From a "Limited Space" to a Much Wider Future

Abstract

This article analyzes the diverse migratory experiences that inform the narratives of refugee women from Nepal, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and Iraq while these women navigate higher education as refugees in a small city in the U.S. It is important to contextualize that these women’s experiences take place in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, especially given Lancaster’s unique relationship to refugees. While refugee numbers have lagged more recently due to restrictions placed by the Trump administration, the longstanding commitment on the part of organizations like Church World Services and Bethany Christian Services to provide support to refugees signifies, to a certain degree, that Lancaster is different than the rest of the U.S. when it comes to welcoming refugees (Lancaster Online Staff Writer, 2019). To analyze our informants’ migratory experiences which resulted in their pursuit of higher education in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, the article explores informant participation in a wide range of meaning-making practices. In doing so, the article analyzes our informants’ varying levels of struggle with imposed narratives. These imposed narratives have to do with refugees as they resettle in the U.S. The perception of refugees as victimized, impoverished, and destitute informs some of these refugee women’s sense of being pitied in their new social structure. Grappling with these perceptions also challenges the informants’ ability to construct their own narratives. The powerful yet nuanced influence of imagery on social discourses is pivotal in terms of shaping the narratives of refugees. In turn, this imposed imagery and imposed narratives render authentic narratives all the more necessary.