Refuge

Refuge • Vol. 29 • No. 1 • Spring 2012

Refuge Canada’s Periodical on Refugees La revue canadienne sur les réfugiés Centre for Refugee Studies Room 845, York Research Tower York University 4700 Keele Street, Toronto Ontario, Canada M3J 1P3 Phone: 416-736-5843 Fax: 416-736-5688 Refuge E-mail: [email protected] Web site: www.yorku.ca/refuge Vol. 29 • No. 1 Spring 2012

Technology, Control, and Surveillance in Australia’s Immigration Detention Centres Linda Briskman

Policy Report on UNHCR’s Community Technology Access Program: Best Practices and Lessons Learned Jessica Anderson

Channels of Protection: Communication, Technology, and Asylum in Cairo, Egypt Nora Danielson

Social Media Usage, Tahriib (Migration), and Settlement among Somali Refugees in France Houssein Charmarkeh

Impact of Remittances on Refugees’ Lives in Canada: Views of Sudanese and Vietnamese Leaders and Settlement Counsellors Phyllis J. Johnson and Kathrin Stoll

Resilience among Single Adult Female Refugees Vol. 29 • No. 1 • Spring 2012 in Hamilton, Ontario Karen Chung, Ellie Hong, and Bruce Newbold

Just Kids? Peer Racism in a Predominantly White City James Baker Volume 29 Refuge Number 1

Refuge Canada’s Periodical on Refugees La revue canadienne sur les réfugiés Vol. 29 No. 1 Centre for Refugee Studies, Room 845, York Research Tower, York University 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M3J 1P3 Phone: 416-736-5843 Fax: 416-736-5688 E-mail: [email protected] Web site: http://www.yorku.ca/refuge Editor-in-Chief Christina Clark-Kazak Managing Editor Nausheen Quayyum Book Review Editor Nergis Canefe Editorial Advisory Board Sharryn Aiken, Francois Crépeau, Jeff Crisp, Barbara Harrell-Bond, James Hathaway, Judith Kumin, Michael Lanphier, Susan McGrath, Obiora Okafor, Volker Türk Founded in 1981, Refuge is an interdisciplinary journal published by the Centre for Refugee Studies, York University. Th e journal aims to provide a forum for discussion and critical refl ection on refugee and forced migration issues. Refuge invites contributions from researchers, practitioners, and policy makers with national, international, or comparative perspectives. Special, thematic issues address the broad scope of the journal’s mandate, featuring articles and reports, shorter commentaries, and book reviews. With the exception of formally solicited work, all submissions to Refuge are subject to double-blinded peer review. Articles are accepted in either English or French. Refuge is a non-profi t, independent periodical funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and supported by the membership of the Canadian Association for Refugee Studies (CARFMS). Th e views expressed in Refuge do not necessarily refl ect those of its funders or editors. Refuge is indexed and abstracted in the Index to Canadian Legal Literature, Pais International, Sociological Abstracts, the International Bibliography of the Social Sciences, and Canadian Business and Current Aff airs. Th e full text of articles published in Refuge is also available on-line through the Gale Group databases, accessible in many university libraries. Refuge is also available online through Lexis-Nexis’s Quicklaw service.

Typesetting and production services were provided by Becker Associates www.beckerassociates.ca—professional services for non-profi ts. ISSN (Print): 0229-5113 ISSN (Online): 1920-7336 Volume 29 Refuge Number 1

Contents Guest Editor: Linda Leung

Introduction Introductory Essay ...... Linda Leung 5

Special Focus on Technology Technology, Control, and Surveillance in Australia’s Immigration Detention Centres...... Linda Briskman 9

Policy Report on UNHCR’s Community Technology Access Program: Best Practices and Lessons Learned...... Jessica Anderson 21

Channels of Protection: Communication, Technology, and Asylum in Cairo, Egypt...... Nora Danielson 31

Social Media Usage, Tahriib (Migration), and Settlement among Somali ...... Houssein Charmarkeh 43

General Papers Impact of Remittances on Refugees’ Lives in Canada: Views of Sudanese and Vietnamese Leaders and Settlement Counsellors ...... Phyllis J. Johnson and Kathrin Stoll 53

Resilience among Single Adult Female Refugees in Hamilton, Ontario...... Karen Chung, Ellie Hong, and Bruce Newbold 65

Just Kids? Peer Racism in a Predominantly White City...... James Baker 75

Literacy, Teens, Refugees, and Soccer...... Eric Dwyer and Mary Lou McCloskey 87

Th e Location of Refugee Female Teachers in the Canadian Context: “Not Just a Refugee Woman!” ...... Snežana Ratković 103

Ancient Laws and New Canadian Refugee Legislation: Evaluating Bill C-31 in Light of the Book of Deuteronomy ...... Mark Glanville 115

Reimagining Asylum: Religious Narratives and the Moral Obligation to the Asylum Seeker ...... Silas W. Allard 121

3 Report “Migration and Violence: Lessons from Colombia for the Americas” A workshop of the Transatlantic Forum on Migration and Integration and the Refugee Research Network (TFMI)...... Jorge Salcedo 131 Volume 29 Refuge Number 1

