Contextual Research

The Brief

Brief: Need to investigate many aspects of migration - do this in contextual research. Chosen to go along with more personal approaches to the brief as they've suggested - both sides of my family have experiences with migration - Syria and Iraq. Although I'm focusing on Syria, I could still dedicate a one or a few pages to my Iraqi family's experience.
Strategy & Research: Rigorous sketchbook research - I think this also includes blogging as i'm not going to print out all the research to place in the sketchbook. Need to have visual references, notations, sketches, and exploration of materials and ideas.
Target Audience: Youth/young adult (art and design) students. I believe art and design can shape new rhetorics and overthrow mainstream, negative rhetorics about migrants however think they may have missed out or have not engaged with much factual text about it. A secondary audience would be students in general as it would be a more visually engaging book rather than listing facts.

OUGD503 Outcomes
All outcomes are assessed equally at 25% each.

OUTCOME: 5A4 Knowledge & Understanding - Research and Critical Awareness 
Make appropriate use of a range of research methods, to investigate a topic and produce work relating to the critical, cultural or social context of art and design.

OUTCOME: 5B3 Cognitive Skills - Problem Analysis, Problem Solving
Generate ideas, concepts, proposals, solutions and/or arguments, using the language, materials, processes and techniques of a designated discipline.

OUTCOME: 5C3 Practical Skills - Visual Quality and Conceptual Development
Respond to set briefs or proposals in a professional context.

OUTCOME: 5D3 Key Transferable Skills - Organisation, Communication and Evaluation
Exercise self-management skills in managing their workloads and meeting deadlines/apply interpersonal and social skills to interact with others.

The way this project is assessed is different to the previous project in which there are 4 clear assessment areas and all 4 are equally important. 5A4 is what I believe is one of the most important outcomes to focus on to create a project that responds well to the brief as there's a large focus in needing investigate all aspects of migration - "We expect you to investigate the widest interpretation of the theme from, natural, historical, cultural and global perspectives. We envisage lots of opportunities to draw upon references to different interpretations, eras, societies, social groups, generations, statistics etc."

International Society of Designers

• "Our goal is to give both tutors and students the opportunity to explore and develop typography as an inherent part of the design process and thus bring the typographic gesture to the forefront of their design education."
• Our practice is based upon the printed word but now embraces the gamut of media and technologies that we communicate with. Accordingly, we have progressively written our student project briefs for interpretation through a range of media."

The brief was set by ISTD which is interesting as although the brief doesn't make mention of typography, researching them has made me realise the importance of my use of typefaces and most likely needing to create one.

Migration
Based on initial research and brainstorming, I highlighted many aspects of migration that I found interesting and based on crit feedback and in relation to Tom Joyes' approach to representing the topic, want to reference within the publication.

Human Migration
My initial response to the topic of migration was human migration. The first historical mass migrations that I could think of were:

• Windrush
• Anglo Jewry
• Pakistan Immigration 60s/70s
• Arabs in England/Arab Diaspora

I further developed and brainstormed ideas relating to Arab Diaspora which is what led me to focusing on Syrians in the EU, however an understanding in general of the political, social and cultural history of human migration would be more beneficial.

https://www.britannica.com/topic/human-migration
"Migrations fall into several broad categories. First, internal and international migration may be distinguished. Within any country there are movements of individuals and families from one area to another (for example, from rural areas to the cities), and this is distinct from movements from one country to another. Second, migration may be voluntary or forced. Most voluntary migration, whether internal or external, is undertaken in search of better economic opportunities or housing. Forced migrations usually involve people who have been expelled by governments during war or other political upheavals or who have been forcibly transported as slaves or prisoners. Intermediate between these two categories are the voluntary migrations of refugees fleeing war, famine, or natural disasters."

• Internal - within countries, movements of individuals and families from one area to another is considered migration.
• Voluntary migration - generally undertaken for better economic opportunities and living conditions.
• Forced migration - war, political upheavels, slaves, prisoners, displacement
• Voluntary and/or Forced - the voluntary migration of refugees fleeing war, famine, natural disasters.

