Master Thesis, Preliminary Defense
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Transcript of Master Thesis, Preliminary Defense
Liberian Refugees in Ghana:A Case Study of their Well-being and the Local Environment
Jenkins Divo Macedo
Thesis Proposal Defense In
Partial Fulfillment for the Requirement of the Master of Arts Degree in
International Development and Social Change (IDSC)
Presented To
Thesis CommitteeDr. Anita Häusermann Fábos, Ph.D.
Dr. Marianne Sarkis, Ph.D.Dr. Jude Fernando, Ph.D.
3RD November, 2011
Research Question
This study explores what determinants impact the well-being and the local
environment of the Liberians Refugees in Ghana?
Thesis Statement
The impact of the protracted refugee situations on the well-being of Liberian
refugees and their local environment is determined by the Ghana’s refugee
protection and management structure, corruption, lack of adequate healthcare
and sanitation infrastructures, and the lack of provision of their fundamental
human needs.
Background & Setting of the Study
Buduburam Refugee
Settlement in Ghana
The settlement was
established in 1990.
Currently host about
11,000 Liberian refugees
and others.
UNHCR terminated all
humanitarian services
since 1997.
Voluntary Repatriation
Methodology Data Collection
Mixed Research
Quantitativeo Survey
• I administered a survey to investigate the influence of the protracted refugee situation on the protection of refugee and the local environment. Inferential data that were collected will allow me to triangulate results and generalized my findings to the entire refugee population at the BRS.
Qualitative o Free-listo Pile Sortso Semi-Structure Interviewso Focus Groups
• I implemented these instruments to allow me to collect detail subjective understanding of how the PRSs influence the process of refugee protection and the environment.
Methodology, Continued...
Geospatial
o Garmin GPSMap 60CSxo Landsat raster files between 1990 and 2010o Google Earth
• I used these geospatial techniques to collect waypoints datasets and satellite images to determine changes in land cover and also create a map of the refugee settlement with features to be launched on Google Earth .
Solid Waste Disposal o Total Waste Amount (TWA)
• I used this technique to calculate the emissions of Greenhouse Gas on the environment as a result of the solid waste disposed at the refugee settlement.
Digital Imageso Photographs and videos footages of Waste and infrastructures
Sampling Strategy Sampling Frame
Liberian Refugees at the Buduburam Refugee Settlement Staff of Government Agency Staff of Non-Governmental Organizations Staff of Religious-Based Organizations Staff of Community-Based Organizations
1. Simple Random Sampling• I generated 112 random integers to represent house numbers
using an MS Excel 2010 document containing the estimated number of houses in all 11 zones at the settlement and a participant from each of the selected houses answered the survey.
2. Convenience Sampling • I used the convenience sampling technique to recruit
participants for the focus groups based on recommendations from my research assistants.
3. Targeted Sampling • I used the targeted sampling technique from a list generated
in MS Excel 2010 of organizations working with refugees.
Percent of Households Randomly Sampled by Zone
Zone 112%
Zone 222%
Zone 3
7%Zone
45%
Zone 513%
Zone 6
0%
Zone 7
2%
Zone 817%
Zone 9
11%
Zone 108%
Zone 112%
Selection Procedure Participants
Participants were refugees and staff members of government agencies, NGOs, CBOs, and RBOs.
I contacted participants for the focus groups and interviews through the IRB approved recruitment letter.
Ethical Considerations Informed Consent
o Participants were consented through Clark’s IRB approved informed consent form.
Ghana Refugee Board Approvalo I got approval from the Ministry of Interior through the Ghana Refugee Board
to conduct the research at the Buduburam Refugee Settlement.
Verification and Certification by the Settlement Managero My approval letter from the MOI/GRB was reviewed and certified by the Settlement
Manager of the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO)
Data Analysis Deductive Reasoning
I used the deductive reasoning in analyzing my data because after reviewing preliminary literatures I found out that my conceptual framework is supported by preliminary findings from the data.