Introduction

Linda Leung

he Special Focus section of this issue of Refuge is Some of these questions have already begun to be being edited by an “outsider” to Refugee Studies. By addressed. A recent issue of Forced Migration Review (issue Tthat I mean that my professional life has not focused no. 38) presented a collection of short case studies of pro- on investigating refugee issues per se, but instead has been jects in the fi eld, which largely focused on how new tech- concerned with how technology is accessed and deployed nologies were being used by aid organizations in providing by groups and communities. Th erefore, what this Special services to refugees. Th e issue is very useful in highlighting Focus section off ers are some diff erent perspectives on tech- the diversity and innovation of projects being undertaken nology’s role in the refugee experience through the lenses of on the ground. various disciplines that actually study technology adoption I hope to augment these in this Special Focus section of and uses. In doing this, I am hoping to begin an interdisci- Refuge, with more detailed examples and critical analysis by plinary dialogue between Refugee Studies and Technology way of a comprehensive introduction to Technology Studies. Studies scholars about policies, models, and politics of tech- Th e study of technology is not merely concerned with just nology provision, access and use with specifi c reference the tools and devices that are commonly referred to as tech- to refugee service provision in situations of displacement. nologies. Rather, Technology Studies also investigates the To this end, I have also included contributions from other systems of knowledge and meaning that are associated with “outsiders” to encourage the sharing of data and knowledge technologies: for example, there is oft en an unquestioned across sectors. causal relationship given to technology and socio-economic In my own examinations of refugees’ technology use progress whereby everyone must “keep up” with the IT revo- in displacement settings1 and during settlement,2 it seems lution by having a computer and having computer skills that the importance of technological tools and services to or be “left behind.”3 Technology Studies interrogates these refugees has had little attention until recently. As can be ideas, examining how they make their way into policies such expected, much of the literature within Refugee Studies is as establishing national high-speed broadband networks concerned with matters such as factors infl uencing forced and ensuring every child has a laptop. Moreover, Technology migration, the provision of services in crisis situations, and Studies looks at how technologies and these ideas about tech- systems of refugee administration. Yet there has been min- nology are socially constructed and shaped. imal examination of the role of technology in, for example, Th e critical dimension off ered by Technology Studies sustaining connections between displaced family members approaches is necessary to balance out a popular tendency where contact is tenuous and at risk of being lost. Nor has to “evangelize” new technologies. Indeed, these positions there been much deliberation on the question of technology represent the two main perspectives used to study technol- as a fundamental human right and therefore a basic neces- ogy: one is that of social determinism, whereby technological sity to which refugees should have access. In following this innovation and change is regarded as socially, politically, line of argument, other questions arise: which technologies culturally, and economically situated; the other is techno- are the most appropriate for refugees in camps and displace- logical determinism, which considers technology to be the ment settings? What are the practicalities of deploying such catalyst for social change. Th e former perspective regards technologies on the ground? What inequalities emerge sur- technology as shaped by humans. Actor-Network Th eory4 rounding access to these technological tools and services? takes this a step further in arguing that the shaping of tech- What are the repercussions of having limited or no access to nology by humans has resulted in human reliance on tech- such technologies for refugees who are displaced and those nology, such that technology also shapes us. Technologies who have resettled? that we have created become a vital part of our lives and so

5 Volume 29 Refuge Number 1

are important actors in the operation of our networks. In are unexpected uses and consequences in that while the pri- providing humans with agency, technology also has its own mary objective might be to use technology to deliver educa- agency. tion, the technology combined with the acquired skills was Social determinist or constructivist views are skeptical used for more pressing needs such as keeping in touch with of utopian celebrations as well as pessimistic generaliza- displaced family and friends. tions about new technology. Technological determinism Th e comprehensive evaluation of the Community tends to create those positive and negative assertions, such Technology Access initiative demonstrates the investment as “Facebook means that refugees will not lose contact with and eff ort required in establishing and maintaining an loved ones anymore” or “Th e use of Skype means that refu- adequate technical infrastructure. Moreover, there needs gees no longer require access to telephones.” Th erefore, I to be assessment of whether such technologies are the most encourage you to read the themed articles with these con- appropriate for the local community and whether less cepts in mind: does the availability of a particular technol- resource-intensive alternatives might be more suitable. ogy inevitably lead to better social outcomes? Does access Issues of access and aff ordability do not pertain only to to technology necessarily mean that refugees’ needs can be computers and the Internet, but to any technologies that better represented? might be seen as “solutions.” In other words, simply mak- Houssein Charmarkeh’s article describes what can ing technologies available is not suffi cient. Th ere are access be achieved when refugees have access to tools of infor- biases to be overcome such as the literacies—both language mation, communication, and representation themselves. and technical—necessary for technology use. Th ere are also Th ese opportunities to increase technical literacies while gendered ways in which technology is accessed. Finance, sustaining precarious connections with displaced family too, oft en constitutes one of the greatest impediments to members oft en happen only once refugees are in countries access. of settlement. However, the Somalian participants in this Both Anderson’s and Nora Danielson’s papers discuss study have already acquired reasonably high levels of tech- the UNHCR’s policy of encouraging locally led initiatives nology literacy in their country of origin, enough to mobil- and building the capacity of the communities in which their ize using social media whilst displaced and in transit. projects are located. Th is approach has the best potential In contrast, Linda Briskman’s article examines the ways for understanding the intricacies of technology availability, in which technologies can be used to oppress refugees in access, and aff ordability at a local level. Th is localized know- some of the most inhumane ways possible. Not only are ledge is crucial for practising what is known in technology they subject to state-sanctioned deprivation of communica- disciplines as “user-centred design”: socially determined tion technologies as part of mandatory immigration deten- technology solutions which emerge from the needs of the tion, they are also policed by technologies of control and people who will ultimately use them. User-centred design is surveillance. We see that low technologies—such as letter the opposite of “one-size fi ts all,” off -the-shelf, top-down, or writing—can eff ectively allow refugees to subvert the tech- designer-led approaches. Rather, it advocates solutions that nologies used against them in mandatory detention. are tailored and have been developed with the input of the While Briskman contends that access to technology users themselves. Users can even be involved in co-creation, should be considered a part of communication as a human also known as participatory design. right as expressed in Article 19 of the UN Declaration of Danielson’s paper illustrates the particularities of Cairo, Human Rights, which includes “freedom to seek, receive and and the diffi culties of implementing a standardized technol- impart information and ideas through any media regard- ogy and communication strategy between service providers less of frontiers,” Australia’s system of mandatory detention and refugees in such a densely populated but geographic- apparently contradicts this non-binding provision. On the ally sprawling city. Th e paper shows that while there is other hand, Jessica Anderson’s article examines in detail greater availability of technologies in urban environments— how Article 19 is being implemented on the ground through unlike in remote settings—issues of access and aff ordability the UNHCR’s provision of technology as a basic need and remain. In this case, users are both service providers and service. Th e argument underpinning both of these articles refugees. Th e user research demonstrates that service pro- is that very little communication, education, and everyday viders are oft en gatekeepers to technology and have access life can be conducted without technological mediation. Th is to newer technologies such as the Internet and social media. is also at the crux of Actor-Network Th eory, which suggests Refugees, on the other hand, tend to utilize more traditional that technology is an intrinsic part of our human agency: or lower technologies such as print and telephony. What technologies are not neutral tools or objects, but have import- kinds of solutions can be designed for two groups of users ant roles in the operation of all networks. Furthermore, there

