Nothing is more permanent than the temporary
Understanding protracted displacement and people's own responses, TRAFIG Synthesis Report
Across the world, 16 million refugees and an unknown number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) experience long-lasting conditions of economic precarity, marginalization, rightlessness and future uncertainty. Their needs and preferences are widely ignored. The EU-funded project TRAFIG (Transnational Figurations of Displacement) investigated such protracted displacement situations and developed alternative solutions that are tailored to the capacities of displaced persons. In a “Synthesis Report” TRAFIG presents its final findings.
The results of the project clearly show the importance of refugees’ everyday interactions and livelihoods as well as networks and movements, the project coordinator concludes: “While they are not a panacea for all challenges, people's own connections are an essential resource for sustainable and long-term solutions to their precarious situation. They must not be ignored in policy responses to protracted displacement.” As the key message of TRAFIG’s “Synthesis Report” Benjamin Etzold phrases: “Understanding the needs and the local, translocal and transnational ties of displaced people is the foundation for finding solutions that last.”