Laura Hammond
@laurahammond.bsky.social
SOAS DVC Research & Knowledge Exchange. Migration, refugees, diaspora, food security, conflict, Ethiopia Somalia, whippets
Pinned
Laura Hammond
@laurahammond.bsky.social
· Apr 11
Mum, can we go to the beach now? Yes we can! Off to tropical southern England, back after Easter.
Today’s ’Just when you thought things couldn’t get more insane’ news:
Trump caps refugee admissions at 7,500 - mostly white South Africans www.bbc.com/news/article...
Trump caps refugee admissions at 7,500 - mostly white South Africans www.bbc.com/news/article...
Trump caps refugee admissions at 7,500 - mostly white South Africans
The move, which will apply for the next fiscal year, marks a dramatic cut from the previous limit of 125,000.
www.bbc.com
October 30, 2025 at 6:25 PM
Today’s ’Just when you thought things couldn’t get more insane’ news:
Trump caps refugee admissions at 7,500 - mostly white South Africans www.bbc.com/news/article...
Trump caps refugee admissions at 7,500 - mostly white South Africans www.bbc.com/news/article...
Very sad to learn of passing of Maxamed Saeed Maxamed ‘Gees’, fmr Somaliland Minister of Planning, Director of the Somaliland Academy for Peace & Development, intellectual, professor. I worked for him in 1998 & we remained firm friends ever since. May he rest in peace.
August 23, 2025 at 4:30 PM
Very sad to learn of passing of Maxamed Saeed Maxamed ‘Gees’, fmr Somaliland Minister of Planning, Director of the Somaliland Academy for Peace & Development, intellectual, professor. I worked for him in 1998 & we remained firm friends ever since. May he rest in peace.
The IPC’s confirmation of famine in Gaza is not early warning. It’s an indication that it’s already too late to prevent starvation of those already at Stage 5. Immediate ceasefire & full humanitarian access are needed to
keep the situation from worsening
www.bbc.com/news/article...
keep the situation from worsening
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Famine confirmed in Gaza City is 'failure of humanity', UN chief says
A UN-backed body confirms famine in Gaza Strip and surrounding areas, and says half a million are facing "catastrophic" conditions.
www.bbc.com
August 22, 2025 at 8:47 PM
The IPC’s confirmation of famine in Gaza is not early warning. It’s an indication that it’s already too late to prevent starvation of those already at Stage 5. Immediate ceasefire & full humanitarian access are needed to
keep the situation from worsening
www.bbc.com/news/article...
keep the situation from worsening
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Great and timely piece by my colleagues Giorgia Dóna, Charlotte Sanders & Paolo Novak: As protesters and politicians call for the closure of asylum hotels, what are the alternatives? #migration #asylumseekerhousing #immigration theconversation.com/as-protester...
As protesters and politicians call for the closure of asylum hotels, what are the alternatives?
Long-term use of hotels poses numerous challenges to those living there.
theconversation.com
August 20, 2025 at 12:58 PM
Great and timely piece by my colleagues Giorgia Dóna, Charlotte Sanders & Paolo Novak: As protesters and politicians call for the closure of asylum hotels, what are the alternatives? #migration #asylumseekerhousing #immigration theconversation.com/as-protester...
Read this letter from the presidents of Gaza’s universities and imagine what it takes to keep a university functioning under the conditions they face. Such bravery and dedication. We need a ceasefire now!
aje.io/66loh2
aje.io/66loh2
An open letter from the presidents of Gaza universities
Our campuses may have been razed, but our universities continue to exist.
aje.io
July 20, 2025 at 9:49 PM
Read this letter from the presidents of Gaza’s universities and imagine what it takes to keep a university functioning under the conditions they face. Such bravery and dedication. We need a ceasefire now!
aje.io/66loh2
aje.io/66loh2
Reposted by Laura Hammond
Very excited about ‘Learning from South Omo’ - an exhibition highlighting new research from Southern Ethiopia. Doors open at the Gabre Kristos Desta Centre this Thursday 16th of July. If you’re in Addis then be sure to drop by. And if you’re not, you can read about it here: grnpp.org/learning-fro...