6 Introduction

who need to communicate and interact but utilize diff erent refugees and technology (such as in an upcoming special types of technologies? issue of the Journal of Refugee Studies). It is important to remember that while refugee commun- ities and contexts diff er, it is also necessary to look compara- tively and at the “big picture” of technology use, access, and Notes provision in order to develop appropriate standards and 1. L. Leung, C. Finney Lamb, and Emrys, Technology’s Ref- policies that ensure at least a minimum level of availability uge: the use of technology by asylum seekers and refugees and service. Currently, refugee experiences of technology (Sydney: UTS ePress, 2009), http://epress.lib.uts.edu.au/ are not only diverse and disparate, but also largely inter- research/bitstream/handle/2100/928/TechnologysRefuge preted through service providers. Th at is, there is a dearth .pdf?sequence=1. 2. L. Leung, “Mind the Gap: Refugee and Communication Tech- of data that is primarily sourced from refugees themselves nology Literacy,” Australian Communications Consumer about their technology use. As a way of addressing this, I Action Network, Sydney, 2011, http://accan.org.au/index am making anonymized data, which I have collected from .php?option=com_content&view=article&id=364:mind over one hundred surveys and interviews with refugees -the-gap-refugees-and-communications-technology about their experiences of technology, publicly available for -literacy&catid=103:general-communications&Itemid=170 re/interpretation and analysis at http://trr.digimatter.com. 3. F. Henwood et al., “Critical Perspectives on Technologies, Th is online database is possibly the most comprehen- In/equalities and the Information Society,” in Technology sive collection of primary data on refugees’ technology use and In/equality, ed. S. Wyatt, et al. (London: Routledge, across various contexts of displacement, detention, and 2000), 2. settlement. In sharing this data, I am encouraging inter- 4. J. Law and J. Hassard, eds., Actor Network Th eory and Aft er disciplinary collaboration between students, scholars, and (Oxford and Keele: Blackwell and the Sociological Review, the fi elds of Refugee Studies and Technology Studies. 1999). I appreciate the opportunity, as an “outsider” to Refugee Studies, to present in this Special Focus section of Refuge Dr. Linda Leung is associate professor in the Institute for some key theories and ideas from Technology Studies. I Interactive Media and Learning, University of Technology, hope that these can be used as conceptual lenses for exam- Sydney, Australia. ining the research fi ndings in the themed papers, the raw data in my online database, and in future discussions about

7 Volume 29 Refuge Number 1

Technology, Control, and Surveillance in Australia’s Immigration Detention Centres

Linda Briskman

Abstract les détenus ont trouvé d’autres façons de communiquer Although mandatory immigration detention for “unauthor- pour franchir les limites qui leur sont imposées. ized” arrivals in Australia receives considerable attention, the use and abuse by government of technologies within Introduction sites of detention is less publicized. Control and surveil- On August 28, 2012, Australia watched as participants in the SBS television series Go Back to Where You Came From1 lance are exercised in a number of ways. Immigration were stripped of their wallets and mobile phones. Th ey were detainees have been denied adequate access to technolo- told that they would not be permitted to have contact with gies that would enable them to fully communicate with friends and families. Th is simulated asylum-seeker experi- family and friends and are deprived of the capacity to ence involving Australian citizens mirrored the everyday acquire information that can ensure their human rights experience of asylum seekers in immigration detention are realized. At the same time that asylum seekers experi- who have consistently been denied means of communica- ence restrictions, devices are in place to control detainees tion, resulting in minimal contact with families and friends through technological surveillance. Despite the prohibi- and creating other serious consequences. tions and impositions, detainees have adopted alternative Mandatory immigration detention in Australia has been means of communication in defi ance of the limits foisted condemned by international and domestic human rights upon them. organizations for breaches of human rights norms that are the entitlements of those designated as citizens. Th e cri- Résumé tiques centre on the restriction of rights to liberty, limited access to services in the spheres of law, health, and educa- Bien que la détention obligatoire des immigrants dans tion, and inhumane treatment in detention facilities. Less le cas d’arrivées « non autorisées » en Australie retienne explored is the right to communication, which is expressed beaucoup l’attention, l’utilisation et l’abus des technolo- in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights gies par le gouvernement au sein des sites de détentions (UDHR): “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion sont moins médiatisés. Le contrôle et la surveillance sont and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opin- mis en pratique de diff érentes manières. Les immigrants ions without interference and to seek, receive and impart détenus se sont vus refuser un accès adéquat aux tech- information and ideas through any media and regardless nologies qui leur permettraient de communiquer pleine- of frontiers.” ment avec leur famille et leurs amis, et d’avoir accès à Although this 1948 declaration was craft ed before the l’information nécessaire pour s’assurer du respect de leurs technological communications revolution, the spirit of droits humains. Tout en expérimentant ces restrictions, les Article 19 resonates today. Th e way it fails to be applied demandeurs d’asile détenus sont contrôlés par les technol- in immigration detention compounds the denial of lib- ogies de surveillances. Malgré les interdictions et les abus, erty. Former Australian Human Rights Commissioner

9 Volume 29 Refuge Number 1

Catherine Branson states, “Liberty is a fundamental human Th e Framework and Implementation of Control right. Depriving someone of their liberty carries with it a Th e policy of mandatory immigration detention of men, serious responsibility to ensure that the conditions of deten- women, and children was enshrined in legislation in 1992 tion do not undermine the fundamental human dignity of and receives bipartisan support. Th ose subject to asylum- the person who is detained.”2 seeker detention are generally those known as Irregular Th is paper examines how control of communication has Maritime Arrivals (IMAs), people who arrive by boat been exercised in immigration detention facilities for more without prior authorization. It is lawful to seek asylum in than a decade, the impact of the communication limits on this way, as determined by the 1951 Refugee Convention, detainees, and ways in which asylum seekers have taken to which Australia is a signatory. However, the hyperbole steps to overcome the bans, including through organized about this group has been unrelenting, enabling control protest. In order to locate the discussion within the con- to be increasingly ramped up through the propaganda of text of immigration detention in Australia, technology is offi cial sources that results in a benign acceptance by the defi ned to include the Internet, telephones, cameras, and general community of harsh measures. Detention facilities facsimile. have continually expanded in mainland Australia, oft en in Control of the means of communication silences the remote sites, on the Indian Ocean Territory of Christmas voices of those whose liberty has been denied and privileges Island, and off shore in Nauru and Papua New Guinea. Th e dominant constructions of “refugee,” as portrayed by the centrality of mandatory detention was incorporated most immigration authorities. Globally, access to technological recently in the fi rst plank of the 2008 Key Immigration means of communication has enabled oppressed groups to Detention Values, which specifi es that mandatory detention have their voices heard. But as technologies spread world- is a key component of border control. wide, their availability in closed environments becomes Despite evidence before them of the harms and human constricted and adds to other forms of control that are rights violations of the practice of immigration deten- imposed on those who are incarcerated. tion,4 successive governments have remained intransigent. Sources of information for this paper include published Australia claims absolute sovereignty of its borders through literature, the author’s refl ective journal from 2003 to 2005, mandatory detention policies and the location of detention ethnographic refl ections of detention, narratives incor- centres in remote and hostile sites.5 A manufactured crisis porated in the People’s Inquiry into Detention,3 informal has made border protection a defi ning concept invoking conversations with former detainees, and recent research fears of foreign invasion, which narrates a view that “illegal” at the Curtin and Christmas Island immigration detention entry threatens the integrity of the offi cial refugee program centres. Where possible, priority is given to asylum-seeker as well as posing risks to national security.6 Border security perspectives. trumps human security. Th ese factors contribute to the mis- Literature on immigration detention broadly interrogates treatment of asylum seekers in detention, including imped- two broad periods of time—the era of Prime Minister John ing access to communication. By adopting a criminaliz- Howard’s conservative government from 1996 to 2007 and ing discourse that portrays IMA’s as “illegals” and “queue the Labor government from November 2007 to September jumpers” and exposes their actions uncritically in times of 2013. Many of the critiques about the harsh immigration protest, sections of the media also contribute to commun- detention regime focus on the Howard period, particularly ity perceptions that reinforce a tough and rights-restricted aft er Temporary Protection Visas were introduced in 1999 detention environment. and when off shore processing of asylum claims initially Th e Immigration Department7 keeps tight control on took hold from 2001. Although over time there have been information fl ow. Th rough well-resourced public relations some positive changes to communication availability under machinery, it determines which information is deemed both governments, there are continuities about provision of appropriate to release to the general public and to aspiring facilities and constant changes to rules. For example there refugees. Th e privatization of the operations of detention was a time when the ban on mobile phones was relaxed, only facilities and even further contracting of specifi c services to be later reinstated. Although the emphasis of this paper is to the private sector, including provision of health services, on pre-2007, reference is made to more recent policies and combine with the rhetoric of “client privacy” to obfuscate technology aspects to demonstrate that surveillance and information fl ow and reduce transparency. Th e fact that control of information continue to characterize immigra- detention facilities are placed in remote sites or in places tion detention in Australia. off shore locates asylum seekers out of sight and out of mind. Th e spatial separation of detainees from community means that the human person is not seen; the lack of access

