John van Kooy, PhD

A dense crowd of protestors walking across the Sydney Harbour Bridge, waving Palestinian flags.

There were babies in prams, elderly people in wheelchairs, families, friends, organisations, unions, and a sea of Palestinian flags and keffiyehs. It was the largest and most moving protest I have ever seen. #MarchForHumanity

White House defends firing of jobs official - Michael West White House economic advisers have on defended President Donald Trump’s firing of the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, rejecting criticism it could undermine confidence in official US economic ...

If you don't like the statistics you can just fire the statistician.

michaelwest.com.au/news/white-h...

Air-dropping food into Gaza is a ‘smokescreen’ – this is what must be done to prevent mass starvation States must exercise their full diplomatic leverage to pressure Israel to let aid in at the scale required to avert famine.

Halting starvation in Gaza isn't just about letting aid trucks in (or dropping palettes on shelters). Hospitals have been bombed. So even with food, people can't access the medical care to recover from malnourishment.

via @civilianprotection.bsky.social

theconversation.com/air-dropping...

“Staggering” Water Loss Driven by Groundwater Mining Poses Global Threat A new study finds that freshwater resources are rapidly disappearing, creating arid “mega” regions and causing sea levels to rise.

Aside from how incredibly bleak this is (in a time when everything else is also very bleak), I bloody love data-driven journalism like this.
Well researched & written, beautifully presented.

via @abrahm.bsky.social @propublica.org

www.propublica.org/article/wate...

Today, some 30 organisations, including member and partner organisations of the Network, have launched the "Where We Rise" campaign, a coalition call to raise €1 million for people on the move seeking safety.

Donate here: forrefugees.donorsupport.co/page/where-w...

We need to teach people the difference between being uncomfortable and being unsafe. Because the discomfort of the safest people is endangering the most vulnerable, all day every day.

2. The greatest heroes of any age, the people who have secured all our fundamental freedoms, are those who have broken oppressive laws for moral reasons. When you malign altruistic protesters for breaking the law, you diss the legacy of those who broke it for your sake.

2025 Kaldor Centre Conference | UNSW Sydney

What an absolutely stellar program for this year's Kaldor Centre Conference: "Building bridges: Advancing refugee protection in a divided world".

Thu, 23 Oct, 9am - 5pm AEDT
Get your tix!!

@kaldorcentre.bsky.social
conference.unsw.edu.au/en/2025-kald...

I presume that ICE funding 'spiked' post-Inauguration as well

I've seen the reporting and the footage of ICE arrests, but these charts are INSANE

RLRH launches new round of Graduate Horizons application support scheme

Great opportunity for African refugee and displaced students - 500+ Master’s scholarships available at 25+ universities worldwide, via @refugeestudies.bsky.social

www.rsc.ox.ac.uk/news/rlrh-la...

RCT evaluation of an Italian pilot program has a simple core lesson: early, targeted support can dramatically improve employment outcomes for asylum seekers, even in resource-constrained settings.
cepr.org/voxeu/column...

The Demographic and Health Surveys brought crucial data for more than 90 countries — without them, we risk darkness Cuts to US aid could end the Demographic and Health Surveys. This would leave a massive gap in our understanding of global health, mortality, and development.

It doesn’t have to end this way. There’s now an effort to rescue the DHS, and new funders could help secure its future.

In a new article, @scientificdiscovery.dev gives an overview of the DHS, what the termination of USAID funding means, and what can be done about it:

Is there a strain on peer review? – It’s more complicated than you think - Impact of Social Sciences The significant growth of academic publishing in recent years has led some to argue the system is reaching a breaking point, but is it this simple?

“Around 50% of funded research remains unpublished”✍️Ritu Dhand

Citation bias leaves valuable lab work unseen, fuelling duplicated effort. PWC estimates €26B lost in Europe alone. Time to rethink what we call ‘quality’!

#PeerReview

Suffering in Gaza reaches ‘new depths’ – Australia condemns ‘inhumane killing’ of Palestinians Pressure is mounting on Israel to lift all restrictions on food and other emergency supplies, with more than 870 Palestinians having been killed while seeking aid.