Inter-rater Reliability Test Klaus Krippendorff 96%
Quantitative Data 112 surveys I imported the responses into PASW Statistics Version
18 to analyze. I coded labels and applied values to the data into
PASW All cases were included in the data set I ran frequency distribution analysis on significant
variables.
Data Analysis, Continued... Qualitative Data
Interview & Focus Group 12 interviews; 3 focus groups Atlas.ti version 6.0 I imported transcripts and interview notes from MS Word 2010 into Atlas.ti version
6.0 I used deductive reasoning to identify the themes that I used for coding. I associated codes with quotations I merged codes with other codes to generate categories I linked codes with other codes to ensure the density of my codes I developed themes from categories. I built my argument around my theoretical framework using deductive
methodology.
Free-list 72 Freelists; 15 Pile Sorts I used MS Excel 2010 to entered and clean freelists All cases were included I uploaded the MS Excel 2010 file into Visual Anthropac Version 1.0 I ran a frequency distribution analysis of the responses
Data Analysis, Continued...
Geospatial Data I used a Garmin 60CSx Global Positioning System (GPS) to collect 132 waypoints. I uploaded the waypoints into ArcMap Version 9.3.1 Geographic Information System
Analytical Software I took digital photographs of specific waypoints to create a visual map of the refugee
settlement features I downloaded raster satellite images from the United States Geological Survey (USGS)
website of the specific region between 1990 and 2010. I will create a map of the refugee settlement and that will launched via Google Earth
open source system.
Solid Waste Data I collected total waste amount of solid waste disposal from the Sanitation unit. I uploaded all numeric data into the MS Excel 2010 Institute of Energy and
Environmental Research (IFEU) Solid Waste Management Greenhouse Gas Emission Calculator system to calculate the effects of BRS SWM on GHG emission.
All cases were included
Preliminary Results
CODES FREQUENCY
Durable Solution 49
Refugee Management 48
Riot 35
Legal Frameworks 35
Lack of UNHCR Assistance
34
Protection 32
Refugee Council Leadership Change
31
Accusation 30
Sanitation 29
Insecurity 26
Police Violence 25
Human Rights Violations 24
Recognition 24
Fundamental Human Needs 23
Qualitative
Categories FREQUENCY
Refugee Legal Frameworks & Management Committee
109
Healthcare & Sanitation 100
Protection 97
Insecurity 86
Riot 82
Partnership 50
Recognition 40
Corruption 37
UNHCR’s Absence 34
Fundamental Human Needs 31
Police Violence 25
Human Rights Violations 24
Discrimination 24
Leadership Change 24
86 Codes developed, merged into 36 Categories, collapsed into 5 Themes
Freelist AnalysisRefugee Protection
Item Description Frequency (%) Salience
Refugee Status 66.7 0.376
Healthcare 66.7 0.352
Education 55.6 0.372
Security 44.4 0.400
Food Security 44.4 0.309
No Discrimination 33.3 0.165
Rules and Regulations 33.3 0.297
Relocation 33.3 0.192
Sponsorship 33.3 0.120
Basic Human Rights 33.3 0.220
Attention 33.3 0.76
Forgetting Fears 22.2 0.151
Life’s Conditions at the Buduburam Refugee Settlement
Item Description
Frequency (%)
Salience
Lack of Education
63.6 0.376
Poor Sanitation
63.6 0.368
Very Difficult 50.0 0.351
Corruption 50.0 0.200
No Money 40.9 0.172
Lack of Healthcare
40.9 0.253
Unbearable 40.9 0.254
Police Invasion 40.9 0.244
Poor Waste Disposal
40.9 0.200
Injustice 40.9 0.274
Lack of Employment
40.9 0.280
Insecurity 36.4 0.274
Preliminary, Continued...
5 Focus Themes with categories
Themes FREQUENCY
Refugee Protection 203
Refugee Laws & Management 189
Fundamental Human Needs 143
Corruption 135
Healthcare & Sanitation 100
Preliminary Results, Continued... Quantitative
Frequencies Distribution
Gender
Preliminary Results, Continued...
