Pyone Myat Thu

Slide1: 

Pyone Myat Thu Pre-Fieldwork Seminar PhD Candidate Displaced Households in Rural East Timor: Re-establishing livelihoods

Seminar Outline: 

Seminar Outline Introduction: Displaced Livelihoods Background Context Field Area Theoretical Orientation Field Work Chapters Outline Some Thoughts

Internally Displaced People (IDPs): 

Internally Displaced People (IDPs) UN’s 1998 Guiding Principles for the Internally Displaced groups of people forced to flee from the dangers of armed conflicts, natural disasters, development projects They have not crossed international borders, and are within the territory of their own country

Internal Displacement : 

Internal Displacement Does displacement end if re-settlement has occurred ? What if there is inadequate cultural, physical and socio-economic security in return areas? (Muggah, 2000)

East Timor: 

East Timor Portuguese Colony (16th century) Indonesian Province (1975 – 1999) Independence 20th May 2002 Over 17 ethnic groups, numerous indigenous languages 80% population live in rural areas Agriculture: approx 75% labour force, 25% GDP Main income is from oil and gas revenue

Displacement Histories in East Timor: 

Displacement Histories in East Timor Portuguese Administration Suco (village – 15 to 20 dwellings) Hunting-gathers to Sedentary Cultivation Indonesian Occupation Invasion and ‘witch hunt’ for resistance Re-settlement Scheme Referendum led to Militia Attacks (August 1999) Post-Independence Social Unrest (April 2006)

Indonesian Displacement: 

Indonesian Displacement Locals fled into the interior and mountains to escape Indonesian forces Destruction of homes, livestock, food gardens New settlements under Five Year Development Plan Relocated from interior and original homes Avoid forming of clandestine movements

Re-settlement Scheme: 

Re-settlement Scheme Low lying areas and service corridors Social units were fragmented Strict military control 100-200 m2 plots of land No cultivation permitted within village Unfavourable environments Improved roads, services, communications

Since Independence: 

Since Independence Return of displaced households to former settlements Re-establish villages and sacred houses (uma lulics) Others have remained at relocated sites Remote land, lack of infrastructures, services Lost of spiritual ties to land, conflict over land ownership Small spontaneous movement or trend ?

Study Site: 

Study Site Village of Dai Sua, Samé (Manufahi District) Five hamlets: Riatu, Leso Ai, Dai Sua, Loti, and Roin Mambai and Bunak language groups Late 1970s: fled to Cablaki mountains In 1978 found by Indonesian military Moved to hamlet Loti’s land at Simpang Tiga (‘Y’ road)

Slide13: 

Simpang Tiga

Study Site: 

Study Site 1990s: Hamlets permitted to return to place of origin (in mountainous area) Reasons for return: family plantations Birthplace (moris fatin) Access to land Reasons for staying: Close to main road Livestock Access to market and services

Aims: 

Aims Describe livelihoods of Timorese households and individuals displaced from their land Identify the social and economic practices: networks that exist within and among respondents To explore the extent of their connection with the land they use now and had been forced to abandon Contribute to how displaced livelihoods are conceptualised

A Framework for Displaced Livelihoods: 

A Framework for Displaced Livelihoods Livelihoods Analysis (Chambers and Conway, 1992; Scoones, 1998; Ellis, 2000) Displacement Impacts (McDowell, 2001)

The Livelihoods Approach: 

The Livelihoods Approach Structural Perspective (‘70s to ‘80s) Actor-Oriented (‘90s - ) Household, Networks, Local Scale focus Diversification of activities ‘Sustainable’ Livelihoods

Livelihoods : 

Livelihoods “A livelihood comprises the assets (natural, physical, human, financial and social capital), the activities, and the access to these (mediated by institutions and social relations) that together determines the living gained by the individual or household” (Ellis (2000), p.10)

Five Assets: 

Five Assets Natural: natural resources (land, trees, marine) Physical: Infrastructure (roads, transport, quality water, communications) Social: networks, Connections, Exchanges, Groups Human: skills, knowledge, ability to labour, good health Financial: In stock (livestock, jewellery), money (DFID,2001)

Livelihood Diversification : 

Livelihood Diversification Simultaneously engaged in multiple dissimilar income sources Access through social relations and Institutions Inter, Intra household dynamics Labour relations, Seasonality, Credit (Ellis, 2000) Livelihood activities: complementary, mutually exclusive, or competing (De Haan and Zoomers, 2003)

Sustainable Livelihoods: 

Sustainable Livelihoods cope with and recover from shocks and stresses maintain and enhance its capabilities and assets provide sustainable livelihood opportunities for the next generation contributes net benefits to other livelihoods at the local and global levels in the long and short term (Chambers and Conway, 1992)

Vulnerability and Resilience: 

