Search Results (1,508)

Refugees identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersexual (LGBTQI) may experience discrimination not only prior to and during flight but also within the host country, including stigmatisation by other refugees. Such experiences can severely affect mental health, making LGBTQI refugees a particularly vulnerable group. To date, however, quantitative data on homonegativity within refugee populations remain scarce. In this cross-sectional survey, 70 adult refugees in Germany reported interpreter preferences across three everyday settings. Homonegativity was operationalised as the consistent rejection of an LGBTQI-identifying interpreter across all settings. Sixteen participants (22.9%) showed consistent rejection. This proportion exceeds estimates of negative attitudes towards homosexuals reported for the German general population. Consistent rejection was associated with higher religiosity and was more common among participants who identified as Muslim, with higher rates among refugees from Syria compared with those from Afghanistan. No significant associations were found for age, gender, or length of stay. While the majority of participants did not reject LGBTQI-identifying interpreters, a substantial minority did so consistently. These findings underscore the importance of considering subgroup-specific preferences in interpreter assignment practices and indicate potential risks of discrimination against LGBTQI refugees within shared accommodation settings. Full article

Introduction: Inequities in access to medicines persist for asylum seekers, refugees, and undocumented migrants in Europe. For vaccines, access gaps not only exist for these groups in childhood routine immunization, but also for life-course and catch-up vaccinations. As part of a broader project examining access to medicines and vaccines for migrants across all stages of the migration cycle, this scoping review synthesizes evidence on the determinants of access to vaccines. Methods: We conducted a scoping review across PubMed, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Scopus, and grey literature sources, covering the period 2000–2024. Sources were eligible if they addressed access to vaccines among migrants. We examined access to vaccines along the life course, and across phases of the migratory cycle, including departure, transit, reception and settlement, and return or deportation. Results: A total of 47 research studies and grey literature reports were included. Most studies focused on migrants in reception and settlement (destination) settings, with only twelve sources addressing other phases of the migratory cycle. Across European countries, migrants were frequently reported to have lower uptake of routine vaccines (e.g., measles–mumps–rubella (MMR), polio, diphtheria–tetanus–pertussis (DTP), and human papillomavirus (HPV)) and COVID-19 vaccines than host populations. The most frequently reported barriers were related to migrants’ legal status, administrative requirements, and lack of documentation, alongside poor affordability of vaccination, limited awareness of their rights, and mistrust in the health system. Conclusions: Health systems need to adopt innovative approaches to expand vaccine access for migrant populations. Further, protecting confidentiality is essential for building trust and reducing ethical and legal risks. Flexible and coordinated vaccination strategies are required to address migrants’ mobility across the different migration stages and settings. Our findings appeal for sustained improvements in access to vaccines among migrants in Europe, contingent on strong policy commitments to equity, data protection, and the adoption of life-course and catch-up vaccination strategies. Full article

Internal and civil wars affect the lives of religious and ethnic minorities the most. For Syrian citizens of Armenian origin, the Republic of Armenia represented one of the most accessible and meaningful destinations to relocate to, shaped by shared ethnicity, collective memory, and historical ties. When the Syrian war erupted in 2011, thousands opted to resettle in Armenia, yet they and host institutions struggled to categorize them as immigrants, refugees, or repatriates. This ambiguous status has received little scholarly attention. To explore these complexities, the study employed a survey-based research design involving 124 participants, supplemented by an open-ended question intended to capture personal narratives and nuanced identity negotiations. The manuscript examines how the labels immigrant, refugee, and repatriate carry distinct legal, social, and emotional implications, especially against the backdrop of the 1915 Armenian Genocide’s enduring memory and the particularly negative connotations of “immigrant” and “refugee” in Western Armenian and Arabic languages. Within this contested semantic and policy terrain, repatriation appears not merely as a bureaucratic category but as a culturally resonant and sometimes preferred pathway for some Diaspora Armenians, informed by lifelong exposure to repatriation narratives through formal education (language textbooks) and informal communal practices. The case sheds light on the broader conception of stakeholders, including how they self-identify, how they understand their status in Armenia, and the factors shaping their choices, particularly in the context of contemporary geopolitics and the role of education in influencing external perceptions of them. Full article