10 Technology, Control, and Surveillance

to technological communications means that they are not Available narratives from asylum seekers who experi- heard. enced detention, particularly pre-2007, illustrate the Detention environments are highly securitized and themes both of controls of technological and other means control of information fl ow is intrinsic to these settings. of communication and of surveillance through technol- Although some monitoring does occur in immigration ogy. Surveillance was particularly evident when mentally detention facilities through bodies such as the Australian ill detainees were placed in “management units” or separa- Human Rights Commission, Amnesty International, the tion compounds. In June 2004, then Immigration Minister, Commonwealth Ombudsman, and the Red Cross, this is Amanda Vanstone, admitted that detainees placed in the limited to occasional visits. Furthermore, at times of “crisis,” “management unit” at Baxter detention centre in remote such as during protests in detention and deaths at sea or South Australia for up to twenty hours per day were under in detention, the only information readily available is the constant video surveillance.13 view of the immigration authorities. What the general pub- Conversely, while the Australian government is incre- lic receives is partial and characterized by an information mentally rolling out its National Broadband Network, in lock-up by governments and their agents.8 For McCulloch, recognition of the importance of Internet communications, state repression of debate occurs through a variety of means those inside detention have restricted rights. Electronic including repressive legislation, monitoring, censorship, communication devices of all types are, however, a neces- intimidation, vilifi cation, slander, and denial of informa- sity for detained asylum seekers in a number of ways includ- tion, creating the ground for treating asylum seekers as ing contact with family members, communicating with the dangerous others.9 Australian public, and accessing a range of information. By contrast with denial of the right of asylum seekers to meaningful communication systems, the immigration Contact with Family Members authorities and contracted private detention operators Oft en the biggest source of grief for detained asylum seek- (currently Serco) employ high-tech and low-tech resources ers is inability to communicate with the families they have for the purposes of containment, securitization, and sur- left behind, including spouses, children, parents, and sib- veillance. Th ese include extensive closed-circuit television lings. Although not all of their families have full access (CCTV) systems, secure gating that requires tightly con- to the Internet, anecdotal information reveals that many trolled communication for them to be opened, monitor- increasingly have access, including through public facilities ing rooms whereby the gaze of detention staff can move or friends and neighbours. Whereas telephone contact is between compounds in which asylum seekers are located, the most readily accessible form of communication, limited and security screening devices in order to regulate what availability within detention has inhibited regular contact. and who enters sites of detention. For everyday surveillance, Mail can be slow and unreliable and raises concerns about the “old” technology of the “walkie-talkie,” hand-held radio surveillance. Even if these concerns are not justifi ed in real- transceivers, is adopted to enable detention operational ity, the fear that permeates detention facilities results in staff to communicate with each other on what is happening lack of trust. Th e inability to contact family members argu- throughout detention facilities in a more secretive way than ably adds to the suff ering of detained asylum seekers and a public address system would allow. combines with other facets of the detention experience to Michel Foucault’s construction of the Panopticon out- compound anxiety and depression that are common to the lined in his landmark Discipline and Punish10 is germane. immigration detention experience. He applied Jeremy Bentham’s late eighteenth-century model A previous entity when the Howard government was in of the Panopticon to contemporary prisons. Bentham’s power was known as “closed” detention, which was one of model of the Panopticon referred to a tower placed in a cen- the most severe sources of anxiety for asylum seekers by tral position within the prison from which the guards could causing them to lose contact with their families. In closed observe every cell and the prisoners within them, but with detention where claims were fi rst processed, there was no the design ensuring that prisoners would not know whether communication allowed at all with the outside world.14 or not they were being observed.11 Rather than isolating Th ose “screened out” of the process of applying for a pro- prisoners in dungeons or by transportation, the Panopticon tection visa were kept in separate areas of detention cen- worked on the principle that the best way to manage pris- tres and denied access to legal advice, telephones, news- oners was to make them potential targets of authoritative papers, television, and mail.15 Th is separation could be for gaze at every moment of the day, with the gaze resting with many months. Being screened out referred to whether the the system and not with a specifi c person,12 creating uncer- immigration offi cer believed they met the provisions of the tainty as to when and who will be under surveillance. Refugee Convention. Th e only communication allowed was