Vulnerability and Resilience the degree of exposure to risk, shocks, and stress, and proneness to food insecurity.” (Ellis 1998) External and Internal Dislocation is a shock: Physical and Social Loss of assets or access to them Social Resilience Ability of communities to withstand external shocks Particularly for those who are resource dependent Not easy to assess (Adger, 2000)

Sustainable Livelihoods: 

Sustainable Livelihoods

Sustainable Displaced Livelihoods: 

Sustainable Displaced Livelihoods

What I will observe in the field…: 

What I will observe in the field… Economic Practices Land Tenure and Property Rights Social Relationships and Institutions

Assets in a Divided Community: 

Assets in a Divided Community Natural: Low lying land VS forests, family plantations, rugged land Physical: Good Infrastructure VS poor infrastructure in original area Social, Human, Financial

Economic Practices: 

Economic Practices Subsistence Household & Community Economy (Eder, 1993; Gudeman, 2001; Polanyi, 1957) Economic Relations: Transactions: Bartar, Informal market, gift giving Labour: wage labourers, self-employed, in kind, reciprocal Enterprises: State owned, communal, private

Nodes and Networks: 

Nodes and Networks A. B.

Land Tenure and Property: 

Land Tenure and Property Simpang Tiga is on hamlet Loti’s land Non-members of Loti cannot inherit land (in principle) Residential Purpose: houses (uma) Cultivation Purpose: gardens (tos), but not trees Common Property Resources? Access and acquire land? Access and mobilise resources to increase economic security in both areas?

Traditional Social Units: 

Traditional Social Units Kin relations: immediate family, Clan, the House (uma) Sacred House (uma lulic) Displaced Households: fragmented family-clan-house networks? New networks? How are they structured?

Displaced Households: 

Displaced Households Households: space of negotiations and conflicts Displaced households may not be traditional households, labour practices changed? How are they structured? Gendered Dimensions

Social Relations and Institutions: 

Social Relations and Institutions The issue of Access (land, resources, opportunities) kinship relations, community structures, institutions, organisations Exclusion? Power and Social Relationships? Institutions shape livelihoods, vice versa ? Weakened & Newly formed Institutions?

Field Methods: 

Field Methods Qualitative Techniques Collect Life Histories Participatory Observations ‘Having coffee and biscuits’ Focus Groups?

Tentative Thesis Chapters: 

Tentative Thesis Chapters Introduction: Displacement as a Phenomenon Theories engaged in thesis: Livelihoods and Displacement Aims and Objectives of Thesis Research Site PART I Chapter 1: The East Timorese Community: An Ethnographic Account Pre-history, Origins Geography Cosmological World Views (lulic, and dualism) Social Organisation and Land Ownership (Gendered)

Tentative Thesis Chapters: 

Tentative Thesis Chapters Chapter Two: Displacement Histories in East Timor East Timor in Portuguese colonial times, Indonesian Occupation, Pre-Independence, Post-Independence and the consequent impacts on livelihoods Indonesian Displacement: The extent of displacement and its consequences Study Area: People, geographies, displacement experiences. Narratives. Was resettlement land allocated to individual households as a unit?

Tentative Thesis Chapters: 

Tentative Thesis Chapters Part II Chapter Three: Multi-local Livelihoods of the Displaced (nodes) The acquisition of land by re-settlers and ‘outsiders’ Common property resources: their importance (or not) Livelihood activities used by people in new areas vs people in original area. Financial and other assets in the new areas and original area

Tentative Thesis Chapters: 

Tentative Thesis Chapters Chapter Four: Displaced Household Networks: Journeying between Places Map out household networks What are the networks that exist between displaced people in pursuing livelihood strategies? Do they revolve around House relations? What are the linkages between those have remained on the relocated sites, and those that have returned to their original land? Are these networks confined in rural East Timor or spread into urban areas? Do networks differ for women and men?

Tentative Thesis Chapters: 

Tentative Thesis Chapters Chapter Five: Re-settled Displaced People – The Creation of a Community What happens to re-settled displaced people? Social re-articulation and Community re-generation Household Case Studies The importance of House relations in displaced households Gender Dimensions

Tentative Thesis Chapters: 

Tentative Thesis Chapters Chapter Six: Summary of field area International comparisons on the study of displaced livelihoods Conclusion: How have the theories enabled us to understand displaced livelihoods

Field Work : 

Field Work Chapter 5: Re-settled Displaced People – The Creation of a Community

Some Thoughts: 

Some Thoughts Displacement literature: humanitarian and policies Literature does not address long term effects of resettlement Livelihoods analysis is vast, almost like a ‘wish list’, many inter-related sub-themes, needs prioritising.

Conclusion: 

Conclusion (Children in a displaced community, Manatuto District)