Influx Of Refugees Research Articles

Enhanced Public Interest in Response to the Refugee and Healthcare Crises in Greece.

Background: The Greek National Health System (NHS) has been profoundly affected by the synergy of the economic and refugee crises. We aimed at evaluating the public interest regarding refugee and healthcare issues in Greece. Methods: Google Trends was employed to normalize traffic data on a scale from 0 to 100, presented as monthly relative search volume (RSV) for the search term queries: “refugees”, “health”, “diseases”, “hospital”, and “economic crisis” in Greece, from the period 2008 to 2020. Cross-country comparisons in selected European countries were made. Results: The analysis of RSV data showed an upward trend for the keyword “refugee”, in Greece, in the last five years, with two remarkable peaks from 2015 to 2016 and from 2019 to the present. Interest regarding refugees was more prevalent in the Aegean islands compared to the mainland. The mass influx of refugees has been linked to disease-related concerns. The search terms “hospital” and “health” have been the most popular and constantly quested topics since the beginning of the economic crisis in Greece, in 2009. Similar trends existed across Europe. Conclusion: There is an urgent need for effective public awareness of current politico-ethical and social-economic conditions. The patterns of public interest can formulate public policy.

Trend of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in Jordan From 2010 to 2016: Retrospective Study.

BackgroundCutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is endemic in the Middle East, with countries such as Syria reporting high incidence rates.ObjectiveThis study aimed to assess the trends in the incidence of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) in Jordan from 2010 to 2016.MethodsThis retrospective study included all cases of CL that had been reported to the Leishmaniasis Surveillance System in the Department of Communicable Diseases at the Jordan Ministry of Health during the period from 2010 to 2016. A total of 1243 cases were reported and met the case definition.ResultsA total of 1243 cases (60.65% [754/1243] males and 39.34% [489/1243] females) were diagnosed during the study period. Of this sample, 233 patients (19.13%) were aged <5 years old, 451 (37.03%) were aged between 5-14 years old, 190 (15.60%) were aged between 15-24 years old, and 344 (28.24%) were aged ≥25 years old. Of those, 646 (51.97%) were Jordanians and 559 (44.97%) were Syrians. The average annual incidence rate of 1.70 per 100,000 people between 2010 and 2013 increased to 3.00 per 100,000 people in the years 2014 to 2016. There was no difference in incidence rates between Jordanians and Syrian refugees between 2010 and 2012. After 2012, the incidence rate increased significantly among Syrian refugees from 1.20 per 100,000 people in 2012 to 11.80 per 100,000 people in 2016. On the contrary, the incidence rate did not change significantly among Jordanians.ConclusionsThe incidence rate of leishmaniasis in Jordan has increased in the last three years because of the influx of Syrian refugees into Jordan. A massive effort toward reservoir and vector control, along with actively pursuing diagnosis in endemic foci, will be helpful. Proper and studious reporting of cases is also a necessity for the eradication of this disease.

Applied solidarity in times of crisis: exploring the contexts of civil society activities in Greece and Germany

The European ‘crisis decade’ triggered discussions about solidarity and it´s limits; at the policy level, the debates were mostly about determining the deservingness of solidarity of each vulnerable group, and at the street level, actors involved saw the demand for concrete service provision grow while their resources stayed the same or retrenched. This paper is interested in the limits of solidarity precisely at the street level; hence we investigate what combinations of operational conditions (budget, status, volunteers) lead the civil society organizations to engage in more solidarity activities (service provision and advocacy). Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) are, beside the state and the family, a vital provider of solidarity services and a significant actor in advocacy for vulnerable groups. As any organization, CSOs are rationalised structures that pursue a concrete goal and for this purpose, rely on different resources and strategies. The paper, therefore, investigates configurations of operational conditions that account for higher levels of solidarity activities by CSOs in Germany and Greece. These countries have both experienced an increase in the demand of social services while they present different civil society traditions, different welfare systems and have been differently affected by crises. While Germany was less dramatically affected by the financial crisis and voluntarily took in almost a million refugees in 2016, Greece was severely hit by the financial crisis and, located at the EU borderland, has had a different experience with the inflow of migrants and refugees. The analysis builds on a series of semi-structured interviews conducted with CSO representatives of the social sector in the framework of the TransSOL project (www.transsol.eu) in 2017. We employ a fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) to understand the necessary and sufficient conditions under which CSOs are more active, looking at their organizational traits and preconditions, their capacities to mobilise volunteers, their status in the community and their cross-sectional coverage of social issues.

