WORKSHOP: METHODS AND ETHICS OF STUDYING REFUGEES IN URBAN ENVIROMENTS

April 11 - 13, 2003

The Forced Migration and Refugee Studies Program (FMRS) at the American
University in Cairo (AUC) is hosting a workshop to discuss methods of
studying
refugees in urban environments and the associated ethical dilemmas facing
researchers. The emphasis will be on dialogue; participants will have an
opportunity to briefly describe their methods and pitfalls that they have
encountered in their own research. The workshop will benefit from the
expertise of specialists such as Dr. Gaim Kibreab, well-known for his
research in urban situations in the 'South' and Dr. Shaila Shrinavsin, a
sociologist who has conducted research on Pakistani entrepreneurs and is
currently involved in employment schemes for refugees and migrants. A
publication is expected to result from the meeting.

BACKGROUND TO THE WORKSHOP

While most of the literature on refugee and forced migrant flows has been on
humanitarian emergencies, settlement in camps, and resettlement in the
'north', the vast majority of refugees (some estimate up to 80%) are
'self-settled', i.e. not living in camps and many drawn to the teeming urban
centers of host countries in the 'South'. As one of its program goals, FMRS
is interested in redressing the imbalance in what is known about urban
refugee populations through supporting research and collecting relevant
literature on local refugee communities in cities of the Middle East, Africa
and other 'southern' regions. In particular, the FMRS focus on refugee
livelihoods, especially in urban settings, has brought home a number of
methodological and ethical issues on how to carry out research among
populations who reside often without papers, under-represented by NGOs, and,
even when residing legally, without a significant voice at the level of
policy making. Furthermore, social science research in many of the countries
that host significant populations of refugees in urban areas is likely to be
controlled, censored, or contested in some way, making it even more
difficult to collect reliable data and adhere to ethical standards of
research. This workshop aims to address some of these methodological and
ethical difficulties through sessions drawing on lessons learned in other
urban settings, both in the 'North' and the 'South'. A registration form and
program for the workshop will be forwarded to those who express interest.

The registration fee for the workshop is $20 (USD). Information concerning a
range of inexpensive hotels and average costs of living in Cairo can be
obtained from our website: www.aucegypt.edu/academic/fmrs under Outreach -
Workshops.

Please indicate if you are attending and send offers of research issues that
you wish to present and send them to the following address, mentioning
Workshop on Urban Methodology in the subject heading:

Ms. Alia Arafa
Program Administrator
Forced Migration and Refugee Studies
American University in Cairo
FMRS/AUC,
113 Kar El Aini Street,
PO Box 25000,
Cairo 11511, Egypt
Tel: (202) 7976626
Fax (202) 7976629
Email: [log in to unmask]


Katarzyna Grabska
Assistant to the Director
Forced Migration and Refugee Studies
The American University in Cairo
P.O. Box 2511
11511 Cairo, Egypt
tel: +20 2 797 6621
fax: +20 2 797 6629
e-mail: [log in to unmask]

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