July 14, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Very excited about ‘Learning from South Omo’ - an exhibition highlighting new research from Southern Ethiopia. Doors open at the Gabre Kristos Desta Centre this Thursday 16th of July. If you’re in Addis then be sure to drop by. And if you’re not, you can read about it here: grnpp.org/learning-fro...
#Migration Peeps: Our new CoMOOC on Migration research has opened today. Free to join for the next 3 weeks!! Check it out! Share your research/insights/creativity!!!
www.futurelearn.com/courses/conn...
www.futurelearn.com/courses/conn...
Connecting and Sharing Learning from Global Migration Research - Online Cour
Join a global network of migration researchers and practitioners. Share methods, media, and impact strategies in this interactive course.
www.futurelearn.com
July 14, 2025 at 4:45 PM
#Migration Peeps: Our new CoMOOC on Migration research has opened today. Free to join for the next 3 weeks!! Check it out! Share your research/insights/creativity!!!
www.futurelearn.com/courses/conn...
www.futurelearn.com/courses/conn...
8 years. I keep thinking about how the kids who we lost would have been young adults now. Like my kids. 💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚
June 14, 2025 at 10:05 PM
8 years. I keep thinking about how the kids who we lost would have been young adults now. Like my kids. 💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚
That feeling when it's 6:30 am and you're about to board a long-haul flight. So you download 50 files to read/comment on while in the air. Then you buy a @vanityfair.com and ....
May 28, 2025 at 6:21 AM
That feeling when it's 6:30 am and you're about to board a long-haul flight. So you download 50 files to read/comment on while in the air. Then you buy a @vanityfair.com and ....
Reposted by Laura Hammond
The US Administration is now explicitly threatening similar illegal, authoritarian assaults on every university in the country.
Our entire system of higher education is under attack. The powers being used as weapons are perversions of the public trust.
Our entire system of higher education is under attack. The powers being used as weapons are perversions of the public trust.
after announcing that foreign students are being banned from Havard, Noem warns "this should be a warning to every other university to get your act together."
May 22, 2025 at 9:51 PM
The US Administration is now explicitly threatening similar illegal, authoritarian assaults on every university in the country.
Our entire system of higher education is under attack. The powers being used as weapons are perversions of the public trust.
Our entire system of higher education is under attack. The powers being used as weapons are perversions of the public trust.
This is a disaster from every angle. And it has nothing to do with addressing antisemitism at Harvard.
Trump administration ends Harvard's ability to enrol international students www.bbc.com/news/article...
Trump administration ends Harvard's ability to enrol international students www.bbc.com/news/article...
Trump administration ends Harvard's ability to enrol international students
The move escalates the administration's row with America's oldest university over hiring, admissions and teaching practices.
www.bbc.com
May 22, 2025 at 7:15 PM
This is a disaster from every angle. And it has nothing to do with addressing antisemitism at Harvard.
Trump administration ends Harvard's ability to enrol international students www.bbc.com/news/article...
Trump administration ends Harvard's ability to enrol international students www.bbc.com/news/article...
So nice to meet Somaliland Minister of Environment and Climate Change Minister Abdillahi Jama Osman today in my office at SOAS! Please excuse the mess!
May 13, 2025 at 10:56 PM
So nice to meet Somaliland Minister of Environment and Climate Change Minister Abdillahi Jama Osman today in my office at SOAS! Please excuse the mess!
Reposted by Laura Hammond
"The Centre for Policy Studies claimed the lifetime net fiscal cost of recent migrants would be £234 billion.
However, this used the wrong data for earnings & employment. Simply correcting the errors results in a net fiscal *benefit* of about £125 bn."
www.independent.co.uk/voices/tight...
However, this used the wrong data for earnings & employment. Simply correcting the errors results in a net fiscal *benefit* of about £125 bn."
www.independent.co.uk/voices/tight...
Tighter restrictions on visas aren’t just mean-spirited, they’re counter-productive
Making it harder for people to come to this country to work, study or stay may get the immigration numbers down, but it’s also a one-way ticket to plummeting growth, argues Jonathan Portes
www.independent.co.uk
May 10, 2025 at 2:48 PM
"The Centre for Policy Studies claimed the lifetime net fiscal cost of recent migrants would be £234 billion.
