Colleagues and students at Wageningen University had conceived a project using satellite images to detect fires lit by the Turkish security forces. They were able to demonstrate the negative impact of the counterinsurgency on local livelihoods and ecology, but had not yet been able to wrap up this important work. I joined the project to draw maps, do additional analyses, and write. We ended up publishing three papers, focusing on the contribution of the study in terms of human rights monitoring, Kurdish studies, and conflict studies.
Spatial analysis combining different types of data, like satellite images, census data, and data on human rights violations can give unique insights in what happens on the ground during conflict. This is especially important in areas closed to outsiders during war, but also to gain a more general idea of the pattern of violence. I remain interested in this field of study, which is now quickly growing in importance as similar initiatives begin to yield results.
Links
Joost Jongerden, co-author and expert on Turkish Kurdistan
Genocide Studies Programme at Yale University
AAAS Geospatial Technologies and Human Rights Project
Erik Prins' work for Amnesty International