Barbara Harrell-Bond

In 1982, research interests shifted to the study of forced migration, beginning with a three year study evaluating emergency assistance to refugees in Sudan, funded by the UK Overseas Development Administration (ODA). This resulted in Imposing Aid: emergency assistance to refugees, published by Oxford University Press, 1986. Aside from the multi-national study of the Rwandese emergency, this book remains the only long-term, independent study of an emergency operation. (It is now out-of-print, but a scanned copy is available on www.forcedmigration.org (link is external).)

From 1982, as Founding Director of the Refugee Studies Programme, lectured, conducted research, promoted the development of research/teaching links in universities, and advised governments, inter-governmental and non-governmental agencies on refugee policy. Countries involved included: Algeria, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, India, Ireland, Jordan, Kenya, Nigeria, Norway, Malawi, Morocco, Mozambique, Pakistan, Palestine, Russian Federation, South Africa, Slovenia, Sri Lanka, Somalia, Spain, Sudan, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Tanzania, Thailand, Tunisia, Uganda, United States, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

As the Director of the RSP, had responsibility for developing and supervising its entire research programme (see annual reports 1982-1996); personally undertook research designing and evaluating projects concerned with refugees on such issues as women, agriculture, livelihood strategies—for example, in Sri Lanka for the UN University, in Zambia for the EC and Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), in Swaziland for the World Food Programme (WFP), in Palestine for the Society of Austro-Arab Relations, in Uganda for the EU and for Oxfam, and in Tanzania for Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA). Other personal research on refugee issues, funded through academic sources, includes: ‘The impact of NGO assistance on the livelihood of refugees’, Zimbabwe and Malawi (ESRC) and ‘Integration or repatriation of Tamil Refugees’ (Nuffield Foundation). Position papers include ‘Gender sensitivity and food distribution’ (WFP) and ‘Refugees and other forcibly displaced people in Africa’ (Pan African Conference of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies). From 1997-2000 undertook research on refugee health and welfare, an EU-funded project involving three other institutions: Institute of Public Health, Makerere University, Uganda; Centre for Refugee Studies/Medical School, Moi University; and the Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium.