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Asylum Seekers (asylum + seeker)
Selected AbstractsOn the Run: The Narrative of an Asylum SeekerANTHROPOLOGY & HUMANISM, Issue 2 2004Solrun Williksen The object of the article is to try and understand how a young woman managed to live through the experience of losing everything that was dear to her, first of all of her sister being "sold" to an old man, then of being threatened with death, then having to leave the picture of her mother behind, and then traveling into the unknown to a new existence in a country that she had never heard of,until she was told the name by the immigration police. It is the story of how to create an experience out of chaos, and how to come to terms with it through looking back and groping for words to give shape and sense to what has happened. In a wider theoretical perspective the article explores the problem of the interplay between the lived experience and the story in the making. This might indicate a dichotomy between experience and narrative, and that acting in the world, in this case being on the run, is lived experience, whereas the telling is just that ,telling, thus removed from the drama of getting on with the living of it. That is not how I see it. When I was in the middle of unraveling Ada's life story I read an article by Sarah Lamb, "Being a Widow" (2001), where she shows that the widow's story is part of her lived life. However, I find the distinctions in approaches very subtle and have, in fact, never quite seen how anything concerned with human experience, let alone one's own life story, can be seen as outside of lived life, outside of reality, like a text. It is true that to the person in this account, a young asylum seeker in Norway, it may seem at times as if the story she is telling is about somebody else. "Sometimes I don't know who I am. How can all this have happened and yet I am still alive?" she asks. Nevertheless I was inspired by Lamb's insistence on the creative practice, and indeed experience, of the narrative presentation itself. Although I have encouraged Ada,as she will be called here,to tell her story, I have done so with a small feeling of doubt. Is it really the case that a forgotten period needs to be recaptured in order for people to feel they own their own lives? She herself has said, "If I told people everything that happened, nobody would believe me and I wouldn't know what words to use either, or how to start." [source] Compassion and Repression: The Moral Economy of Immigration Policies in FranceCULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY, Issue 3 2005Didier Fassin Immigration policies in Europe in the last three decades have become increasingly restrictive. During the 1990s, political asylum lost much of its legitimacy, as new criteria based on humanitarian claims became more common in appeals for immigration. Asylum seekers were increasingly identified as illegal immigrants and therefore candidates for expulsion, unless humanitarian reasons could be found to requalify them as victims deserving sympathy. This substitution of a right to asylum by an obligation in terms of charity leads to a reconsideration of Giorgio Agamben's separation of the humanitarian and the political, suggesting instead a humanitarianization of policies. Sangatte Center, often referred to as a transit camp, became a symbol of this ambiguous European treatment of the "misery of the world" and serves here as an analytical thread revealing the tensions between repression and compassion as well as the moral economy of contemporary biopolitics. [source] Hunger: The Silent Epidemic Among Asylum Seekers and Resettled RefugeesINTERNATIONAL MIGRATION, Issue 1 2008Linda Piwowarczyk Refugees and asylum seekers face challenges after arriving in a host country. They carry the trauma that they may have experienced in their countries of origin, during fight, and in countries of asylum. Other stressors impact on their adjustment after arriving in the United States including basic needs such as food, clothing, and shelter. This is a retrospective review of data collected as part of a needs assessment by a program, which serves survivors of torture and refugee trauma. Asylum seekers (n=65) and refugees were compared (n=30). Asylum seekers were more apt to be from Africa (p<.001), need family reunification (p=.027), speak more languages (p<.001), suffer from political persecution (p<.001), move from place to place due to not having a permanent place to live (p=.031), and be unable to contribute to the rent (p<.001). Unadjusted, asylum seekers were also more likely than refugees to have gone to bed hungry in the previous two weeks (p<.001) or since arriving in the United States (p<.001). Refugees were more likely to be eating more food now than before feeing, and asylum seekers the opposite (p<.001). Being an asylum seeker made one 3.7 times more likely to suffer from food insecurity than being a refugee, and 5.3 times more likely to not have work authorization. Among asylum seekers, adjusting for gender, age, education, lack of permanent housing, English fluency, and self-reported health status, not having work authorization made one 5.6 times more likely to suffer from hunger. Independently, being a torture survivor made one 10.4 times more likely to suffer from hunger. Asylum seekers must wait 150 days before applying for asylum in the United States. For humanitarian reasons, mandatory-waiting periods for work authorization for asylum seekers should be eliminated. Les réfugiés et les demandeurs d'asile se heurtent à différentes diffcultés à leur arrivée dans le pays d'accueil. Ils sont porteurs des traumatismes qu'ils peuvent avoir vécus dans leur pays d'origine, durant leur déplacement ou dans des pays d'asile. D'autres facteurs de stress compliquent encore leur acclimatation sur le territoire des Etats-Unis, parmi lesquels la satisfaction de besoins fondamentaux tels que le gîte, le couvert et l'habillement. La présente étude constitue un examen rétrospectif des données recueillies dans le cadre d'une évaluation des besoins, pour un programme destinéà aider des personnes ayant subi la torture et des réfugiés victimes de traumatismes. Elle établit ainsi une comparaison entre les demandeurs d'asile et les réfugiés. Les demandeurs d'asile sont le plus souvent originaires d'Afrique, en attente de regroupement familial, s'expriment