Changing Aid: Crises of Migration In and Out of the Horn of Africa
Conflicts, population displacement, and the worst drought in decades are driving tens of thousands of Ethiopians, Eritreans, and Somalis out of the Horn of Africa. Most people escaping these conditions will not end up in refugee camps, but instead will attempt to migrate abroad, often illegally, to find work in Middle East countries. Many of these undocumented labor migrants face exploitation, extortion, trafficking, detention, deportation, disease, and even drowning as they travel. However, the interrelated nature of these regional conflicts, displacements, disasters, and dangerous labor migrations remain both understudied and under-addressed—especially in this region of the world. In response, we are holding a public panel event headlined by migration and African studies scholars as well as leading policy voices on migration in contexts of violence.
Speakers include:
- Felegebirhan Belesti, PhD candidate at the Carter School at George Mason University
- Abdullahi Boru Halakhe, Senior Advocate for East and Southern Africa at Refugees International
- Jennifer Riggan, Professor of Historical and Political Studies at Arcadia University
- Amina Said Chire, Professor at the University of Djibouti and Founder of the Institut de Recherche Indépendant de la Corne d’Afrique
Each speaker will make a brief presentation, and then SIS professor Lauren Carruth and Georgetown professor Lahra Smith will moderate a community discussion and audience Q&A. A reception will follow the event.
Biographies
Felegebirhan Belesti Mihret is a PhD candidate at George Mason University’s Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution. His doctoral project is titled, “Migration Governance and Development Aid: Reinforcing Cooperation on Controlling Mobility.” He has worked for various international organizations including but not limited to the World Bank, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), and various NGOs. His academic and research interests focus on civil society engagement in migration, development aid, refugees, conflict resolution, peace, and governance. He has published his works on women, adolescent girls’ migration and human rights in various academic journals.
Abdullahi Boru Halakhe is the senior advocate for East and Southern Africa at Refugees International. He is an African policy expert with more than a decade of experience in security, conflict, human rights, refugee work, and strategic communications. He has regional and thematic expertise having worked on/in Kenya, Somalia, Uganda, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger, and Chad on issues including humanitarian aid reform advocacy, refugees, internally displaced people, and security. He has worked with and advised various international organizations including but not limited to the International Rescue Committee, the International Crisis Group, Amnesty International, and the UN’s Development Program.
Jennifer Riggan is a professor of international studies and the director of the international studies program at Arcadia University. She is the author of The Struggling State: Nationalism, Mass Militarization and the Education of Eritrea. Her second book (co-authored with Amanda Poole) looks at temporality and refugee hosting in the Global South by focusing on Eritrean refugees in Ethiopia. She is the current Steinbrucker Endowed Chair at Arcadia University and has held fellowships from: the Wolf Humanities Center; The Georg Arnhold Program; Fulbright (Addis Ababa University 2016-2017 and Asmara University 2004-2005); The Spencer Foundation/National Academy of Education; and the Social Science Research Council.
Amina Said Chire is a professor at the University of Djibouti and Founder of the Independent Research Institute of the Horn of Africa (IRICA). She has designed and carried out numerous research projects on gender, migration, democracy, governance, social protection, environmental studies, culture, and conflict, as well as carried out numerous feasibility and impact studies of social and urban development projects in the Horn of Africa. She was awarded the Albert Bernard Prize of the French Academy of Overseas Sciences twice in 2008 and 2013.
Lauren Carruth (moderator) is a professor at American University’s School of International Service (SIS). She is a medical anthropologist specializing in humanitarian assistance, global health, nutrition, displacement, migration, and the Horn of Africa. Her book, Love and Liberation: Humanitarian Work in Ethiopia’s Somali Region, was published in 2021 by Cornell University Press. Prior to arriving at SIS, she was a postdoctoral scholar at Princeton University in the Global Health and Health Policy Program, and at George Washington University in the Elliott School of International Affairs. Between 2002-2007, she worked for the UN World Food Program in Ethiopia, UNICEF in Ethiopia, and the Feinstein International Center at Tufts University.
Lahra Smith (moderator) is a professor in the Walsh School of Foreign Service and the department of government at Georgetown University, as well as the director of their African Studies Program. She is a political scientist with a particular interest in citizenship, migration and political development in Africa. She is the author of Making Citizens in Africa: Ethnicity, Gender and National Identity in Ethiopia (Cambridge University Press, 2013).