Sub-Regional Refugee Population by Country of Asylum
Sub-Regional Refugee Population by Country of Origin
Preliminary Geospatial Maps
ArcMap GIS Snapshot View
Preliminary Results, Continued... Solid Waste Disposal & GHG Emissions
Waste CharacteristicsComponents Default LIE Default MIE In % wet Waste
Food Waste 55.4% 41.9% 55.4%
Garden and Park Waste 9.2% 14.0% 9.0%
Paper, carboard 3.7% 9.3% 3.7%
Plastics 2.8% 6.5% 6.5%
Glass 1.2% 1.9% 1.2%
Ferrous Metals 1.4% 1.9% 1.4%
Aluminum 0.2% 0.5% 0.2%
Textiles 1.4% 3.3% 1.4%
Rubber and Leather 1.4% 1.9% 1.4%
Nappies (disposable diapers) 0% 4.0% 1.0%
Wood 3.5% 6.0% 3.5%
Mineral Waste 6.0% 3.0% 6.0%
Others (electronic scraps, etc) 13.8 5.8% 13.0%
Grand Total must be 100% 100% 100% 100%
Preliminary Results, Continued...Fo
od w
aste
Gar
den
& p
ark
was
te
Pap
er, c
ardb
oard
Pla
stic
sG
lass
Ferr
ous
met
als
Alu
min
ium
Text
iles
Sca
ttere
dB
urne
d-op
enW
ild d
ump
Con
trolle
d la
ndfil
l
San
itary
land
fill
BS
/land
fill
MB
T/tre
atm
/land
fill
MB
S/M
PS
/co-
proc
Inci
nera
tion
0
500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
3,000
Solid Waste Characteristics by Management Technique
ton
nes
/yr
Recycled waste Net
-50
0
50
100
150
200
250Net
Credits
Textiles
Aluminium
Ferrous Metals
Glass
Plastics
Paper, cardboard
Garden and Park waste
Food waste
Debits
Textiles
Aluminium
Ferrous Metals
Glass
Plastics
Paper, cardboard
Garden and Park waste
Food wasteResults of GHG Emission on Recycled of Waste
t CO
2-eq
/yr
Disposed of waste Net
0
500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
3,000
3,500
4,000GHG emissions - disposal
NetCreditsIncinerationMBS/MPS/co-procMBT/treatm/landfillBS/landfillSanitary landfillControlled landfillWild dumpBurned-openScattered wasteDebitsIncinerationMBS/MPS/co-procMBT/treatm/landfillBS/landfillSanitary landfillControlled landfillWild dumpBurned-openScattered waste
ton
ne
CO
2-eq
/yr
Environmental Challenges
Conceptual Frameworks
Preliminary Discussions & Findings Refugee Laws & Management (RL&M)
“According to the rules of the management of this camp or camps, because government wants the involvement of refugees themselves in their management we are expected to have a refugee welfare council who are expected to liaise between the refugees and “authorities” and when I say authorities here we are looking at government through my office, we are looking at the Ghana Refugee Board (GRB) as a part of the government then we are also looking at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), so that we form a kind of a tripartite.”
“I know it is being done but as for now there is no plan the GRB has for local integration. But haven’t we said that, we have had series of verification processes during which we’ve asked as to what refugees want and what option they want to take. These are the options whether to want to return home, locally integrate or be resettled to a third country, but off course we have explained to them what the chances of been resettled are, what being repatriated entails, and if those are not successful what local integration entails.”
Refugee Protection (PR)
“The biggest problem now is that lots of Liberians are wondering about the stagnant of events of their refugee status in Ghana.”
“The issues of Liberian refugees and their stay in Ghana with respect to maintenance, protection and benefits of both the refugee community and the host country is very politicized and raises many questions.”
