A Very Modern Refugee Crisis: Mobile Solutions

Could mobile devices help solve a refugee crisis?

The nature of consumer technology has changed the world. That seems to state the obvious, but it is in times of turmoil, such as the current refugee crisis in Europe, that the change becomes more visible. Today’s adults have pre-conceived ideas of what or who refugees are, our points of reference reaching back to the Balkan crises and displaced populations in central and eastern African countries. Now we’re seeing people fleeing war zones, guided by mobile devices. Can mobile devices and apps help governments, charities and NGOs mitigate the trauma?

Smartphones are a global phenomenon

As the nature of warfare changes, so does the experience of civilians fleeing conflicts. It’s counter-intuitive, but seeing the poorest people in the most desperate circumstances using smartphone technology on the news isn’t an inconsistency in a political narrative — it’s the direction of travel.

Hardware manufacturers and telecoms companies have long understood the potential for technological literacy with low-priced smart devices. Developing economies scattered throughout unstable regions have embraced smartphone technology. According to PEW research, in Kenya 68 per cent of cell phone owners regularly use their phones to send or receive payments. Jordan, which neighbours civil-war riven Syria, has phones in the pockets of 95 per cent of the population. If only 20 per cent of these are smartphones, one fifth of the population has access to technology that could save their lives in the event of displacement.

During the Arab Spring, many of the displacing conflicts claimed to have their origins in social media movements [ref] . Violent reprisals against public demonstrations in Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain and Syria sparked off crises, some of which are pushing civilians towards the safety of the EU and other neighbouring countries. Famously, Egypt blocked both Facebook and Twitter, but the people weren’t accessing social media through their desktops. They were accessing it through their phones.

How well are developed economies understanding the nature of this change, and what can they do in conjunction with NGOs, charities and aid organisations to help ensure the safety of refugees, but also use the data gathered during the process, to plan more effectively for further waves of displaced peoples in the future?

How can smartphones help?

Developing economies are better prepared for mobile connectivity than super-fast landline or cable internet connections. Particularly in arid, mountainous or jungle areas, smartphones provide a measure of quality information access that just isn’t available anywhere else. Relatively inexpensive, the infrastructure of cellular networks is something that emerging economy governments are paying close attention to. Investors are targeting the communications infrastructure of central Africa and the Middle East because it’s the cheapest and most effective means of bringing data connectivity to populations.

However, it’s not just the uptake of the internet that makes mobility a special case for consideration when thinking of how we can better help displaced people. Despite the likes of Bahrain having 88 per cent of its population online, there are also considerations to make for the likes of Yemen and Libya, unstable areas where Internet access is still very low.

Even in developed nations there are instances where populations are displaced, and increasingly authorities are turning to Smartphones as being ‘vital’. During the 2015 winter floods in Britain, the Environment Agency broadcast messages urging people to gather things they need in case of evacuation- the first thing on the list was a mobile phone, before clothes and prescription medicines. Smartphones in 2015 are becoming analogous to radios in the mid 20th century, a vital communication tool that is expected almost everywhere on the planet.

As our smartphones get better, they also get cheaper

Last year the Telegraph reported that manufacturing improvements, efficiencies of scale and hardware miniaturisation are reducing the cost of smartphones. Driving the major change in how we will be able to deal with a refugee crisis in future is the smartphone hitting the purchase sweet spot of $30-$50. We’re already pretty much there. What many view in the west as a relative luxury good is for many in the developing world, an accessible and vital piece of technology. We’re going to have to change our perception of what is and what isn’t a sign of affluence.

It’s impossible to confidently predict, prevent or monitor a refugee crisis. Even with the best intelligence in the world, nobody really knows where the next conflict is going to erupt. What we can know is that it’s likely that no matter where it happens, a sizeable chunk of the people displaced will be finding their way out of danger using smartphone technology. It’s happening right now; you can see it with your own eyes on the evening news.

The smartphone technologies that we need to embrace to help refugees, aid agencies and governments

Geo-location: People are crossing from Syria into western Europe, guided by their smartphones. GPS technology and offline-map syncing are providing real time guides for whole groups of families. By setting up relief centres along these routes, governments and aid agencies can signpost safe zones and attract greater numbers to safer areas. For areas with poor satellite coverage or cellular internet, smartphones are becoming increasingly able to triangulate co-ordinates from the locations of cellular masts. Geo-Location allows for targeted, regional messaging. This can be useful in places where disasters are ongoing. Messages can be pushed to devices to warn people to stay away from an area, be it due to conflicts, weather warnings or border troubles.

Touch screen interactivity: The cornerstone of mobility, touch screens are a universal language that anybody can understand or use. Removing paperwork and providing instant data input, volunteers, government workers and aid agencies are able to process the needs of people more quickly.

Money transfer: Refugees are more monetarily mobile in the 21st century, thanks to the greater availability and ease of transferring money using mobile devices; from funding from relatives in safer climates, to retrieving cash from a person’s own bank account. It’s all far easier than it’s been in the past, and its visual impact heightens the risk of onlookers misunderstanding the situation. We’re all going to have to be more comfortable with this change, or risk misdiagnosing the seriousness of war and displacement.

Connectivity: Using wifi stations to allow refugees to contact friends and family through social media, or notify governments or NGOs of their presence, will save lives.

What are the impacts for governments?

The data potential for mass displacement of people with smartphones is huge. By setting up inexpensive Arduino or low-latency bluetooth sensors, governments could collect huge amounts of data along borders that will help predict the influx of displaced people. The data can be used to give a more accurate reflection of the real-world issues, and will help for better targeting and planning of resources and aid. Visualisation of the data would help the public better understand the numbers and nature of displaced people crossing borders, rather than relying on short video clips or anecdotal evidence. The task would then be providing sufficient incentive for encouraging displaced peoples to head towards these wifi or sensor enabled areas, with food, safety and shelter the primary draw. In the same way we use Coffeeshop wifi connections, gathering the same kinds of data.

The mass adoption of smartphone technology brings with it huge opportunities for better humanitarianism. However, to begin we all need to understand and appreciate the change that cheap smartphone technology brings to the world. Traditional concepts of refugees, borders, civil unrest and war are quickly becoming redundant. What we do know is that we have to increase the pace of understanding within developed nations, and use the technology at our disposal to minimise the suffering of all displaced people, now and in the future.