11 Volume 29 Refuge Number 1

a standard fax, despite the fact that many families did not during this period were unable to contact their families. have receiving facilities.16 Th e wording of the fax was as Hawraa Alsaai told a magazine that it was only aft er she follows: was transferred to Australia for medical treatment that her mother could telephone her three brothers in Iraq. Th e Th is is to let you know that (I) have arrived safely in Australia family members said they had believed they were dead and and am being detained in immigration detention. I am currently had given funerals.24 unable to telephone or write a letter to you but as soon as I can On Nauru in the early stages of the Pacifi c Solution from I will be in touch. I am in good health and being looked aft er. 2001 there was no capacity for asylum seekers to make Return faxes will not be accepted.17 phone calls. Aft er a few months phones became available but access remained limited.25 A detainee on Nauru told Even this limited form of communication was not uni- one of his supporters, “I cannot telephone my family…So versal. A former detainee, kept in closed detention in 2000, I take medicine…its name is Xanax.”26 Even such basic explained that he was not even given the opportunity to means of communication as cameras were denied or send a fax. “We didn’t have TV, we didn’t have radio, we restricted. One asylum seeker detained in Nauru said in a couldn’t phone or fax. Nothing.”18 Many of those who had letter to supporters, “We do not have any contact with our been screened out lost contact with their families, who had families. Today my friends and I walked around the camp moved by the time they were able to telephone them.19 One to take some photos, but they didn’t let us take photos in told the People’s Inquiry into Detention: front of the main gate of the camp.”27 Th ese restrictions also applied to mainland detention centres where photos have When I was in Woomera Detention Centre for eight months they rarely been permitted, resulting in detainees having no way did not let us to contact our family. I lost contact with my wife and of showing their families at home their newborn children or my children and aft er two years my wife contact me through one the progress of older ones. of the priest to Woomera Detention Centre, which was the happi- est day for me to know that they are still alive.20 Communicating with the Australian Community Th e lack of direct contact between detained asylum seek- Even when people were eventually moved to the open ers and the Australian community contributes to the lack camp, they found that communication remained limited as of opportunity for their voices to be heard above the throng phones were inadequate and queues lengthy. Leung, Finney of negative portrayals, which results in the perpetuation of Lamb, and Emrys describe the problems detainees con- widespread antagonistic views about asylum seekers. fronted in relation to paying for calls and having to work Nonetheless, a small but active asylum seeker/refugee for communication privileges, through the purchase of support network has developed in Australia. Th is includes a phone cards.21 Pay was a pittance and it was hard to raise number of refugee and human rights NGOs, professionals, the money needed for calls. Th e limited choice of phone church groups, and activist groups, which oppose Australia’s cards that were available meant that overseas calls could asylum-seeker policy.28 As Gosden notes, in addition to only be brief. Also, they note, the lack of public telephones social action many off er social, emotional, practical, wel- in detention resulted in long queues, fi ghts over telephones, fare, medical, and legal support.29 A number of advocates and diffi culties receiving incoming calls. Th ere was also fear maintain email lists to convey the plight of people detained, of surveillance with an assumption that phone calls were when they are unable to do so themselves. Information on monitored and there was also a belief that incoming faxes children in detention was and continues to be circulated were withheld and that obstructions occurred with out- regularly through a group known as ChilOut. going faxes.22 With closed detention, detainees reported that they were Although the obligation to work was discontinued, dur- oft en told that Australians disliked them and they had ing a visit in 2012 to the newly opened Yongah Hill deten- no means of verifi cation or otherwise.30 When advocacy tion centre in Northam, Western Australia, an advocate groups managed to get access to names and “numbers,” the was told that men could receive twenty-fi ve points to buy main means of identifi cation, letter writing projects began items from the canteen and could only receive an additional and those in detention realized not only that some people twenty-fi ve points by going to prescribed activities. At that cared but that many were opposed to the policies and prac- centre men could make calls out, but no one could call in to tices of detention. Although letter writing is not within the them, creating increased communication barriers.23 scope of “technology” the brief discussion below about this Th e Pacifi c Solution in its fi rst stage from 2001 to 2007 communication genre illustrates the importance of contact was particularly problematic. People taken to Manus Island

12 Technology, Control, and Surveillance

and the ways in which problems of email and phone access were not permitted,36 and visitors were exposed to elec- could be partially overcome. tronic searches of property and body before entering. Th is In her research, Browning draws on some of the thou- continues. For example, in the newly opened Yongah Hill sands of letters sent by asylum seekers detained on Nauru in detention facility in Western Australia there are fi ve cam- its fi rst detention formation, as part of a letter-writing cam- eras in the visiting area.37 paign by a small group of concerned Australians. Between For those not able to visit, communication options have 2001 and 2003 phone and email access to the camp known been limited. For example in the rural Baxter Immigration as Topside was virtually non-existent. She says that the Detention Facility up to its closure in 2007, although calls asylum seekers detained there “had been cast adrift from in were permitted, phone lines were constantly busy. More Australia and had limited presence in the public imagina- recent practices in detention centres such as the remote tion.”31 Letter writing was the initial channel through Curtin facility and Yongah Hill forbid inward calls. which people in Australia could know about the existence Detainees fi nd ways of recounting their experiences of the detainees. through advocates. In 2005 when email was totally banned, Th e importance of communication with the wider those in the Port Augusta Baxter facility told their advo- Australian public is also apparent in the groundbreaking cates by phone or during visits about the mistreatment From Nothing to Zero project,32 which collected letters from of Cornelia Rau, a wrongly detained and mentally ill refugees in Australia’s detention centres. Th rough this pro- Australian, and their concern for her well-being. As inter- ject, published in 2003, detained asylum seekers were able mediaries, advocates were able to use advocacy email lists to convey their concerns and hopes. Th e importance of con- to tell the general public about these concerns. Furthermore, nection featured. once it was revealed that Rau was in fact an Australian resi- dent and subsequently released, Baxter asylum seekers used Th ank you for your letter, your human sympathy, your good hope the same means to promote their own despair. and your good wishes. Th ank you very much for your letter and Phone Card. I am happy because I have a lovely mum in Australia God sent Cornelia here to send our cry to all Australian people. who thinks and cares about me. Be sure, with your support I will We are all happy that she be free from such a terrible place. We all never lose my hope and will stand strong. You cannot imagine my pray that she will get well. She remains in our minds and hearts as excitement. It is just great to receive a letter from you. I under- a heroine for ever and ever.38 stand that you are one of these good hearted Australians who have some kind of compassion for the so-called boat people.33 Access to Information In research conducted by Leung, Finney Lamb, and Emrys, Th rough the Australian branch of human rights organiz- former detainees stated that they believed communication ation PEN International, a Writers in Detention Committee technologies were deliberately obstructed by detainee offi - was formed and an anthology of writing titled Another cers, as a form of control and victimization.39 One conse- Country followed in 2007. Th e aim was to make these writ- quence of the restrictions and obstructions was the inability ers’ voices heard, for their self-respect and affi rmation as to access both lawyers and legal material. For those with law- writers and because “we wanted Australian readers to fi nd yers, communication restrictions made it diffi cult to con- out fi rst-hand what was really happening.”34 Th is was done tact them. Th e situation was particularly severe for detain- by sending emails to women refugee advocates and these ees in closed detention who were not provided with legal networks got in touch with writers in immigration cen- advice until they had been interviewed by the Immigration tres to collect their work and make it ready for publication. Department. A lawyer told the People’s Inquiry: Th e stories of “heroism, grief, despair, love and barbarism, humor, courage and cruelty” were told.35 Although estab- Th ey had new boat arrivals put separately to any other detainees so lishing contacts was through the medium of emails from that there would be no people able to tell them what they needed outside detention, the stories were those of the detainees to do to access legal advice, what they needed to say for an asylum themselves and served a humanizing and educating func- claim to be offi cially noted and therefore the process to begin.40 tion as well as lift ing the spirits of those who wrote them. Although some people lent a hand through direct visits A former detainee told the Inquiry: to detention centres, such visits were diffi cult in remote locations. Th ose who did visit gained some insight into the Aft er the fi rst interview the manager of the camp came and said controls operating as they too were subjected to technol- that we can’t have a visa and we have to go back to our country. He ogy control. Cameras, telephones, and electronic devices

