Africa

Financial Integration of Refugees in Dallas, Texas

February 28, 2019April 7, 2021 Lori Zimmermann 346 Views 0 Comment Afghanistan, Barriers, DRC, Financial health, Friends and Networks, Humanitarian aid, Integration, Iraq, Language, Livelihoods, Money and finance, Syria, Technology, usa

By Julie Zollmann, Airokhsh Faiz-Qaisary, Kenza Ben-Azouz, Kim Wilson, and Radha Rajkotia. Refugees resettled in the United States are typically supported quite closely early in their transition as support agencies help them settle into new homes, open bank accounts, get their first jobs, and register their children in school. Agencies monitor whether refugees are “self-sufficient,” meaning that their incomes cover their most essential expenses as quickly as possible. However, little is known about the next stage of refugees’ financial and economic transitions, once refugees are no longer interacting regularly with resettlement agencies. In July 2018, we interviewed 29 refugees who had been resettled two to three years earlier to understand the phases of their financial transition and identify possible opportunities to accelerate refugees’ financial gains.

Central and South Asia Essays & Articles Middle East-North Africa North America Publications Putting Down Roots Sub-Saharan Africa

“I’m the Everything”: The Overlooked Heroism of Refugee Youth in the United States

February 28, 2019April 5, 2021 Lori Zimmermann 340 Views 0 Comment Afghanistan, Coping and thriving, DRC, Family, Integration, Iraq, Language, Livelihoods, Money and finance, Syria, usa

By Julie Zollmann. Nine voluntary agencies have the official responsibility for resettling refugees into communities throughout the United States. They find their clients new housing, schools, and jobs. They help them get social security numbers and open bank accounts. They play an indispensable role in helping refugees settle into their new homes. But the work of integration, of truly building a life in a new country with a new language, new transportation system, new labor market, and a whole new set of social norms is a much bigger job, one that in many families is being done stoically, even heroically, by young refugees in their teens and early twenties.

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Financial Journey of Refugees in the Mediterranean

July 2, 2019April 9, 2021 Lori Zimmermann 385 Views 0 Comment Afghanistan, Algeria, Before the journey, Burundi, DRC, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Forgery bribery and corruption, Gender, Greece, Humanitarian aid, Identity and documents, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Money and finance, Palestine, Senegal, Smuggling, Syria, Turkey

What can money reveal about the experience of migration? This video, created by Charlie Bentley, highlights the groundbreaking research of Kim Wilson and Roxani Krystalli, using finance as a lens to understand migration journeys throughout the Mediterranean.

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