dans plus d'une seule langue, se disent victimes de persécutions politiques, semblent avoir du mal à fixer leur résidence en un point précis et ne pas être en mesure de contribuer au paiement d'un loyer. S'ils n'ont pas encore accompli leur adaptation, ils sont en outre plus susceptibles que les réfugiés de s'être couché le ventre vide au cours des deux semaines précédentes ou depuis leur arrivée aux Etats-Unis. Pour leur part, les réfugiés sont plus susceptibles de manger davantage qu'avant leur départ, au contraire des demandeurs d'asile. Le fait d'être demandeur d'asile signife être 3,7 fois plus exposé qu'un réfugié au risque d'insécurité alimentaire, et 5,3 fois plus à celui de ne pas obtenir une autorisation de travail. Parmi les demandeurs d'asile qui rencontrent des diffcultés d'adaptation liées au sexe, à l'âge, au niveau d'éducation, à l'absence de logement durable, à l'incapacité de communiquer facilement en anglais et à un état de santé défaillant, la non-obtention d'une autorisation de travail fait courir un risque de souffrir de la faim 5,6 fois supérieur. Indépendamment de ce qui précède, une personne ayant subi des actes de torture est 10,4 fois plus susceptible de souffrir de la faim. Aux Etats-Unis, les demandeurs d'asile doivent attendre 150 jours avant de pouvoir déposer une demande d'asile. Pour des raisons humanitaires, les périodes d'attente obligatoire de permis de travail devraient être supprimées pour les demandeurs d'asile. Los refugiados y solicitantes de asilo tienen que hacer frente a toda una serie de retos cuando llegan a un país de acogida. Traen consigo el trauma que han experimentado en sus países de origen, en su huída y en los países de asilo. Otros factores de estrés repercuten en su adaptación tras la llegada en los Estados Unidos, a saber, en necesidades tan elementales como los alimentos, la ropa y el albergue. Este recuento retrospectivo de los datos acopiados forma parte de una evaluación de necesidades de un programa que sirve a los sobrevivientes a torturas y a refugiados traumatizados. En este estudio se compararon solicitantes de asilo (n= 65) con refugiados (n= 30). Los solicitantes de asilo provenían mayormente de África (p<.001), venían por razones de reunifcación familiar (p=.027), fueron objeto de persecución (p<.001), se desplazaron de un lugar a otro sin tener un lugar permanente de residencia (p=.031), y no podían pagar un alquiler (p<.001). Los solicitantes de asilo inadaptados eran mayormente refugiados que habían pasado hambre durante los últimos quince días (p<.001) o desde que llegaron a los Estados Unidos (p<.001). Se observó que los refugiados comían más alimentos que antes de huir, mientras que el fenómeno inverso se produjo con los solicitantes de asilo (p<.001). El solicitante de asilo tenía 3,7 veces más probabilidades de sufrir de inseguridad alimenticia que el refugiado, y tenía 5,3 veces más probabilidades de no contar con un permiso de trabajo. Los solicitantes de asilo, clasifcados por sexo, edad, educación, falta de vivienda permanente, conocimientos de inglés y situación sanitaria autosufciente, que no contaban con autorización de trabajo eran 5,6 veces más propensos a sufrir de la hambruna. Independientemente, el ser un sobreviviente a la tortura hacía que se fuera 10,4 veces más propenso a sufrir de la hambruna. Los solicitantes de asilo tienen que aguardar por lo menos 150 días antes de solicitar el asilo en los Estados Unidos. Por razones humanitarias, convendría suprimir estos periodos de espera obligatorios para que los solicitantes de asilo obtengan permisos de trabajo. [source] The Exclusion of (Failed) Asylum Seekers from Housing and Home: Towards an Oppositional DiscourseJOURNAL OF LAW AND SOCIETY, Issue 2 2010Lorna Fox O'Mahony ,Housing', the practical provision of a roof over one's head , is experienced by users as ,home', broadly described as housing plus the experiential elements of dwelling. Conversely, being without housing, commonly described as ,homelessness', is experienced not only as an absence of shelter but in the philosophical sense of ,ontological homelessness' and alienation from the conditions for well-being. For asylum seekers, these experiences are deliberately and explicitly excluded from official law and policy discourses. This article demonstrates how law and policy is propelled by an ,official discourse' based on the denial of housing and the avoidance of ,home' attachments, which effectively keeps the asylum seeker in a state of ontological homelessness and alienation. We reflect on this exclusion and consider how a new ,oppositional discourse' of housing and home , taking these considerations into account , might impact on the balancing exercise inherent to laws and policies concerning asylum seekers. [source] On the Run: The Narrative of an Asylum SeekerANTHROPOLOGY & HUMANISM, Issue 2 2004Solrun Williksen The object of the article is to try and understand how a young woman managed to live through the experience of losing everything that was dear to her, first of all of her sister being "sold" to an old man, then of being threatened with death, then having to leave the picture of her mother behind, and then traveling into the unknown to a new existence in a country that she had never heard of,until she was told the name by the immigration police. It is the story of how to create an experience out of chaos, and how to come to terms with it through looking back and groping for words to give shape and sense to what has happened. In a wider theoretical perspective the article explores the problem of the interplay between the lived experience and the story in the making. This might indicate a dichotomy between experience and narrative, and that acting in the world, in this case being on the run, is lived experience, whereas the telling is just that ,telling, thus removed from the drama of getting on with the living of it. That is not how I see it. When I was in the middle of unraveling Ada's life story I read an article by Sarah Lamb, "Being a Widow" (2001), where she shows that the widow's story is part of her lived life. However, I find the distinctions in approaches very subtle and have, in fact, never quite seen how anything concerned with human experience, let alone one's own life story, can be seen as outside of lived life, outside of reality, like a text. It is true that to the person in this account, a young