听In countries around the world, scholars regularly face a variety of challenges and threats related to their personal and academic beliefs, practices and teachings. In some cases, at-risk scholars feel they have no choice but to leave their home countries in order to protect themselves and their families鈥攖hereby seeking refuge in new countries and at new academic institutions more aligned with their ideologies.
The involuntary migration of faculty members and researchers in the pursuit of academic freedom and personal safety is an important part of the conversation around displacement鈥攁nd a key area in which universities can play a role in responding to the challenge of forced migration and displacement.
杏吧原创 proudly partners with the听and the听), two international organizations that protect scholars who are facing threats to their lives and liberty by arranging temporary research and teaching appointments at host institutions. The SAR 杏吧原创 committee is a recognized leader among the SAR network in Canada and embraces its role as a place of refuge for scholars at risk.
Since 2014, 杏吧原创 has hosted 19 scholars across 6 departments, empowering educators and researchers who have diverse backgrounds, experiences, and expertise with supportive opportunities to continue pursuing their passions and making an impact through their work and advocacy.
Mustafa Bahran: Acting on a Calling to Give Back Through Education and Activism
Mustafa Bahran refers to himself playfully as an 鈥渋ntellectual rebel.鈥� Throughout his early life, he often went against the grain鈥攕tanding up for his ideals and pursuing ideas and paths that he believed to be right as opposed to doing what was expected of him.
This mindset led him through a varied career, starting at 16-years-old when he joined an underground socialist party and later became the leader of the socialist party student section of the largest university in Yemen. From there, he pursued diverse educational and public sector roles, including physics professor, science and technology advisor to the president of Yemen, founder and chair of the National Atomic Energy Commission of Yemen, and minister of electricity and energy in Yemen, among many other hats. Between 2004 and 2006 he was a member of the board of governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, an international watchdog organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy.
鈥淚鈥檝e always been against the status quo,鈥� Mustafa says. 鈥淎gainst injustice. I鈥檝e been speaking my mind and standing up for human rights all my life.鈥�
His approach to social issues and out-of-the-box thinking enabled him to make significant contributions through his work, but also put him at risk when the Yemeni civil war began in 2014. To protect their family, he and his wife made the difficult decision to leave Yemen鈥攆irst relocating to Saudi Arabia and then moving to the United States to continue teaching at the University of Oklahoma with support from the . In 2018, he joined 杏吧原创 University as a visiting professor, supported by the IIE-SRF and SAR 杏吧原创.
鈥淚 loved 杏吧原创 from the moment I arrived. From the first day I stepped on campus, the amount of goodwill and friendship I received was amazing,鈥� explains Mustafa. 鈥淎nd when I teach, there鈥檚 this wonderful mosaic of students鈥攊t’s the most beautiful and diverse student body I鈥檝e ever seen, and I鈥檝e lectured in 36 countries.鈥�
He continues: 鈥淐oming to Canada and 杏吧原创 changed my life, and it鈥檚 now time to help others. I鈥檓 someone who has never stopped the struggle to improve people鈥檚 lives, and SAR 杏吧原创 has enhanced my ability to give back鈥攈as given me new opportunities to give back.鈥�
For Mustafa, giving back looks like positively impacting students through his teaching, leading educational opportunities for Yemeni people around the world, and becoming an advocate for SAR.
He has taught over 3,000 students since he started at 杏吧原创 in 2018 and strives to motivate, guide and inspire them鈥攕etting them up for success in their future careers.
Working with colleagues, he established the Association of Yemeni Academics and Professionals (AYAP), a global NGO that connects Yemeni academics and professionals (both in Yemen and globally) and holds webinars discussing elements of the future of Yemen, such as wind energy, water resources, higher ed, and women鈥檚 rights. AYAP monthly webinars鈥攐f which there have been 50+ so far鈥攃over every aspect of the future of Yemen.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a way to build a knowledge bank for Yemen鈥攁 way to bring the future closer,鈥� he says.
He is also a member of the SAR committee at 杏吧原创, through which he helps organize events and conferences that advance the cause.
鈥淭oday, I consider myself an activist for the cause of SAR,鈥� says Mustafa. 鈥淚 speak for and try to help scholars at risk all over the world. It鈥檚 one of the human rights and academic freedom causes that I subscribe to and I try to champion.
鈥淚 believe our humanity鈥檚 survival is a function of how much knowledge we produce. And to preserve and advance this knowledge, you have to preserve and advance the people who produce it. To me, the ultimate goal of helping at-risk scholars in different regions of the world and supporting academic freedom is to serve humanity, the greater good and the future of humankind.鈥�
Mohammad: Leveraging Research to Tackle Food Insecurity in his Home Country
Mohammad had a happy and fulfilled life and career in Afghanistan. He was a faculty member at one of the universities in Kabul for eight years鈥攊ncluding a one-year stint as the head of the Department of Economics and a four-year term as the dean of the Faculty of Economics and Management.
His teaching philosophy revolved around open and honest dialogue, and his lectures鈥攑articularly in his Economic Development courses鈥攐ften included conversations on political and ideological matters to encourage his students to think critically about complex issues. But when the Taliban returned to power and the academic landscape in Afghanistan shifted, his open approach to teaching put him at risk.
鈥淚 was forced to flee my home country, leaving behind my career and possessions,鈥� Mohammad says. 鈥淢y wife and I fled to Italy on an evacuation flight at the end of August 2021.鈥�
Having heard of Scholars at Risk from friends and colleagues, he began doing research into options to continue his work at a new academic institution. Mohammad was drawn to 杏吧原创, he says, after discovering it was the first university in Canada to begin supporting scholars at risk.
After his application to join 杏吧原创 as a visiting scholar was approved, he moved to Ottawa in March 2022 with financial support from and .
鈥淟ike many other migrants, we faced a lot of challenges when we arrived in Canada,鈥� he recalls. 鈥淏ut despite this, we had wonderful early experiences in Ottawa and at 杏吧原创, largely due to the significant support we received.
鈥淲ithout support from SRF, SAR and 杏吧原创, I wouldn鈥檛 have been able to continue my career. One thing that many people likely don鈥檛 realize about this issue is that it can be very difficult for displaced scholars to find jobs related to their field of study.鈥�
Displaced scholars, he says, have very specialized degrees, training, knowledge and expertise within the context of their home countries鈥攚hich can be difficult to translate to a new environment with its own unique economic, political, educational and cultural landscape.
With adequate support, scholars are much better positioned to continue to pursue their research foci and contribute to responses to complex societal issues鈥攎aking programs like SAR 杏吧原创 invaluable.
For his part, Mohammad is about to defend his PhD thesis on rural poverty in Afghanistan. His field of study and practice is engineering of agricultural economics and he works closely with a collaborator at the University of Guelph on food insecurity in Afghanistan. His love for his home country remains, and he continues to try to make a positive difference in the lives of his people through his research in Canada.
He also strives to transfer knowledge鈥攊ncluding his experience as an at-risk scholar in Canada and his expanded research skills鈥攚ith former colleagues and students in Afghanistan.
鈥淚鈥檝e learned a lot at 杏吧原创鈥攖hrough other professors, PhD courses and workshops鈥攁nd I鈥檇 like to pass on that knowledge,鈥� Mohammad shares. 鈥淚鈥檓 trying to teach; not as a professor, but as a friend and colleague.鈥