Resettlement programs ignore culture at their peril, study finds
A new framework shows that displaced people's cultural identity and heritage are critical to successful relocation—yet international resettlement policies treat them as peripheral concerns. Researchers argue that centering culture in resettlement design could dramatically improve outcomes for affected communities and reduce costly project failures.
Originaltitel: Culture, heritage, memory: toward a resonant cultural solution for resettlement
<p>Resettlement—one durable solution to displacement—is hazardous and risks failure. Displaced people may lose their material base, skills and capabilities, and face sociocultural discontinuity, dissonance and the loss of identity. In this article, we introduce a new resettlement model that we call the culture, heritage, and memory (CHM) box. We conceptualize, define and explore this box in relation to resettlement discourse, policy, and several case studies. We argue that the rich anthropological resettlement discourse confirms the importance of culture in resettlement recovery, in contrast with international resettlement policies, which recognize culture, especially indigenous cultures, but not as a central concern or objective. Culture is overlooked in resettlement practice and deserves much wider recognition. Our case studies demonstrate the potential of the ‘CHM box’ to make these elements visible during the resettlement negotiation and participation process, and that this is essential to achieving the resettled groups’ own aims of culturally resonant resettlement outcomes. The CHM box unlocks a channel for communicating and engaging with affected people, and illuminates how the past, in an intricate and complex way, can be useful in the formation of the future.</p>