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Laura Hammond

@laurahammond.bsky.social
1.7K followers 538 following 80 posts

SOAS DVC Research & Knowledge Exchange. Migration, refugees, diaspora, food security, conflict, Ethiopia Somalia, whippets

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Laura Hammond @laurahammond.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
This is so awesome. Just another reason that kids are our future.
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Laura Hammond @laurahammond.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
Whippets for democracy!
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Laura Hammond @laurahammond.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
Ilhan Omar is an absolute star. I could watch her go after the ugly man 100 times #Minnesotastrong #Somalistrong
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Laura Hammond @laurahammond.bsky.social · 03/12/2025
Standing in solidarity with my many Somali friends. I am so sorry for the garbage coming from the White House.
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Laura Hammond @laurahammond.bsky.social · 28/11/2025
This was a very uncomfortable interview to watch, and Getachew Reda did not come out looking good.
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Laura Hammond @laurahammond.bsky.social · 21/11/2025
What is the objective in putting this story (and only this story) out on the #transdayofremembrance ? Adding insult to (mortal) injury? Shame on the #BBC and #EHRC Trans people could be barred from services based on appearance www.bbc.com/news/article...
bbc.com
Trans people could be barred from services based on appearance
The new code of practice on access to single-sex services cannot gain legal force until it gets sign-off from ministers.
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Laura Hammond @laurahammond.bsky.social · 30/10/2025
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...
bbc.com
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.
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Laura Hammond @laurahammond.bsky.social · 18/10/2025
Solidarity to all who take to the streets today. #NoKings
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Laura Hammond @laurahammond.bsky.social · 23/08/2025
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.
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Laura Hammond @laurahammond.bsky.social · 22/08/2025
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...
bbc.com
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.
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Laura Hammond @laurahammond.bsky.social · 20/08/2025
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...
theconversation.com
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.
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Laura Hammond @laurahammond.bsky.social · 20/07/2025
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
An open letter from the presidents of Gaza universities
Our campuses may have been razed, but our universities continue to exist.
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Reposted by Laura Hammond
richaxe.bsky.social @richaxe.bsky.social · 14/07/2025
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...
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Laura Hammond @laurahammond.bsky.social · 14/07/2025
#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...
futurelearn.com
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.
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Laura Hammond @laurahammond.bsky.social · 14/06/2025
8 years. I keep thinking about how the kids who we lost would have been young adults now. Like my kids. 💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚
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Laura Hammond @laurahammond.bsky.social · 28/05/2025
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 ....
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Reposted by Laura Hammond
Michael Clemens @mclem.org · 22/05/2025
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.
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Laura Hammond @laurahammond.bsky.social · 22/05/2025
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...
bbc.com
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.
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Laura Hammond @laurahammond.bsky.social · 13/05/2025
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!
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Jonathan Portes @jdportes.bsky.social · 10/05/2025
"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...
independent.co.uk
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
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Laura Hammond @laurahammond.bsky.social · 10/05/2025
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.
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Laura Hammond @laurahammond.bsky.social · 01/05/2025
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
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
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Laura Hammond @laurahammond.bsky.social · 30/04/2025
You know you’ve stayed at work too long when the Central Line looks like this. #tfl
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Laura Hammond @laurahammond.bsky.social · 23/04/2025
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.
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Laura Hammond @laurahammond.bsky.social · 22/04/2025
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...
aacu.org
A Call for Constructive Engagement | AAC&U
A Call for Constructive Engagement
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Laura Hammond @laurahammond.bsky.social · 11/04/2025
Mum, can we go to the beach now? Yes we can! Off to tropical southern England, back after Easter.
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Laura Hammond @laurahammond.bsky.social · 09/04/2025
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.
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Laura Hammond @laurahammond.bsky.social · 28/03/2025
Read this together with my previous post and weep.😭 www.nytimes.com/2025/03/28/u...
nytimes.com
Trump Administration Moves to Eliminate USAID With Final Cuts
The staff of U.S.A.I.D. will be reduced to some 15 legally required positions. The agency employed about 10,000 people before the Trump administration entered office.
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Laura Hammond @laurahammond.bsky.social · 28/03/2025
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/28/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | Hillary Clinton: This Is Just Dumb
The Signal group chat is only the latest in a string of self-inflicted wounds by the new administration.
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Laura Hammond @laurahammond.bsky.social · 25/03/2025
ICYMI: my inaugural lecture. 🍿 ☕️ 🍷 www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUCu...
youtube.com
SOAS Inaugural Lecture Series: Professor Laura Hammond
YouTube video by SOAS University of London
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Laura Hammond @laurahammond.bsky.social · 19/03/2025
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/18/u...
nytimes.com
Elon Musk’s Role in Dismantling USAID Likely Violated Constitution, Judge Finds