asylum seeker in Norway, it may seem at times as if the story she is telling is about somebody else. "Sometimes I don't know who I am. How can all this have happened and yet I am still alive?" she asks. Nevertheless I was inspired by Lamb's insistence on the creative practice, and indeed experience, of the narrative presentation itself. Although I have encouraged Ada,as she will be called here,to tell her story, I have done so with a small feeling of doubt. Is it really the case that a forgotten period needs to be recaptured in order for people to feel they own their own lives? She herself has said, "If I told people everything that happened, nobody would believe me and I wouldn't know what words to use either, or how to start." [source] Critical Evidence: The Politics of Trauma in French Asylum PoliciesETHOS, Issue 3 2007Didier Fassin However obvious it might seem today that victims of persecutions suffer from psychological consequences of the violence inflicted on them, its political implications are a recent phenomenon. In the last decade, asylum seekers in France, as in other European countries, have been more and more often subject to demands of psychiatric expertise to prove the cogency of their claim to the status of refugee. This social innovation results from the convergence of two processes: on the one hand, the rapid decline in the legitimacy of asylum, leading to increasing expectations for evidence to establish the reality of persecutions; on the other hand, the emergence of trauma as a nosographical category legitimizing the traces of violence. At the crossroads of these two histories, a social field, mainly occupied by NGOs, has developed to answer this new need for proof from state institutions, with an increasing specialization on victims of torture and on psychic trauma, the two dimensions being partially independent. The final paradox is, however, that in a context of generalized suspicion toward refugees, the recognition of trauma at a collective level is counterbalanced by its limited impact on the evaluation of individual cases. [source] The Illegal Way In and The Moral Way OutEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PHILOSOPHY, Issue 2 2007Gerhard Øverland At the heart of the current debate about immigration we find a conflict of convictions. Many people seem to believe that a country has a right to decide who to let in and who to keep out, but quite often they appear equally committed to the view that it is morally wrong to expel someone from within the borders of their country if that would seriously jeopardise the person in question. While the first conviction leads to stricter border controls in an attempt to prevent would-be immigrants from entering the country illegally, the latter conviction ensures that aliens with a legitimate claim on protection will not be removed forcibly. It is not strange, therefore, that the task of pinning down a morally sound immigration policy is such an elusive enterprise. In this paper I take it for granted that no electorate would be prepared to accept the kind of policy they ought to, and that we in consequence will continue to let in as few immigrants as is currently the case. Given this constraint I argue against two common assumptions concerning a viable immigration policy. First, granted that certain conditions are satisfied, professional smugglers should not face legal sanctions for bringing asylum seekers to a potential host country. Second, countries that limit immigration should not treat people seeking family reunion preferentially or on a par with other immigrants, but rather act so as to maximise the number of refugees allowed to enter. [source] How news content influences anti-immigration attitudes: Germany, 1993,2005EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF POLITICAL RESEARCH, Issue 4 2009HAJO G. BOOMGAARDEN Immigration is an increasingly important political issue in Western democracies and a crucial question relates to the antecedents of public attitudes towards immigrants. It is generally acknowledged that information relayed through the mass media plays a role in the formation of anti-immigration attitudes. This study considers whether news coverage of immigrants and immigration issues relates to macro-level dynamics of anti-immigration attitudes. It further explores whether this relationship depends on variation in relevant real world contexts. The models simultaneously control for the effects of established contextual explanatory variables. Drawing on German monthly time-series data and on ARIMA time-series modeling techniques, it is shown that both the frequency and the tone of coverage of immigrant actors in the news significantly influence dynamics in anti-immigration attitudes. The strength of the effect of the news, however, depends on contextual variation in immigration levels and the number of asylum seekers. Implications of these findings are discussed in the light of the increasing success of extreme right parties and growing opposition to further European integration. [source] Why do citizens want to keep refugees out?EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 1 2007Threats, fairness, hostile norms in the treatment of asylum seekers A social identity framework was employed to understand why people support the exclusionary treatment of refugee claimants (,asylum seekers') in Australia. Over and above individual difference effects of social dominance orientation and individuals' instrumental threat perceptions, insecure intergroup relations between citizens and asylum seekers were proposed to motivate exclusionary attitudes and behaviour. In addition, perceived procedural and distributive fairness were proposed to mediate the effects of social identity predictors on intergroup competitiveness, serving to legitimise citizens' exclusionary behaviours. Support for these propositions was obtained in a longitudinal study of Australians' social attitudes and behaviour. Small and inconsistent individual-level effects were noted. In contrast, after controlling for these variables, hostile Australian norms, perceived legitimacy of citizen status, and threatening socio-structural relations were strongly and consistently linked to intentions to support the harsh treatment of asylum seekers, and exclusionary attitudes and action at Time 2. Moreover, perceived procedural and distributive justice significantly mediated these relationships. The roles of fairness and intergroup socio-structural perceptions in social attitudes and actions are discussed. