Refugee Perspective Research Articles

Rewriting Internal Relocation from a Refugee Perspective - The Lived Experience of Refugees in Afghanistan

ABSTRACT This article is part of a broader project aimed at rewriting refugee law jurisprudence from a lived refugee perspective. The co-authors, one of whom is a refugee from Afghanistan, have chosen internal relocation as the subject of this project as it is a problematic and controversial principle of international refugee law which we believe is frequently applied without due consideration of the practical experience of refugees. Internal relocation provides that a refugee may be returned to their country of origin if they can relocate to a “safe” part of that state where they would not have a well-founded fear of persecution. This principle is somewhat tempered by the application of a “reasonableness” test in most jurisdictions. That test aims to reflect that, in some cases, it may not be possible to require a refugee to relocate to another part of their country of origin to avoid persecution. However, a “reasonableness” factor is not always considered as part of relocation. Moreover, it aims to bring an “objective” standard of reasonableness, which can be critiqued on a number of bases. In this article, the authors rewrite an Australian Refugee Review Tribunal decision dealing with an applicant from Afghanistan to reflect the lived experience of refugees better and to encourage readers to think about whether some of the assumptions made in internal relocation jurisprudence have been fully interrogated. Much of internal relocation scholarship focuses on conceptual legal issues, for instance, whether relocation is grounded in the text, context or object of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and whether relocation fits within the “well-founded fear” or “state protection” limb of the refugee definition. While these are important conceptual debates about the treaty basis for internal relocation, we believe these have been well-analysed in the existing literature. Our article seeks to add to these core debates by reconceptualising the application of relocation to authentic refugee experiences and, through this, to highlight some of the weaknesses in the current approach to this complex question.

Creation and use of SBS’s The Boat; principles for the co-creation of online interactive learning environments for innovative digital pedagogy

ABSTRACT Teachers and students rely more on online-learning environments than ever before, including open, trusted and high-quality online learning resources produced by public broadcasters. For educators, this represents both an inspiration and challenge in the wake of new techologies and online learning environments. This article is a case study of one such online learning environment created by Australia’s multicultural broadcaster, the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS), an adaptation of Nam Le’s award-winning short story, “The Boat” (2008). SBS’s The Boat (2015) is an immersive online experience that explores a refugee perspective and is accompanied by SBSLearn online learning materials. The Boat (2015) connects informal and formal learning though the delivery of both SBS Charter-driven content and Australian teachers’ pedagogical perspectives to local and global audiences including students and teachers. This article, co-written by the media producer of SBS’s The Boat (2015), and the educator who wrote the accompanying formal learning resources, shares principles for creating innovative and connected learning environments from different perspectives, including broadcaster editorial, technological innovation and educational design, with an intention to create a pedagogy for seamless access to engaging, immersive environments and principles for broadcaster and educator collaboration. Interviews and observations of broadcaster and teacher practice inform this analysis.

Missing Home: Depictions of Exile during the Portuguese Dictatorship

Abstract: The experience of particular types of migration, political exile, and diaspora are mainly portrayed from the refugee's perspective, focusing on the travel process itself or the problems of integration. Despite the interest in this theme emerging only recently, its global persistence and relevance are already considerable and are depicted in relation to different contexts by authors such as Judith Kerr, Peter Sís, and Uri Shulevitz, to name a few. This article thus analyzes the depiction of exile as depicted in two Portuguese illustrated children's books portraying the exile experience during the dictatorial regime.

Snakes and ladders: An integrative literature review of refugee doctors' workforce integration needs.

Healthcare systems worldwide are facing a workforce crisis; meanwhile, refugee doctors throughout the world face difficulties in accessing work. The aims of this review were to explore the integration needs of refugee doctors into host healthcare systems from the refugee perspective, synthesise the literature to construct a theory of refugee doctor integration needs and explore how these needs are met or challenged on the pathway to full integration. In this integrative literature review, 11 databases and eight grey literature sources were searched by combining terms for refugee doctor and social integration and limiting to research published in or after 2003. Data were extracted, and quality scoring was completed independently by two researchers. This study utilised template analysis to perform a qualitative synthesis of the data. The multidimensional template included a pre-defined template based on a theoretical framework and a concurrent fully inductive template. Twenty-two papers were included, incorporating the views of 339 doctors from 30 different home countries and 10 different host countries. The resultant theory included 'foundations' (rights and responsibilities) and three pillars. The 'learning' pillar included required knowledge and skills acquisition. The 'being' pillar encompassed necessary identity work. The 'connecting' pillar comprised social connections, which impacted all other domains. The random and non-linear path to integration faced by refugee doctors was also presented as a serious game. This study produced a theory exploring refugee doctors' integration needs and how these are met or challenged. Medical educators developing courses for refugee doctors should attend not only to knowledge and skills acquisition but also social connections, identity work and rights and responsibilities. The theory highlights the central importance of social connections. Medical educators can therefore have a transformative impact on refugee doctors' integration. This may also contribute to society by helping to alleviate the workforce crisis.

