Abstract
Globally, about 70.8 million people were forcibly displaced by the end of 2018 of which 25.9 million were refugees, the highest level ever reported. Within this period, there were about 6.34 million refugees in Africa. The refugee crisis in Africa is traceable to its colonial vestiges. Since gaining independence in the 1950s and 1960s, political violence arising from civil wars and ethnic conflicts alone has generated millions of refugees across many countries in the African continent. A refugee is someone who has been forced to flee his or her country due to factors, such as political and religious persecution, war, or other forms of ethnic or tribal violence or for fear of the same. Persecution can occur for reasons of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group. In addition, there is a consensus that natural disasters, including drought, famine, and the outbreak of diseases among others, are other causes of refugees.
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Notes
- 1.
United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNHCR). Global Trends: Forced Displacement in 2018. Accessed 23 September 2019. https://www.unhcr.org/the-global-report.htm
- 2.
Ibid.
- 3.
Kalipeni, Ezekiel and Joseph Oppong. “The refugee crisis in Africa and implications for health and disease: a political ecology approach.” Social Science and Medicine 46, no. 12 (1998): 1637–1653.
- 4.
Mayer, J. D. The political ecology of disease as one new focus for medical geography. Progress in Human Geography 20(4), 441–456.
- 5.
Blaikie, P. “Political ecology in the 1990s: an evolving view of nature and society.” CASID Distinguished Speaker Series 13. Center for Advanced Study of International Development (CASID), Michigan State University, 1994; See also, Bryant, Raymond. (1992) “Political ecology: an emerging research agenda in third world studies.” Political Geography Quarterly 11, 1 (1992): 108–125 and Atkinson, T. “Laying out the ground.” In: Principles of Political Ecology, edited by, T. Atkinson. London: Belhaven Press, 1991.
- 6.
Ibid, Atkinson 1991.
- 7.
Turshen, M. The Political Ecology of Disease in Tanzania. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 1984; see also, Bryant, Raymond L. 1998. “Power, knowledge and political ecology in the third world: a review.” Progress in Physical Geography 22, 1 (1998):79–94.
- 8.
Ibid, Kalipeni and Oppong 1998.
- 9.
Wood, W. B. “Forced migration: local conflicts and international dilemmas.” Annals of the Association of American Geographers 84, no. 4 (1994): 607–634.
- 10.
Nahian, Ahmed; M. Naimal Islam; M. Ferdous Hasan; Tamanna, Motahar and Mohammed, Sujauddin. “Understanding the political ecology of forced migration and deforestation through a multi-algorithm classification approach: the case of Rohingya displacement in the Southeastern border region of Bangladesh.” Geology, Ecology and Landscape 3, no. 4 (2019): 282–294.
- 11.
Ibid, Wood 1994.
- 12.
Easton-Calabria, Evan and Naohiko Omata. “Panacea for the refugee crisis? Rethinking the promotion of ‘self-reliance’ for refugees.” Third World Quarterly 39, no. 8 (2018): 1458–1474.
- 13.
U.S. Department of State. “Trafficking in Person Report 2019”. Accessed 14 December 2019. https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/2019-Trafficking-in-Persons-Report.pdf
- 14.
Bidemi, Badmus G. “Electoral violence, disability and internal displacement in Nigeria: A critical assessment of popular participation in Nigeria.” Africology: The Journal of Pan African Studies 10, no. 7 (2017): 1–21.
- 15.
Fisk, Kerstin. “Refugee geography and the diffusion of armed conflict in Africa.” Civil Wars 16, no. 3 (2014): 255–275.
- 16.
Carta, M. G., Oumar, W., Moro, M. F., Moro, D., Preti, A., Mereu, A, and Bhugra, D. “Trauma- and stressor related disorders in the Tuareg refugees of a camp in Burkina Faso.” Clinical Practice & Epidemiology in Mental Health 9 (2013): 189–195.
- 17.
United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNHCR). The 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, 2011. Accessed 12 January 2020. https://www.unhcr.org/about-us/background/4ec262df9/1951-convention-relating-status-refugees-its-1967-protocol.html
- 18.
Ibid.
- 19.
Dadush, Uri. “The economic effects of Refugee return. Economics.” The open-access, open-assessment E-Journal 12, no. 2018–2033 (2018): 1–17. Accessed 15 August 2019. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5018/economics-ejournal.ja.2018-33
- 20.
Gerver, Mollie. “Paying Refugees to Leave”. Political Studies 65, issue 3 (2017): 631–645.
- 21.
Gerver, Mollie. “Refugee Repatriation and the Problem of Consent”. British Journal of Political Science 48, issue 4 (2018): 855–875.
- 22.
Ibid, Gerver 2017.
- 23.
Romano, David. “Whose House is this anyway? IDP and Refugee return in Post-Saddam Iraq.” Journal of Refugee Studies 18, no. 4 (2005): 430–453.