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Asylum and the Expansion of Deportation in the United Kingdom1GOVERNMENT AND OPPOSITION, Issue 2 2008Matthew J. Gibney Deportation has traditionally been seen as a secondary instrument of migration control, one used by liberal democratic states relatively infrequently and with some trepidation. This secondary status has been assured by the fact that deportation is both a complicated and a controversial power. It is complicated because tracking individuals down and returning them home are time-consuming and resource-intense activities; it is controversial because deportation is a cruel power, one that sometimes seems incompatible with respect for human rights. In the light of these constraints, how can one explain the fact that since 2000 the United Kingdom has radically increased the number of failed asylum seekers deported from its territory? I argue in the article that this increase has been achieved through a conscious and careful process of policy innovation that has enabled state officials to engage in large-scale expulsions without directly violating liberal norms. [source] Creating consumer satisfaction in maternity care: the neglected needs of migrants, asylum seekers and refugeesINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CONSUMER STUDIES, Issue 2 2007Birgit Jentsch Abstract An estimated 190 million people are now living outside their countries of birth or citizenship, and the rate of this migration is expected to remain high. The resulting growing cultural and ethnic diversity in societies adds specific challenges to the requirement of delivering public services such as health care to consumers. Globally, about half of the migrant population are women. Migrants' outcomes of pregnancy are known to be poor, showing significant disparities when compared with those of native populations. Although these disparities have been noted, knowledge is limited regarding the availability and accessibility of healthcare services, as well as the acceptability of maternity care for women with experiences of free and forced migration. Healthcare research in general, and maternity care research specifically, have often neglected this population. This paper examines the existing international guidelines intended to address inequities in health outcomes, policies which have been introduced at national levels, and the widely used concepts of ,patient-centred' and ,woman-centred' health services. The ideals implicit in those guidelines and concepts are contrasted with the available evidence of many overseas nationals' experiences with healthcare provisions in general, and maternity care in particular. This is followed by reflections on deficiencies in current studies and on those methodological problems which make research on maternity care for migrant women particularly challenging. The conclusion considers the appropriateness and relevance of guidelines currently promoting equity in maternity care and suggests a future agenda for priority research. [source] Providing emergency mental health care to asylum seekers at a time when claims for permanent protection have been rejectedINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MENTAL HEALTH NURSING, Issue 1 2005Nicholas G. Procter ABSTRACT:,In total, 90% of ,boat people' who make it to Australia's migration zone are assessed as legitimate refugees and given Temporary Protection Visas (TPV) allowing them to stay in Australia for 3 years in the first instance. With an increasing number of individuals and families on TPV having their claims for a Permanent Protection Visa (PPV) rejected, this paper argues using the National Mental Health Plan 2003,2008 as a guide, for interventions that are culturally and linguistically appropriate, thus, aiming to minimize risk from exposure to extreme mental stressors in the event of an application for a PPV being rejected. Continuity and integration of mental health care involving key stakeholders is best achieved by bridging discrete elements through preparing for visa appeals and reviews, news from home and ongoing psychosocial stressors , in the context of different episodes, interventions by different providers, and changes in mental distress. To help strengthen continuity and integration of mental health supports for TPV holders, well resourced care must be experienced as connected and coherent. [source] Hunger: The Silent Epidemic Among Asylum Seekers and Resettled RefugeesINTERNATIONAL MIGRATION, Issue 1 2008Linda Piwowarczyk Refugees and asylum seekers face challenges after arriving in a host country. They carry the trauma that they may have experienced in their countries of origin, during fight, and in countries of asylum. Other stressors impact on their adjustment after arriving in the United States including basic needs such as food, clothing, and shelter. This is a retrospective review of data collected as part of a needs assessment by a program, which serves survivors of torture and refugee trauma. Asylum seekers (n=65) and refugees were compared (n=30). Asylum seekers were more apt to be from Africa (p<.001), need family reunification (p=.027), speak more languages (p<.001), suffer from political persecution (p<.001), move from place to place due to not having a permanent place to live (p=.031), and be unable to contribute to the rent (p<.001). Unadjusted, asylum seekers were also more likely than refugees to have gone to bed hungry in the previous two weeks (p<.001) or since arriving in the United States (p<.001). Refugees were more likely to be eating more food now than before feeing, and asylum seekers the opposite (p<.001). Being an asylum seeker made one 3.7 times more likely to suffer from food insecurity than being a refugee, and 5.3 times more likely to not have work authorization. Among asylum seekers, adjusting for gender, age, education, lack of permanent housing, English fluency, and self-reported health status, not having work authorization made one 5.6 times more likely to suffer from hunger. Independently, being a torture survivor made one 10.4 times more likely to suffer from hunger. Asylum seekers must wait 150 days before applying for asylum in the United States. For humanitarian reasons, mandatory-waiting periods for