Trapped in the Past: Memories of Georgian Internally Displaced Persons on the Margins of Society

2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 429-444 ◽  
Author(s):  
Malkhaz Toria ◽  
Nino Pirtskhalava ◽  
Elene Kekelia ◽  
Konstantine Ladaria

AbstractFrom the early 1990s through the 2008 “Russo-Georgian war,” waves of armed conflicts in the Abkhazia and South Ossetia/Tskhinvali regions of Georgia forced thousands of residents, mainly ethnic Georgians, to leave their homes. More than two decades of protracted internal displacement, marked by tough economic and social problems, led this vulnerable community to a common trap in reckoning with the past: an overwhelming sense of the fundamental ruptures between the idealized past and current, miserable reality. Failures of the displacement policy and “side effects” of numerous humanitarian aid projects hinder internally displaced persons’ social integration and leave them on the margins of Georgian society with almost a singular option: to constantly recall meaningful life in the lost homeland, which they remember as free of ethnic phobias and economic problems. In this article, we suggest that for persons who are internally displaced, memories are defined not only by their past lived experiences and present hardships, but also by the official historical narratives that argue that Georgian-Abkhazian and Georgian-Ossetian “endemic” unity and cohabitation was destroyed by Russian imperial politics. Living in constant pain also narrows the future expectations of the internally displaced persons. However, it is the past and the memories that are supposed to be useful in achieving the utopian dream of a return.

Author(s):  
Stanisława Budzisz-Cysewska

Strangers in their own country. Internally Displaced Persons After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Georgia participated in the armed conflicts over South Ossetia (1991-1992 and 2008) and Abkhazia (1992-1993). As a consequence, Georgia had to accept forced displaced persons. The following thesis focuses on the Abkhazian conflict, its causes and effects. The thesis is based on the analysis of the specific situation of IDPs which has gone on since 1993. The thesis describes the living conditions and prospects of the group of Abkhazian Georgians who were displaced within the territory of their own country and became internally displaced persons.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Francis M Deng ◽  
Romola Adeola

Abstract Over the last several decades, states have demonstrated significant political commitment towards advancing protection and assistance for internally displaced persons. A notable form in which this commitment has been reflected is in the emergence of normative standards, with the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement (UNGP) as the guiding text. The fact that the UNGP framework has found expression in the landscape on internal displacement is evidenced at various levels of governance. Within the African context, the African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa (Kampala Convention) draws on pertinent normative frameworks, with the UNGP as the leading framework. While this point is often made in general terms, this article focuses on the extent to which the norm on internal displacement has diffused and expanded within the African context.


Author(s):  
Romola Adeola

Abstract Contemporary forms of internal displacement in Africa significantly reflect the emerging footprints of non-state actors on the regional landscape of internal displacement. In recognition of the impact of these actors in the internal displacement context, the African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa (Kampala Convention) specifically obligate states to regulate them in the prevention of arbitrary displacement. This is the central thrust of this article. This article examines the Kampala Convention from the perspective of non-state actors, considering the obligation of the state and the extent to which these actors may be held accountable, in the furtherance of protection and assistance of internally displaced persons (IDP s).


2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-36
Author(s):  
Agbo Friday Ojonugwa

Internally displaced persons (IDPs) are usually forced to flee or leave their homes, particularly in situations of armed conflict. They are displaced within their national territories and are generally subject to heightened suffering and vulnerability in many cases. It is also essential to state that the issue of internal displacement has become prominent because of the realisation that peace and reconstruction in conflict-ridden societies depend on the effective settlement and reintegration of displaced persons. Nigeria is a country that has a history of conflicts and displaced people. There has been a challenge in finding lasting peace through the employment of conflict resolution techniques and also the challenge of catering for the welfare of internally displaced persons in the country. However, peace and development without taking into account the settlement, return, and reintegration of IDPs. These desirous objectives are proving quite difficult in Nigeria as many challenges confront the government, policymakers, and humanitarian NGOs in providing the IDPs with their rights and needs. Some of the challenges can easily be overcome while some are more tasking requiring concerted efforts and massive resources to overcome. The aim of this article is to highlights the significant challenges confronting IDPs and provides some solutions to these challenges. In adopting the doctrinal method in discussions, the article finds that enormous challenges abound that confront IDPs in Nigeria, and it finds that there is the need for the government to find urgent solutions to the challenges of IDPs for the wellbeing of IDPs  


2018 ◽  
Vol 62 (3) ◽  
pp. 335-350
Author(s):  
Romola Adeola ◽  
Frans Viljoen

AbstractGiven the need for legislation to protect internally displaced persons, African Heads of State and Government adopted the Convention on the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa in Kampala in October 2009. The convention, which entered into force on 6 December 2012, is an important binding instrument on internal displacement. Article 10 of the convention requires states to prevent displacement caused by development projects, including climate-based development projects. This article examines the content of this obligation within the context of climate-based development projects.


