Forced Migration, Older Refugees and Displacement: Implications for Social Work as a Human Rights Profession
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Forced Migration, Older Refugees and Displacement: Implications for Social Work as a Human Rights Profession Sofie Ghazanfareeon Karlsson 1
&
Jessica H. Jönsson 2
# The Author(s) 2020
Abstract This article explores the conditions of globally displaced older refugees and outlines the implications for social work as a human rights profession. The study is based on a literature review and two current case examples of globally displaced older refugees facing long-term structural discrimination and human rights violation: older Rohingyas at the Bangladesh-Myanmar border and older Palestinians at the Israel-Gaza and Lebanon borders. The authors suggest that social workers as ‘front-line human rights workers’ are uniquely placed to identify needs, and take actionable steps to support and advocate for the human rights of older displaced refugees. It is argued that global social work ethics and principles of social justice and human rights should underpin social work practices that engage people and structures in order to address life challenges and enhance the well-being of displaced older refugees in war zones, at borders and in refugee camps. Future research and welfare projects that aim to analyse the political context that forms the living conditions of forcibly displaced older refugees, whilst enhancing the importance of social workers in interprofessional collaborations in these areas, are discussed. Keywords Displacement . Forced migration . Human rights . Older refugees . Social work
Introduction The global population of forcibly displaced people resulting from war, conflict, persecution or human rights violations is at a record high level; according to the UN Refugee Agency (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees 2017a), globally 68.5 million individuals have forcibly been displaced. A substantial number (8.5%) of forcibly displaced refugees are older people (United N ations H igh Commissioner for Refugees 2017a). The increasing number of forcibly displaced people not only testifies to global injustice and inequality at a time of increasing ‘small wars’ and ethnic and religious conflicts but also requires social workers globally to become proactive in confronting the human cost of
* Sofie Ghazanfareeon Karlsson [email protected] Jessica H. Jönsson [email protected] 1
Department of Psychology & Social Work, Mid Sweden University, Östersund, Sweden
2
Department of Law, Psychology and Social Work, Örebro University, Örebro, Sweden
war (Kamali 2015), including its implications for a rapidly aging population that is on the move. A world influenced by rapid global transformations and increasing social problems, such as forced migration and displacement of older refugees, influences many aspects of human lives and related caring professions. Social work as a global profession needs to include adequate critical, global a nd ge r on t o l o g i c a l p e r s p ec t i ve s i n i t s p r ac t i ce s (Ghazanfareeon Karlsson 2018; Jönsson 2014). The political context of economic, political and
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