Despite a large number of African-born individuals residing in the United States, there is a significant disparity in how this community accesses and utilizes mental health treatment. Low screening rates for common mental health concerns is one crucial part of ongoing inequities in mental healthcare access. Willingness to engage in screening is negatively impacted by a lack of culturally responsive ways to make screening more acceptable and stigma with mental health. This study therefore aimed to examine the perceived acceptability and utility of community-developed patient vignettes created to increase willingness to be screened for common mental health concerns. Employing a qualitative approach, a community advisory board (CAB) (n = 5) was enlisted to co-develop vignettes outlining an African community member’s symptoms of anxiety and subsequent help-seeking behavior. Two focus groups of community members (n = 18) provided qualitative feedback on the vignettes and shared their general attitudes towards mental health and recommendations for mental health screening and treatment in the African community. Using a hybrid inductive and deductive qualitative descriptive approach and classifying responses based on the socioecological model, four major themes emerged from the data: (1) between support and strain: the role of family; (2) reducing stigma: community voices as education; (3) culture as a barrier and a bridge; and (4) the importance of stories that reflect lived experience. Overall, participants were receptive to the culturally-responsive mental health vignettes and provided fruitful suggestions for how these stories can be used to reduce stigma and increase willingness to seek screening and treatment in African-born residents of the United States. Full article

The climate crisis, housing precarity, and the loss of everyday architectural heritage are converging challenges in Mediterranean cities. This article investigates the adaptive reuse of early twentieth-century adobe refugee dwellings in Nea Ionia and Kaisariani, neighborhoods of Attica, Greece, as an integrated social, environmental, and cultural strategy. Historical documentation, urban-morphological analysis, field observations, building survey data, material assessment, and design-based microclimatic analysis were combined to evaluate compatible restoration and bioclimatic upgrades as alternatives to demolition and conventional energy retrofit practices, with the main aim of preserving an important part of Greek history and architecture. The study develops a replicable qualitative assessment framework that identifies how existing adobe envelopes, compact layouts, courtyards, thresholds, vegetated pergolas, and low-water evaporative cooling may support low-carbon housing reuse. The results clarify the current preservation conditions and reuse potential of the selected case-study fragments, showing that adobe dwellings can preserve embodied material value, retain thermal mass and hygroscopic regulation, and support social housing when repaired with compatible, low-impact techniques. The article argues that the reuse of adobe refugee dwellings can function as a distributed urban strategy for housing provision, heritage continuity, and microclimatic adaptation. Its main contribution is a transferable analytical framework for assessing overlooked earthen housing stocks in dense Mediterranean contexts. The study argues that adaptive reuse can serve simultaneously as a means of social housing, a mechanism for optimizing the microclimate, and a means of preserving the tangible and intangible heritage of Greek adobe buildings that have been standing for over 100 years. This position extends circular construction debates by prioritizing non-demolition and direct reuse while preserving an important period of history. Full article

In the context of the influx of about 1 million displaced Rohingya people from Myanmar into the Cox’s Bazar District of Bangladesh in 2017, it is critical to examine their impacts on the sustainability of the social–ecological system in host Bangladesh. The specific objectives of the study are to assess the nature of intergroup conflicts between the resettled and host communities, the emerging threats posed by resettlement to social–ecological sustainability, and the adaptation and resilience of both communities. A Case Study approach was adopted in the Rohingya resettlement area of Ukhia Upazila of Cox’s Bazar District, Bangladesh. Primary data were collected through Key Informant Interviews, Focus Group Discussions, and oral history conversations. The findings reveal that the average population density in the Rohingya refugee camps is 20 m² per person, whereas the international guideline for refugee camp population density is 30–45 m²/person. The sudden Rohingya population influx has resulted in considerable land cover change, livelihood competition, and deteriorated security conditions. Between 2015 and 2023, a rapid decline in the extent of dense forest was observed—from 93 sq km to 63 sq km. The sense of land loss among the host community created a resentment towards the resettled Rohingyas that turned into social conflicts and unrest. Despite these damages, socioeconomic evolution, the implementation of adaptive measures, and successful restoration programs by the relevant institutions have revealed some degree of community resilience. An inclusive development planning strategy is recommended to sustain livelihood opportunities for both communities and local social–ecological systems. Full article

