Rumors and Refugees: How Government-Created Information Vacuums Undermine Effective Crisis Management

Carlson, Melissa; Jakli, Laura; Linos, Katerina

doi:10.1093/isq/sqy018

Cited by 41 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…Studies on the use and spread of rumours in general (Allport and Postman 1946;Knapp 1944;Shibutani 1966) and those with a specific focus on rumours in the context of migration (Saltsman 2010;Jack 2018;Mcconnachie 2014) and political violence (Perice 1997;Nordstrom and Robben 1996) have concluded that a lack of information is the primary reason for individuals and groups using and relying on rumours. Refugees have been found to rely on rumours because they perceive official sources of information, including government institutions and international aid organisations, as untrustworthy (Carlson, Jakli, and Linos 2018;Saltsman 2012;Jack 2018;Horst and Grabska 2015). According to Carlson, Jakli, and Linos (2018), the 'bureaucratic limitations' of the ability of 'governments and aid organisations' to manage migration-related crises lead to 'information vacuums' .…”

Section: Bureaucratic Violence and Humanitarianism As Fertile Grounds For Rumoursmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Refugees have been found to rely on rumours because they perceive official sources of information, including government institutions and international aid organisations, as untrustworthy (Carlson, Jakli, and Linos 2018;Saltsman 2012;Jack 2018;Horst and Grabska 2015). According to Carlson, Jakli, and Linos (2018), the 'bureaucratic limitations' of the ability of 'governments and aid organisations' to manage migration-related crises lead to 'information vacuums' . They identify various bureaucratic practices that leave refugees with inadequate information on important topics such as frequent policy changes, limits on information and arbitrary policy implementation by bureaucrats.…”

Section: Bureaucratic Violence and Humanitarianism As Fertile Grounds For Rumoursmentioning

confidence: 99%

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How do refugees navigate the UNHCR’s bureaucracy? The role of rumours in accessing humanitarian aid and resettlement

Ozkul

Jarrous

2021

Third World Quarterly

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In conflict situations, rapid changes can occur in the conditions in both host and home countries. In the context of such uncertainty, how do refugees navigate the bureaucratic apparatus of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to obtain humanitarian aid and resettlement? We carried out fieldwork in 2019 in Lebanon and found the UNHCR's bureaucracy to be a 'black box' for refugees in relation to the provision of information on humanitarian aid and resettlement. In this context of limited information, we found that rumours -widely considered to be uncertain truths -contributed to shaping participants' understanding of the UNHCR's decisions on the provision of aid and resettlement. In this article, we highlight the interpretive aspect of rumours and argue that refugees engage in interpretive labour as a result of the unequal relationship between themselves and the UNHCR's opaque bureaucracy and provision of information. While refugees have to provide the UNHCR with detailed and highly personal information in interviews and household inspections, officers provide refugees with only generic responses, leading refugees to make their own interpretations of the bureaucratic decision-making processes. We conceptualise this interpretive labour as a collective process that contributes to generating rumours among refugee groups.

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Section: Bureaucratic Violence and Humanitarianism As Fertile Grounds For Rumoursmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Bureaucratic Violence and Humanitarianism As Fertile Grounds For Rumoursmentioning

confidence: 99%

How do refugees navigate the UNHCR’s bureaucracy? The role of rumours in accessing humanitarian aid and resettlement

Ozkul

Jarrous

2021

Third World Quarterly

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“…13 Having fled situations of oppression, often from their own governments, and facing rumors, misinformation, and information overload upon resettlement, refugee populations tend to be highly suspicious of institutional and governmental messaging. 14 As indicated by US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports, socioeconomically impoverished communities have suffered the brunt of the pandemic disproportionately 15 and for a superdiverse community like Clarkston, the impact has been uniquely challenging. The simple task of communicating risk mitigation, testing information, and vaccine guidance has been daunting.…”

Section: Culturally Competent Health Communicationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Strengthening Culturally Competent Health Communication

et al. 2021

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Vulnerable refugee communities are disproportionately affected by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic; existing longstanding health inequity in these communities is exacerbated by ineffective risk communication practices about COVID-19. Culturally and linguistically appropriate health communication following health literacy guidelines is needed to dispel cultural myths, social stigma, misinformation, and disinformation. For refugee communities, the physical, mental, and social-related consequences of displacement further complicate understanding of risk communication practices grounded in a Western cultural ethos. We present a case study of Clarkston, Georgia, the ''most diverse square mile in America,'' where half the population is foreign born and majority refugee. Supporting marginalized communities in times of risk will require a multipronged, systemic approach to health communication including: (1) creating a task force of local leaders and community members to deal with emergent issues; (2) expanding English-language education and support for refugees; (3) including refugee perspectives on risk, health, and wellness into risk communication messaging;(4) improving cultural competence and health literacy training for community leaders and healthcare providers; and (5) supporting community health workers. Finally, better prepared public health programs, including partnerships with trusted community organizations and leadership, can ensure that appropriate and supportive risk communication and health education and promotion are in place long before the next emergency.

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“…climate change. There are currently approximately 80 million 1 individuals globally who have been forcibly displaced from their homes, with many of these fleeing conflict; this comes as no surprise, given that approximately 12% of the world's population were living in active conflict zones as of 2016 [2]. Not only are such large-scale movements dangerous for the individuals enduring such journeys, but the resulting flows present substantial social and economic pressures in destination countries.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Humanitarian organisations and authorities have been experiencing inadequately prepared policy response and lack of plans for resource allocation for Syrian refugees in the midst of events and incidents [1]. Given the rise of migrants' death across Mediterranean sea, with 5,063 recorded deaths during 2016 4 , organisations and governments have been enquired about their immigration and border policies as well as the protection for refugees.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial analysis of border closure intervention scheme in conflict-induced displacement

Jafari¹,

Davies²,

Johnson³

2020

Proceedings of the 3rd ACM SIGSPATIAL International Workshop on GeoSpatial Simulation

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Since 2011, Syria has experienced episodes of large-scale conflict and violence. Syrian Civil War has exposed the global society to increasingly flow of refugees who are forcibly displaced from their homes due to persecution, conflict, violence, or human rights violations. The inconsistent responses from humanitarian organisations and governments indicate lack of robust framework to assess and evaluate policy responses. In this article, we examine the effect of border control policies via a data-driven agent-based model of refugee flows from Syria. We implement policy scenarios and investigate the consequences in the flow pattern in terms of measuring the size of flows and the potential destinations. We demonstrate that the spatial configuration of borders intended to be closed directly influence the consequences of the corresponding closure policy. CCS CONCEPTS • Computing methodologies → Modeling and simulation; • Applied computing → Law, social and behavioral sciences;

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Rumors and Refugees: How Government-Created Information Vacuums Undermine Effective Crisis Management

Cited by 41 publications

References 45 publications

How do refugees navigate the UNHCR’s bureaucracy? The role of rumours in accessing humanitarian aid and resettlement

How do refugees navigate the UNHCR’s bureaucracy? The role of rumours in accessing humanitarian aid and resettlement

Strengthening Culturally Competent Health Communication

Spatial analysis of border closure intervention scheme in conflict-induced displacement

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