It appears to be the first time a federal judge has acted to constrain Elon Musk, a top adviser to President Trump. The judge also ordered agency functions be partially restored, though that relief co...
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Laura Hammond @laurahammond.bsky.social · 12/03/2025
Thank you Rich!!
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Laura Hammond @laurahammond.bsky.social · 01/03/2025
So proud of my state. #VermontStrong
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Laura Hammond @laurahammond.bsky.social · 28/02/2025
Watching FOTUS try to extort minerals out of Ukraine by threatening and insulting Zelenskyy shows his absolute ugliest side. Many women will recognise this as a pattern common to predators.
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Reposted by Laura Hammond
Stefan Dercon @gamblingondev.bsky.social · 27/02/2025
Aspiring economists from Africa: Extended deadline 4 March Oxford's CSAE offers full scholarships >3 year for African students How? Apply for grad studies in Econ = 2 yr Master's course w/ progress to PhD We automatically consider all applicants www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/g...
ox.ac.uk
MPhil in Economics | University of Oxford
About the courseThe MPhil in Economics is designed to provide rigorous training in economic theory, applied economics, and econometric methods. It is comparable to the first two years of a PhD
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Laura Hammond @laurahammond.bsky.social · 20/02/2025
Not only does this situation show the moral bankruptcy of this government, it also shows their intention to ignore the courts, a dangerous precedent that they will surely make a habit of. www.nytimes.com/2025/02/20/h...
nytimes.com
Emergency Food, TB Tests and H.I.V. Drugs: Vital Health Aid Remains Frozen Despite Court Ruling
The Trump administration appears to be flouting a judge’s order pausing the dismantling of U.S.A.I.D.
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Laura Hammond @laurahammond.bsky.social · 18/02/2025
Seems an apt reminder.
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Laura Hammond @laurahammond.bsky.social · 12/02/2025
"Christian love is not a concentric expansion of interests that little by little extend to other persons and groups.” Pope Francis giving JDVance a Sunday School lesson
apnews.com
Pope rebukes Trump administration over immigrant deportations and appears to aim directly at Vance
The U.S. border czar has pushed back against Pope Francis' criticism of the U.S. mass deportation of migrants plan.
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Laura Hammond @laurahammond.bsky.social · 08/02/2025
40,000 health workers in Kenya affected. 5000 Ethiopian Ministry of Health workers already laid off due to USAID closure www.nytimes.com/2025/02/08/w...
nytimes.com
Trump and Musk Bring Vast Aid Machinery to a Halt in Africa
The collapse of U.S.A.I.D. at the hands of President Trump and Elon Musk is already leaving gaping holes in vital health care and other services that millions of Africans rely on for their survival.
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Laura Hammond @laurahammond.bsky.social · 07/02/2025
I decided to dig this bad boy out of storage to recognise/remember some of the many fine people I worked with @ USAID in Ethiopia in 1999-2000. Tamirat Mulu perished in the March 2019 plane crash in Eth. He & Beza Des were my students at @clarkuniversity.bsky.social What’s happening right now is 💔
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Laura Hammond @laurahammond.bsky.social · 31/01/2025
And that's just DC aid workers. What about all the national staff now without jobs??? www.devex.com/news/exclusi...
devex.com
Exclusive: Up to 3,000 DC aid workers laid off by next week, CEO says
DT Global's CEO told staff members many other firms could furlough or retrench the vast majority of their staff.
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Laura Hammond @laurahammond.bsky.social · 31/01/2025
Is the State Dept's strategy that, if people are starving but there is no one to gather data on it and sound the alert, and no one to respond to it, maybe it's not a famine? Riiiighhhht....
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Reposted by Laura Hammond
SOAS Global Development @soasdevelopment.bsky.social · 29/01/2025
📢 Today at 5pm! "Stay and deliver? Walking the tightrope of humanitarianism in Afghanistan" by Hsiao-Wei Lee, WFP Country Director in Afghanistan Don’t miss out! @soasuni.bsky.social @naomihossain.bsky.social @laurahammond.bsky.social
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Maaza Mengiste @maazamengiste.bsky.social · 23/01/2025
3/Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments-Saidiya Hartman Trieste-Dasa Drndic Ordinary Notes-Christina Sharpe Recognizing the Stranger-Isabella Hammad I Will Bear Witness (1933-41)-Victor Klemperer Theory of Water-Leanne Betasamosake Simpson (coming soon) Human Acts-Han Kang Kintu-Jennifer Makumbi
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Maaza Mengiste @maazamengiste.bsky.social · 23/01/2025
2/ I think, like many, that we must start building those networks now. & we are part of some already built that could just use acknowledgement/strengthening. As a writer, I imagine certain books & their authors as part of a network of solidarity & knowledge. A few here, ranging in idea & purpose:
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Maaza Mengiste @maazamengiste.bsky.social · 23/01/2025
1/For my novel(s), I've spent years researching how some targeted communities have coped under fascism and authoritarianism. What I've found consistently is the networks of assistance they developed to help each other survive. It was not perfect but it helped many manage until something broke.
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Laura Hammond @laurahammond.bsky.social · 23/01/2025
Sending so much love to my trans and nonbinary students, colleagues, friends and family members in the US who have been forced into a very scary time by the new government. Please know that you will continue to be seen and respected and loved. 🏳️‍⚧️🩵🏳️‍⚧️🩷🏳️‍⚧️🤍🏳️‍⚧️🩵🏳️‍⚧️🩷🏳️‍⚧️🤍
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Laura Hammond @laurahammond.bsky.social · 23/01/2025
If, like me, you are outraged at the new Exec Order to pull US funding out of @who.int, please consider setting up a monthly subscription to donate. If enough people do this, we can minimise the damage done. donate.who.foundation?utm_source=d...
donate.who.foundation
Donate to WHO’s Emergency Response
Health Can’t Wait. Your Support Saves Lives Today.
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SOAS University of London @soasuni.bsky.social · 22/01/2025
@leslievinjamuri.bsky.social @alvinahoffmann.bsky.social
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Laura Hammond @laurahammond.bsky.social · 22/01/2025
Oh the irony of reading this article while on hold with HMRC...I was advised by the bot that the wait would be 20 minutes. I'm now 46 minutes in and still no human has appeared. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
HMRC denies 'deliberately poor' phone service for taxpayers
Thousands on hold to HMRC's helpline say they were cut off after waiting for 70 minutes.
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