Communicating Social Cohesion in Forced Displacement: A Framework for Protracted Situations of Encampment

"Adopting a communication-based framework for enabling social cohesion with encamped populations is both beneficial and crucial in humanitarian work. It enhances engagement, fosters trust, empowers communities, and favours interventions that consider cultural differences."

Promoting, rebuilding, or maintaining cohesion poses challenges for any society, but these tasks become especially daunting in conflict-ridden environments where divisions perpetuate violence, and violence reinforces divisions. Tensions both within and between groups of displaced people may be equally - if not more - important to social cohesion than relationships with other groups, such as host communities. This article addresses the role that communication and media interventions can play in fostering social cohesion among displaced populations in camp settings through a review of both practical and theoretical notions in this area. Ultimately, the aim of this article is to offer a starting point for humanitarian agencies working in refugee camps to articulate the adoption of a communication-driven approach in their social cohesion programming.

The article begins with an introduction to the existing debate that surrounds the concept of social cohesion. The multiple definitions that have been articulated do not come to a consensus on what this concept means. Nevertheless, literature cited here suggests that social cohesion generally refers to the level of social interconnectedness and solidarity among diverse community groups, encompassing trust and bonds among individuals and across the community. It involves positive relationships between society and its governing entities (vertical dimension) and within groups and individuals (horizontal dimension). The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) defines horizontal social cohesion, which is critical in protracted situations of encampment, as "the ties which hold people together within a community". This horizontal dimension is the focus of this article.

This discussion is followed by some reflections on trust, which is a key factor in the establishment of cohesion between different groups. Trust encompasses aspects such as assurance in the sincerity, reliability, dependability, and competence of someone or something's behaviour. Another significant facet of trust is affective, involving emotions, moods, and shared goals, beliefs, values, and identities among parties. Research emphasises that mutual trust fosters bonds among individuals and communities. In addition, trust involves mutual respect and a shared sense of connectedness among individuals or within groups.

Efforts aimed at fostering belonging, inclusion, participation, recognition, and legitimacy can enhance social cohesion between displaced populations, including with their host communities. Horizontally, promoting social cohesion through the use of communication entails addressing societal divisions, grievances, and identity-based conflicts. Because efforts to strengthen social cohesion are intertwined with power dynamics, it is necessary to navigate the complexities of neutrality versus proactive engagement and to plan responses to potential resistance and opposition. To foster constructive engagement across various social divides, Cox et al. (2023) identify four types of interventions: dialogue-based interventions, collaborative contact interventions, social cohesion messaging, and social engagement.

The idea that participation in development strengthens community cohesion has been a recurring theme in the literature. This article examines Bennett and D'Onofrio (2015)'s concept of Community-Driven Development (CDD), which describes a widely used aid approach that prioritises community authority in making decisions about planning and allocating resources. It is theorised that participating in CDD's inclusive processes can empower communities, enhance their ability to manage local development and governance, and strengthen social cohesion. In this process of transformation, the core concept is that the participatory nature of CDD interventions allows individuals and groups to learn about and witness new social norms in action. Thus, in line with these ideas, communication (including online communication) serves as both a prerequisite and a tool for creating social cohesion and forming solid communities.

To put these ideas into context, the article offers examples of practical applications of communication to foster social cohesion, including through the use of media channels, in line with the horizontal interventions identified by Cox et al outlined above. In brief, selected examples include:
 

1. Dialogue-Based Interventions: Community Dialogues - In the context of internal displacement, Utterwulghe (2004) highlighted how displaced groups can be active agents in transforming and improving their situations. This author underlined, in particular, the power of facilitated dialogue sessions to stimulate social mobilisation in camps and the importance of providing effective training for people to engage meaningfully in these assemblies.
2. Collaborative Contact Interventions: Radio Listening Clubs - In a study conducted on Masibumbane listening club (MLC), an informal association encompassing Radio Khwezi's active audience in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, Khumalo (2021) reports that social cohesion within the Masibumbane group was demonstrated through positive interpersonal interactions, strong mutual support among members, shared values like Ubuntu, and collaborative efforts to innovate for improved livelihoods. Membership in the MLC also enhanced social capital through mutual support and shared values, enabling collective approaches to address development challenges affecting both the group and the broader community. Shared values within the group motivated proactive engagement in community and self-development.
3. Social Cohesion Messaging: Community Newspapers - Several experiences of community newspapers in refugee camps exist. Some of the most notable for community cohesion, even though currently discontinued, include The Road, produced by young volunteers in Jordan's Za'atari refugee camp with United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) funding, and The Refugee Magazine in Kakuma (Kenya), also produced by the youth through FilmAid's Journalism project. A study conducted by Yamamoto (2011) shows that community newspapers contribute to fostering social cohesion by promoting community values, interests, and solidarity.
4. Social Engagement: Social Media Platforms - In the face of distressing events, social networks enable information sharing and adaptive behaviours that aid communities in coping with impacts, allowing social cohesion to emerge. However,  digital tools like social media may perpetuate existing social inequalities by disadvantaging those with limited online access.

In light of this analysis and these examples, the article presents a communication-based framework for humanitarian and development work on social cohesion in refugee camps is presented. This framework, which is visualised in the full article, clarifies how communication, also facilitated through contextually appropriate media channels, represents a thread through which relationships and collaboration begin to form. This thread leads to an overall recognition of the value and importance of establishing bonds for the betterment of the situation of all groups and for the development of a more cohesive community.

In conclusion: "By prioritising communication, organisations can better meet the diverse needs of encamped populations; at the same time, through an effective application of the framework presented, they can also support communities' journeys towards self-reliance and integration. Through this framework, communities are enabled to find their own path to collaboration and trust-building thanks to a communication-driven process, facilitated by media channels, that provides relevant content around community needs and effective messaging that encourage collaboration."