Researching refugees: preoccupations with power and questions of giving

The phenomenon of forced migration challenges its researchers to tackle complex questions about the ethics of conducting research in the face of human suffering. The issue of giving assistance to the people included in one's research is an inescapable dilemma for anthropologists working in a world of inequality and injustice. This article argues in favour of opening up honest and self-critical reflection on this dilemma and on the presupposed power relations between ‘researcher’ and ‘researched’.