Making Room for Refugee Interpretation of Labelling: A Case Study from the Turkish–Syrian Border

Abstract Turkey admitted millions of refugees fleeing the Syrian civil war. However, the situation of Syrians in Turkey remains precarious under the temporary protection regime, unable to qualify as Convention refugees due to Turkey’s geographic reservation to the 1967 Protocol and with limited access to work permits and citizenship. Based on in-depth interviews, we provide a case study of refugee perspectives on refugee “labelling” as an absurd, historically contingent, and myth-telling process, which contributes to a growing body of research taking a bottom-up approach to understanding refugee protection. We put forward a refugee-interpreted view on labelling, finding that refugees explained labelling as an opaque and unpredictable digitised process, administrated through paper documents which act as talismans but also scams. Our study provides rich detail about how refugees subvert and cope with the labelling process through humour and mockery, historicity, and developing alternate forms of identity. We sought to use these interviews to work with refugees to turn a critical gaze on the paradigm of labelling from a refugee perspective and address the lack of empirical research centring refugee interpretations of labelling.

“I just try my best to make them happy”: the role of intra-familial relationships of care in the integration of reunited refugee families

Migration through managed routes such as spousal and work visas has been conceptualized as being a pragmatic choice driven by the needs of families rather than individuals. In contrast, studies of refugee integration post-migration have tended to analyse integration processes through the perspective of the individual rather than through a family lens. Drawing from data collection using a social connections mapping tool methodology with recently reunited refugee families supported by a third sector integration service in the UK, in this paper the author makes a valuable contribution to addressing this theoretical gap. The author explores the ambivalent ways in which family relationships, and the care that flows between family members, influence emotional, and practical aspects of refugees' integration. Empirically the inclusion of accounts from people occupying different positions within their families, including from children, adds depth to our understanding of integration from a refugee perspective. Conceptually, the paper argues that a focus on familial relationships of care re-positions refugees not as passive recipients of care, but active and agentive subjects who offer care to others. The paper ends with a call for integration to be understood in a family way that fully encompasses the opportunities and limitations offered by familial care.

Conceptualizing Mental Health Through Bhutanese Refugee Lens: Findings from a Mixed Methods Study.

Despite the rapidly growing need to understand mental health challenges faced by refugee subpopulations, there is a dearth of literature exploring mental health conceptualization through the unique refugee lens. Guided by historical trauma theory, we gathered data using a two-phase explanatory sequential mixed-methods study (quantitative: n = 40; qualitative: n = 6) in a Midwestern U.S. region to understand mental health conceptualization from the Bhutanese refugee perspective by examining the cultural meaning and perception of mental health, describing experiences of mental health problems, and examining cultural protective factors and coping strategies. We argue that recognition of refugees’ conceptualization of mental health and identification of cultural protective factors is paramount to healing. Findings emphasize the need to understand historical and cultural perspectives in cross-cultural contexts for the development and implementation of culturally responsive services. Our study also contributes to emerging knowledge on methodological rigor in research among understudied, hard-to-reach, small populations.

Perceptions About the Labor Market Integration of Refugees: Evidences from Syrian Refugees in Jordan

This article focuses on the refugees’ labor market integration in the immediate host countries. Drawing from the experience of Syrian refugees in Jordan, it describes how the integration in labor market depends on the alignment of four perspectives: (1) host state perspective, materialized through legal regulations about refugee employment; (2) refugee perspective that refers to refugees’ access to labor market and challenges they face; (3) host community perspective that implies to the recognition, approval, or reactions of host communities to the refugee employment; and (4) donor perspective that appears with the intervention of international actors through development aid or general support to refugees’ working rights. To explore these diverging perspectives and their implications about the labor market integration of Syrian refugees in Jordan, the data is gathered from ethnographic policy analysis and stakeholder interviews in urban areas and camps. We argue that the refugees’ legal right to work is one of the most contentious policy issues not only for Jordanian state but also for its relations with Jordanian citizens, refugees, and donors. From the perspective of donors, ensuring Syrians’ legal access to labor market in the immediate host countries, like Jordan, is a policy tool for keeping refugees in the origin region. At the host community level, the issue appears as a source of dilemma; because refugee employment is a critical domain for refugees’ self-reliance and local integration on the one hand, it is perceived as the source of competition for already scarce job opportunities on the other hand. For refugees themselves, an access to labor market and getting support are ways of gaining sustainable livelihood opportunities, self-reliance, and dignity. However, this access is marked by severe conditions of exploitation, vulnerability, and discrimination in working places as well as the anti-refugee rhetoric of local host communities. Programming in refugee employment necessitates taking all these four perspectives into account.

