Cbos Role in Social Integration of Refugees
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CBOS ROLE IN SOCIAL INTEGRATION OF REFUGEES Case study in Kristiansand, Norway. HIROSHA LAKMALI KALUPE SUPERVISORS Hanne Haaland and Hege Wallevek University of Agder, 2017 Faculty of Social Sciences Department of Global Development and Planning Exploring the role of CBOs in the social integration of refugees. Case study in Kristiansand, Norway. By Hirosha Lakmali Kalupe Supervisors Hanne Haaland and Hege Wallevek This master’s thesis is carried out as a part of the education at the University of Agder and is therefore approved as a part of this education. However, this does not imply that the University answers for the methods that are used or the conclusions that are drawn. University of Agder, 2017 Faculty of Social Sciences Department of Global Development and Planning Abstract The arrival of refugees to European countries have increased with the conflicts around the world. However, the influx of more migrants in search of safety, better lives and work in the developed world continues to create a deep social cleavage. This thesis investigates some commonly neglected dimensions of forced migration and refugee integration. It examines the challenges refugees face in their everyday lives, and how CBOs address the challenges through their social integration programs and activities. Norway has a refugee integration plan and most of the responsibilities of the integration has been given to the municipalities. Municipalities get the support from the civil society, as the refugee integration should be a bottom up plan. The thesis explores the importance of social connections, networks, the trust for increase of social capital for refugees, which helps them to overcome some of the challenges they face in their everyday life. It contributes to the theorization of social capital theory of Putnam and Fukuyama, Ager and Strang’s refugee integration model, Berry’s acculturative theory. The study feeds into the broader debate on making social bonds and bridges of the refugees’ social integration programs. My aim is to find out how these refugees accommodate to the new environment, and what are the best practices of CBOs to integrate them into the society, and the importance of social integration as a solution to their challenges they face in the host country. The thesis is divided into seven chapters. The first chapter gives the background for the research. The second chapter is explaining key concepts of the thesis. The third chapter analyses the theoretical background and literature which supports my research. The fourth chapter describes the methodology I have used in my research. The fifth chapter provides a micro-analysis of the challenges of refugees, and the sixth chapter is explaining how the selected three CBOs contribute for the refugee integration, challenges of CBOs. Finally, I summarize my research findings. Keywords: Refugees, social integration, CBOs. i Acknowledgement I would like to thank University of Agder (UIA) for giving me an opportunity to study the master program of Development management, and I would like to thank Dr. B.M Sumanarathne, head of the department of economics, University of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka, for giving me the scholarship to study in Norway. I would also like to thank my two supervisors, Hanne Haaland and Hege Wallevek, for your invaluable guidance throughout my thesis. Both of you motivated and supported me psychologically, giving me invaluable comments, feedback and encouragement for me to be an independent thinker. I highly appreciate both of your feedback and the trust you kept of my work. I would like to thank all the volunteers at LUNAR CBO, where I volunteered for two years. I cannot mention all the people by names here, but I am happy that all of you become good friends of mine. I especially thank May Linda Magnussen, Gullale Palani, Lene Mordal, Natalia Hefner, Amina Hijabi for being good friends to me and your support. I would also like to thank Jannik, Siv Iren, Ida for your support throughout the stay in Norway. Special thanks and appreciation to Mary K Evjen Olsen and her family for giving me the sense of home in Norway. I would like to thank Amir Arefjell Hayek, for your care and support, as well as help with proofreading of my thesis. I wish to thank all of my informants and participants for sharing their honest thoughts with me. I acknowledge the trust you had in me when you shared your opinions and ideas. Last, but not least, I would like to give my most sincere thanks to all of my friends, you all encouraged and supported me. Finally, I thank my family for all the support throughout my life. ii Declaration by candidate I, Hirosha Lakmali Kalupe, hereby declare that the thesis “CBOs role in refugees, social integration, a case study in Kristiansand, Norway” has not been submitted to any other universities than the University of Agder, Norway, for any type of academic degree. Hirosha Lakmali Kalupe December 2017 iii Table of Contents Abstract .................................................................................................................................................................i Acknowledgement ........................................................................................................................................... ii Declaration by candidate .............................................................................................................................. iii List of figures .................................................................................................................................................. vii Abbreviations and acronyms .................................................................................................................... viii Chapter one: Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Introduction............................................................................................................................................ 1 1.2 Background of the research problem ............................................................................................. 2 1.3 Problem statement, purpose and research questions .................................................................. 3 1.4 Research area ........................................................................................................................................ 4 1.5 The importance of CBOs in refugee’s social integration ......................................................... 6 1.6 Importance of the research ................................................................................................................ 7 1.7 Methodology in brief .......................................................................................................................... 8 1.8 Conceptual framework ....................................................................................................................... 8 1.9 Key terms and definitions .................................................................................................................. 9 1.10 Thesis outline .................................................................................................................................... 10 Chapter two: Conceptual background and Context Elaboration ...................................................... 12 2.1 Integration in Norway ....................................................................................................................... 12 2.2 Acculturation ....................................................................................................................................... 13 2.3 Refugee integration ........................................................................................................................... 14 2.4 Social integration ............................................................................................................................... 15 2.5 Social integration creates social cohesion................................................................................... 16 Chapter three: Theoretical background ................................................................................................... 17 1.3 Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 17 3.1 Acculturation theory .................................................................................................................... 18 3.1.1 Acculturation strategies .......................................................................................................... 19 3.1.2 Psychological level of integration ................................................................................... 21 3.2 Acculturation stress...................................................................................................................... 22 3.3 Ager & Strang model of refugee integration ........................................................................ 24 3.4 Social capital and CBOs role in refugee integration .......................................................... 25 3.6. Putnam and social capital theory .................................................................................................. 26 3.6.1 Bonding and Bridging of Putnam’s social capital ............................................................ 26 3.6.2 Importance of social