This "intermediate" category between voluntary and forced migration is what I'm generally focusing on and relates to the idea of the blurred line between migrants, immigrants and refugees that is more relevant to the modern day. 

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/world-history/world-history-beginnings/origin-humans-early-societies/v/peopling-the-earth

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/world-history/medieval-times/migration/v/causes-and-effects-of-human-migration

• Push Factors - factors that contribute to people's decisions to leave.
• Pull Factors - factors that contribute to people being attracted to a new location.

Understanding the essence of why people migrate/the migration factors is important as both push and pull factors play a part in every case of migration. People often only consider migration as a natural part of finding new and reliable sources only as a part of history when it's the same with Refugees.

Syria and Europe - WW1
https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2013/12/understanding-syria-from-pre-civil-war-to-post-assad/281989/
"During the First World War, Great Britain and France were at war with the Ottoman Empire, which had sided with Germany and Austria. "
"The war was hard fought, but long before victory was in sight, the British and French concluded what became known as the Sykes-Picot Agreement to divide the Middle East between them. "

The map on the right shows how the Middle East was to be divided among the Great Powers. Most of what became Syria is shown as “Zone A” on the map, which the French gave to the British at the peace conference to remind them of the deal.

"During the latter part of the war, the leaders of the Arab revolt against the Ottoman Empire established a kingdom at Damascus and at the Paris Peace Conference sought recognition of their independence. France was determined, however, to effect its deal with Britain, so in 1920 it invaded and “regime-changed” the Damascus government, making Syria a de facto colony of France but legally, under the League of Nations, a “mandate.” "
"None of these divisions worked, so the French reversed course. They united the country as defined in the mandate but attempted to change its social and cultural orientation. Their new policy aimed to supplant the common language, Arabic, with French, to make French customs and law the exemplar, to promote Catholicism as a means to undercut Islam, and to favor the minorities as a means to control the Muslim majority. It was inevitable that the native reaction to these intrusions would be first the rise of xenophobia and then the spread of what gradually became a European style of nationalism. It is thus in the 1920s and 1930s that we can begin to speak of the concept of Syrian statehood. Indeed, a sense of statehood and nationhood were the major ideas that emerged from the First World War and were popularized during the period of French rule."

• Focusing on the idea of the "first rise of xenophobia" due to France trying to erase the Syrian culture as a starting point for the xenophobic attitudes to Syrian refugees/Arab migrants. 
• "Zone A" a possible title for the book as a way of reclaiming the word and celebrating the statehood and what Syria stood for before France tried to fully occupy it.

History of Syria and Europe relation
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-14703995
1918 October - Arab troops led by Emir Feisal, and supported by British forces, capture Damascus, ending 400 years of Ottoman rule.
1919 - Emir Feisal backs Arab self-rule at the Versailles peace conference, following the defeat of Germany and the Ottoman Empire in World War I.
1920 March - National Congress elected the previous year proclaims Emir Feisal King of Syria from the Taurus mountains of Turkey to the Sinai desert in Egypt.
French control
1920 June - San Remo conference puts Syria-Lebanon under a French mandate and Palestine under British control. King Feisal flees abroad ahead of French occupation forces the following month.
1920-21 - Syria is divided into three autonomous regions by the French, with separate areas for the Alawis on the coast and the Druze in the south. Lebanon is separated off entirely.
Uprising
1925-6 - Nationalist agitation against French rule develops into uprising. French forces bombard Damascus.
1928 - Elections held for a constituent assembly, which drafts a constitution for Syria. French High Commissioner rejects the proposals, sparking nationalist protests.
1936 - France agrees to work towards Syrian independence and dissolves the autonomous regions, but maintains military and economic dominance and keeps Lebanon as a separate state.
1941 - British and Free French troops occupy Syria. General De Gaulle promises to end the French mandate.
1943 - Veteran nationalist Shukri al-Kuwatli is elected first president of Syria, leads the country to full independence three years later.
2007 March - European Union relaunches dialogue with Syria.
2008 July - President Assad meets French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris. The visit signals the end of the diplomatic isolation by the West that followed the assassination of former Lebanese PM Rafik Hariri in 2005.
2012 December - US, Britain, France, Turkey and Gulf states formally recognise opposition National Coalition as "legitimate representative" of Syrian people.

