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"Spanning six decades from the formation of the Save the Children Fund in 1919 to humanitarian interventions during the Vietnam War, The Humanitarians maps the national and international humanitarian efforts undertaken by Australians on behalf of child refugees. In this longitudinal study, Joy Damousi explores the shifting forms of humanitarian activity related to war refugee children over the twentieth century, from child sponsorship, the establishment of orphanages, fundraising, to aid and development schemes and campaigns for inter-country adoption. Framed by conceptualisations of the history of emotions, and the limits and possibilities afforded by empathy and compassion, she considers the vital role of women and includes studies of unknown but significant women humanitarian workers and their often-traumatic experience of international humanitarian work. Through an examination of the intersection between racial politics and war refugees, Damousi advances our understanding of humanitarianism over the twentieth century as a deeply racialised and multilayered practice"--
List of contents
Introduction: The humanitarians: War refugee children, humanitarianism, and transnationalism; Part I. Saving: 1. Save the Children Fund in the Antipodes: Cecilia John, Meredith Atkinson and the paradox of child-saving politics; 2. The Australasian Orphanage at Antilyas: Near East Relief and American networks 1920s-1930; Part II. Evacuating: 3. Humanitarianism and child refugee sponsorship: The Spanish Civil War and Esme Odgers; 4. Campaigns to evacuate Jewish child refugees; 5. British child evacuees to Australia; 6. Aileen Fitzpatrick and reuniting Greek families separated by war; Part III. Assimilating and adopting: 7. Humanitarian rights: UN World Refugee Year and UNICEF in Australia; 8. Florence Grylls and Save the Children Fund: Humanitarianism in the assimilation era; 9. The campaign for Japanese-Australian children to enter Australia; 10. Humanitarian 'justice': Max Harris and the Australian Foster Parents Plan in Asia; 11. Humanitarian activism: The Vietnam War, Rosemary Taylor, Elaine Moir and Margaret Moses; Conclusion.
About the author
Joy Damousi is Director of the Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences, Australian Catholic University.