In biodiversity-rich borderlands, some humanitarian settlements are rapidly expanding. This creates a profound conflict: refugees need a place to live, and ecosystems need protection. However, how settlement growth spatially affects the ecology surrounding protected areas remains understudied. This study takes as an example the city of Teknaf in Bangladesh, one of the world’s largest refugee gathering areas, to explore how settlement expansion changes the ecological structure and function of protected area boundaries, with a focus on two questions: Are there critical spatial thresholds? What is the role of climate feedback mechanisms? We build an analysis framework that integrates several types of data: multitemporal remote sensing images, land-use changes, ecological indicators (NDVI, LST, HQ), landscape pattern indices, gradient analysis, and 2036 simulations based on the business-as-usual scenario. Through this framework, we identify the ecological threshold at the junction of settlements and forests within the Teknaf Wildlife Sanctuary. The expansion of settlements has turned the landscape, which was originally dominated by vegetation, into fragmented hard patches. At the same time, the habitat is severely degraded, and heat stress intensifies. Notably, a critical transition zone emerges at approximately 300–500 m from the protected area boundary, where landscape fragmentation intensifies, habitat quality declines, and heat stress reaches its peak, highlighting a spatial hotspot of ecological vulnerability. If there are no intervention measures, future scenario simulations show that the continued expansion of settlements will only isolate protected areas and accelerate ecological degradation. On the basis of gradient analysis for spatial diagnosis, we propose a zoning management framework and regeneration landscape strategy with the direct goal of coordinating ecological protection and humanitarian needs in crisis-prone border areas. Full article

Refugees are exposed to cumulative pre-migration, migration, and post-migration stressors that increase vulnerability to depressive disorders and impaired quality of life. This study assessed the prevalence and severity of depressive symptoms among adult refugees in Serbia and examined associations with sociodemographic characteristics, traumatic experiences, social support, and Health Related Quality of Life (HQoL). The study included 324 refugees residing in four reception centers in Serbia. Data were collected between April 2023 and November 2024 using self-report questionnaires. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), while HQoL was evaluated using the SF-36 Health Survey. The mean PHQ-9 score indicated mild-to-moderate depressive symptomatology. Clinically significant depressive symptoms were present in 41.4% of participants, while more than 70% reported at least mild symptoms. Depressive symptom severity was negatively associated with energy/fatigue, emotional well-being, social functioning, general health, and pain. The Energy/Fatigue domain emerged as the most prominent independent correlate of depressive symptom severity. Depressive symptoms were highly prevalent and were associated with impaired quality of life and psychosocial stressors. These findings highlight the importance of systematic mental health screening and psychosocial support among refugees. Full article

Whilst all asylum seekers find themselves in a difficult position while trying to be recognised as refugees, some are in more perilous situations than others. Those asylum seekers that are unaccompanied (UAS) children are manifestly in greater need of care and protection than most adult asylum seekers, given their minority (under 18) and being without the protection of a primary carer. Any child who is in the care of the state should always be placed in age-appropriate and safe accommodation and in the care of staff who are properly trained; UAS children are no different. Typically, these functions are performed by local authorities through their social work departments. However, the UK’s previous Conservative government’s practice of using hotels to accommodate UAS children in England from 2021–2024 fell short of its human rights obligations towards UAS children. This paper argues that through this and related policies, the government was actively involved in compounding the victimisation of already susceptible children who had fled their country of origin thinking (mistakenly) that their human rights would be respected here. Full article

The relatively recent Russian invasion of Ukraine has caused the displacement of millions of Ukrainians. Studies have found that Ukrainians have seen a warmer welcome and embrace than other groups; they have also shown that there is generally a higher willingness to help Ukrainian refugees than other refugee populations. This study explores American’s attitudes towards Russia and President Vladimir Putin, and the extent to which these attitudes predict American’s willingness to help Ukrainian refugees. In a sample of 201 participants, results showed that, even though negative attitudes towards Russia and President Putin were both high, negative attitudes towards Putin were significantly higher than negative attitudes towards Russia. In addition, negative attitudes towards Putin significantly predicted Americans’ willingness to help Ukrainian refugees but not negative attitudes towards Russia. Implications and recommendations for future research are also discussed. Full article

Co-authored by a French humanitarian anthropologist and a South Sudanese refugee and environmental activist, both writers situated across the Global North and South, this article argues that artistic practices in displacement operate as infrastructures of survival, whose conditions of existence are both enabled and constrained by external actors. Drawing on a case study of Tongogara Refugee Settlement, it argues that the arts—and, more broadly, knowledge production—constitute key survival mechanisms across psychological, psychosocial, and identity-related dimensions. This article further shows that artistic practices in displacement are not only autonomous expressions of resilience but also mediated cultural forms whose visibility and meaning are co-produced through humanitarian, institutional, and epistemic regimes—including the regimes of academic writing itself. First, we examine art’s three interrelated survival dimensions: psychological (personal coherence amid uncertainty and symbolic mobility), psychosocial (collective bonding and mutual support), and identity (cultural representation, memory, heritage, and self-definition in displacement). Second, we examine how these functions are shaped by interactions with external actors—including humanitarian organizations, donors, cultural platforms, and academic institutions—that may increase visibility while favoring curated representation over sustained artistic development, reflecting broader donor-driven logics of accountability. Third, drawing on reflexive notes from the co-authorship process, we show how academic narration can reproduce these asymmetries, thereby positioning co-creation as both an ethical practice and an epistemic condition of equitable knowledge production. Drawing on humanitarian anthropology, aesthetics, and decolonial epistemologies, we argue that processes of symbolic and cultural reconstruction remain structurally under-institutionalized, circulating across humanitarian, developmental, and epistemic regimes without being fully claimed by any of them. Rather than offering normative prescriptions, the article traces how co-production itself becomes a site where these asymmetries are reproduced and made visible. Full article