work authorization for asylum seekers should be eliminated. Les réfugiés et les demandeurs d'asile se heurtent à différentes diffcultés à leur arrivée dans le pays d'accueil. Ils sont porteurs des traumatismes qu'ils peuvent avoir vécus dans leur pays d'origine, durant leur déplacement ou dans des pays d'asile. D'autres facteurs de stress compliquent encore leur acclimatation sur le territoire des Etats-Unis, parmi lesquels la satisfaction de besoins fondamentaux tels que le gîte, le couvert et l'habillement. La présente étude constitue un examen rétrospectif des données recueillies dans le cadre d'une évaluation des besoins, pour un programme destinéà aider des personnes ayant subi la torture et des réfugiés victimes de traumatismes. Elle établit ainsi une comparaison entre les demandeurs d'asile et les réfugiés. Les demandeurs d'asile sont le plus souvent originaires d'Afrique, en attente de regroupement familial, s'expriment dans plus d'une seule langue, se disent victimes de persécutions politiques, semblent avoir du mal à fixer leur résidence en un point précis et ne pas être en mesure de contribuer au paiement d'un loyer. S'ils n'ont pas encore accompli leur adaptation, ils sont en outre plus susceptibles que les réfugiés de s'être couché le ventre vide au cours des deux semaines précédentes ou depuis leur arrivée aux Etats-Unis. Pour leur part, les réfugiés sont plus susceptibles de manger davantage qu'avant leur départ, au contraire des demandeurs d'asile. Le fait d'être demandeur d'asile signife être 3,7 fois plus exposé qu'un réfugié au risque d'insécurité alimentaire, et 5,3 fois plus à celui de ne pas obtenir une autorisation de travail. Parmi les demandeurs d'asile qui rencontrent des diffcultés d'adaptation liées au sexe, à l'âge, au niveau d'éducation, à l'absence de logement durable, à l'incapacité de communiquer facilement en anglais et à un état de santé défaillant, la non-obtention d'une autorisation de travail fait courir un risque de souffrir de la faim 5,6 fois supérieur. Indépendamment de ce qui précède, une personne ayant subi des actes de torture est 10,4 fois plus susceptible de souffrir de la faim. Aux Etats-Unis, les demandeurs d'asile doivent attendre 150 jours avant de pouvoir déposer une demande d'asile. Pour des raisons humanitaires, les périodes d'attente obligatoire de permis de travail devraient être supprimées pour les demandeurs d'asile. Los refugiados y solicitantes de asilo tienen que hacer frente a toda una serie de retos cuando llegan a un país de acogida. Traen consigo el trauma que han experimentado en sus países de origen, en su huída y en los países de asilo. Otros factores de estrés repercuten en su adaptación tras la llegada en los Estados Unidos, a saber, en necesidades tan elementales como los alimentos, la ropa y el albergue. Este recuento retrospectivo de los datos acopiados forma parte de una evaluación de necesidades de un programa que sirve a los sobrevivientes a torturas y a refugiados traumatizados. En este estudio se compararon solicitantes de asilo (n= 65) con refugiados (n= 30). Los solicitantes de asilo provenían mayormente de África (p<.001), venían por razones de reunifcación familiar (p=.027), fueron objeto de persecución (p<.001), se desplazaron de un lugar a otro sin tener un lugar permanente de residencia (p=.031), y no podían pagar un alquiler (p<.001). Los solicitantes de asilo inadaptados eran mayormente refugiados que habían pasado hambre durante los últimos quince días (p<.001) o desde que llegaron a los Estados Unidos (p<.001). Se observó que los refugiados comían más alimentos que antes de huir, mientras que el fenómeno inverso se produjo con los solicitantes de asilo (p<.001). El solicitante de asilo tenía 3,7 veces más probabilidades de sufrir de inseguridad alimenticia que el refugiado, y tenía 5,3 veces más probabilidades de no contar con un permiso de trabajo. Los solicitantes de asilo, clasifcados por sexo, edad, educación, falta de vivienda permanente, conocimientos de inglés y situación sanitaria autosufciente, que no contaban con autorización de trabajo eran 5,6 veces más propensos a sufrir de la hambruna. Independientemente, el ser un sobreviviente a la tortura hacía que se fuera 10,4 veces más propenso a sufrir de la hambruna. Los solicitantes de asilo tienen que aguardar por lo menos 150 días antes de solicitar el asilo en los Estados Unidos. Por razones humanitarias, convendría suprimir estos periodos de espera obligatorios para que los solicitantes de asilo obtengan permisos de trabajo. [source] Aid, Relief, and Containment: The First Asylum Country and BeyondINTERNATIONAL MIGRATION, Issue 5 2002B.S. Chimni A fundamental problem that confronts the European Union today is how it can maintain its commitment to the institution of asylum while checking irregular migration and the abuse of its asylum system. In order to explore a response to this dilemma the paper addresses the following questions: what role can relief and aid policies play in influencing migration patterns? What should be the appropriate approach to the granting of relief and aid to developing countries of first asylum? Should it be viewed as a part of the larger problem of development or be treated as a distinct issue? What kind of a relief/aid model will help refugees return to post,conflict societies and stop the conflict from reproducing itself? The paper examines two different approaches to address these questions: the alliance,containment approach and the distributive,developmental approach. It also looks at some empirical evidence, which reveals that at present it is a conservative alliance,containment approach that informs EU relief and aid practices. This approach, however, does not help achieve the stated objective of checking abuse of asylum and migration procedures while sustaining a commitment to a liberal asylum regime. The paper goes on to identify the gaps in EU policy and the lessons that can be drawn. It concludes by looking at different policy alternatives and suggesting the adoption of a reformist distributive,developmental model. The implementation of this model holds out the hope of reverting to a more liberal asylum regime while controlling irregular migration and "bogus" asylum seekers, for the reformist distributive developmental model takes a more long,term view of migration trends and also seeks to address the growing North,South divide. [source] The