13 Volume 29 Refuge Number 1

said we could have a lawyer at our own expense, but nobody had A power imbalance exists that defi es Article 19 of the any money or access to telephone, fax or mail.41 UDHR, which states that everyone has the right to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any In May 2005, the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity media. Th is provision is denied to the rights-less but readily Commission found that separately detaining asylum seek- available to the immigration authorities. Th e way the power ers breached international human rights law.42 imbalance is imposed is evident from a letter published in One detainee who had experienced detention in Sydney’s From Nothing to Zero. One detained asylum seeker wrote: Villawood centre in the time of Prime Minister Howard told of how he had requested access to the Internet and a I have been in detention a long time and reading the newspaper law library so that he could prepare for his court case. Th e and watching the TV. I realize that the Australian public is getting response from the Immigration Department did not pro- one side of the story from the government. I want the Australian vide him with hope: public to know why and which circumstances we came here to ask for protection. Politicians are using us for their own political gain Th e department is currently expanding the reading resources because we are the government soft touch.47 available at immigration detention centres to include read- ing material of a legal nature, such as the Migration Act 1958. Not only does the Immigration Department have a well- Consideration is also being given to the feasibility of providing developed website and the technical means to issue regular detainees with electronic copies of core legislation and important press releases, it utilizes other technologies to inform would- High Court decisions. However, this may not happen in the near be asylum seekers that they are not welcome. For example, future because of the scale of the project.43 in 2012, the federal government developed a campaign titled “Australia by boat? No advantage,” with videos distributed Another Villawood detainee expressed similar concerns on YouTube and as DVDs, as well as brochures and posters. about that period: Narrations are in the main languages of asylum seekers. Th e then Minister for Immigration, Chris Bowen, stated: “Th is Th ey don’t help you legally, you have to scrimp if you don’t have multimedia and communications campaign reinforces the money, borrow phone cards. When they put a case against you, message that asylum seekers should think twice before get- they have access to everything. If you want to fi ght it, you don’t ting on a boat to Australia, because they will be risking their even have access to the Internet to get the information you need.44 lives at sea for no advantage—absolutely no advantage.”48 Th is technique of video usage is not new. In June 2000, Another concern was the diffi culty in keeping up with the then federal Minister for Immigration, Philip Ruddock, outside news including in countries of origin. Th ere was released a triple video set for distribution to consulates and competition inside detention facilities over which tele- embassies in countries from which asylum seekers might be vision programs to watch. One detainee told me that, when expected to arrive. Stratton49 explains that the purpose of there was no Internet access, he was so hungry for know- the videos was to portray the diffi culties of the journey and ledge about Australia that he avidly read any newspapers to show Australia in an undesirable way, in eff ect an anti- or magazines that were scattered around. He said his major tourism campaign. One video even included imagery of source of information was from women’s magazines.45 the dangerous fauna of Australia—sharks, crocodiles, and Some, whose English ability was less, were disadvantaged snakes. in gaining access to news and stories. One detainee advo- cated access to the Internet to obtain educational material Overcoming Barriers and access to current aff airs in the languages of the detain- Th e dire consequences of excessive control and stringent ees. He found television and radio alone did not keep him restrictions resulted in immigration detainees developing informed, as he could not always understand English lan- creative means both to communicate with people close to guage reports.46 them and to have their voices heard. Th is occurred in a var- Obstructions in speaking with the media presented iety of ways. Many advocates provided telephone cards dir- another communication barrier. Th eoretically detainees ectly to detainees and some found ways to smuggle mobile could use fi xed line telephones for this purpose, but the phones into the centres. small number of phones and the queues for their use limited such prospects. Fears also existed of telephone surveillance Mobile phones did not offi cially exist although it was possible and repercussions that might fl ow. to call those who had one late at night when they were unlikely to be discovered using them. Full marks to those who smuggled

