An article in the University of Toronto magazine discusses the strengths of Canada's private refugee scholarship program and provides suggestions for how it can be improved.

According to UofT Professor Audrey Macklin, research shows that privately sponsored refugees perform better in their new home compared to those who come via the government program. This is usually due to privately sponsored refugees arriving to a network of advocates who provide material support and also advice, contacts and instant social relationships. However, there is very little known about the sponsors themselves.

When Macklin and her research team evaluated the results of a survey completed by 530 sponsors, they determined that several recognized the power imbalances that are engraved into the structure of the private sponsorship program.

"In discussions of how the private sponsorship program could be improved, suggestions proposed included more formal training for individuals and groups sponsoring refugees and required background checks for participants, as well as changes to the tax laws that would allow people to treat contributions to a private sponsorship effort as charitable donations." 

An article in the Washington Post highlights the climate emergency occurring in Siberia. According to Scientists, the planet's warming must not exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius — however, Siberia's temperatures have increased exponentially.

In a region in Siberia called Yakutia, the temperature has increased by more than 3 degrees Celsius, which is nearly triple the global average. Siberians are now being driven to migrate due to extreme warming. 

"This migration from the countryside to cities and towns represents one of the most significant and little-noticed movements to date of climate refugees."

A special issue, "The Health and Wellbeing of Migrant Populations”, in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is now accepting manuscripts till December 31, 2019. Papers with original data are prioritized. This special issue belongs to the section "Global Health".

The Mahindra Humanities Center at Harvard University invites applications for one-year postdoctoral fellowships in connection with the Center’s Andrew W. Mellon Foundation seminar on the topic of migration and the humanities. 

The deadline for applications is November 15, 2019.

The African LGBTQI+ Migration Research Network is pleased to announce its first call for submissions (edited collection): LGBTIQ+ migration on, from and to the African continent.

"This edited collection seeks to contribute to this urgent scholarly conversation by bringing together diverse inputs on topics related to LGBTIQ+ migration on, from and to the African continent. We have a particular interest in what happens when borders, sexualities, genders, identities, languages and mobilities come up against the histories, trajectories, futures and imaginaries of what Mbembe (2007) calls the ‘geographical accident’ that is Africa."

Expressions of interest – short abstract (200-250 words) and a biography (150 words) are due by September 13, 2019. Please send all abstracts and enquiries to almresearchnet@gmail.com, addressed to either B Camminga or John Marnell (African Centre for Migration and Society, University of the Witwatersrand).

In an article by the New Yorker, Isaac Chotiner describes how separation and detention changes the lives of children. 

The article discusses how child development experts are concerned about the psychological impact of separation and detention on children. Jack P. Shonkoff, Professor of Child Health and Development at the Harvard School of Public Health, says the forced and abrupt separation of children from their parents is a huge psychological trauma and assault. Another issue is the prolonged placement of children in institutional settings.

Moreover, the American Psychological Association has released several statements on the effects of the Trump Administration’s immigration policies, stating that they “pose serious harm to the psychological well-being of immigrant children, their U.S.-born siblings, and other family members.”

June 20th marks World Refugee Day, a day dedicated to raising awareness of the situation of refugees around the world. 

The UNHCR has also released its annual global trends report today. According to a CBC News Article, Canada took in 28,100 of the 92,400 refugees who were resettled in 25 countries in 2018. 

A striking concern however is that "the number of people fleeing war, persecution and conflict worldwide ballooned to over 70 million — the highest level since the Second World War and an increase of more than two million from a year earlier — an overall total that would amount to the world's 20th most populous country."

Our new blog ECHOES features an original contribution by Professor Warren Dodd and Ms. Amy Kipp where they discuss migration from rural Honduras and the role on investment in increasing opportunities for educated youth. In their article, they describe how 97% of the graduating class was planning to migrate away from the community.

Read more here.

According to an article in the Toronto Star, Doug Ford's government is removing the child benefit that assists families on welfare with providing food and clothing for their children.

"The cut, buried in April’s provincial budget, will end the Transition Child Benefit which provides up to $230 per month, per child in families on welfare who are not receiving the Ontario and Canada child benefits, such as refugee claimants."

The cut is scheduled to start November 1 and will impact an average of 16,000 children a month province-wide, according to the government.