Social Networks and Migration in Wartime Afghanistan

243 Pages·2009·0.91 MB·English

by  Kristian Berg Harpviken

Social Networks and
Migration in Wartime
Afghanistan
Kristian Berg Harpviken
Social Networks and Migration in Wartime Afghanistan
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Social Networks and
Migration in Wartime
Afghanistan
Kristian Berg Harpviken
Centre for the Study of Civil War (CSCW)
International Peace Research Institute, Oslo (PRIO), Norway
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© Kristian Berg Harpviken 2009
All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this
publication may be made without written permission.
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save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence
permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency,
Saffron House, 6-10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS.
Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication
may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
The author has asserted his right to be identifi ed
as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
First published 2009 by
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN
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Contents
Preface vii
Glossary x
Acronyms xii
Maps of Afghanistan in the Region and the Main Fieldwork Area xv
1 Introduction 1
Social networks in times of crisis 2
The study of wartime migration 4
Wartime migration in Afghanistan 6
Two villages of Herat 9
Structure 11
2 Social Networks in Wartime Migration 13
Social networks 14
Flows in networks 19
Network structures 26
Change 38
Conclusion 43
3 Escape Decisions 46
Security and escape 50
Material resources and escape 61
Information and escape 69
Conclusion 74
4 Integration at Exile 77
Security and exile 81
Material resources and exile 88
Information and exile 94
Conclusion 96
5 Return Decisions 99
Short-distance repatriation from Pakistan 103
Security and return 107
v
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vi Contents
Material resources and return 117
Information and return 125
Conclusion 132
6 Reintegration at ‘Home’ 135
Security and reintegration 140
Material resources and reintegration 151
Information and reintegration 160
Conclusion 163
7 Conclusions 167
Escape and return decisions 168
Integration and reintegration 173
War, migration, and the transformation of networks 177
Studying wartime migration 181
Appendix: Researching Migration in War 184
Notes 191
Bibliography 199
Author Index 222
Subject Index 223
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Preface
This book was brought to completion, thanks to the supportive and
stimulating environment where I have my daily work, at the International
Peace Research Institute, Oslo (PRIO), and its Centre for the Study of
Civil War (CSCW). At PRIO, I have enjoyed tremendous institutional
and collegial support. I consider PRIO my intellectual home in Norway:
the best possible environment for pursuing my research interests.
This book is the ultimate manifestation of a curiosity that was
triggered by my observation, while traveling in Afghanistan in the early
1990s, that villages that appeared to be situated similarly in relation to
the war had nevertheless fared very differently. For example, where one
village was totally depopulated, a neighboring one remained vibrant
throughout the conflict. The explanation was not to be found in simple
geographical or political factors, which made me suspect there was
something about collective decisionmaking that was not being taken
into account in regular explanations of flight. Part of the problem is
that nobody had conducted research on the ‘non-displaced’ – those who
stayed on despite the threat. I was already interested in Afghan political
mobilization. And, inspired by the idea of ‘refugee warrior communities’,
launched by Aristide Zolberg, Astri Suhrke, and Sergio Aguayo in their
1989 book Escape from Violence, I increasingly realized how crucial the
interplay between politics and displacement was – not only in the sense
that politics drives migration, but also in the sense that displacement
(and the lack thereof) fundamentally alters the conditions for political
mobilization and may serve to motivate it. In a related manner, I was
struck by our seeming inability to reconcile the image of displaced people
as victims of factors beyond their control with the realization that they
are also agents with their own types of resources, capable of making
their own choices. Keeping all of these early inspirations in mind, then,
this book explores the collective dimensions of migration decisions and
integration processes.
What you see here is the result of a journey that has been exciting on
many levels – intellectually and geographically, as well as socially and
culturally. Throughout this journey, I have engaged with and enjoyed the
support of literally hundreds of remarkable individuals, each contributing
in different ways. Only some will be named here, but I remain grateful
to you all. What has impressed me the most has been witnessing the
vii
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viii Preface