14 Technology, Control, and Surveillance

them in (usually women) and to the detainees who successfully to queue jumpers, wasters of taxpayer money, terrorists, hid them.”50 and Muslim fanatics. Th e collateral damage of the protests was increased criminalization of asylum seekers. Th ose detainees who did possess mobile phones had to go to great lengths to hide them as, if discovered, they would be Disturbances confi scated.51 Conditions of detention, including communication prohibi- A former detainee from Curtin who was subject to closed tion, merge with indeterminate mandatory detention to cre- detention told of a child who was permitted to go from the ate a climate of unrest. In a submission to the Joint Select closed camp to the more open camp for schooling, con- Committee on Australia’s Immigration Detention Network, cealing letters in clothing to pass on to those in the open the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) setting and, in the aft ernoon, took back letters from them. documented incidents that occurred across the detention He also told me that in the middle of the night detainees network that included self-harm, hunger strikes (renamed were able to pass notes through the fence without the gaze by DIAC as “voluntary starvations”), peaceful protests, of guards.52 To overcome the restrictions that detainees damage, and physical altercations resulting in injuries.56 experienced in being able to obtain legal advice, those in In 2011 alone there were eight incidents documented but closed compounds talked to people in the main compound this is under-reported as it excluded the detail of riots that who were behind two layers of fences fi ft een metres away. occurred in Christmas Island and Villawood detention cen- tre in that year, as the government had commissioned an We had to talk quietly because guards were everywhere. People on independent review into the circumstances of the events. the other side who had access to phone told us they knew a migra- Lip sewing was one method used by detainees to convey tion agent. Th ey tied his number on a stone and throwed [sic] it their plight. One detainee told researcher Lucy Fiske57 that to us. Most of us talked to the Department of Immigration about he had wished to reveal his sewn lips to the wider world. getting a lawyer. Th e manager came to us angry that how could we He stated that he revealed himself to a sympathetic visiting get the phone number.53 psychiatrist as he considered he would be able to express the actions to journalists in a way that the detainees wanted. Ways were found to overcome media restrictions. With Th e detainee said he wanted his actions to be understood the assistance of detainees, media outlets have also been as protest arising from pain and despair and a response to able to secretly record or fi lm inside detention. One of unjust policies, and not an indication of individual path- the best known of these fi lms occurred in 2001 when the ology.58 With hunger strikes, the starving body became a ABC television program Four Corners secretly recorded in critical means of communicating the fractured chaos that the Villawood detention centre the plight of seriously ill invaded the lives of detainees.59 six-year-old Shayan Badraie. Th e parents took the video Th e year of the Sydney Olympics, 2000, provided an that showed distressing images and explained how Shayan opportunity for detainees to reveal their situation to the would not eat or drink and became mute aft er witnessing public. As Australia was preparing to host the Olympics acts of violence and self-harm.54 Th e eff ect of this program and the Olympic torch was making its goodwill tour did not merely highlight Shayan’s plight but communicated around the country, detained asylum seekers decided to to viewers the atrocity of detaining children. present a contrasting image. With few options open to them, Detainees knew the importance of communications for a plan was struck with detainees from diff erent detention staff within the detention centres and in response to their centres to stage a breakout and march near each centre own lack of access decided to subvert this. In the Baxter before returning the next day. Th is was planned for June 9 centre, a group of detainees managed to obtain a staff to coincide with the launch of the Australian leg of the torch walkie-talkie and began giving orders to staff via this means, relay.60 Th e mass breakout attracted signifi cant media atten- thrusting the detention regime into momentary panic.55 tion and nominated detainee spokespersons told the media But opportunities to subvert and create were not always of processing delays, isolation from the outside world, and present and the failure to convey despair resulted in detain- mistreatment in detention. A man involved in the breakout ees engaging in a range of protests in order to gain media from Woomera detention in rural South Australia saw it as attention that would be conveyed to the general public. a strategy to provide information to the general public. “Th e Although this goal was frequently achieved, the way in main purpose is not to go anywhere but to bring the atten- which the protests were generally received by the public was tion of the public that there is [sic] people locked here and not sympathetic. Th is was particularly evident from talk- mistreated.”61 back radio and letters to newspapers with comments related

15 Volume 29 Refuge Number 1

Browning refers to a protest in Nauru in 2000 that access was only being denied to those suspected of involve- included demands for access to lawyers and means of com- ment in the fi res.70 munication at a time when the detainees had been held Detainees were able to send letters and it seemed that incommunicado with no access to telephones or sending or most of these reached their destination; however, letters receiving mail.62 into detention were not received. In addition, newspapers Th e case study of fi res in a number of detention centres in were withdrawn.71 When phones were restored at the Port 2002 to 2003 are instructive in demonstrating how detainees Hedland detention centre, there were fears of surveillance leveraged a coordinated approach to draw attention to their and the belief that all phone calls were being taped, tran- plight and how the authorities responded with a lockdown scribed, and translated in the hope of catching people out.72 of all means of communication with the outside world. Th e Current Situation Fires On its current website the Immigration Department pro- In late 2002 and early January 2003, detention centres of motes among the services available at each detention cen- Woomera, Baxter, Port Hedland, Christmas Island, and tre access to telephones, newspapers, television, computers, Villawood were severely damaged by fi re, with estimates and the Internet.73 Th e following information describes the of property damage reaching more than nine million dol- situation in both the Curtin and Christmas Island deten- lars.63 Each day there were radio reports about a spate of tion facilities. Th is is derived from reports submitted to fi res. Th e fi res began following a statement by Immigration the Immigration Minister following fi ve visits to Curtin in Minister Ruddock that immigration detention centres were 2011,74 and a two-week visit to Christmas Island in April like fi ve-star hotels, as well as rejection of a United Nations 2010.75 Finally, some information is presented on the off - report that criticized Australia’s detention centres.64 shore processing centres in Nauru and Manus Island (Papua Following the fi res, detainees were refused access to New Guinea) that were reopened in late 2012. phones and denied communication with anyone except their lawyers or human rights organizations—some for up Curtin to six weeks.65 As Grewcock argues, “Punishment is the Th e Curtin detention centre is located in remote Western inevitable corollary of criminalization.”66 During the per- Australia, more than 2,000 kilometres from the mainland iod of incommunicado I maintained my journal. I was con- city of Perth. At the time of the 2011 visits, there were eight- cerned about detainees in Baxter who relied on me for tele- een computers for the more than one thousand men at the phone contact and particularly worried about one man with Curtin immigration detention centre. In order to try to a severe disability. Aft er the fi res and before telephones were access a computer, the men must start queuing at around disconnected, a detainee called me from a detention centre 5:00 a.m. in order to try to book a computer for one hour saying he believed that the phones were controlled. He told that day. Th e Internet access that has been organized for me, “Phones are controlled, don’t say my name, don’t say Curtin is slow and sporadic. All of this makes it very dif- your name. Visits have been banned. No letters are getting fi cult for the men to make email contact with family and through.”67 friends, or to fi nd information through the Internet that Th e restrictions had the eff ect of prohibiting contact with may be relevant for their refugee claims. Detainees were family and friends and ensuring that the media could not told in late 2010 that there would be one hundred computers speak with detainees. To circumvent the restrictions I sent and telephones soon available. During our May 2011 visit a fax to one detainee trying to make it sound importantly we were told by DIAC that more computers were soon to be “legal” and I found out later that it had been received. A num- coming to Curtin IDC. ber of people telephoned the Commonwealth Ombudsman Telephones are available for the men to make outgoing to complain about the cut in communication. In response calls if they have purchased phone cards. All of the tele- to my query, I was told that the explanation from the phones are located in non-air conditioned areas, however, Immigration Department was that “the phones have been so that during the many hot days in this region it is very cut off for operational reasons.” uncomfortable to make calls. In the evenings of many Another advocate was told that the ban on telephones months of the year there is also the problem of mosqui- was a “withdrawal of privileges.”68 A letter I received from toes in these areas. Public telephones are not available for an asylum seeker on January 16 advised that detainees were incoming calls, further limiting avenues of communica- told that facilities would be restored if they told who lit the tion between the men, their families, friends, lawyers, and fi res.69 My local Member of Parliament at my request made migration agents. inquiries to the Immigration Department and was told that