Bridge or Hurdle?

The massive influx of refugees in 2015 and 2016, among them many school-aged children and youth, sped up the debate about Germany as a country of immigration, in particular about the fairness and social inclusiveness in the German school system. As in many other European countries, in Germany newly immigrated students without knowledge of German initially attend preparatory classes. The strong focus on learning German and the separation of the students from native-born peers are seen to hinder both their educational progress and social belonging within school. Based on data from a survey of newly arrived students conducted in 2018 and with regard to the students’ well-being, this paper examines the question as to whether or not attending a preparatory class is an obstacle to integration within the school community. The findings show that immigrant students generally have a good relationship with their new classmates and teachers and feel well at school. Attending a preparatory class does lead to some restrictions, i.e., it limits the chance to establish friendships with native-born schoolmates. At the same time, there are also advantages connected with learning in separate learning environments.

Two and a half million Syrian refugees, tasks and capital intensity

We investigate how the rapid increase in the low-skilled labor supply induced by the inflow of 2.5 million Syrian refugees changed the tasks performed by native workers and the capital intensity of firms in Turkey. We use both survey and administrative data to estimate the effects. The results based on the Labor Force Survey suggest that the inflow of refugees increased natives' task complexity, reducing the intensity of manual tasks, and raising the intensity of abstract tasks. This effect is driven by highly educated and young natives. Exploiting the administrative firm data that contains the entirety of firms in the country, we find that manufacturing firms reduced their capital intensity and investments. Reduction in capital intensity and investment is largely driven by smaller sized firms. We conclude that tasks provided by Syrian refugees are substitutes for manual tasks and capital inputs, and complements to more complex tasks.

Weathering the perfect policy storm: a case study of municipal responses to educational reform surges in Sweden

ABSTRACT Global trends inspired by neo-liberal tendencies have influenced developments in the Swedish school system. A flurry of educational reforms over the last decades have rapidly transformed the municipal school arena into a market in which independent, for-profit schools have expanded and school segregation has increased. This article examines municipal responses to these reforms using the theoretical framework of policy enactment. More specifically, the genesis of Maple Grove secondary school in a Swedish municipality is analysed by taking contextual factors into account. These include reform and results pressure, inspections, teacher shortages and unexpected factors such as a large influx of refugees. These factors are traced to gain insights into how municipalities weather what can be described as a perfect policy storm.

Refugee settlement and the revival of local communities: lessons from the Riace model

ABSTRACTThe high influx of migrants and refugees into Italy since the 1990s has resulted, firstly, in a complicated and emergency-based reception system where facilities often lack sanitary and socio-economic services, and secondly, in a negative public attitude toward refugees. An innovative approach to address these challenges, while at the same time combatting poverty and mafia in a depopulated area, was developed in Riace, a town in southern Italy. The purpose of this article is to examine to what extent Riace’s reception programme: (1) supported the successful settlement of refugees; and (2) affected the local community and the attitude of the local population towards newcomers. Based on extensive ethnographic fieldwork conducted between 2015 and 2017, this article discusses ‘the Riace model’: an approach whereby original inhabitants and refugees are together responsible for community development. This promoted refugees’ socio-economic inclusion and created a supportive attitude towards migrants amongst locals who are proud of their hospitality. The Riace model and the way in which it is embedded in a national reception system can serve as an example to other European countries. However, there are also future challenges that relate to insecurity around the continuation ofgovernment funding and competition over local opportunities.

The Long 2015 in Germany: Activists’ Pro-Refugee Frames and Media Counter Frames

In September 2015, Germany opened its doors to refugees arriving via the Balkan Route. The influx of refugees generated support and solidarity among individuals, civil society groups and political and cultural institutions and various social movements. In this article, I analyse the frames proffered by two pro-refugee groups based in Berlin and contrast them with the propagated media counter frames which ultimately dominated the public discourse. I demonstrate that despite an explicit intention and commitment to foster support for refugees, the pro-refugee groups’ choice of frames could have been more strategic if they would have not neglected media counter frames. I argue that although the literature’s focus on dynamics of movement and media frames has provided useful tools for analysing the relation between the two, engaging with media counter frames is as equally important, especially if we are concerned with questions around strategy and the outcomes of social mobilizations. Empirically, this article provides a unique insight into micro politics of pro-refugee mobilizations in Europe. Theoretically, it contributes to a better understanding of media and movement frames by emphasizing the significance of dynamic engagement with media counter frames for creation of progressive political alliances with the wider public.

