The slippery concept of ‘community’, both locally and transnationally

This chapter starts by summarising previous definitions and approaches to the contested concept of ‘community’, typically defined in terms of ‘communities of place’, ‘communities of identity’ and ‘communities of shared interests’. Reflecting upon the experiences of communities in response to migration and displacement, the chapter concludes that such previous definitions need to be expanded. They need to take account of the ways in which communities form and re- form, in response to displacement and dispossession. And they need to take account of the multiple ways in which people identify with varying communities simultaneously, both locally and as members of faith communities and transnational communities.

Choices and constraints

This chapter focuses upon the extent to which people – and communities - have agency. How far can people make choices freely and/ or how far are people affected by wider structural constraints, when it comes to deciding to move, whether to flee from unbearable situations at home and/ or in search of better, more sustainable livelihoods elsewhere. And how can people and communities respond to being ‘kept in their place’, by the fear of violence outside, for instance. Strategies to tackle violence against women in India provide illustrations, for example. The chapter concludes by focussing upon some of the ways in which people and communities can be supported to enable them to exercise their agency to maximum effect, including via community-based popular education.

Responses to displacement via market forces more generally

This chapter focuses upon community responses to displacement as a result of much less evident causes, high lighting the underlying operations of market forces. Marketisation processes have been intensifying competition for dwindling supplies of genuinely affordable housing, for instance, leading to processes of social cleansing. Tensions within and between communities have been exacerbated as a result. But there have also been examples of solidarity in face of threats of displacement via market forces, as the chapter illustrates, concluding by reflecting upon some of the potential implications for the development of public policies.

Moving on?

Having summarised the underlying structural factors to be addressed, in the context of neo-liberal globalisation, this concluding chapter focuses upon the issues to be addressed within and between communities themselves. Communities can, and too often do, exacerbate the effects of displacement, becoming fragmented and divided in the process, blaming each other/ ‘the other’ for their frustrations and anxieties. But these are so far from being the only options, as previous chapters have amply demonstrated. The concluding chapter identifies the importance of common understandings as the basis for social solidarity, developing alliances across differences, taking account of the importance of community arts as a way of developing shared understandings and empathy in the pursuit of social justice agendas. The chapter ends with a collaborative poem, written by migrant, asylum-seeking and refugee women, expressing their solidarity in the face of displacement and dispossession.

Public policies to promote community cohesion

This chapter focuses upon strategies to respond to the darker sides of ‘community’, the more exclusionary sides, and the conflicts that can so easily be exacerbated within as well as between communities. Public policies have addressed these issues in more – or less- successful ways. Public policies can backfire, just as they can have the effect of reinforcing negative stereotypes of the ‘other’. This criticism has been applied to policies to promote community cohesion via ‘Prevent’ programmes against violent extremism, for example, in the context of the so-called ‘War on Terror’. The chapter concludes by focussing upon policy interventions that have been making a difference more constructively, supporting communities to identify shared interests, negotiating differences and developing solidarity in the process.

Community responses to displacement as a result of (re)development

This chapter focuses upon community responses to dispossession and displacement as a result of (re)development. Having summarised varying definitions and approaches the chapter moves on to explore case studies from different international contexts. There have been powerful illustrations of community resistance to displacement as a result of the Narmada big dam project in India, for example, as well as illustrations of alternative approaches in other Indian contexts. Brazil has provided its own examples of community based alternatives, including those developed by displaced peoples, the Landless People’s Movement. And there have been illustrations of community based resistance to displacement/ social cleansing as a result of urban redevelopment processes in contemporary Britain.

Responses to being displaced by violence

Starting from the surge of refugees from Syria from 2015, this chapter focuses upon those displaced by violence more generally. From experiences of displacement in Northern Ireland in the relatively recent past, and experiences elsewhere, the chapter focuses upon community responses to new arrivals as well as upon responses within and between newcomer communities themselves. The first story comes from Montreal, Canada, focussing upon the memories of Jewish refugees, following the Second World War. The chapter concludes with stories of support- and mutual support – within migrant and refugee communities, including Somali communities in Britain today.

Explaining migration and displacement

This chapter explores different definitions and theoretical approaches to the study of migration and displacement. This includes discussion of official definitions of who counts as a ‘refugee’. Having explored different approaches, including different approaches to understanding women’s migration, the chapter focuses on the notions of diasporas, transnational communities and cultures as these develop over space and time.

Stories of migration, displacement, community resistance and solidarity

This chapter introduces the book’s themes of migration, displacement, community resistance and the development of community solidarities – drawing upon the author’s experiences as well as her previous research. In the context of neo-liberal globalisation there are common underlying causes for the movement of peoples, whether these are movements within countries or movements across national borders. There are similarities as well as differences between people’s displacements, including people’s displacement as a result of social cleansing, here in Britain. The chapter concludes by introducing the chapters that follow.