Project summary
My research argues for an understanding of forced migrants as also digitally connected migrants. I explore how mediated practices co-constitute everyday experiences of Iraqi refugees living in prolonged uncertainty and how this affects reception of humanitarian aid.
Project details
Location: Jordan
Year(s): 2019
Project director(s): Mirjam Twigt
Lead institutions and funding:
- CBRL
Project description
My research argues for an understanding of forced migrants as also digitally connected migrants. I explore how mediated practices co-constitute everyday experiences of Iraqi refugees living in prolonged uncertainty and how this affects reception of humanitarian aid.
My PhD demonstrated how, in the case of Iraqi nationals in Jordan’s capital Amman registered as refugees with UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) in Jordan, the use of different media technologies – TV, mobile phone, social media – goes beyond the functional. Media technologies perform important social and subjective
functions in refugees’ lives, for instance regarding aspirations, identity-constructions and home-making practices. They influence how life in Jordan in general, and policies and practices by aid organisations, is interpreted and enable some space to negotiate their situation, for instance in interaction with UNHCR Jordan.
During my CBRL fellowship I was able to progress on a book proposal, organise a dissemination workshop with humanitarian actors and policy makers, do follow-up research on humanitarian communication and provide workshops for staff and student at the Centre for Refugees, Displaced Persons and Forced Migration Studies at the University of Yarmouk in Irbid, Jordan.
Project bibliography
Twigt, Mirjam. 2020. The mediation of forced migration: digital technologies and everyday experiences within refugee households. Bulletin of the Council for British Research in the Levant 2018-2019, p 22-23.
Published:29 November 2021