dialogical self in a cultural contact zone: Exploring the perceived ,cultural correction' function of schoolingJOURNAL OF COMMUNITY & APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 4 2010Ria O'Sullivan-Lago Abstract This paper discusses a qualitative study that explores the impact the development of a cultural contact zone has upon identity processes in the Dialogical Self. The analysis draws upon interviews with Irish nationals, immigrants and asylum seekers in a new cultural contact zone. The findings illustrate uncertainty experienced as a result of immigration, suggesting that the development of the contact zone caused cultural discontinuity. The individuals' uncertainty for their cultural identities' future viability demanded the development of identity strategies to maintain continuity with their perceived cultural future, where they were faced with cultural others. Identity repositionings and a strategy to maintain continuity will be explored in the current paper. The Irish and asylum seeker participants' unprompted focus on schooling will be explored as a continuity strategy. The participants constructed schooling as a tool for the ,cultural correction' of migrant children and a means for the assimilation of migrants into the Irish community. The paper discusses the function of this strategy for the two groups, and the theoretical integration of cultural level processes in the theory of the Dialogical Self. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Attitudes toward Out-groups and the perception of consensus: All feet do not wear one shoeJOURNAL OF COMMUNITY & APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 6 2008Anne Pedersen Abstract Although social perception research has been carried out across a number of diverse domains, to the best of our knowledge, studies have not directly assessed the relationship between attitudes toward the out-group and perceptions of community support for those attitudes. In the present research, we report the findings of a study conducted in Western Australia using data collected from 653 participants from three different locations. The main thrust of our study was the accuracy of beliefs about consensus as it related to attitudes toward two marginalized groups: Indigenous Australians and asylum seekers. With respect to their attitudes toward these two groups, our respondents were placed in seven categories corresponding to their responses to our seven point attitude scales. Three main findings emerged. First, respondents at all seven levels overestimated community support for their views with respect to both Indigenous Australians and asylum seekers. Second, as respondents in both groups became more rejecting, their estimates of community support progressively increased in a linear fashion. Third, respondents in the more negative categories were significantly less accurate in their estimates than those in the more positive categories. How these findings might contribute to programmes designed to reduce prejudice is discussed. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Protecting the Nation: Nationalist rhetoric on asylum seekers and the TampaJOURNAL OF COMMUNITY & APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 6 2008Kieran O'Doherty Abstract This paper analyses texts from the Australian print media that invoke nationalist discourse in the so-called ,Tampa crisis' of 2001, which involved the boarding by Australian military troops of a civilian Norwegian shipping vessel (the Tampa) that had rescued a group of asylum seekers. In particular, we are interested in how military action was justified in public discourse against a group of civilians through the use of arguments relying in some form or another on the notion of nationhood and national identity. We employ a critical discursive methodology to investigate how some of these descriptions worked to legitimate the Australian government's role in these events and demonstrate some of the mechanisms by which discourses of nation can operate in the marginalization of asylum seekers. We conclude that presenting issues relating to asylum seekers and the Tampa at a level of national identity was critical in justifying the Australian government's stance and actions. We also raise some concerns about the consequences that may follow from the Australian government's actions and reliance on nationalist rhetoric. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] The Exclusion of (Failed) Asylum Seekers from Housing and Home: Towards an Oppositional DiscourseJOURNAL OF LAW AND SOCIETY, Issue 2 2010Lorna Fox O'Mahony ,Housing', the practical provision of a roof over one's head , is experienced by users as ,home', broadly described as housing plus the experiential elements of dwelling. Conversely, being without housing, commonly described as ,homelessness', is experienced not only as an absence of shelter but in the philosophical sense of ,ontological homelessness' and alienation from the conditions for well-being. For asylum seekers, these experiences are deliberately and explicitly excluded from official law and policy discourses. This article demonstrates how law and policy is propelled by an ,official discourse' based on the denial of housing and the avoidance of ,home' attachments, which effectively keeps the asylum seeker in a state of ontological homelessness and alienation. We reflect on this exclusion and consider how a new ,oppositional discourse' of housing and home , taking these considerations into account , might impact on the balancing exercise inherent to laws and policies concerning asylum seekers. [source] Metaphors we discriminate by: Naturalized themes in Austrian newspaper articles about asylum seekersJOURNAL OF SOCIOLINGUISTICS, Issue 3 2001Elisabeth El Refaie With specific reference to the use of metaphor in Austrian newspaper reports on the arrival of Kurdish asylum seekers in Italy in January 1998, this study suggests ways in which cognitive metaphor theory can be given a stronger socio-political dimension. The dominant metaphors portray the asylum seekers as water, as criminals, or as an invading army. The repeated use of these themes in relatively fixed lexical and syntactic forms and across all the newspapers seems to indicate that they have become accepted as the ,natural' way of describing the situation. It will be argued that the ,naturalization' of particular metaphors