2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Leah Ndimurwimo ◽  
Leonard Opara

Internally displaced persons are people who are uprooted from their social, economic, cultural and educational environment and made squatters or homeless within the jurisdiction of their own country. They consequently have no permanent place of abode. Internal displacement therefore becomes a situation that deprives individuals of access to justice and leads to violations of the human rights of categories of citizens. For example, women, children and the elderly are more vulnerable and lack social-economic assistance from their loved ones and family support because of their internal displacement. Their situation denies them access to justice from several perspectives, such as being in a state of despair, instability and uncertainty. This article examines the ways in which the domestication of the African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa of 2009 (the Kampala Convention) and clinical legal education can be used to promote access for internally displaced persons to justice and basic human rights. In this regard, the article further analyses access to justice for internally displaced persons through the teaching methodology of clinical legal education in African legal jurisprudence. Finally, the article recommends the involvement of legal clinicians and other practitioners as advocates of internally displaced persons’ access to justice, respect for human rights and the rule of law as a requirement for the domestication of the Kampala Convention by Member States in Africa.


Author(s):  
Hisham Abusaada ◽  
Abeer Elshater

The livability standard still has not considered the chaos city that may stem from or lead to cities of hardship. This chapter rectifies this by making the phenomena of chaos and hardship the centerpiece of the analysis. It depends on the internally displaced persons (IDPs) to display the characteristics of liability and the hardship of living and be the indicators of chaos city. This chapter addresses the non-perceptible processes of the IDPs from outside and inside Cairo in Egypt. This internal displacement supposes the lead-in to chaotic changes in the lifestyles of the cities; it can even be said that they become cities of hardship. The theoretical reading depends on conventional and digital methods (content analysis and the internet of things) to follow these changes, which occur not only due to migrations but also due to ignoring decentralization. The outcomes provide an action plan to create cities free from hardship, displacement, and chaos.


2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 349-378
Author(s):  
J O Moses Okello

Abstract The Kampala Convention was adopted on 23 October 2009 and came into force on 4 January 2013. The first binding international instrument for the protection and assistance of internally displaced persons, it occupies an important space among the body of African regional humanitarian and human rights law. The Convention addresses all stages of internal displacement and provides a framework for coordinating activities by governments and humanitarian actors aimed at preventing and addressing internal displacement. The Kampala Convention is the result of many years of work, although no formal records of its drafting and negotiation were kept. This article contributes towards addressing this gap. Based on the author’s personal involvement in the Convention’s drafting, and supplementing earlier research, this article shares information previously unavailable in the public domain and provides a commentary on some of the Convention’s provisions.


1998 ◽  
Vol 38 (324) ◽  
pp. 463-466 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert K. Goldman

This past April the Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General on Internally Displaced Persons, Francis M. Deng, presented to the UN Commission on Human Rights, at its 54th session, a report with an addendum entitled Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement (hereinafter “Guiding Principles”). The Commission adopted by consensus a resolution co-sponsored by more than 50 States which, inter alia, took note of the decision of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee welcoming the Guiding Principles and encouraging its members to share them with their Executive Boards, and also of Mr. Deng's stated intention to make use of these principles in his dialogue with governments and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations. These principles are an important milestone in the process of establishing a generally accepted normative framework for the protection of the estimated 20 to 25 million internally displaced persons worldwide.


2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (S1) ◽  
pp. S196-S197
Author(s):  
V. Korostiy ◽  
H. Kozhyna ◽  
K. Melamud ◽  
O. Platyniuk

IntroductionAccording to the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, internally displaced persons are persons who have been forced or obliged to leave their homes, in particular as a result of extreme situations, and who have not crossed an state border. As of May 21, 2015 UNHCR has information about 1,299,800 IDPs.AimTo study clinical features of neurotic disorders in IDPs.MethodsWe have a complex psychopathological and psychodiagnostic research 97 IDPs in volunteer center, located at the central train station in Kharkiv.ResultsIn total, 75.9% of IDPs observed have violations of adaptation: long-term depressive reaction (F 43.21) and predominant disturbance of other emotions (F 43.23). The men reactive alarm indicators (average – 37.7 ± 3.0), were higher than trait anxiety (average – 32.6 ± 2.9). On the contrary, women figures trait anxiety (average – 38.6 ± 2.9) were higher than reactive anxiety (average – 34.7 ± 3.0). Severity of depressive symptoms also slightly prevailed in women. The mean score on the Hamilton scale for men was 17.0 ± 2.3 points, women – 18.0 ± 2.3 points. Test results on a scale of quality of life showed no significant differences between men and women. We have developed a medical and psychological support system to correct the neurotic disorders in IDPs.ConclusionsThe majority of people who left the ATO zone have emotional disorders of different severity and require a further correction in the specialized medical institutions.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.


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