"We can't say we didn't know... Now is the time to exert diplomatic, legal and economic pressure on Israel to change course."
- @civilianprotection.bsky.social
theconversation.com/suffering-in...

I study refugees, and here are the facts on the history and impact of refugee resettlement in the US The US was a world leader in refugee resettlement. Trump stopped all that with one executive order. What does the end of refugee resettlement look like in practice?

'Between 2005–19, refugees yielded a net positive fiscal impact of US$123.8 billion, at both federal and state levels, and generated an estimated $581 billion for governments at all levels.'

theconversation.com/i-study-refu...

Swedish government to implement survey to improve integration efforts The poll, set to take place during the latter part of the year, will interview an equal number of native-born Swedes and immigrants from non-Western backgrounds about their attitudes regarding democra...

"The survey is part of a broader integration policy objective adopted by the Swedish government, which emphasizes equal rights and obligations for foreign-born individuals."

www.infomigrants.net/en/post/6563...

Kenya embraces refugee integration – and citizens are on board A survey of Kenyan citizens on refugee integration offers lessons for other countries grappling with protracted refugee situations and declining aid.

“We’re human, and it’s not good to see your fellow [human] suffer or bleed. You have to care about the other’s life like you care about your own.”
#refugees in Kenya's camps

www.thenewhumanitarian.org/opinion/2025...

Smuggling to and within Türkiye:  
75% of Syrians, 64% of Afghans, and 55% of Pakistanis we interviewed said they used smugglers because they had no alternatives.
📊 Based on 2,127 interviews with refugees & migrants in Türkiye who engaged a smuggler en route or within Türkiye.
🔗⬇️(1/2)

The Sordid History of Offshoring Migrants Trump is only the latest to embrace a costly and immoral tactic.

I highly recommend this article by @fitzgeralducsd.bsky.social , which reveals the corrosive impact of migrant offshoring on liberal democracy.

www.foreignaffairs.com/united-state...

What it is good for business (ie brutally said, cheap disposable labour) is not necessarily good for society or at least doesn't translate in political support with large sections of the voting population feeling marginalised, this is one of the lessons from #brexit

I have been working on building this database of crimes of solidarity&humanitarianism for a few years. It's a resource for research and legal cases and activists -to get an overall sense of patterns across different locations. If you would like to help please get in touch www.crimesofsolidarity.org

Save the Children has cut ties with the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) over its role in Gaza projects. 🧵

‘Real people, real families’: Coalition signals dramatic shift away from anti-immigration rhetoric of Dutton era Exclusive: Shadow immigration minister promises a new tone when talking about migrants as Liberals work to rebuild support among multicultural communities

This reads like cynical electoral politics (i.e., they've just realised that migrants also vote), but it's a start.

www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

Thank you Mary Anne 🙂

Sam was an engineer in Baghdad but couldn’t land an interview for similar roles in Australia. Many face the same issue Humanitarian migrants often struggle to have their qualifications recognised and experience an ‘occupational downgrade’, according to a new report

Article on the Guardian:
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/j...

INTERVIEW: The persistent employment struggles of refugees A significant new report has been released by the Australian Institute of Family Studies tracking the long-term employment struggles faced by refugee workers. Sandra Fulloon spoke to report author Joh...

Interview and story on SBS News radio:
www.sbs.com.au/news/podcast...

Australia's 'occupational downgrade' problem — and who it's hurting Despite being managers and professionals in their home countries, refugees are struggling to find similar work in Australia in the long term. One expert says: "We're all losing out."

Article on SBS News:
www.sbs.com.au/news/article...

The 'occupational downgrade' hurting almost half of all skilled refugees New research shows almost half of refugees previously working as managers and professionals are, 10 years later, still experiencing what's known as an "occupational downgrade".

Article on ABC News (Australia):
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-06...

Economic participation of humanitarian migrants in Australia This report provides evidence of economic participation trends among resettled refugees, the potential or ‘latent’ labour force capacity in this group and the timing of ‘transitions’ into the labour f...

Main report: aifs.gov.au/building-new...