can contribute to a blurring of the boundaries between the literal and the non-literal. [source] Human rights and the trauma model: Genuine partners or uneasy allies?JOURNAL OF TRAUMATIC STRESS, Issue 5 2009Zachary Steel Since World War II, a comprehensive body of international law has developed to protect and promote human rights. Three generations of rights can be delineated: civil and political; economic, social and cultural; and collective rights. The convergence of a medical rights-based campaign in the late 1970s with the emergence of the new trauma model resulted in mental health professionals playing a prominent role in documenting and protecting civil and political rights. Economic, social, and cultural rights also emerged as being pivotal, particularly in the Australian context as mental health professionals began to work with excluded populations such as asylum seekers. Consideration of third-generation rights raises important questions about the responsibilities facing mental health professionals applying the trauma model to non-Western settings. [source] On Integrating Immigrants in GermanyPOPULATION AND DEVELOPMENT REVIEW, Issue 3 2006Article first published online: 8 SEP 200 Immigration to Germany in the decades following World War II made the Federal Republic the host of the largest number of immigrants in Europe. The size of the population with an immigration background is on the order of 15 million, nearly one-fifth of the total population. (Many of these are ethnic German returnees.) Although restrictive policies and a less dynamic economy in recent years slowed the annual number of immigrants and asylum seekers, the interrelated demographic influences of very low fertility, negative natural population increase, and population aging make continuing future immigration likely and, judged by influential domestic interests, desirable. Anxieties about inadequate integration of immigrants in German society are, however, apparently strongly felt by large segments of the native population. The "Grand Coalition" government that took office in November 2005 considers the formation of an effective policy of integration a high priority. On 14 July 2006 an "Integration Summit" was convened in the Chancellery with the active participation of representatives of immigrant groups. Chancellor Angela Merkel called the Summit "an almost historical event." Reproduced below in full is a non-official English translation of a government statement (entitled "Good coexistence,Clear rules") presented to the participants at the opening of the meeting. Intended as a "start of the development of a national integration plan," the statement highlights existing deficiencies of integration, especially problems with second- and third-generation immigrants: lack of mastery of the German language, weaknesses in education and training, high unemployment, lack of acceptance of the basic rules of coexistence, and violation of the law. The importance of these issues is underlined by a demographic fact noted in the statement: by 2010 it is expected that in Germany's large cities 50 percent of the population under age 40 will have an immigrant background. The statement recognizes the government's responsibility to help immigrants learn German and become better informed about the country's laws, culture, history, and political system. In turn, it demands reciprocal efforts from migrants living permanently and lawfully in Germany. The original German text of the statement is available at the Bundeskanzleramt home page: «http://www.bundesregierung.d» [source] An emergent cosmopolitan paradigm?THE BRITISH JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY, Issue 2 2009Asylum, human rights, welfare Abstract This paper addresses the recognition in cosmopolitan debate of a possible disjuncture between the normative ideal of cosmopolitanism and its realization in practice. Taking as its focus the potential conflict between human rights commitments and national concern about immigration control, it reflects on a series of legal challenges to UK government attempts to withdraw support from asylum seekers who do not claim on entry into the country. Set in the context of socio-legal theory, these cases are analysed for signs of a ,national' or ,cosmopolitan' paradigm in judicial interpretation, and considered as a possible instance of reflexive judgment, espoused as a feature of cosmopolitanism. [source] Down that Wrong Road: Discretion in Decisions to Detain Asylum Seekers Arriving at UK PortsTHE HOWARD JOURNAL OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE, Issue 3 2003Leanne Weber The discretionary power to detain asylum seekers on arrival in the UK has been described by one human rights organisation as ,extraordinary and largely unrestrained' (Amnesty International 1996). Although decisions made by immigration officers can lead to long periods in prison or in prison-like conditions, these actions are considered to be administrative and are therefore not subject to the legal constraints that apply to criminal justice agencies. This article traces the many sources of discretion in the use of Immigration Act detention, using an analytical framework developed by Schneider (1992). Discretion is found to originate from the vague and permissive nature of detention guidelines (rule-failure discretion), the priority given to operational considerations at ports (rule-binding discretion) and the failure to resolve conflicts between policy objectives (rule-compromise discretion). [source] Australian asylum policies: have they violated the right to health of asylum seekers?AUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH, Issue 1 2009Vanessa Johnston Abstract Objectives: Notwithstanding recent migration policy amendments, there is concern that Australian asylum policies have disproportionately burdened the health and wellbeing of onshore asylum seekers. There may be a case to be made that Australian governments have been in violation of the right to health of this population. The objective of this paper is to critically examine these issues and assess the implications for public health practice. Methods:The author undertook a review of the recent empirical literature on the health effects of post-migration stressors arising from Australian policies of immigration detention, temporary protection and the restriction of Medicare to some asylum