The Death of Humanitarianism?: An Anatomy of the Attack

Over recent years, the humanitarian community has been under increasing scrutiny and attracted harsh criticism. This mounting critique of humanitarianism has shifted from being concerned primarily with the poor functioning of the humanitarian system to one targeted on basic humanitarian values. This paper is concerned to understand the factors driving the attack on humanitarian values. It identifies four apparently disparate groups who are interested in attacking these values: the anti-imperialists, the realpolitikers, the developmentalists and the neo-peaceniks. It concludes that unless humanitarian actors are aware of these diverse threats to their values and operations, they risk being co-opted or marginalised.     

Adaptive flood hazard management strategy and its effect on settlements in the lower Yellow River area in Ming–Qing China: a case study of Kaifeng Prefecture

This paper examines the settlements and embankments of the Yellow River in central China in late imperial China (late fourteenth century to the early twentieth century) through the approach of historical geographical information system. The Yellow River frequently flooded and changed paths in the lower Yellow River area, creating a disaster-prone environment in the populous capital city, Kaifeng in Henan Province. The official policies of constructing embankments in the alluvial fan for the sake of both preventing flood and ensuring canal transportation for grains were important factors in shaping the settlements of the region. Historical data from some counties in Kaifeng Prefecture indicate that people took shelter along the embankments during floods and, as a consequence, villages steadily developed along the embankments. This is in despite official restrictions on the use of the bottomlands along the Yellow River. This historical case not only illustrates the operating modes of official flood prevention strategies in dynastic China, but also shows how archaic settlement patterns and landscapes have shaped the geography of contemporary China.     

The role of schools in helping communities copes with earthquake disasters: the case of the 2010–2011 New Zealand earthquakes

ABSTRACT

This article draws from the author’s four-year study of five school communities hit by the 2010–2011 earthquake sequence in the Canterbury region of New Zealand to highlight the roles that schools played in supporting their communities in the aftermath of the disaster. The article begins by synthesising the relevant literature on disasters, schools in earthquake disasters, and the importance of schools to their communities, pre- and post-disaster. The following themes from the data are discussed: (a) the role of schools in their communities prior to the earthquakes; (b) the role of schools in immediate rescue and response; (c) the role of schools in short-term relief; and (d) the role of schools in long-term recovery. The author then argues that as more evidence shows that schools play such crucial roles in post-disaster response and recovery, we need to better prepare and support them to undertake these functions. Further, we need to recognise the wider roles schools play supporting local communities to build and sustain resilience as part of on-going community cohesion and connectedness, so that society is better prepared when major disasters occur.     

Selling displaced people? A multi‐method study of the public communication strategies of international refugee organisations

The world has seen a major increase in forced displacement since 2011. As a growing number of states implement restrictive refugee policies, public communication has become essential for refugee organisations. This study analysed, therefore, three international refugee organisations’ discursive strategies towards the recent Syrian crisis, as well as their production and the social context. A critical discourse analysis of international press releases (N=122) and six semi‐structured interviews with press and regional officers revealed that the observed actors largely dehumanise displaced people and subordinate them to the ‘Western self’ and state interests; displaced people hardly ever acquire their own voice. The study found that the medium characteristics of press releases and the importance of media attention result in a depersonalising humanitarian discourse. In addition, there were indications of a post‐humanitarian discourse that reproduced the humanitarian sector's ‘marketisation’. Finally, the examined organisations use the political realist cross‐issue persuasion strategy, displaying displaced people as resettlement objects.     

The impact of refugees on the health status and health services of host communities: Compounding bad with worse?

Although there have been a number of recent developments in our understanding of refugee health problems that have influenced policies and action, the effects of refugees on the health status and services of host communities remain relatively neglected. This article sets out to explain why this is an important issue with implications for policy, planning surveillance and evaluation, training and research.
The first sections outline some of the problems facing host governments and communities in Africa and discuss the changing rhetoric between the first and second International Conferences for Assistance to Refugees in Africa. A number of possible ways in which refugees could affect the individual, agent and environmental causes of disease are considered, as are the characteristics of the refugees, the host communities and the response which may all modify this impact.
Policy implications of the impact of the refugees, both negative and positive, are discussed, and detailed consideration is given to the pros and cons of integrated and parallel approaches to health care provision. The need to monitor carefully the health status and services of host communities is emphasized and recommendations are made for this and other essential developments relating to training and research.     

Are non‐poor households always less vulnerable? The case of households exposed to protracted civil war in Southern Sudan

Civil wars in Africa are now the leading contributory cause of vulnerability of rural communities. Understanding vulnerability during civil war is critical for humanitarian response and post-conflict rehabilitation planning. The lack of understanding of vulnerability has led existing studies to make sweeping generalizations, either by equating the dynamics of vulnerability during civil wars with vulnerability in other risk events, or by projecting people in the 'war zones' as unable to cope and subsequently becoming vulnerable. This paper is an attempt to gain a more nuanced understanding of the dynamics of vulnerability during protracted civil war. It shows that during civil war the non-poor are not necessarily less vulnerable than poor households. The idea that people caught up in civil war are all vulnerable is not supported by the findings of this paper. It shows that the 'standard' pattern of vulnerability to drought is similar to that during exogenous counter-insurgency warfare, while a different pattern of vulnerability to endogenous shocks is identified.     

Mountain inhabitants’ perspectives on climate change,and its impacts and adaptation based on temporal and spatial characteristics analysis: a case study of Mt. Yulong Snow,Southeastern Tibetan Plateau

Based on the results of questionnaires issued to 202 local residents in the Mount Yulong Snow region, southeastern Tibetan Plateau, this study analyzes mountain residents’ perspectives on climate change and its impacts, their strategies to adapt to climate change impacts, including their willingness or otherwise to become ecological migrants, and some of the factors that influence their perceptions. Overall, local perception of climate change and its impacts corresponds to the patterns of observed climate change revealed by climate records. The intensity of climate change perception shows a highly significant correlation with residents’ age and villages’ elevation gradient. Most respondents did not believe that climate change affected crop growing and their yields, but the number of crop insect pests was thought to be increasing slightly and the crop growth period to be extending. Nearly all respondents believed that climate change seriously affects the mountain tourism economy, and their way of life and spiritual world. Persistent drought in recent years has forced mountain dwellers to adjust industrial structure, save water in the agricultural economy, participate in mountain tourism and work outside the home in order to adapt to climate change impacts and supplement their meager farm incomes. Additionally, residents expect to receive government compensation and relief to mitigate natural disaster damage.