Ceri Oeppen

My initial angry thoughts on the Government's announcement about stopping student visas for those from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Sudan and Myanmar. So much to say here... I've just scratched the surface of what's so wrong with this move: blogs.sussex.ac.uk/sussex-centr...

A tribute to @rmwilliams.bsky.social from @scmrjems.bsky.social RIP Richard, you will be sorely missed. blogs.sussex.ac.uk/sussex-centr...

In Memory of Richard Williams We lost Richard Williams, a dear friend and Hummingbird, over Christmas.

Just heard the awful news that Richard Williams recently passed away. He was a good friend, colleague, and comrade in the refugee rights movement. Very very sad to lose him. You can donate in his memory here: chuffed.org/project/1638...

This is the power of the ‘small boats’ story. Why are the government and press so obsessed with an estimated 1% of immigration arrivals to the UK? Because they can be used to justify a racist fear-mongering narrative against all migrants. (At least, all non-white migrants)

Afghanistan sees telecom shutdown as Taliban cut off internet Phone and internet links are down nationwide after the Taliban sever fibre-optic connections.

This is disastrous, socially, economically. Think of the impact on business transactions, education (particularly women’s online studies), remittances… (The Taliban has shut off fibre optic cables www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...)

Should student mental health responsibility fall to universities? The number of students reporting mental health concerns is rising. But to what extent should the onus be on universities?

Good, nuanced analysis of the student mental health crisis at universities and the obligations & limitations of universities in responding to it:

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

I've been following the politics of the UK's Afghan resettlement schemes closely throughout and my mind is still a bit boggled by it all...

UK set up secret Afghan immigration scheme after data leak and gagged media ‘Super-injunction’ lifted two years after 100,000 people were placed at risk of Taliban reprisals

Important news for anyone interested in the politicisation of immigration, and the intersection between war, migration and domestic politics. This involves a reckless endangerment of Afghan lives, a secret resettlement scheme and a super-injunction (only just lifted). www.ft.com/content/f6b4...

Visa policies harm science.

In this panel as in many panels at #IMISCOE2025 and other conferences, there is an empty chair, because a scholar was not authorised to travel. We all loose as colleagues are blocked from sharing their knowledge.

Refugees in a World Without Aid – Simple Book Publishing Drawing on research from the international comparative project Protracted Displacement Economies, this book demonstrates the need for a ‘more than economic’ approach to refugee and displacement econom...

New from OPUS! We’re proud to publish Refugees in a World Without Aid, edited by @oeppen.bsky.social, Ali Ali, @mikecollyer.bsky.social, Priya Deshingkar, Anne-Meike Fechter and Tahir Zaman.

Refugees in a World Without Aid – Simple Book Publishing Drawing on research from the international comparative project Protracted Displacement Economies, this book demonstrates the need for a ‘more than economic’ approach to refugee and displacement econom...

📖🚨New #OpenAccess book from the #displacementeconomies team! 🚨📖https://openpress.sussex.ac.uk/refugeesinaworldwithoutaid/ The book demonstrates the need for a ‘more than economic’ approach to refugee and displacement economies. Including chapters on the DRC, Ethiopia, Lebanon, Myanmar and Pakistan.

#refugeeweek is over for this year, but I just realised I forgot to share our @scmrjems.bsky.social blog about the #oursuperpower theme: blogs.sussex.ac.uk/sussex-centr... Here it is!

Really important 🧵. It seems like the people behind this graph (which I’ve seen shared widely on social media) need to (re)take Demography 101. @amrcampop.bsky.social perhaps an interesting example for your students to analyse!

The Value of Life Laid Bare during and after Conflict A panel discussion focusing on consequences of conflict and displacement on education, neglected diseases, neighbourliness, solidarity and mutual aid

My @scmrjems.bsky.social co-director Tahir Zaman and I will be talking about our #displacementeconomies work here, as part of an event with Sussex colleagues from across social and health sciences. 18th June. Open to all, but please register here: www.sussex.ac.uk/research/abo...

STOP the new 4 point PIP rule Can you spare a minute to help this campaign?

If you care about the rights of people with disabilities in the UK, please consider signing this about the #PIP reform proposals: www.change.org/p/stop-the-n...

📢 Fully funded PhD opportunity at the University of Glasgow! Interested in the following questions?

❓How do national identities shape attitudes toward migration?

🌍 How does this relationship change over time and across countries?

Apply before 21 April. Details here: tinyurl.com/3cxay963

Lectureship in Migration and Development available at Oxford. Apply by 22 Abril. Details: www.qeh.ox.ac.uk/vacancy/depa...

Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered: Section 1.

1/2 To “remove improper ideology”.

Does anyone still baulk at naming this fascism?

This is why it’s so important to resist History Reclaimed’s propaganda in The Telegraph, Mail, GB TV etc here too.

www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...

Understandable… the people who personally affected by this are also the people least likely to have the spare energy to protest and mobilise…

Thanks @podmalm.bsky.social - hope you’re doing ok.

I’d like to take part in a public consultation on this but the DWP have chosen to not include a fair question about the #PIP 4 point rule in their consultation 🤷‍♀️ see www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/news/dwp-lau...

As an unpaid carer (aka someone who loves someone else, who happens to have a disability) I’m subsidising the public purse by 💰 (alongside working full-time and paying taxes, btw). The meanness of the proposed reforms to #PIP and UCHealth, make me both furious and exhausted.

If you’re wondering why people are so upset about the proposed reforms to PIP, this excellent 🧵explains much of it.

It's completely disingenuous to bring PIP up in apposition to employment statistics. PIP is not a means-tested or employment-related benefit. It's not enough to live on. Nobody is claiming PIP instead of working. They might be enabled to work part time on PIP though!

I.e. not being able to attend family events because families are split by the fence. Also practical effects for those with farmland/property split by the fence. Hopefully he’ll publish on these things soon!

I’ll have to introduce you. A small number of people (with the right paperwork to move back and forth) have benefitted economically from the fence but for most increased prices, govt presence/securitisation have been a real problem. His most prevalent finding is the social effects.

One of my PhD supervises (Hafeez Ullah) is researching the after effects of the Afghanistan/Pakistan fence on communities who live on the border. Lots of parallels. Thanks for sharing!

Sussex to launch UK’s first climate justice undergraduate degree University announces new BA, after survey found most 14- to 18-year-olds want more rigorous climate change education

Proud of my Sussex Global Studies colleagues for developing this exciting new degree. Know someone who wants to learn more about climate justice? Send them Sussex’s way! www.theguardian.com/education/20...

Job Vacancy at the University of Brighton: Research Fellow This is an exciting opportunity for a Postdoctoral Research Fellow to develop their academic career by joining an international and interdisciplinary research team to work on the ESRC-funded project “...

Great 2.5 year post-doc opportunity at the University of Brighton, on a project co-led by my @scmrjems.bsky.social colleague Prof. Linda Morrice, called "The role of digital technology in social networks and wellbeing of unaccompanied young refugees" jobs.brighton.ac.uk/vacancy.aspx...

🚨 Fully funded PhDs at the University of Glasgow! 🚨

We are offering 5 PhD studentships, incl. 3 for low/middle-income country applicants @uofgsps.bsky.social.

📍 Apply by 31 March 2025 👉 shorturl.at/tutIq

🔎 Anyone interested in a migration/refugee politics or MENA-related project, get in touch!