Qualitative exploration of the impact of employment and volunteering upon the health and wellbeing of African refugees settled in regional Australia: a refugee perspective

BackgroundPeople from refugee backgrounds face various challenges after moving to a new country. Successfully securing employment has been linked to positive health outcomes in refugee populations; there is less research into the impact of volunteering on health outcomes in refugees, or the role of employment and volunteering in regional or rural communities. This study aims to explore how employment and volunteering influences the health and wellbeing of refugees settled in regional Australia, and identify areas for appropriate service provision.MethodsNine adults of refugee background in regional Australia were purposively sampled through community organisations using word-of-mouth referrals for semi-structured interviews. Interviews were transcribed. Thematic analysis was used to uncover emergent themes and identify relationships between themes. A strengths-based theoretical framework was adopted to inform further analysis.ResultsPaid work and volunteering engenders a sense of self-fulfillment and sense of belonging, facilitating successful integration into a new community. Employment further allows maintenance of an adequate standard of living, thus improving healthcare access and promoting healthy lifestyle behaviours. Adverse effects from employment include difficulties managing work-life balance, disconnect with family and loss of traditional heritage, but these were significantly outweighed by the positive effects. Volunteering provides no financial incentive, but similarly promotes community connections and positive self-worth, preparing refugees for the workforce. Both employment and volunteering held direct positive benefits for their physical and mental health, improved healthcare access and promoted cultural and social integration. These factors enabled successful settlement and subsequently improved overall wellbeing of participants. A strengths-based approach demonstrated how participants used employment as a tool for seeking purpose and ongoing self-development.ConclusionUnique experiences with employment and volunteering in a regional area amongst a refugee community were explored. Our results describe various ways in which meaningful employment and volunteering can facilitate positive health and wellbeing outcomes of refugees, and thus reinforces the importance of providing such opportunities to ensure successful settlement. The benefits of volunteering in this community have not been previously explored. Additionally, concerns expressed and recommendations suggested by participants could be used to inform future research, policy, interventions and health and employment service provision for refugee populations.

A systematic review of Karen refugee health

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive perspective of the documented physical and mental health issues Karen refugees from Burma face as a result of war and refugee trauma, and migration. The review will address the question: What is the impact of trauma and migration on the physical and mental health of Karen refugees? Design/methodology/approach – A total of 18 articles were systematically selected for inclusion in the final review. The focal content for included articles includes qualitative and quantitative research representative of the health and migration experiences of Karen refugees. Findings – The findings of this review demonstrate significance for health providers from a public health standpoint as programs and services are targeted to meet the specific health needs of the Karen community. It also highlights the contribution of the Karen forced migration experience to the complexity of individual and community health needs, particularly as a result of the protracted conflict. Originality/value – This critical appraisal of the body of literature describing the health experiences of Karen refugees from Burma, with a particular focus on outcomes relevant to resettlement, demonstrates value as programs are developed with an integrated refugee perspective.

Trauma and Children: A Refugee Perspective

Post-traumatic stress affects both the mental and physical health of individuals, giving rise to various psychological disturbances. The neurological effects of these disturbances are similar across age groups, irrespective of race or culture. However, the perception of psychological disturbances differs from culture to culture depending on issues such as the stigma that attaches to mental illness and the ability or willingness to seek assistance. While much research has been undertaken on the impact of trauma on both adults and children, research to explore the effect of trauma on people in the context of their various cultures, especially people of refugee background, remains at an early stage. Mental health professionals working with refugees encounter various challenges. They range from dealing with resistance by individuals to the notion of counselling itself, to barriers such as the perceived stigma that prevents some individuals from acknowledging mental health problems. Other challenges in providing mental health services in such cases are contributed to by government policies and the limited resources available. All this exacerbates the mental health of traumatised parents and caregivers, and has a ripple effect on their children, who exhibit the effects of trauma in their own ways. This paper aims to highlight and discuss these issues through the presentation of two case studies, suggest a workable recovery model, possible ways to deal with the challenges, and to propose recommendations for working with non-Western children and their families.

