The article highlights the erasure of refugee voices in data-driven humanitarian discourse, advocating for participatory storytelling as a means of reclaiming agency. This reflects a broader systemic issue of epistemic injustice, where marginalised communities are excluded from shaping narratives about their own lives.
Produced by openDemocracy, a platform committed to investigative journalism and advocacy. The piece challenges the dominant humanitarian industrial complex, which often reduces refugees to statistics for funding and policy purposes. The unthinkable here is the radical idea that refugees could be co-authors of their own narratives, not just subjects of them.
Eight knowledge lenses applied to this story by the Cogniosynthetic Corrective Engine.
Indigenous data sovereignty movements, such as those articulated by Māori scholar Linda Tuhiwai Smith, emphasise the importance of self-representation. Refugees, like Indigenous peoples, face erasure when their stories are appropriated by external actors. Traditional oral storytelling practices in many cultures serve as a model for reclaiming narrative agency.
This echoes the colonial practice of reducing colonised peoples to statistics, as seen in the census records of the British Empire. The 19th-century 'White Man's Burden' ideology similarly framed non-Western populations as objects of pity or control. The refugee crisis today is a continuation of these historical patterns of dehumanisation.
Ubuntu philosophy, which centres the idea 'I am because we are,' underscores the communal nature of storytelling. In Buddhist traditions, the concept of 'dependent origination' highlights how narratives are co-created, not imposed. Confucian relational ethics also emphasise the importance of dialogue and mutual recognition in shaping shared realities.
Research in participatory action research (PAR) shows that involving communities in data collection and analysis leads to more accurate and empowering outcomes. Studies on epistemic injustice, such as those by Miranda Fricker, demonstrate how marginalised groups are often denied the authority to speak about their own experiences.
Artistic movements like the Black Arts Movement and the Chicano Movement used storytelling as a tool of resistance and self-determination. Spiritual traditions, such as those of the Quakers, emphasise the importance of listening to marginalised voices as a form of ethical witnessing. Poetry and oral traditions often capture the nuances of human experience that data cannot.
If refugees continue to be excluded from narrative production, future policy will remain extractive and dehumanising. Conversely, if participatory storytelling becomes standard practice, it could lead to more just and effective humanitarian interventions. This shift could also inspire broader movements for data sovereignty and epistemic justice in other marginalised communities.
Refugees themselves, such as those involved in the Refugee Journalism Project, are already reclaiming their narratives through media and storytelling. The voices of disabled refugees, who often face double marginalisation, are particularly important in highlighting the intersections of oppression. Future generations will inherit the narratives we create today, making it crucial to centre their perspectives in storytelling practices.
The article does not delve into the structural barriers that prevent refugees from accessing storytelling platforms, such as language barriers, lack of resources, and restrictive immigration policies. It also does not explore the role of technology in both facilitating and complicating narrative sovereignty.
An ACST audit of what the original framing omits. Eligible for cross-reference under the ACST vocabulary.
Establish refugee-led media and storytelling initiatives funded by international organisations.
Integrate participatory action research methods into humanitarian data collection processes.
Advocate for policy frameworks that recognise and protect narrative sovereignty as a human right.
The struggle for narrative sovereignty among refugees is a microcosm of broader battles for epistemic justice. By centring refugee voices in storytelling, we challenge colonial legacies of dehumanisation and pave the way for more equitable and effective humanitarian practices. This requires a radical reimagining of who gets to tell stories, how, and for whom.