"Before the war, the EU was Syria's largest trading partner with €3.6 billion worth of EU goods exports to Syria and €3.5 billion of Syrian exports to the EU. Total trade was worth €7.18 billion in 2010 and the EU is Syria's largest trading partner with 22.5% of its trade (Syria is the EU's 50th).[9] Bilateral trade has contracted since the war to €1.45 billion in 2013, a drop of 91% of exports from Syria and of 61% of exports from the EU compared to 2011."

https://tradingeconomics.com/syria/balance-of-trade
"Due to the civil war, Syria is under international sanctions and foreign trade has been brought to a halt. In the 90s, Syria benefitted from higher oil revenues and was major oil producer. However, in recent years, declining oil production and a growth in imports had led to trade deficits. Syria’s other exports included fuels, calcium phosphate, sheep, tomatoes, electricity, cotton, chemicals and eggs. Syria mostly imported fuel, sugar, grains, iron and steel, cigarettes, plastics, vehicles and soy beans. Syria’s main trading partners were Italy, France, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Iraq, Ukraine, China, the United States, Russia, Lebanon, South Korea and Egypt."

EU Sanction on Syria
"While the government’s behaviour plays a central role in creating the desperate conditions on the ground, the sanctions on Syria have also exacerbated this suffering, as UN officials point out. Described by experts as the “most complicated and far-reaching sanctions regimes ever imposed”, the mixture of targeted, financial, and sectoral sanctions has created a situation today where Syrians are being punished twice: once by an authoritarian and corrupt government, and again by the international community through the imposition of inhumane and destructive sanctions."
"A major flaw in the recent EU sanctions and the proposed US sanctions is that they fail to distinguish between the regime, the government, and non-official institutions. They do not define what the regime is, and what behaviour and business practices they accept as legitimate. Essentially these targeted sanctions criminalise the Syrian government as a whole, and consequently those who do any work in government-held territories."

• Against mainstream rhetorics - Syrian refugees are not entering Europe on their own accord/due to their own fault - it's mostly the cause of the EU Sanctions making their life even harder on the war, and therefore having to be responsible.
• The sanctions cutting their trade deals have made it immensely hard for Syrians to survive while Europe still economically `gain from them.
• "Sanction" as a possible title to remind people subtly about the real narrative of Syrian refugees and their relation to Europe.

https://www.ecfr.eu/article/commentary_the_economic_war_on_syria_why_europe_risks_losing

Syrian Trade Throughout History
The region now called Syria was home to one of the most ancient civilizations on earth. Evidence of early trade relations dates as far back as 10,000 BC. Many of the greatest human achievements had their origins in the area known as the Cradle of Civilization. Its location on the Silk Road enriched Syria with wealth and strategic importance during the Roman Empire.
Throughout the 20th century, Syria experienced French control, uprisings, nationalization, regional wars, and conflict among rival factions. The economic outlook for Syria seemed to be improving in the 1990s and early 2000s. The World Bank considered it a fast-growing, lower-middle-income country. Syria’s main exports were crude and refined oil and information and communications technologies. Syria also enjoyed a healthy travel and tourism industry.
https://www.globaltrademag.com/civil-war-in-syria-how-conflict-erodes-trade/

Cradle of Civilisation:

"Mesopotamia, the area between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers (in modern day Iraq), is often referred to as the cradle of civilization because it is the first place where complex urban centers grew. The history of Mesopotamia, however, is inextricably tied to the greater region, which is comprised of the modern nations of Egypt, Iran, Syria, Jordan, Israel, Lebanon, the Gulf states and Turkey. We often refer to this region as the Near or Middle East."