“And as these questions keep piling up unanswered it generates tension among refugees and these tensions lead to behaviors that may be classified as hostile, because they don’t know where else to turn for answers.
Preliminary Discussions & Findings, Continued... Corruption
“Over the past few months, there have been various forms of aggressions by the refugee population against UNHCR staff members, their own leaders of the Liberian Refugee Welfare Council (LRWC) and the Settlement Manager (SM) on grounds that these agents or institutions are using their refugees’ status to generate huge income for themselves that should have been directed to issues such as education, healthcare, food, sanitation, etc.”
“All these fabricated rumors and lies has created the situation in which people who decided to volunteer are discouraged from affording their efforts to help the community, because they are told that whatever they were volunteering to do for their own neighborhood and the community at large that there are funds allocated for such issues and that some people (basically their leaders and the Settlement Manager as well as ) the UNHCR was taking the money and using it on themselves or building infrastructures that will only benefit Ghanaians as oppose to refugees. These claims led to counter-claims and resulted in mass public disruptions on February 2011.”
Healthcare & Sanitation
“The sewage system on the camp is really degrading; the disposal of garbage is also a major concern, because the garbage is not being actively collected. We see garbage all over the place and this can lead to serious health outcomes such as cholera outbreak, malaria, diarrhea, etc. Flies go to these open garbage can fly back in the homes serving as vectors for diseases and these increase the new cases of cholera, dysentery, malaria, and other water and airborne diseases.”
“The health insurance for refugees at the camp does not cover every illness. It covers sickness such as malaria, dysentery, diarrhea, running stomach, coughing, and to a larger extend delivery system of pregnant women.”
Preliminary Discussions & Findings, Continued...
Fundamental Human Needs
“The United Nations as well as the Ghanaian Government needs to specify why have refugees been kept on this camp for so long without access to basic services such as education, healthcare, proper sanitation, housing, etc.”
“There are lots of amenities that we don’t have access to. So, these hindrances cause life at the camp to be very stressful and extremely hard.”
“We face lots of major challenges, because here you know bulk of the people are unemployed even though some of the people are professional and very skillful.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Research Question Revisited
What determinants impact the well-being and the local
environment of the Liberians Refugees in Ghana?
Preliminary Conclusions
The protractedness of Liberian refugees at the BRS is a result of the government’s lack of appropriate structural framework to address and promote a durable solution one of which is the lack of a framework to encourage local integration.
This situation is enhanced by corruption of appointed leaders and the violations of refugees’ rights by security apparatus of the state.
The inadequate and inappropriate disposal of solid waste at the refugee settlement are social drivers that increase refugees’ vulnerability to disease outcomes and the increase on GHG emissions.
The withdrawal and termination of all humanitarian activities to the refugee population at Buduburam except voluntary repatriation has created a situation in which refugees are desperately seeking a way forward with their state in Ghana.
The lack of provision of refugees’ fundamental human needs by the UNHCR and other state actors decrease their likelihood of becoming self-reliant and self-sufficient, but rather becoming solely dependent on remittance from families and friends overseas.
Special ThanksDr. Anita H. Fabos, Ph.D., Thesis Committee/Clark University
Dr. Jude Fernando, Ph.D., Thesis Committee/Clark University
Dr. Marianne Sarkis, Ph.D., Thesis Committee/Clark University
Dr. Willam Hansen, Ph.D., Professor of GIS/Worcester State University
Dr. Ellen Foley, Ph.D., Academic Advisor/Clark University
Dr. Richard Schmitt, Professor of Philosophy/Worcester State University
Research Assistants
(Eric Saygboh, Kinsman Collins, Anthony Carr, Benjamin Tubman, & Junior Sobah)
Ministry of Interior (MOI)
Ghana Refugee Board (GRB)
NGOs/CBOs in Buduburam, Ghana
Faculty and Students of CCLDC, Ghana
Buduburam Refugees Community
Peer Reviewers, IDCE/Clark University
Compton Foundation, USA