dispossessed peoples

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  • Syrian refugee metal shop trainees work at one of the vocational training centres near Al Azraq city, Jordan, June 27, 2016

    Commentary

    Jobs Can Improve the Lives of Syrian Refugees and Their Host Communities

    Mar 11, 2019

    Host governments, international development agencies, and donor countries like the United States could take several steps to improve Syrian refugee employment. This would increase self-reliance among Syrian refugees and ease pressures on host communities.

  • A man texts on his mobile phone while waiting in line at dawn to register at Ifo refugee camp in Dadaab, Kenya, photo by Internews Europe/Flickr CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

    Essay

    The Right Technology Can Help Refugees Stay Connected

    Mar 11, 2020

    Nearly 71 million people globally are displaced by conflict and persecution. There have been some real advances in technology to help them, but innovations have often been fragmented, without a larger vision. A more strategic approach to technology could better serve their needs.

Explore Displaced Persons

  • Journal Article

    More "Boarding" Facilities Geolocated in Southern Xinjiang

    We identified 21 preschools that house Uyghur children in Qira County, Xinjiang using satellite imagery. These facilities are part of Beijing's efforts to assimilate Uyghurs by erasing their culture to a Communist Party ideal that has been compared to genocide.

    Jan 22, 2021

  • Journal Article

    Empty Lots, Green Spaces, and a Parking Lot: What Happened to the Demolished Uyghur Cemeteries?

    This methodology seeks to build upon previous research efforts and help other researchers understand the outcomes of Chinese policies related to Uyghur communities.

    Jan 20, 2021

  • A Syrian refugee woman walks between tents in Nizip refugee camp, near the Turkish-Syrian border in Gaziantep province, Turkey, November 30, 2016, photo by Umit Bektas/Reuters

    Commentary

    A New Way to Manage the Growing Global Refugee Situation

    As of 2020, a full 1 percent of humanity is living in displacement—as refugees, internally displaced persons, or asylum-seekers—because of conflict or persecution. The world's existing strategies for managing the displaced are no longer sufficient, but the next U.S. administration has an opportunity to lead the world in creating a new way forward.

    Dec 17, 2020

  • Children play together at Atmeh camp, near the Turkish border, Syria, June 13, 2020, photo by Khalil Ashawi/Reuters

    Commentary

    The Syrian Forever War Has Created Forever Refugees

    Without a formal peace agreement that commits to safety for returnees and creates a foundation for investment in Syria's demolished infrastructure, Syrians will not go home. They fear returning because of reports of returnees being arrested, imprisoned, and tortured.

    Nov 24, 2020

  • Brochure

    Brochure

    Mass Migration: How RAND Is Addressing One of the Greatest Challenges and Opportunities of the Century

    This document describes RAND's interdisciplinary work on migration-related trends, challenges, and solutions.

    Sep 23, 2020

  • Internally displaced Syrians drive back to their homes, as some people are afraid of the COVID-19 outbreak in crowded camps, in Dayr Ballut, Syria, April 11, 2020, photo by Khalil Ashawi/Reuters

    Commentary

    U.S. Is Just Getting Started in New Bid to End the War in Syria

    In June, the U.S. government announced the implementation of the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act with a flurry of sanctions against 39 people and entities connected with the Assad regime. There is much more to come. Syria, and Russia and Iran, have not yet felt the Caesar Act in full force.

    Jul 22, 2020

  • A satellite image of haze of eastern China

    Journal Article

    Geolocating Growth of Suspect "Boarding" Facilities in Xinjiang China

    GEOINT analysis shows steady construction progress in both 2017 and 2019 of suspect facilities in southern Xinjiang.

    Jul 14, 2020

  • The Plight of Refugees

    Multimedia

    The Plight of Refugees During COVID-19

    RAND's Shelly Culbertson describes how the pandemic is creating challenges for the world's 71 million refugees, internally displaced persons, and asylum seekers.

    Jun 18, 2020

  • Blog

    What Happens When States Reopen, Truth Decay, Telemedicine: RAND Weekly Recap

    This weekly recap focuses on the health and economic consequences of states reopening, the dangers of 'Truth Decay' during the coronavirus crisis, helping refugees, and more.