This study investigates how immersive journalism delivered through virtual reality may shape audience responses toward refugees by activating affective and cognitive mechanisms associated with behavioral response. Drawing on four focus group sessions with a total of thirty two participants in Northern Cyprus, the research compares the empathic engagement and evaluative reflections associated with a 360 degree VR documentary with those produced through a traditional 2D viewing format. Participants who experienced the content in VR reported a heightened sense of presence, emotional proximity, and perspective taking, which corresponded with a positive change in their views toward refugees. In contrast, those who watched the same content in 2D expressed emotional discomfort yet generally did not describe a notable attitudinal shift, suggesting that non-immersive viewing maintains psychological distancing and reinforces pre-existing beliefs. The findings indicate that immersive journalism can operate as a technological catalyst for short-term attitudinal reorientation in politically sensitive contexts, particularly by eliciting embodied emotional responses that traditional formats struggle to generate. Although the study is limited by its small sample size and reliance on self-reported reflections, it contributes to the growing body of evidence that immersive media hold behavioral and perceptual relevance for journalism practice, audience engagement, and the broader public understanding of marginalized populations. Full article

This paper discusses emerging findings from a large-scale, ongoing UKRI-funded study (2024–2027) undertaken in twelve diverse areas of England. While the main project focuses on reducing health inequalities for refugees, asylum seekers and migrant populations, this interim paper focuses on emerging evidence related to the question of how perceptions of deservingness and route of entry link to access to housing and support services available to the four main refugee, asylum seeking and migrant groups who are the predominant focus within the wider research study. We argue that the level and type of support received and access to housing have a direct impact on the wellbeing of the populations. Housing is one of the key social determinants of health, with impacts on both mental health and broader wellbeing. Our findings show that nationality, together with route of entry, legal status and eligibility for statutory support (or lack thereof), clearly affects housing pathways. This, in turn, impacts on the likelihood of being housed in temporary/dispersal accommodation, as well as experiencing homelessness and longer-term housing precarity. These are factors which are widely recognised as affecting mental health and wellbeing, as well as the ability to receive uninterrupted health care for other conditions. This study explores how vulnerability, desirability, and deservingness shape different trajectories of refugee housing and resettlement and the resultant impacts on different migrant populations. Full article

High-resolution, commercially acquired satellite imagery has been shown to be a powerful tool for documentation and analysis of damage to archaeological sites, particularly in conflict zones where ground-based observations are impractical or dangerous. Using this approach, previous investigations have reported widespread looting and other forms of damage to archaeological sites in Syria during the early years of the civil war (2011–2016). Relying on an expanding suite of satellite imagery resources, this paper presents a renewed analysis of looting and archaeological site damage in Syria over the past decade. The results reveal: (1) severe damage to many sites in northern Syria from a novel form of mechanized looting, (2) intensified impacts from the establishment of military facilities or refugee camps on many prominent sites, and (3) rampant incidents of small-scale looting across all areas of the country. These results highlight the importance of ongoing imagery-based heritage monitoring efforts and will support emerging mitigation, stabilization, and damage assessment efforts in Syria going forward. Full article

Somali refugee mothers navigating parenting in the United States face compounding challenges that extend well beyond the initial resettlement period. This study employed a multi-method qualitative design, including utilizing a focus group and follow-up key informant interviews with Somali refugee mothers. Thematic framework analysis identified three overarching domains of challenges and resilience. First, a pervasive deficit of functional literacy, defined as the practical capacity to navigate American institutional systems, emerged as the primary stressor, superseding material poverty as a barrier to daily functioning. Second, significant intergenerational tensions were documented, including role reversal between mothers and children, erosion of parental authority, and breakdown of the traditional expectations that adult children provide financial and social support to aging parents. Third, single motherhood amplified all other stressors, producing progressive role strain and mental health decline in the absence of extended family support. Despite these challenges, participants demonstrated substantial resilience through informal mutual aid networks, religious practice, and deliberate cultural and linguistic preservation. Findings have direct implications for the design of culturally responsive resettlement programming, family counseling services, and mental health interventions for Somali refugee populations. Full article