“There is an alternative. And it starts with recognizing that refugees have skills, talents, aspirations. They are not just passive objects of our pity, but actors constrained by cruel circumstance. They do not have to be an inevitable burden, but instead can help themselves and their communities - if we let them.”
Source: Refuge: Transforming a Broken Refugee System
“Imagine if, instead of the humanitarian silo, we could conceive of an approach that could support refugees' autonomy and dignity while simultaneously empowering them to contribute to host communities and the eventual reconstruction of their country of origin.”
Source: Refuge: Transforming a Broken Refugee System
“AI won’t replace designers, but designers who use AI will replace those who don’t.”
“As we have seen, the geographical reality is that the overwhelming majority of the world's refugees are in countries that neighbour conflict and crisis. These 'countries of first asylum' in developing regions today host 86 per cent of all refugees, up from 72 per cent a decade ago. In consequence, it is the countries with the least capacity to host refugees that bear the greatest responsibility.”
Source: Refuge: Transforming a Broken Refugee System
“But generosity of spirit is not enough: our responses must be grounded in wisdom. The headless heart may lead to outcomes little better than the heartless head. So we need to be a little more specific about what generosity of spirit implies. What shoud it mean in the context of Syria, and, by extension, what should it mean more widely in the global context of refugees?”
Source: Refuge: Transforming a Broken Refugee System
“Historically, on average international wars have lasted only six months. In contrast, the average civil war has been much longer, with estimates ranging from seven to fifteen years. If a family are going to be refugees for over a decade, their priority is not emergency food and shelter. It is to re-establish the threads of normal famiy life, anchored materially by a capacity of whoever is the breadwinner to earn a living. The camps run by UNHCR met the basic material needs of refugees, but they provided few opportunities to earn a living. Consequently, they left families bereft of autonomy.”
Source: Refuge: Transforming a Broken Refugee System
“Around the world, refugees are effectively offered a false choice between three dismal options: encampment, urban destitution, or perilous journeys.”
Source: Refuge: Transforming a Broken Refugee System
“The world simply has not created a refugee assistance model compatible with a world of global cities.”
Source: Refuge: Transforming a Broken Refugee System
“Although UNHCR has an Urban Refugee Policy, it offers very little assistance in practice, with most urban refugees receiving no tangible help. By moving to cities, most refugees relinquish all formal support but also end up locked out of the formal economy.”
Source: Refuge: Transforming a Broken Refugee System
“Over half of the world's refugees, including 75 percent of Syrians, live in urban areas in neighbouring countries. But, in cities, assistance is limited and the formal right to work is usually restricted.”
Source: Refuge: Transforming a Broken Refugee System