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52. Forced Migration and Internal Displacement in the Arab World and Beyond
- Author:
- Rochelle A. Davis, Fowzia Abdullahi Abukar, and Emma Murphy
- Publication Date:
- 10-2016
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Center for Contemporary Arab Studies
- Abstract:
- Since 2010, Professor Rochelle Davis has conducted research among the refugee communities in Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey, working with MAAS Alum Abbie Taylor. With 60 million people counted as refugees or internally displaced, we are currently witnessing the largest global forced displacement since World War II. These displaced millions are primarily fleeing war, conflict, and persecution, but a host of other factors also contribute to the unstable conditions they face in their home countries: forced conscription; lack of access to health care, jobs, and education; drought and environmental degradation. More than half come from the Middle East, Central Asia, and the Horn of Africa. Despite the news of migrants arriving daily in Europe, the overwhelming majority of those displaced remain in or near their home countries.
- Topic:
- Migration, United Nations, Refugees, Islamic State, Research, Displacement, and Conflict
- Political Geography:
- Turkey, Middle East, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Somalia
53. Syrian Scholar Finds Safe Haven at CCAS: A Conversation with Visiting Lecturer Mohammad AlAhmad
- Author:
- Will Todman, Mohammad AlAhmad, and Dana Dairani
- Publication Date:
- 10-2016
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Center for Contemporary Arab Studies
- Abstract:
- On April 22, 2015, CCAS Visiting Lecturer Dr. Mohammad AlAmad and his family left their home and lives in Syria behind. “Human smugglers drove us to the Turkish border,” says AlAhmad, “and then my wife and I carried our two young children, walking through barbed wire and muddy water into Turkey. We were full of trepidation, fear, and the pain of being displaced.” Though AlAhmad left Syria because he had been accepted to participate in the Institute of International Education’s Scholar Rescue Fund, which provides support for threatened scholars and places them with visiting appointments at partner academic institutions, he did not yet know his family’s ultimate destination. Once in Turkey, AlAhmad learned that his appointment would be at Georgetown, starting in August.
- Topic:
- Authoritarianism, Refugees, Islamic State, Arab Spring, Syrian War, Literature, Revolution, and Higher Education
- Political Geography:
- Turkey, Middle East, Syria, North America, United States of America, and Raqqa
54. Exiled in Babylon: Refugees and the Politics of Language
- Author:
- Noga Malkin
- Publication Date:
- 10-2016
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Center for Contemporary Arab Studies
- Abstract:
- In the city of Mardin, the Tower of Babel cliché holds particular relevance. The old city—a beautiful array of historic stone houses stacked on a mountain slope in southeast Turkey—is located at the northern edge of Mesopotamia, once the land of Babylon. More than geography, the linguistic panorama of the area evokes the Genesis Babel story, the myth used to explain the variation of human tongues. Mardin is a microcosm of the Ottoman Empire’s ethnic, religious, linguistic and cultural diversity, largely eroded by nationalism’s drive for homogenization. A large Kurdish population lives in Mardin, holding on to their mother tongues despite decades-long Turkish “assimilation” policies. A sizable Arab population lives here too, separated from Arabs in Syria and Iraq after the fall of the Ottoman Empire. Linguists classify their language as “Mesopotamian Arabic,” related to bygone Iraqi dialects. Most Mardinites grow up speaking at least two—sometimes three—languages, learning either Kurdish or Arabic at home, the other on the streets, and Turkish at school. Further adding to the linguistic diversity, there remain several hundred neo-Aramaic speaking Assyrians and even fewer Armenians who once made up the majority of the city’s population; despite their now meager numbers, they attract tourists who come for the locally produced Assyrian wine and traditional Armenian and Assyrian silver crafts.
- Topic:
- Refugees, Research, Linguistics, Language, Kurds, and Arabic
- Political Geography:
- Turkey and Middle East
55. Being Present in a World Stacked with War and Pain
- Author:
- Katherine Dunn
- Publication Date:
- 10-2016
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Center for Contemporary Arab Studies
- Abstract:
- MAAS Alum Katherine Dunn shares her experiences working with refugees in Jordan. In the northwest part of Jordan, approximately 160,000 Syrian refugees are registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). All but about 1,000 of them live outside of refugee camps, spread throughout towns and villages. For many of them, the UNHCR help desk is the frontline of contact with the organization’s staff; we answer over 20,000 inquiries annually in Irbid alone. People come to ask about monthly financial assistance, which is available to the most vulnerable, and also to seek advice on other protection issues. Amid such daunting numbers, we risk becoming mechanical in our approach. Each person brings reminders, however, of his or her particular needs and experiences.