Chapter 1

This chapter recounts the events and early research that inspired the start of the Courage and Moral Choice Project in area schools. The project appeared to work well in a school district focused on the need to develop a climate of inclusion and empathy, as the district had recently experienced a high influx of refugees from many parts of the world into a community that had been fairly homogeneous for generations. Teachers noted an increased tendency for students to share personal stories with others after listening to stories of helping under duress. They also noted increased engagement with questions of moral choice. Both students and teachers said that they repeatedly reflected upon the question of, “What would I do if faced with similar circumstances?” Students noted that they began to identify with the stories of helpers once they engaged in service of their own.

Refugee health care funding in Canada

Due to a steady rise in the number of refugees accepted by Canada in recent years, the need for government funding to cover the health care needs of this population has similarly increased. Despite this increased need, government funding via the Interim Federal Health Program (IFHP) was cut dramatically in 2012 by the Conservative government. In 2016, the Liberal government restored full refugee health care coverage. This article provides an overview of refugee health care funding decisions in Canada over the past decade, and explores the impact that such decisions have on the health outcomes of this population. Furthermore, this article compares and contrasts refugee health care funding in Canada with that in other world regions with high refugee influx. Key potential areas for funding improvement are identified.

Psychosocial interventions in schools with newcomers: A structured conceptualization of system, design, and individual needs

Canada has recently welcomed an influx of refugees, many of whom experienced significant trauma and adversity before coming to Canada or during migration. Thousands of newcomer children and youth are now in Canadian schools, and many continue to struggle with symptoms of distress and trauma. During the spring of 2018, a pilot was conducted in two large Ontario school districts to evaluate the feasibility of a new 10-week manualized intervention (Supporting Transition Resilience of Newcomer Groups [STRONG]) developed to promote resilience and reduce distress among young newcomers. In the current study, stakeholders involved in the pilot (i.e., mental health clinicians, mental health leaders, developers of the STRONG program, and the evaluation team) participated in an online Group Concept Mapping (GCM) activity to document the groups' collective wisdom about developing and implementing appropriate programming for newcomer children and youth. Twenty-three stakeholders generated a list of considerations related to designing, implementing, and facilitating programs to promote resilience among newcomer children and youth, producing a total of 71 statements. Eighteen stakeholders then sorted the list of statements into meaningful categories. Through multidimensional scaling and hierarchical cluster analysis we identified five clusters of important considerations: (1) engage family and community; (2) take a whole school approach; (3) attend to group composition and setting; (4) make material accessible and age-appropriate; and, (5) address unique clinical issues. Theoretically, these clusters highlight the importance of considering individual needs, system considerations, and design considerations. Attention to these concepts will specifically help inform future iterations of the STRONG intervention. More broadly, these results identify important factors to consider for addressing the needs of newcomer children and youth in school settings.

A Roadmap for Investment Promotion and Export Diversification: The Case of Jordan

Jordan faces a number of pressing economic challenges: low growth, high unemployment, rising debt levels, and continued vulnerability to regional shocks. After a decade of fast economic growth, the economy decelerated with the Global Financial Crisis of 2008-09. From then onwards, various external shocks have thrown its economy out of balance and prolonged the slowdown for over a decade now. Conflicts in neighboring countries have led to reduced demand from key export markets and cut off important trade routes. Foreign direct investment, which averaged 12.7% of gross domestic product (GDP) between 2003-2009, fell to 5.1% of GDP over the 2010-2017. Regional conflicts have interrupted the supply of gas from Egypt – forcing Jordan to import oil at a time of record prices, had a negative impact on tourism, and also provoked a massive influx of migrants and refugees. Failure to cope with 50.4% population growth between led to nine consecutive years (2008-2017) of negative growth rates in GDP per capita, resulting in a cumulative loss of 14.0% over the past decade (2009-2018). Debt to GDP ratios, which were at 55% by the end of 2009, have skyrocketed to 94%. Over the previous five years Jordan has undertaken a significant process of fiscal consolidation. The resulting reduction in fiscal impulse is among the largest registered in the aftermath of the Financial Crises, third only to Greece and Jamaica, and above Portugal and Spain. Higher taxes, lower subsidies, and sharp reductions in public investment have in turn furthered the recession. Within a context of lower aggregate demand, more consolidation is needed to bring debt-to-GDP ratios back to normal. The only way to break that vicious cycle and restart inclusive growth is by leveraging on foreign markets, developing new exports and attracting investments aimed at increasing competitiveness and strengthening the external sector. The theory of economic complexity provides a solid base to identify opportunities with high potential for export diversification. It allows to identify the existing set of knowhow, skills and capacities as signaled by the products and services that Jordan is able to make, and to define existing and latent areas of comparative advantage that can be developed by redeploying them. Service sectors have been growing in importance within the Jordanian economy and will surely play an important role in export diversification. In order to account for that, we have developed an adjusted framework that allows to identify the most attractive export sectors including services. Based on that adjusted framework, this report identifies export themes with a high potential to drive growth in Jordan while supporting increasing wage levels and delivering positive spillovers to the non-tradable economy. The general goal is to provide a roadmap with key elements of a strategy for Jordan to return to a high economic growth path that is consistent with its emerging comparative advantages.