coping ability of individuals living under the most difficult conditions,
suffering unimaginable losses, as well as the tremendous resources that
lie in social networks and social solidarity. This work is only a station on
a journey that I know I will continue to enjoy.
I first of all want to thank all those people in Afghanistan who
have given their time and energy to discuss with me, to respond to
my questions, and to invite me to develop insight into their lives. For
some, this may have been painful, but I also hope that my interest and
understanding have been comforting. You have been granted anonymity
and will not be named in this work, but you will know who you are.
Some people have been particularly important for this project, having
read or commented upon the manuscript in earlier iterations: Andrew
Abbott, Richard Black, Jørgen Carling, Scott Gates, Cindy Horst, Yngve
Lithman, Tormod Lunde, Shahrbanou Tadjbakhsh, and Stein Tønnesson.
At various stages in the process, I have also received generous comments
on background papers and draft chapters from a number of people: Bayo
Adekanye, Grethe Brochmann, Chris Buckley, Ronald S. Burt, Victoria
Ingrid Einagel, Fredrik Engelstad, John F. Padgett, Charles C. Ragin, John
Scott, Dan Smith, Astri Suhrke, Charles Tilly, and Aristide Zolberg. All of
you launched ideas that have been with me to the end, although not
necessarily in a form that you will immediately recognize.
A number of institutions have supported this research financially.
First of all, the Department of Sociology and Human Geography at the
University of Oslo granted me a doctoral scholarship, which allowed me
to conduct the theoretical and empirical research that lies at the core
of this book. I am also grateful to US–Norway Fulbright Foundation for
Educational Exchange for a scholarship that allowed me to spend the
whole of 1998 as a Visiting Researcher at the University of Chicago’s
Department of Sociology. The Research Council of Norway funded my
main fieldwork in Afghanistan from March to June 1999. The Nordic
Institute for Asian studies provided funds for complementary fieldwork.
Furthermore, I am grateful to the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
and Ockenden International, which have funded related projects that
have enabled me to conduct successive return visits to Herat in 2001,
2002, 2003, and 2006. PRIO, and the CSCW, have allowed me the
flexibility necessary to bring this work to completion. The Institute for
the Study of International Migration (ISIM) at Georgetown University
hosted me for a month in October 2008, allowing me to concentrate in
the last round of thorough revisions.
A number of specialized research libraries, all with individuals that did
their utmost to help me identifying relevant sources and getting access to
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Preface ix
the most eccentric documents, have proven extremely important. I have
spent days working in each of these libraries: Bibliotheca Afghanica in
Liestal, Switzerland; the UNHCR Research and Documentation Centre
in Geneva, Switzerland; the ACBAR Research and Information Centre
(ARIC) in Peshawar, Pakistan; the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC)
library in Oslo, Norway; and the library of the Afghan Research and
Evaluation Unit (AREU) in Kabul, Afghanistan.
The fieldwork on which this book is based would not have been
possible had it not been for the support of a number of individuals and
organizations engaged in Afghanistan. First and foremost, I am grateful
to Arne Strand, a good friend and colleague, as well as an astute observer
of Afghan affairs, with whom I collaborated during the main fieldwork
in Herat in 1999. I am indebted to Karin Ask, also a partner during the
1999 fieldwork, particularly for her insights on gender generally and the
lives of women in the fieldwork communities specifically. Both Arne and
Karin have allowed me to draw on their data for my own work. I am also
extremely grateful to all those who have served as interpreters in the
field or as research assistants, including Abdul Jamil, Abdullah, Dr. Adil,
Mirwais Wardak, Mohammad Israel, Mohammad Suleman, all of whom
did a great job under exceptionally difficult circumstances. In Afghanistan,
I am particularly grateful for the facilitation of fieldwork to Barmak
Pazhwak and Fazel Rabi (Christian Aid/Ecumenical Office), Daud Dildar
and Abdul Khaliq (Agency for Mine Awareness in Afghanistan), Ajmal
Shirzai and Eng. Baqi (Ockenden International), Eng. Ahmadi (Norwegian
Project Office/Rural Rehabilitation Association for Afghanistan), as well
as Haneef Atmar and Mohammed Ehsan (Norwegian Church Aid).
Finally, I want to express a deep-felt thanks to family and friends,
many of whom are occupied with things very different from mine, but
who provide great support and inspiration. In particular, I am indebted
to Anna, who can only with difficulty imagine a life in which her dad is
not engaged in writing to try understanding the world, and to Kristine,
who is always amazingly understanding and supportive.
Kristian Berg Harpviken
Oslo, 15 November 2008
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