“Migration and Displacement in Kurdistan: A Sociological Analysis of Community Change and Resilience 2014-2017”

Abstract

Migration and displacement are significant social phenomena around the world. They include all kinds of movements of groups of people from one geographic area to another, as a result of numerous and different reasons such as (War and conflict, security, politic, sometimes financial and social reasons) as it's obvious that migration and displacement have had a huge impact on all the communities throughout history, and they play a crucial role in shaping the structure of the community, but here in this study we focus on the migration and displacement which its caused as a forced and consequence of war. This theoretical study investigates the social dimension of migration and displacement in the history of the Kurdistan region by emphasizing how communities manage the changes and demonstrate resilience framework during the migration, as well as defining and understanding the term of resilience as a basic part to show how communities cope and adapt with their circumstances, as well as attempting to reduce the negative impact on the host communities.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         The main goal of this study is to identify the social and psychological effects on both communities, the migrants and the host community, which leads to a clear understanding of the entire migration process, as well as identifying the techniques and mechanisms, and forms of resilience for individuals in both groups.                                                                                                                                                                                        Consequently, this study relied on several sociological contemporary and classical theories, such as Structural functionalism, social constructionism, and feminist theory, which each of them explains and examines the displaced people suffering from different angles in the migration context.                                                                                                                                                                                                             Ultimately, the findings of this study indicate that communities generally experience significant social and psychological obstacles resulting from displacement and migration. Displaced people often lose their homes, schools, and jobs, which are the most difficult aspects and cause stress and instability in their lives. Losing a family member can be especially harsh. For the host community, being in a crowded environment is also challenging; it is hard for them to cope with a diverse group of people. However, the study also reveals that despite those obstacles, there is a strong connection and resilience between groups; they try to help each other and build a social network in the new environment, which helps maintain social cohesion.