Natural Hazards Center

Still Under Attack

Muslim Americans, Bigotry, and the Enduring Backlash

By Elke Weesjes Sabella and Lori Peek

In the aftermath of the attacks in Paris, France, and the mass shooting in San Bernardino, California, Muslim Americans once again became the target of a shocked and angry public. In the media, the surge in anti-Muslim hate crimes was quickly compared to the backlash after 9/11. But rather than thinking about these moments of backlash as somehow separate, it is more meaningful to conceptualize them as continual waves of discriminatory actions, violent incidents, and publically inflammatory statements that have ebbed and flowed in the post-9/11 period, but have certainly never receded.

Are Muslims the New Jews?

The 1930s Refugee Crisis Revisited

By Elke Weesjes Sabella

As the current refugee crisis deepens and extreme right-wing, anti-immigrant politicians gain traction in Europe and the United States, the parallels between Jewish refugees and their current Middle Eastern counterparts are worth contemplating.

Welcome to the Jungle

Dispatches from a Calais Refugee Camp

By Elisa Sandri

In the Jungle, a sprawling shantytown on the outskirts of Calais in northern France, more than 6000 refugees have been pitching their tents, waiting to cross the French border into the United Kingdom. With little to no access to basic hygiene such as showers and running water, minimal healthcare, inadequate shelter and clothing, the overall situation is quickly escalating, according to local volunteer Elisa Sandri.

How to create an issue of the Observer

By Jeffrey Gunderson

Skid Row Realizations

Planning for Homeless Individuals During Disasters

By June L. Gin

Unsheltered homeless populations live outdoors and so are among one of the most at-risk groups during disasters and face imminent physical danger during storms, wildfires, and extreme temperature events. Adding to the problem is the fact that rates of mental and physical disabilities and substance dependency are high among the homeless, heightening the challenges they face during and after disasters.