Parenting in transition: refugee populations’ challenges in navigating parenting upon resettlement

ABSTRACTWith the exception of the last three fiscal years, there has been a consistent influx of refugees being resettled to the U.S. during the last 20 years from Somalia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Bhutan. Although there is existing literature examining the obstacles that recently resettled refugee families face, the ways in which these obstacles influence parenting has not been widely studied. For organizations to best serve these populations, a solid understanding of newly resettled refugee parents’ experiences and opportunities for support is crucial. The purpose of this current study was to determine the needs of newly resettled refugee parents, specifically from Somalia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Bhutan, and the obstacles that influence their parenting in a Mid-Atlantic region of the U.S.

Access to health-care policies for refugees and asylum-seekers

Purpose The influx of refugees and asylum-seekers over the past decade into the European Union creates challenges to the health systems of receiving countries in the preparedness and requisite adjustments to policy addressing the new needs of the migrant population. This study aims to examine and compare policies for access to health care and the related health outcomes for refugees and asylum-seekers settling both in the UK and Germany as host countries. Design/methodology/approach The paper conducted a scoping review of academic databases and grey literature for studies within the period 2010-2017, seeking to identify evidence from current policies and service provision for refugees and asylum-seekers in Germany and the UK, distilling the best practice and clarifying gaps in knowledge, to determine implications for policy. Findings Analysis reveals that legal entitlements for refugees and asylum-seekers allow access to primary and secondary health care free of charge in the UK versus a more restrictive policy of access limited to acute and emergency care during the first 15 months of resettlements in Germany. In both countries, many factors hinder the access of this group to normal health care from legal status, procedural hurdles and lingual and cultural barriers. Refugees and asylum-seeker populations were reported with poor general health condition, lower rates of utilization of health services and noticeable reliance on non-governmental organizations. Originality/value This paper helps to fulfill the need for an extensive research required to help decision makers in host countries to adjust health systems towards reducing health disparities and inequalities among refugees and asylum-seekers.

Utilization of Mobile Mental Health Services among Syrian Refugees and Other Vulnerable Arab Populations-A Systematic Review.

The global refugee crisis is at its most critical state in history; Syria alone has produced 12 million internally displaced persons, with another 5 million refugees seeking protection across the globe. Faced with the heavy burden of mental distress carried by a massive refugee influx, many host nations lack the service capacity to respond adequately. While mobile mental health (mMHealth) applications and platforms have the potential to augment screenings and interventions for vulnerable populations, an insufficient gender and cultural adaptation of technology may drastically hamper its uptake in Arab refugees. Reporting only papers originating from Middle Eastern and/or Arab nations or refugee host nations, this systematic review evaluates the available literature published between 2000 and 2019 on the usage acceptability of mMHealth in Syrian refugees and other vulnerable Arab populations. We conducted a systematic review in PubMed, PsychInfo, Association of Computing Machinery (ACM) and the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines to identify studies that addressed mMHealth implementation in these populations; of a total of 607 articles identified, only 10 (1.6%) available, unique articles met our search criteria. These studies discussed the feasibility and efficacy of mMHealth applications and the barriers to their uptake. The few existing studies show positive impacts of mMHealth on the access to services and on treatment outcomes but also reveal a paucity of literature on mMHealth for vulnerable Arab populations. These findings indicate a critical need for research on the barriers to mMHealth uptake, to bolster service capacity in the Arab Region and in the refugee diaspora of other, non-Arab host countries.

