PhD Project Hidden displacement. The hidden nature and neglect of conflict-induced displacement during the Maoist people's war in Nepal

This study focuses on the belated awareness and response to conflict-induced displacement during the Maoist people's war in Nepal. From 1996 to 2006 around ten per cent of the population was in one way or the other uprooted due to an internal armed conflict. Yet, this displacement was mostly unrecognised inside and outside Nepal. This study shows, that not a single cause or event but an array of different aspects led to, what I call, a situation of hidden displacement. Four major fields of concern were identified: the displaced people, the media, the government, as well as the civil society and international agencies. In the case of the Maoist insurgency it is highlighted, that none of these identified fields was solely responsible for the lack of awareness and neglect of the conflict-induced displacement by the concerned authorities, national organisations and international agencies, as well as the media. After outlining the spatial pattern and the chronological development of the armed confrontation, the composition of the displaced population as well as the patterns of the migration are analysed. Many people left because of direct threats exercised by both warring parties, on the one side the Maoist insurgents and on the other side the police and the army, and as a result of the increased insecurity and deteriorating livelihood conditions. The diversity of the displacement causes, the fact that most migrants followed traditional migration routes to leave their respective homes, as well as the way they coped with their situation had contributed to the hidden nature of the displacement. Additionally, the displaced people, who came predominately from rural areas, were not one united group. Labeling them as 'the displaced' or as 'Maoist displaced' and 'State displaced' does create a too simplistic picture. This heterogeneity among the displaced people hampered them to collectively voice their concerns. As the people in need were mostly invisible, reports about the displacement in the national media increased only slowly. The way in which newspapers and journals reported on the issue was nonetheless insufficient and often misleading. Although the private print media became the most important source of government-independent information by the mid-1990s in Nepal, the media's role of being the fourth estate was still in an initial stage. This was owed to the late opening of the media sector in 1990, which explains the limited capacity of the young private media. Furthermore, the press became soon a target of the warring parties. Through a media analysis the situation of the media was assessed and its contribution in reporting about the issue of displacement was studied. This analysis covers all the years of the armed conflict. However, the media is not the only actor responsible for highlighting the plight of the displaced people. The civil society and the international aid community bear an equal responsibility in reacting to the human tragedy that occurred in Nepal. Their engagement came not only late but was also quite ambivalent and focused solely on the internal displacement. The movement of migrants abroad was not surveyed. The situation and state of the civil society m Nepal and the fundamental changes m the international refugee regime that took place m the 1990s are assessed and discussed to interpret the organisations late responses to the displacement It is the government's task to protect its citizen However, being an actor of the armed conflict itself the government's role can be described as doubtful The many changing governments neglected the displacement to a large extent Even Nepal's neighbour India did not react on the rising numbers of Nepali immigrants and denied the existence of Nepali refugees. 

PhD Candidate Lars Stöwesand

Duration 2007-2013