Sofia Alvarez

Publications (3)

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Statelessness and Citizenship10 Feb 2026

Documents across Generations: Citizenship Claims among Urdu-Speaking Families in Bangladesh

Sofia Alvarez, Hana Kovac, Zainab Qureshi

Documentary recognition can vary within the same family when registration histories and administrative practices change across generations. This study explores how Urdu-speaking families in Bangladesh assemble documents when seeking services associated with citizenship. Research involved 49 family interviews in three urban settlements, observations at legal-support sessions, and analysis of participant-shared copies of registration correspondence. Case comparison traced links between school records, birth registration, national identification, and proof of residence. Younger adults often held one recognised document while encountering difficulties when another office requested evidence from a parent. Address discrepancies created repeated verification demands, particularly for families who had moved between settlements. Community advisers helped translate these inconsistencies into administrative explanations but could not guarantee acceptance across offices. The findings highlight the cumulative work required to make documentary recognition usable in everyday settings. The study examines reported administrative experiences and does not determine any participant's legal status. Service reform should improve procedures for correcting inconsistent records and avoid treating intergenerational documentary gaps as straightforward evidence of ineligibility.

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Climate and Environmental Migration3 Dec 2025

Staying through Salinity: Household Mobility Decisions in Southwestern Bangladesh

Amina Warsame, Sofia Alvarez, Hana Kovac, Zainab Qureshi

Rising salinity can alter livelihoods without producing a simple choice between permanent migration and remaining in place. This study investigates household mobility decisions in four villages in southwestern Bangladesh. Three survey rounds with 312 households were combined with soil and drinking-water salinity measurements, livelihood calendars, and 38 interviews conducted over eighteen months. Household models examined associations between salinity exposure, income diversification, and temporary work away from home. Higher dry-season salinity was associated with more short work trips among households able to finance travel, while poorer households often reduced cultivation without sending a worker elsewhere. Care responsibilities and uncertainty about destination jobs also shaped decisions to stay. Residents distinguished maintaining a home from keeping all household members continuously present. The findings connect environmental pressure to unequal capacities for both movement and continued residence. Measurements from selected sites cannot capture every household's exposure, and observed associations do not establish salinity as the sole driver. Adaptation support should address water access, livelihood options, and the costs of constrained mobility together.

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Humanitarian Response31 Jul 2025

Feedback without Follow-Up? Complaint Pathways in Refugee Food Assistance

Tsering Dolma, Sadia Mahmud, Amina Warsame, Sofia Alvarez

Humanitarian feedback systems can collect concerns without ensuring that recipients learn how those concerns were resolved. This study examines complaint pathways in food assistance programmes serving refugees in northern Uganda. Researchers traced 186 anonymised complaints, interviewed 52 recipients and 29 programme staff, and observed help desks at six distribution sites over four months. Case analysis distinguished acknowledgement, referral, substantive response, and communication of an outcome to the complainant. Most recorded complaints received an initial acknowledgement, but recipients often remained unsure whether a referral led to further action. Cases involving household-list discrepancies crossed organisational boundaries and took longer to resolve. Women with limited phone access were less likely to receive callback updates and relied on repeated in-person enquiries. The findings show why administrative closure should be assessed separately from a recipient's understanding of the outcome. Records exclude concerns never formally submitted and contain uneven detail. Feedback systems should identify responsibility for referrals and offer accessible ways for recipients to check progress and challenge unresolved errors.

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