- Topic:
- Humanitarian Aid, United Nations, Refugee Crisis, and NGOs
- Political Geography:
- Middle East, Syria, and Jordan
56. Looking Back, Giving Forward
- Author:
- Vicki Valosik
- Publication Date:
- 10-2016
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Center for Contemporary Arab Studies
- Abstract:
- After three generations of Hoyas, CCAS Board Member Peter Tanous is investing in future students through new MAAS scholarship. When Peter Tanous walked across the stage to accept his diploma from Georgetown University almost thirty years after his father had done the same in 1932, he was establishing a family tradition—becoming the second of three generations of Tanouses to graduate from Georgetown, including two of his own children who would later attend. Now Tanous, a member of the CCAS Board of Advisors, is making it possible for others to gain a Georgetown education. The new Tanous Family Endowed Scholarship Fund, which Tanous established at CCAS earlier this year, will support students of the Master of Arts in Arab Studies (MAAS) program.
- Topic:
- History, Higher Education, and Profile
- Political Geography:
- North America and United States of America
57. 2015 Symposium Sheds Light on Complexities of Shale Oil
- Author:
- Tareq Radi
- Publication Date:
- 04-2015
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Center for Contemporary Arab Studies
- Abstract:
- This year’s symposium, entitled “An Energy Revolution? Political Ecologies of Shale Oil in the Middle East, US, and China,” set out to assess the political, economic, human, and environmental impacts of shale oil and its technologies of extractiong lobally, and particularly on the societies and economies of the MENA region.
- Topic:
- Energy Policy, Environment, Oil, Natural Resources, and Academia
- Political Geography:
- China, Middle East, and United States of America
58. Examining the Future of Authoritarianism in the Arab World
- Author:
- Joseph Sassoon
- Publication Date:
- 04-2015
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Center for Contemporary Arab Studies
- Abstract:
- Dr. Joseph Sassoon has spent the past few years working to improve our understanding of authoritarian governments that are typically inscrutable to outsiders, focusing first on the Ba‘th Party under Saddam Hussein for his book Saddam Hussein’s Ba‘th Party: Inside an Authoritarian Regime and, more recently, conducting a comparative analysis of eight authoritarian regimes in the Arab world. Dr. Sassoon’s comparative analysis, which he recently finalized during a fellowship at the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars, looks at differences and commonalities among these coercive governments and will be published in his forthcoming book, Anatomy of Authoritarianism in the Arab Republics.
- Topic:
- History, Authoritarianism, Democracy, Interview, and Baath Party
- Political Geography:
- Iraq, Middle East, Arab Countries, Syria, Egypt, and Tunisia
59. George Salem: A Mission of Love
- Author:
- Vicki Valosik
- Publication Date:
- 04-2015
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Center for Contemporary Arab Studies
- Abstract:
- For more than three decades, CCAS Board Member George Salem has sought ways to improve the lives of Palestinians and Arab Americans.
- Topic:
- Government, Humanitarian Aid, Business, Profile, and Advocacy
- Political Geography:
- Middle East, Palestine, North America, and United States of America
60. Innovative Approaches to Teaching About the Middle East
- Author:
- Susan Douglass
- Publication Date:
- 04-2015
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Center for Contemporary Arab Studies
- Abstract:
- The Education Outreach program of the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies hosted nine events for educators during the 2014-2015 academic year. As a National Resource Center, CCAS was able to support these programs, in part, with funding from a Title VI grant from the Department of Education. These events included the annual summer institute and a Teach-In on Iraq and Syria, while several other innovative events fell under three main themes: literature, anthropology, and cultural exploration through interactive museum excursions.
- Topic:
- Education, Anthropology, and Higher Education
- Political Geography:
- Middle East, North America, and United States of America