seekers. This evidence was examined within the context of Australia's international law obligations. Results: Findings reveal that Australian asylum policies of detention, temporary protection and the exclusion of some asylum seekers from Medicare rights have been associated with adverse mental health outcomes for this population. This is attributable to the impact of these policies on accessing health care and the underlying determinants of health for aslyum seekers. Conclusion: It is arguable that Australian Governments have been discriminating against asylum seekers by withholding access on the grounds of their migration status, to health care and to the core determinants of health in this context. In so doing, Australia may have been in violation of its obligation to respect the right to health of this population. Implications: While the ,right to health' framework has much to offer public health, it is an undervalued and poorly understood discipline. The author argues for more education, research and advocacy around the intersection between heath and human rights. [source] Public health metaphors in Australian policy on asylum seekersAUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH, Issue 1 2009Glenda Koutroulis Abstract Objective: To analyse the way in which a public health metaphor has been incorporated into Australian political practice to justify the exclusion or mistreatment of unwelcome non-citizens, giving particular attention to recent asylum seekers. Approach: Starting with a personal experience of working in an immigration detention centre and then drawing on media reports and published scholarship, I critique political rhetoric and policy on asylum seekers, arguing that the significance of a public health metaphor lies in its effectiveness in persuading the public that refugees and asylum seekers are a moral contaminant that threatens the nation and has to be contained. Conclusion: Acceptance of the metaphor sanctions humanly degrading inferences, policies and actions. Public health professionals therefore have a responsibility to challenge the political use of public health and associated metaphors. Implications: Substituting the existing metaphor for one that is more morally acceptable could help to redefine refugees and asylum seekers more positively and promote compassion in political leaders and the community. [source] Caring for detained asylum seekers, human rights and bioethicsAUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH, Issue 6 2004Deborah Zion No abstract is available for this article. [source] Public health, political morality and compassionAUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH, Issue 3 2002Gavin Mooney Objective: To put the case that public health professionals have a responsibility to foster a more informed, autonomous community. Method: To argue that the current Australian Federal Government is failing to provide the impetus for building a compassionate society, particularly with respect to social justice for asylum seekers and Aboriginal people. Results: There is a need for public health professionals to assist in promoting an informed debate about what it means to be a minimally decent Australian. Conclusions and implications: Education of the citizenry and by the academy in public debate and public debating is the lifeblood of democracy. This is the ethical goal of public health. [source] Asylum, children's rights and social workCHILD & FAMILY SOCIAL WORK, Issue 3 2003Sarah Cemlyn ABSTRACT Although it is only a minority of displaced and persecuted people globally who seek refuge in ,Western' countries, they meet an increasingly hostile reception. This paper focuses on the situation facing children seeking asylum with or without their families in Britain and Australia, and the implications for children's rights and for social work. The policy background and its racist foundations in both countries are outlined. Despite geopolitical differences, there are unnerving parallels. Legislative changes and policy complexity signal increasingly punitive attitudes towards asylum seekers. The situation of children and families in the community is discussed in terms of the exclusion of asylum seekers from basic rights, and specific issues for separated children. Even more damaging is the incarceration of children and families in detention centres, and the emerging research is explored. In both countries there is widespread flouting of children's rights, and children also feature as pawns in ideological contests. However, they also act autonomously and illustrate an inclusive model of citizenship. The role of social workers in the statutory and voluntary sectors is considered, and the paper concludes with a discussion of the challenges for social work of avoiding collusion with repressive policies and actively promoting human rights. [source] Why do citizens want to keep refugees out?EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 1 2007Threats, fairness, hostile norms in the treatment of asylum seekers A social identity framework was employed to understand why people support the exclusionary treatment of refugee claimants (,asylum seekers') in Australia. Over and above individual difference effects of social dominance orientation and individuals' instrumental threat perceptions, insecure intergroup relations between citizens and asylum seekers were proposed to motivate exclusionary attitudes and behaviour. In addition, perceived procedural and distributive fairness were proposed to mediate the effects of social identity predictors on intergroup competitiveness, serving to legitimise citizens' exclusionary behaviours. Support for these propositions was obtained in a longitudinal study of Australians' social attitudes and behaviour. Small and inconsistent individual-level effects were noted. In contrast, after controlling for these variables, hostile Australian norms, perceived legitimacy of citizen status, and threatening socio-structural relations were strongly and consistently linked to intentions to support the harsh treatment of asylum seekers, and exclusionary attitudes and action at Time 2. Moreover, perceived procedural and distributive justice significantly mediated these relationships. The roles of fairness and intergroup socio-structural perceptions in social attitudes and actions are discussed. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||