    May 22, 2020

  • A worker rides on a vehicle transporting food supplies distributed by United Nations Relief and Works Agency to the homes of Palestinian refugees as a precaution against the spread of COVID-19, in Gaza City, March 31, 2020, photo by Mohammed Salem/Reuters

    Commentary

    How to Help Refugees and Host Countries Combat COVID-19

    Having escaped conflict and persecution, refugees now risk illness and death from COVID-19. That risk is heightened by a policy regime that focuses largely on refugees in camps, not the almost two-thirds who live in urban areas. But the crisis could provide an opportunity to reform a broken system for the benefit of refugees and host countries alike.

    May 18, 2020

  • Western China, viewed from space

    Journal Article

    Geolocating Explosive Growth in Preschools in Western China Due to 'Re-Education' Policies

    Twenty facilities that imagery analysis, press and professional journals suggest house Uighur children have been identified in this first study of geolocating China's detention infrastructure targeting Uighurs and other Muslim minority groups.

    May 1, 2020

  • A Syrian refugee girl stands near luggage of Syrian refugees returning to Syria, in Beirut, Lebanon, December 6, 2018, photo by Jamal Saidi/Reuters

    Commentary

    Syrian Refugees Won't Be Going Home Any Time Soon

    Active fighting in Syria is dwindling. But Syria remains divided in a frozen conflict and empty peace, unstable and unlikely to attract the investment in reconstruction, public institutions, job creation, and local reconciliation efforts needed to motivate Syrians in large numbers to return home.

    Apr 19, 2019

  • Fadia Afashe showing her work at an art gallery in Damascus, Syria, April, 2009

    Commentary

    For One Syrian Refugee, the Research Strikes Close to Home

    Fadia Afashe came to the United States to study public policy in 2011, with every intention of eventually going home to Syria. But when her fellowship ended a year later, the possibility of returning home had vanished. She became a refugee success story, but a path for others is needed.

    Dec 22, 2018

  • Italian MP Marietta Tidei talks with students at a school for vulnerable Syrian refugees in Gaziantep, Turkey

    Journal Article

    Challenges to the Integration of Syrian Refugees

    In this study, we provide an overview of the situation of Syrian refugees and other non-citizens living in host countries. We explored the cases of Turkey, Germany, the United Kingdom, Greece, Italy, Canada and Australia.

    Dec 18, 2018

  • Migrants attend a lesson at the 'institute for intercultural communication' in Berlin, Germany, April 13, 2016

    Commentary

    Europe's Five Strategies for Coping with Migration Pressure

    Migration will likely continue to be a long-term challenge for European politics, institutions, governments, and values. Even with a drop in numbers and the development of institutional capabilities to manage migration, the European Union still has important tasks ahead of it.

    Dec 3, 2018

  • Syrian-born mayor of the local Andravida-Kyllini municipality Nampil-iosif Morant meets Syrian refugees near the town of Myrsini southwest of Athens, Greece, August 13, 2016

    Commentary

    Europe's Great Challenge: Integrating Syrian Refugees

    Since March, 2011, close to 1 million Syrian refugees have requested asylum in European countries, with Germany being the primary destination. Social and economic policies to deal with the refugee crisis will require collaborative planning, monitoring, and assessment efforts to be successful.

    Apr 20, 2018

  • Refugees and migrants arrive on an overcrowded boat on the Greek island of Lesbos, November 10, 2015

    Commentary

    We Are Almost Dead: The Politics of Migrants and Refugees in an Unequal World

    People move, and always have moved, in search of better lives for themselves and their children. Why else would someone leave everything behind and brave the seas? What else is worth the risk? Jonathan Blake discusses books that examine people's need for refuge.

    Feb 23, 2018

  • People displaced by drought in Somalia arrive at the Dolo Ado camp in neighboring Ethiopia and queue to be registered by the aid agencies running the camp

    Commentary

    Moving Countries, Seeking Refuge from Climate Change

    By the middle of this century, experts estimate that climate change is likely to displace between 150 and 300 million people. It is daunting to envision such large flows of people, but that is why the global community should start doing so now.

    Dec 19, 2017

  • People walk in front of the remains of the University of Mosul, which was burned and destroyed during a battle with Islamic State militants, in Mosul, Iraq, April 10, 2017.

    Commentary

    Moving Beyond Mosul

    The Islamic State group has been defeated in Mosul. But this military routing isn't enough to ensure lasting stability, either in Mosul or in Iraq more broadly. What comes next will require careful planning, diplomacy, implementation, and coordination.

    Jul 18, 2017