Powerful, first-hand accounts and evidence gathered by local NGOs show how Roma fleeing Ukraine’s war have been frozen out of the support offered to many other refugees. Padmini Iyer and Sarah Redd introduce a new report that reveals the scale of discrimination facing Roma seeking refuge – and set out five actions that could transform their lives.
Amid the hostility to Roma refugees, an act of compassion
When Nadia went into labour just two weeks after fleeing Ukraine for Poland, local people rushed to her help. But Oxfam’s research shows that such acts of kindness are still too rare in a refugee response often blighted by anti-Roma discrimination, says Padmini Iyer in a blog for World Refugee Day.
Why the path to diversity and inclusion is a personal journey
A space to finally be heard As a British born Indian, the spaces I navigate have always been predominately white centred. I had never been able to articulate that until recently. With the global social activism in 2020, the Black Lives Matter movement has propelled Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) work front and centre. What was seemingly a ‘nice-to-have’ business prerogative turned into a …
Institutional Racism in the Aid Sector and how Oxfam is responding
Institutional racism in the aid sector interconnects with colonialism, and in turn links with the promotion of intersectional feminism. This is due to the role patriarchy plays in defining who is marginalised and discriminated against, by these intersecting systems of oppression. But what about the aid sector? From my 25 years in the sector, there are two parts – the …
Decolonising development narratives
Narratives around “development” On January 6th 2021, white supremacists stormed the US capitol after months of lies and misinformation about election fraud was spread by Donald Trump and his allies. Several reporters and prominent politicians called the violent insurrection “unamerican,” likening the scenes to a “banana republic” and saying “those are the sorts of things that happen in third-world nations.” Reporting live on …
Podcast: Robtel Neajai Pailey on racism in development
Let’s talk about racism and development. Dr Robtel Neajai Pailey is a Liberian academic, activist and author.In this conversation, Maria and Robtel talk about development as a racist construct. They discuss the academization of decolonization, the systems of power and decision-making that uphold racism, and Robtel asks us: how complicit are we all in upholding the notion that whiteness (often …