Millions forced to move by war, famine and disaster

What happens when people are forced to leave their homes to seek safety, security and opportunities elsewhere? : Michael Joiner, 360info CC BY 4.0

Shock mobility is a response to acute disruptions like natural disasters, wars, pandemics or economic crises.

The war in Ukraine has led to around 20 percent of the country’s population fleeing overseas.

Even after 12 years, the war in Syria remains the world’s largest refugee crisis.

Since 2011, more than 6.8 million Syrians have been forced to flee their country and almost an equal number remain internally displaced.

Wars alone do not lead to shock mobility.

The shock of the sudden COVID-19 lockdown of 2020 led to millions of workers migrating from Indian cities back to their villages on foot as public transport had been stopped.

Shock mobility refers to the sudden movement of people due to acute disruptions such as a tsunami, cyclone, earthquake, war, pandemic, economic crisis or any other unexpected or unpredictable event.

People are forced to migrate from their homes in search of security and survival elsewhere.

To mark World Refugee Day on June 20, 360info in partnership with the Calcutta Research Group asked migration experts to analyse the impact of shock mobility on migrants as well as society.

Perspectives

Why we should be talking about shock mobility
Bharat Bhushan, 360info
Professor Ranabir Sammadar talks about the importance of increasing media awareness of the phenomenon of shock mobility.

How droughts can leave people with nowhere to go
Sohini Sengupta, Tata Institute of Social Sciences
Those most affected by climate-induced droughts risk being trapped due to a lack of resources and networks to migrate.

NGOs help forced migrants integrate
Özge Zihnioğlu, University of Liverpool
Non-government organisations play a crucial role in promoting social cohesion between refugees and host communities.

Migrant workers paid a huge price for COVID-19
Manish K Jha, Tata Institute of Social Sciences
The mass movement of migrant workers during the pandemic allowed India’s authorities to weaken labour rights.

Coal mining in India has a human cost
Shatabdi Das, Calcutta Research Group
Communities living close to coal mines in India face the constant threat of coal fires and land subsidence forcing them to flee their homes.

Partition lives on in north-east Indian literature
Debashree Chakraborty, Calcutta Research Group
The refugee as ‘other’ has emerged as a common theme in literature from India’s north-east, after the region saw an influx of people following 1947’s Partition.

How a cyclone created a new nation
Shyamalendu Majumdar, Calcutta Research Group
The discontent of the millions displaced was politicised, eventually leading to a civil war and the birth of a new republic named Bangladesh.

Ride-share drivers find ways to survive COVID downturn
Chotib and Rizqika Alamsyah, Universitas Indonesia
The COVID-19 pandemic decimated the incomes of Indonesian motorbike and car drivers working for ride-sharing apps. But they found creative ways to survive.

The war is not over for Nepal’s displaced
Som Niroula, Calcutta Research Group
Ten years of civil war in Nepal pushed many people out of their homes. Now, 17 years since peace, many still suffer.

Long after the tsunami destroyed lives, the waves are still felt
Ashok Gladston Xavier, Loyola College
Nearly two decades after the 2004 tsunami devastated the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, trauma from the disaster still remains.

Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™.

Editors Note: In the story “Shock mobility” sent at: 19/06/2023 10:28.

This is a corrected repeat.