Refugees, Self-Reliance, Development: A Critical History

252 Pages·2022·16.184 MB·English

by  Evan Easton-Calabria

REFUGEES,
SELF-RELIANCE,
DEVELOPMENT
A CRITICAL HISTORY
EVAN EASTON-CALABRIA
REFUGEES,

SELF- RELIANCE,
DEVELOPMENT
A Critical History
Evan Easton- Calabria
First published in Great Britain in 2022 by
Bristol University Press
University of Bristol
1– 9 Old Park Hill
Bristol
BS2 8BB
UK
t: + 44 (0)117 374 6645
e: bup- [email protected]
Details of international sales and distribution partners are available at bristoluniversitypress.co.uk
© Bristol University Press 2022
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 978-1-5292-1908-1 hardcover
ISBN 978-1-5292-1909-8 paperback
ISBN 978-1-5292-1910-4 ePub
ISBN 978-1-5292-1911-1 ePdf
The right of Evan Easton- Calabria to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in
accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved: no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or
otherwise without the prior permission of Bristol University Press.
Every reasonable effort has been made to obtain permission to reproduce copyrighted material. If,
however, anyone knows of an oversight, please contact the publisher.
The statements and opinions contained within this publication are solely those of the author and
not of the University of Bristol or Bristol University Press. The University of Bristol and Bristol
University Press disclaim responsibility for any injury to persons or property resulting from any
material published in this publication.
Bristol University Press works to counter discrimination on grounds of gender, race, disability, age
and sexuality.
Cover design: Nicky Borowiec
Front cover image: The author
Bristol University Press use environmentally responsible print partners.
Printed in Great Britain by CMP, Poole
This book is dedicated to the bookends

of my life: To my Abuelo, Edison Easton,
whose conversations about entrepreneurship
and global economics inspired my interest in
this topic, and to my Abuela, Joyce Lindberg
Easton, who helped me find the poetry in
my words.
And to my daughters, Lilah Joyce and Edie
Marie, who joined me for the final stage of
this project and are the newest chapter of
my history.
I would like to write the history of this prison, with all the

political investments of the body that it gathers together in its
closed architecture. Why? Simply because I am interested in the
past? No, if one means by that writing a history of the past in
terms of the present. Yes, if one means writing the history of
the present.
Michel Foucault, Discipline and Punish, 1977
While too we talk in terms of statistics and demarcation of
responsibility and finance, we have to remember what all this
means in terms of human distress and pauperisation, and loss of
initiative and hope if the right course is not taken. Reference to
… Tanzania with the people in a semi-s tarved condition eating
their crops before they are ready for harvest and selling their
clothes to keep themselves alive, cannot leave us unmoved, the
more especially when we realise that for a good or a bad plan,
for one which brings hope and positive achievement and for one
which perpetuates human misery, the cost is the same.
T.F. Betts, Field Director, Oxfam,
‘Refugees in Eastern Africa: A Comparative Study’,
6 May 1966
Contents

List of Figures and Tables vi
Abbreviations and Acronyms vii
Notes on the Author ix
Acknowledgements x
1 Introduction: Why Refugee Self- Reliance? 1
2 Self- Sufficiency out of Necessity: Refugee Self- Reliance 25
Assistance in Interwar Greece
3 Socialism and Self- Reliance: Refugee Self- Reliance Assistance 59
in Post- Colonial East Africa
4 Warriors of Self- Reliance: Refugee Self- Reliance Assistance 94
in Cold War Pakistan
5 Dignity in Informality? Urban Refugee Self- Reliance 127
Assistance in Kampala, Uganda
6 Livelihoods 2.0? Refugee Self- Reliance and the Digital 162
Gig Economy
7 Conclusion 193
Annex: A Note on Methods and Sources 206
References 208
Index 231
v
List of Figures and Tables

Figures
2.1 Letter by Ignatios Tsakalopoulos 41
2.2 ‘Sister Sarra’s busy day’ 46
2.3 AWH Bulletin, 1923– 1924 47
6.1 Overview of actors involved in digital livelihoods creation 177
at different levels of the international system
Tables
1.1 Historical overview of refugee self-r eliance assistance 12
5.1 Livelihoods training for refugees in Kampala 141
vi
Abbreviations and Acronyms

ACTV African Centre for Treatment and Rehabilitation of
Torture Victims
APRRN Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network
AWH American Women’s Hospitals
CRRF Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework
CTA Community Technology Access
FRC Finnish Refugee Council
GBP Great British Pound
GoP Government of Pakistan
GoT Government of Tanzania
GoU Government of Uganda
GRN Global Refugee- Led Network
GRSC Greek Refugee Settlement Commission
GTZ German Technical Cooperation Agency
HOCW Hope of Children and Women Victims of Violence
ICARA I and II International Conferences on Assistance to Refugees
in Africa
ICVA International Council of Voluntary Agencies
ILO International Labour Organization
IMF International Monetary Fund
IRC International Rescue Committee
JRS Jesuit Refugee Service
KCCA Kampala City Council Authority
LWF Lutheran World Federation
MDB Multilateral Development Bank
NWFP Northwest Frontier Province
RAD Refugee Aid and Development
RBTU Rädda Barnen Training Unit
RLP Refugee Law Project
RTV Refugee Tentage Village
SAFRON States and Frontier Regions Ministry
SAP Structural Adjustment Programme
SRS Self- Reliance Strategy
vii
REFUGEES, SELF-RELIANCE, DEVELOPMENT
TANU Tanganyika African National Union
TCRS Tanganyika Christian Refugee Service
TDA Targeted Development Assistance
UK United Kingdom
UN United Nations
UNDP United Nations Development Programme
UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
UNRISD United Nations Research Institute for Social Development
UNRRA United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration
US United States of America
USD United States dollar
WFP World Food Programme
YARID Young African Refugees for Integral Development
viii
Notes on the Author

Dr Evan Easton-Calabria is Senior Researcher at the Feinstein International
Center, Tufts University, and Research Associate at the Refugee Studies
Centre, University of Oxford, focusing on refugee self-reliance, self-
governance, and the contemporary humanitarian system. She previously
worked at Oxford’s Refugee Studies Centre, specializing in contemporary
urban assistance to refugees, including by refugee-led organizations in East
Africa. She is the author of over 70 publications for academics, practitioners,
policymakers, and the public on refugees, and co-author of The Global
Governed? Refugees as Providers of Protection and Assistance (Cambridge
University Press, 2020). She holds a Master’s and Doctorate from the
University of Oxford.
ix