De-Homogenising Poverty in the Southern Suburbs of Beirut: When Citizenship Disempowers

De-Homogenising Poverty in the Southern Suburbs of Beirut: When Citizenship Disempowers Estella Carpi Abstract Refugees in Lebanon have always occupied the lowest level of the Lebanese social pyramid, not accessing most public services and not even being legally recognised as such. Citizenship, however produced within a wavering and corrupted state system, seems to be the only tool guaranteeing basic services from the refugee perspective. The present paper shows how, in some cases, it is citizenship rather than refugee hood to prevent the vulnerable from accessing any assistance regime in Lebanon. The present urban governance of Dahiye and its partial economic empowerment following wars ended up obscuring the increasing demographic diversification of the territory and a consequent phenomenon of diversified poverty. Such new exclusion and inclusion lines have hardly ever been studied hitherto. The new excluded groups inhabiting Dahiye are made up by new and older refugees, worker migrants, Lebanese Shiites not politically affiliated or not directly hit by wars. In this framework, a kind of urban poverty, neither connected to the political violence of regional wars nor to the refugee regime, will be investigated. While refugee poverty and worker migrant poverty became the only interpretative lens of the outsider to explore vulnerability in Lebanon, in that they exemplify Lebanese institutional laxity, the citizen poverty of the Beirut southern suburb of Hay al-Gharbe will provide a further perspective. Full Text: PDF DOI: 10.15640/jswhr.v3n1a3

‘Excuse me, do any of you ladies speak English?’ Perspectives of refugee women living in South Australia: barriers to accessing primary health care and achieving the Quality Use of Medicines

Reforms to the Australian health system aim to ensure that services are accessible, clinically and culturally appropriate, timely and affordable. During the reform consultation process there were urgent calls from stakeholders to specifically consider the health needs of the thousands of refugees who settle here each year, but little is known about what is needed from the refugee perspective. Access to health services is a basic requirement of achieving the quality use of medicines, as outlined in Australia's National Medicines Policy. This study aimed to identify the barriers to accessing primary health care services and explore medicine-related issues as experienced by refugee women in South Australia. Thirty-six women participated in focus groups with accredited and community interpreters and participants were from Sudan, Burundi, Congo, Burma, Afghanistan and Bhutan who spoke English (as a second language), Chin, Matu, Dari and Nepali. The main barrier to accessing primary health care and understanding GPs and pharmacists was not being able to speak or comprehend English. Interpreter services were used inconsistently or not at all. To implement the health reforms and achieve the quality use of medicines, refugees, support organisations, GPs, pharmacists and their staff require education, training and support.

Generating theory, biographical accounts and translation: a study of trauma and resilience

In the research project, ‘Trauma and Resilience: A Refugee Perspective’,1 three samples of adult survivors of the Khmer rouge period who are doing remarkably well are asked ‘the salutogenetic question’: not why are they sick, but why are they healthy? The samples are chosen among those who (1) were exposed to the kind of events for which the Khmer Rouge period is known, but (2) did not develop a disabling post‐traumatic stress disorder. Analyses of the research participants’ biographical accounts seek to uncover, understand and explain mechanisms that these successful survivors found instrumental for their survival, in order to contribute to the study of resilience and the practice of psychosocial rehabilitation of survivors. After a discussion of methodological challenges, the article charts the route – from biographical data, through preliminary conceptual work using grounded theory microanalysis, an exegetical treatment of Khmer terms and an abductive reinterpretation – from findings to conclusions.

Part 7: The Refugee Perspective Recommendations on Asylum Processes, Local Integration and Voluntary Repatriation - Made by Refugees at a Meeting Held in Rouen (France) (14-16 September 2001)

Part 7: The Refugee Perspective Recommendations on Asylum Processes, Local Integration and Voluntary Repatriation - Made by Refugees at a Meeting Held in Rouen (France) (14-16 September 2001)

Part 7: The Refugee Perspective Fifthieth Anniversary of the Geneva Convention of 28 July 1951

Part 7: The Refugee Perspective Fifthieth Anniversary of the Geneva Convention of 28 July 1951 Get access Refugee Survey Quarterly, Volume 22, Issue 2_and_3, October 2003, Pages 341–346, https://doi.org/10.1093/rsq/22.2_and_3.341 Published: 01 October 2003

Using Refugee Stories in Social Work Education

ABSTRACT Facilitating the adjustment of refugees can be a challenging task for social workers because these involuntary migrants are often both culturally different and psychologically traumatized. Powerful stories about the refugee experience can, therefore, be valuable tools in the preparation of social workers. They can be used to build background knowledge, because they document the experiences of refugees and the sociopsychological effects of those experiences. They can also be used to complement and illustrate theory and are especially valuable, because they permit us to see the receiving country and its agencies from a refugee perspective. Last, they can effectively raise issues for discussion and/or further investigation. This pedagogical potential is illustrated by reference to eight short stories, one biography and a collection of first-person narratives.