• Mesopotamia could be a point to contradict the many negative rhetorics/stereotypes of Middle Easterners as their history is based on being the first place where complex urban centres grew which dictate much of how the world works today.

"Mesopotamia remains a region of stark geographical contrasts: vast deserts rimmed by rugged mountain ranges, punctuated by lush oases. Flowing through this topography are rivers and it was the irrigation systems that drew off the water from these rivers, specifically in southern Mesopotamia, that provided the support for the very early urban centers here."

• Focus on idea/theme of diversity. The people come from different regions with different environments and built a complex society together.

Ottoman Empire:

http://countrystudies.us/syria/7.htm

• 1516 - the Ottomans ruled Syria
• The Syrian economy did not flourish under the Ottomans. At times attempts were made to rebuild the country, but on the whole Syria remained poor. The population decreased by nearly 30 percent, and hundreds of villages virtually disappeared into the desert. At the end of the eighteenth century only one-eighth of the villages formerly on the register of the Aleppo pashalik (domain of a pasha) were still inhabited. 
• Although impoverished by Ottoman rule, Syria continued to attract European traders, who for centuries had transported spices, fruits, and textiles from the Middle East to the West. By the fifteenth century Aleppo was the Middle East's chief marketplace and had eclipsed Damascus in wealth, creating a rivalry between the two cities that continues.

Ottoman Empire wasn't a time of strong power for Syria however it proves the strong trade connection Syria had with Europeans as they would still travel to trade there, in a poorer country, than with other Ottoman states.

European Migrant Crisis - Syria
https://www.worldvision.org/refugees-news-stories/syrian-refugee-crisis-facts

• Nearly 12 million people in the country need humanitarian assistance.
• Healthcare centres and hospitals, schools, utilities, and water and sanitation systems are damaged or destroyed. 
• Historic landmarks and once-busy marketplaces have been reduced to rubble.
• War broke the social and business ties that bound neighbours to their community. 
• Millions scattered, creating the largest refugee and displacement crisis of our time. About 6.7 million Syrians are now refugees, and another 6.2 million people are displaced within Syria. Half of the people affected are children.
• 2012 - Syrians begin fleeing to Lebanon as they believe they'll be able to return back to Syria soon. Jordan also opens a refugee camp near Syria's border.
• 2013 - in March, total refugees are 1 million and in September it's 2 million.
• 2014 - 3 million refugees, and by June 100,000 have reached Europe.
• 2015 - Hungary closes border to Serbia to stop refugees, thousands reach Greece daily, 1 million refugees in Europe.
• *2015 - Alan Kurdi - the face of the Refugee Crisis.
• 2017 - more than 5 million people have fled Syria.
• "At the peak of the European migrant crisis in 2015, 1.3 million Syrians requested asylum in Europe. But the number of new asylum seekers has declined significantly since then."
• In Europe, Sweden, Austria and Netherlands house the most Syrian refugees however it's very small in comparison to countries neighbouring Syria.

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/numbers-syrian-refugees-around-world/

• "While more than half of Syria’s refugees remain in the Middle East, millions have also undertaken perilous journeys across the Mediterranean and beyond. Last year alone, European Union countries took in more than 96,000 people from Syria, roughly a third of the asylum seekers tracked in 2018 by the EU statistical office, Eurostat. The bulk went to Germany, which in 2018 granted protected status to nearly 67,000 Syrians."

There is such a small amount of refugees from Syria entering European countries and the mainstream media depicts it as an amount that countries can't handle; a negative thing. This builds a xenophobic pressure within society to view immigrants, migrants, and refugees as leeching on resources when in reality they are good for the economy.
"The 2018 barometer found that most Germans believe refugees enrich their country’s economy and culture, though a minority viewed them as a threat to prosperity."