- 24.
Bahlbi, Y. Malk. “Human Trafficking and human smuggling to and from Eastern Sudan: Intended and unintended consequences of States’ policies.” Academic Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies 5, no. 1 (2016): 215–225.
Bibliograhy
Ahmed, Nahian, M. Naimal Islam, M. Ferdous Hasan, Motahar Tamanna, and Sujauddin Mohammed. 2019. Understanding the political ecology of forced migration and deforestation through a multi-algorithm classification approach: The case of Rohingya displacement in the Southeastern border region of Bangladesh. Geology, Ecology and Landscape 3 (4): 282–294.
Atkinson, T. 1991. Laying out the ground. In Principles of Political Ecology, ed. T. Atkinson. London: Belhaven Press.
Bahlbi, Y. Malk. 2016. Human Trafficking and human smuggling to and from Eastern Sudan: Intended and unintended consequences of States’ policies. Academic Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies 5 (1): 215–225.
Bidemi, Badmus G. 2017. Electoral Violence, Disability and Internal Displacement in Nigeria: A Critical Assessment of Popular Participation in Nigeria. Africology: The Journal of Pan African Studies 10 (7): 1–21.
Blaikie, P. 1994. Political Ecology in the 1990s: An Evolving View of Nature and Society, CASID Distinguished Speaker Series 13. East Lansing: Center for Advanced Study of International Development (CASID), Michigan State University.
Bryant, Raymond. 1992. Political Ecology: An Emerging Research Agenda in Third World Studies. Political Geography Quarterly 11 (1): 108–125.
Bryant, Raymond L. 1998. Power, Knowledge and Political Ecology in the Third World: A review. Progress in Physical Geography 22 (1): 79–94.
Carta, M.G., W. Oumar, M.F. Moro, D. Moro, A. Preti, A. Mereu, and D. Bhugra. 2013. Trauma and Stressor Related Disorders in the Tuareg Refugees of a Camp in Burkina Faso. Clinical Practice & Epidemiology in Mental Health 9: 189–195.
Dadush, Uri. 2018. The Economic Effects of Refugee Return. Economics. The Open-Access, Open Assessment E-Journal 12 (2018–2033): 1–17. https://doi.org/10.5018/economics-ejournal.ja.2018-33. Accessed 15 Aug 2019.
Easton-Calabria, Evan, and Naohiko Omata. 2018. Panacea for the Refugee Crisis? Rethinking the Promotion of ‘self-reliance’ for Refugees. Third World Quarterly 39 (8): 1458–1474.
Fisk, Kerstin. 2014. Refugee Geography and the Diffusion of Armed Conflict in Africa. Civil Wars 16 (3): 255–275.
Gerver, Mollie. “Paying Refugees to Leave”. Political Studies 65, 3 (2017): 631–645.
———. 2018. Refugee Repatriation and the Problem of Consent. British Journal of Political Science 48 (4): 855–875.
Kalipeni, Ezekiel, and Joseph Oppong. 1998. The Refugee Crisis in Africa and Implications for Health and Disease: A Political Ecology Approach. Social Science and Medicine 46 (12): 1637–1653.
Mayer, J.D. 1996. The Political Ecology of Disease as One New Focus for Medical Geography. Progress in Human Geography 20 (4): 441–456.
Nahian, Ahmed, M. Naimal Islam, M. Ferdous Hasan, Motahar Tamanna, and Sujauddin Mohammed. 2019. Understanding the Political Ecology of Forced Migration and Deforestation Through a Multi-algorithm Classification Approach: The Case of Rohingya Displacement in the Southeastern Border Region of Bangladesh. Geology, Ecology and Landscape 3 (4): 282–294.
Romano, David. 2005. Whose House is this Anyway? IDP and Refugee Return in Post-Saddam Iraq. Journal of Refugee Studies 18 (4): 430–453.
Turshen, M. 1984. The Political Ecology of Disease in Tanzania. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press.
U.S. Department of State. Trafficking in Person Report 2019. https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/2019-Trafficking-in-Persons-Report.pdf. Accessed 14 Dec 2019.
United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNHCR). Global Trends: Forced Displacement in 2018. https://www.unhcr.org/the-global-report.htm. Accessed 23 Sept 2019.
United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNHCR). 2011. The 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol. https://www.unhcr.org/about-us/background/4ec262df9/1951-convention-relating-status-refugees-its-1967-protocol.html. Accessed 12 Jan 2020.
Wood, W.B. 1994. Forced Migration: Local Conflicts and International Dilemmas. Annals of the Association of American Geographers 84 (4): 607–634.
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Dung, E.J., Avwunudiogba, A. (2021). The Human Cost of the Refugee Crisis in Africa. In: Abegunrin, O., Abidde, S.O. (eds) African Migrants and the Refugee Crisis. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-56642-5_15
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