London Met academic participated in a long-day workshop “Afghanistan in Stasis: On Crises and Ways Forward” supported and funded by the Violence, Peace and Development Research Cluster at School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London.
Date: 19 December 2022
London Met’s Dr María López, deputy director of the Global Diversities and Inequalities Research Centre, presented the findings of the research project Afghan migrants in London: Accessing support in hostile times in a workshop held at SOAS to over 50 people including academics, members of migrant organisations and international think-tanks, refugees and members of the Afghan government prior the arrival of the Taliban in August 2021.
In representation of the core team, Professor Louise Ryan and PhD candidate Alessia Dalceggio, María presented the findings of their project aiming to inform in the design of a more strategic planning from the UK government around the resettlement and rehousing of evacuees during the first year since their arrival in London.
Using the narratives of our Afghans participants and insights from key stakeholders, María discussed to the slow and opaque bureaucratic processes and lack of communication between Home Office officials and local authorities which resulted in many thousands of evacuees remaining in temporary hotel accommodation for over one year.
Based on the findings of the research, María argued that the Afghan resettlement policies fall short of their objectives ultimately because these policies were birthed within a punitive immigration system, which is designed to ‘wear down’ migrants in the UK, regardless of their reason for migration.
The original research, which was funded by a University Transformation grant in 2022, aimed to understand the needs of diverse Afghan communities in London and to explore the particular needs of recently arrived refugees and asylum seekers, included those evacuated from Kabul airport in August 2021.
Resulting from a successful collaboration with Afghan organisations, local authorities and international migrant organisations, Islington Council commissioned Louise and María, along with their PhD student Alessia Dalceggio, to undertake an 18-months evaluation of the council’s resettlement plan for Afghan and Syrian refugee families. This new project will start formally in January 2023 with the clear potential for impacting the strategy of migrant organisations, local authorities and potentially higher policy levels.
The full research report can be read online.
Dr Maria Lopez at the 'Afghanistan in Stasis: On Crises and Ways Forward' workshop.