Mismatch? Comparing elite and citizen polarisation on EU issues across four countries

ABSTRACTNational politicisation of European Union issues has risen following events such as the economic crisis and the refugee influx. This has led to changes at the party (rising Eurosceptic parties) and the voter level (increasing public Euroscepticism). EU politicisation is thus assumed to influence the overall distribution of EU positions in terms of EU polarisation. This raises the question to what extent there is a (mis)match between polarisation at the party and voter level, and its dependence on structural and supply-side dynamics. Using CHES 2017 data and survey data across four EU countries (Germany, Spain, Hungary and the Netherlands) this paper compares elite- and citizen-level EU polarisation. The results show a strong association of party- and citizen-level EU polarisation – for both general and policy-specific EU positions – with higher polarisation among citizens than among parties. Country-specific patterns are due to different political competition on the supply side.

Transnational interdependency and healthcare system change: The role of humanitarian and development aid in shaping health policy in Jordan

This article examines the role of external financing as a form of transnational economic interdependency in shaping healthcare system change in Jordan. More specifically, this exploratory study traces the trajectory of Jordan’s healthcare policy such as regards public financing, investment in infrastructure, and policy priorities – especially, efforts at universalism and health as a human right – over the years 2008–2018. During this period of observation, the Jordanian healthcare system was subject to various exogenous shocks in the form of recurrent and large influxes of refugees from Iraq and Syria. Regarded as a crisis, the growing presence of the refugee population introduced a significant increase in humanitarian and development aid that brought with it resources for both the displaced and host populations. This study examines whether increased external financing in the form of overseas development aid necessarily translates into healthcare system expansion for both citizens and refugees. This article will contribute to filling the gap in knowledge and understanding of the complex interdependencies which influence the evolution of healthcare policies in a country not only affected by an ongoing refugee crisis, but also at the geopolitical crossroads of international interests in the Middle East region.

Impact of Syrian Forced Migration on Turkish Economy

The purpose of this research is to analyse the economic impact of Syrian forced migration on Turkish economy. In order to assess the response of macroeconomic variables to the influx of Syrian refugees, we resort to Difference-in-Differences method. We compare Turkish provinces on the basis of three macroeconomic indicators -unemployment, inflation, and production- before and after forced migration occurred. We find that forced migration increased inflation and production significantly. In particular, housing prices rise considerably with Syrian migration. We estimate that 1% rise in migrant population raises both inflation and production by more than 1%. We find statistically insignificant coefficients for unemployment. In addition, impact of forced migration displays regional differences. Regions with clustered industrial production are affected positively by the influx of Syrian migrants. Despite positive impact on industry clusters, findings indicate some deterioration of macroeconomic indicators of rural sectors.

Humanitarian Encounters: Charity and Gender in Post–World War I Jewish Budapest

Across East Central Europe, World War I and its violent aftermath impacted Jewish perspectives on home and homeland and forced many Jews to reconsider, reformulate, and at times even discard previous beliefs about the idea of national belonging. In Hungary, the White Terror of the early 1920s set off shock waves among the population of mainly urban Hungarian Jews, who until then had imagined themselves relatively safe. As social exclusion entered public and domestic life, it deeply influenced the way Jews imagined themselves at home in postwar Hungary. This article examines the ways in which Jewish women navigated the transitional period between war and peace in Hungary, and asks how the postwar years affected their sense of belonging and notions of home. Apart from being catapulted into public life, how did women navigate the intersection of antisemitism, physical violence, and displacement? How, for instance, did Jewish women react to the influx of Jewish refugees from Galicia, among them many children, who arrived in Budapest in great numbers seeking shelter and aid? Did the displacement of East European Jews affect existing notions of charity and Jewish identity among the women involved in humanitarian aid? And finally, how did war, revolution, and violence change Jewish women’s sense of identity as Hungarian?

Urban subjects: Somali claims to recognition and urban belonging in Eastleigh, Nairobi

ABSTRACT After more than a century of mutually constructed strangerhood, relations between the Somali community and the Kenyan state are strained. Following the concomitant developments of the devolution of power, an influx of refugees and a growing securitisation discourse, Somalis in Kenya today take up an ambiguous position between marginalisation and increasing political and economic visibility (Carrier & Lochery 2013; Scharrer 2018; Weitzberg 2017). Based on eight months of ethnographic fieldwork in Eastleigh, Nairobi, I will show how contemporary narratives of belonging and contribution are being presented by the Somali community on a variety of platforms. I will discuss the role of taxation in historical as well as contemporary claims to recognition and the significance of taking claims to formal Kenyan courts. I argue that these diverse practices all serve to create an urban Somali subjectivity in Kenya, as they seek to constitute Eastleigh as a central urban space from where the Somalis can make claims on the Kenyan state.