Abstract
Deaf asylum seekers are a marginalized group of people in refugee and forced migration studies. The aim of this paper is to explore and highlight the experiences of deaf asylum seekers in the asylum procedure in Finland. The data come from linguistic ethnographic methods, interviews, and ethnographic observation with 10 deaf asylum seekers. While living in the reception centers, the study participants have faced a range of linguistic and social challenges. The findings show that language barriers appeared from day one after the participants’ arrival in Finland. The investment and initiatives of deaf volunteers played a crucial role for deaf asylum seekers in their access to and participation in Finnish society. In addition, receiving formal Finnish sign language instruction had a positive effect on their well-being. Drawing on content analysis of deaf asylum seekers’ experiences, I argue that greater awareness, recognition, and support of deaf asylum seekers are needed in the Finnish asylum system. I conclude this paper with a discussion of and suggestions for a better asylum system for deaf individuals.
Highlights
Deaf people are part of the one billion people in the world with a disability who have experienced human rights issues due to discrimination, inequalities, and barriers to accessibility and participation in their home countries [1] as well as in the context of forced migration [2,3]
Little attention has been paid to deaf refugees and asylum seekers and their experiences in the refugee camps and reception centers where they wait for decisions on their asylum applications
The amount of time for an asylum decision varied by each individual, but in 2015, it took about six months to receive a decision [40] and during that time, asylum seekers were sent to reception centers
Summary
Deaf people are part of the one billion people in the world with a disability who have experienced human rights issues due to discrimination, inequalities, and barriers to accessibility and participation in their home countries [1] as well as in the context of forced migration [2,3]. There are several studies on refugees’ narratives about their identities and experiences in displacement [5,6,7], but deaf refugees are often marginalized in refugee studies because no shared language and/or interpreting is available [3,8]. Another explanation may be that they have not been recognized as a special, yet heterogeneous group among refugees seeking asylum.
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