However, this used the wrong data for earnings & employment. Simply correcting the errors results in a net fiscal *benefit* of about £125 bn."
www.independent.co.uk/voices/tight...
However, this used the wrong data for earnings & employment. Simply correcting the errors results in a net fiscal *benefit* of about £125 bn."
www.independent.co.uk/voices/tight...
Shame on the Worcester Police and on ICE. But I am proud to see City Councillor Etel Haxhiaj, my former student, standing up for her community members who face arrest and deportation. She is as tough as they come, but with a heart of gold.
"Another officer, frustrated, says, 'They don’t need a warrant.' Finally, one of them tells the truth. Due process is not a matter they’re concerned with. The deportation must proceed. Trying to stop it is the unlawful thing"—@billshaner.bsky.social in Worcester www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
“They’re trying to kidnap someone”
On the scene of a brutal ICE arrest in Worcester, Massachusetts.
www.motherjones.com
May 10, 2025 at 5:54 PM
Shame on the Worcester Police and on ICE. But I am proud to see City Councillor Etel Haxhiaj, my former student, standing up for her community members who face arrest and deportation. She is as tough as they come, but with a heart of gold.
Last night SOAS President Zeinab Badawi launched Humanitarian Action for Sudan, a group led by nonpartisan Sudanese Diaspora to provide essential relief to civilians caught in the conflict in Sudan. Check out their website here: www.humanitarianactionsudan.org
Humanitarian Action for Sudan
HAS is an initiative led by non-partisan members of the Sudanese diaspora, supporting those on the ground in Sudan providing humanitarian assistance
www.humanitarianactionsudan.org
May 1, 2025 at 8:42 AM
Last night SOAS President Zeinab Badawi launched Humanitarian Action for Sudan, a group led by nonpartisan Sudanese Diaspora to provide essential relief to civilians caught in the conflict in Sudan. Check out their website here: www.humanitarianactionsudan.org
Oh the irony of the US fretting that the fertility rate is dropping below the 1.8 needed to maintain current population size, who we need to work, pay taxes and care for our elders while at the same time rushing to deport migrants who are - er - working, paying taxes and caring for our grandparents.
April 23, 2025 at 7:33 PM
Oh the irony of the US fretting that the fertility rate is dropping below the 1.8 needed to maintain current population size, who we need to work, pay taxes and care for our elders while at the same time rushing to deport migrants who are - er - working, paying taxes and caring for our grandparents.
Finally a joint statement from the US’ colleges and universities. This is the kind of unity we need more of.
www.aacu.org/newsroom/a-c...
www.aacu.org/newsroom/a-c...
A Call for Constructive Engagement | AAC&U
A Call for Constructive Engagement
www.aacu.org
April 22, 2025 at 9:29 PM
Finally a joint statement from the US’ colleges and universities. This is the kind of unity we need more of.
www.aacu.org/newsroom/a-c...
www.aacu.org/newsroom/a-c...
Mum, can we go to the beach now? Yes we can! Off to tropical southern England, back after Easter.
April 11, 2025 at 7:37 PM
Mum, can we go to the beach now? Yes we can! Off to tropical southern England, back after Easter.
Beautiful tribute to Amadou Bagayoko by SOAS’ Prof Lucy Durán. Amadou and Mariam have been a constant part of my family’s soundtrack for many years. May he rest in peace.
Professor of Music Lucy Durán, wrote for @theconversation.com on the life and legacy of Malian musician, Amadou Bagayoko.
theconversation.com/amadou-bagay...
theconversation.com/amadou-bagay...
Amadou Bagayoko: the blind Malian musician whose joyful songs changed west African music
The famous blind couple, Amadou & Mariam, helped take Mali’s rich musical traditions to a new global audience.
theconversation.com
April 9, 2025 at 7:53 PM
Beautiful tribute to Amadou Bagayoko by SOAS’ Prof Lucy Durán. Amadou and Mariam have been a constant part of my family’s soundtrack for many years. May he rest in peace.