16 Technology, Control, and Surveillance

Communication between migration agents/lawyers and In total I visited Christmas Island four times and wit- their clients are particularly problematic. Several lawyers nessed some disturbing behaviour. In the site where fam- have informed us that it has taken up to two weeks for the ilies were detained, Construction Camp, I overheard a private operative, Serco, to organize telephone meetings guard yelling in front of children for people to fi nish their between detainees and their legal representatives. We are valued telephone calls. During another visit, young detain- aware of at least one case where a migration agent needed ees were given the opportunity to put on a performance to to contact a detainee urgently and was unable to do so for celebrate the anniversary of the death of an heroic fi gure in fi ve days. their culture. Th ey were permitted to invite friends but no Visitors too are subject to surveillance. Not only do they photographs were allowed to record this event that was so go through electronic security checking upon arrival, but important in their lives. their movements are scrutinized during visits and, as with At the time of writing, very little information is reach- the concept of the Panopticon, they have no idea how or ing the public domain from Christmas Island detain- when. During one visit I lost my way to the bathroom facili- ees. However, in 2012, aft er announcements about the re- ties and wandered slightly off track. Th is was noticed and establishment of detention facilities in Nauru and Papua the next day I was advised by the Compliance Manager that New Guinea, those facing the prospect of transfer from I would be escorted to the bathroom. Christmas Island communicated their concerns to advo- cates, which were conveyed to media outlets and via advo- Christmas Island cacy network emails. In a statement “Why we don’t want Christmas Island is extremely isolated from the Australian to go to Narue or Papa New Gini,” the detainees expressed mainland. An Indian Ocean Territory of Australia, it is their concerns in a four-page letter. 2,600 kilometres from Perth and 360 kilometres south of Jakarta in Indonesia. Communications on Christmas Island Nauru and Papua New Guinea (Manus Island) are diffi cult at the best of times. During my 2010 visit, it Th e Pacifi c Solution was an invention of the government of was concerning to note the inadequate ratio of computers former Prime Minister Howard, which transported asylum to detainees, the time restrictions on (already slow) Internet seekers from Australian shores to desolate camps in both access, and the blocking of sites which would enable detain- Nauru and on Manus Island. Although the Labor govern- ees to correspond with people outside of detention through ment closed both facilities soon aft er taking offi ce, former email or through uploading information on sites such as Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s Labor government reinstated the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees or the both in 2012 as a means of deterrence. Th e reinvention of Australian Human Rights Commission. the Pacifi c Solution is directed at asylum seekers who arrive A detainee mentioned that at least one of the three tele- in Australia by boat aft er 13 August 2012. Facilities were phones in what is known as Gold Compound did not work. hastily constructed in both countries and began operating We were advised that a request had been lodged for repair later that year. Families and children were included in the but that this would take some time because of the island’s group sent to Manus. As these facilities have not proved to remoteness and the diffi culty of getting spare parts and be a deterrent to boat arrivals in Australian waters, arrange- technicians to the island. ments have had to be made for the majority of post-August Mobile phones were previously permitted in the 13 entrants, creating what is in eff ect a lottery system of who Christmas Island detention centre which enabled detainees will be sent off shore. to have better communication with friends, family, and law- To date, information about technology access from yers who could call the detainee directly rather than hav- Nauru and Manus is sketchy although some concerns have ing to go through the process of calling the centre. Once been expressed about limitations on access. However, those this access was withdrawn, diffi culties arose. On numerous detained have been able to reveal their plight through the occasions, we witnessed Serco staff not knowing the exten- access they do have to the Internet, including updates on sion number in the compound to which to transfer the call, their situation through social media, telling of acts of defi - or staff not answering the phone if he/she was out of the ance and incidents of self-harm and through presenting control offi ce. If a staff member does pick up the phone it secretly taken photos of the facilities and drawings of chil- is necessary to search for the detainee, which is a diffi cult dren. As it is almost impossible for advocates to gain per- task in light of the numbers of people held at the maximum mission to visit the centres to garner fi rst-hand information, security facility, known as North West Point, at the time of the Internet provides some means to convey the impact of our 2010 visit. changing policies.

17 Volume 29 Refuge Number 1

Conclusion 9. J. McCulloch, “Enemies Everywhere: (In)security Politics, Although there have been some improvements to com- Asylum Seekers and Enemies Within,” in Asylum Seekers: munications technology for those held within Australia s International Perspectives on Interdiction and Deterrence, detention facilities, particularly Internet access, the provi- ed. A. Babacan and L. Briskman (Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Press, 2008), 114. sion has been erratic, changeable, and inadequate. In main- 10. M. Foucault, Discipline and Punish: Th e Birth of the Prison taining a large network of detention facilities in Australia (New York: Vintage, 1995). and off shore, priority is not given to the technologies of 11. G. Danaher, T. Schirato, and J. Webb, Understanding Fou- communication that are so pivotal to the lives of asylum cault (St. Leonards: Allen and Unwin, 2000), 53. seekers. As the immigration authorities struggle to deal 12. Ibid., 54. with boat arrivals, overcrowded detention facilities, and 13. Briskman, Latham, and Goddard, Human Rights Overboard. the construction of new policies and new detention cen- 14. L. Leung, C. Finney Lamb, and E. Emrys, Technology’s tres, it is unlikely that the situation will be rectifi ed in the Refuge: Th e Use of Technology by Asylum Seekers and Refu- short term. Unless resources can be diverted from the tech- gees, University of Technology Sydney Shopfront Mono- nologies of surveillance and border control, the policy of graph Series No. 5 (Sydney: UTS, 2009), 13. mandatory immigration detention will continue to fall 15. Briskman, Latham, and Goddard, Human Rights Overboard. short of the provisions of Article 19 of the 1948 Universal 16. Ibid., 18. 17. M. Crock, B. Saul, and A. Dastyari, Future Seekers 2: Refu- Declaration of Human Rights. gees and Irregular Migration in Australia (Annandale: Fed- eration Press, 2006), 199. 18. “Ali,” personal communication, 2012. Notes 19. Briskman, Latham, and Goddard, Human Rights Overboard. 1. Th e series was televised on the multicultural Special Broad- 20. Ibid., 68–69. casting Service (SBS) and involved Australians making asy- 21. Leung, Finney Lamb, and Emrys, Technology’s Refuge. lum-seeker journeys including to a number of countries of 22. Ibid. origin. 23. Personal communication to C. Fleay, 2012. 2. C. Branson, “Applying Human Rights in Closed Environ- 24. D. Leser, “Children Overboard: Two Women, Two Stories,” ments: Practical Observations on Monitoring and Over- Australian Women’s Weekly, August 2007, 64. sight” (speech, Implementing Human Rights in Closed 25. J. Browning, “States of Exclusion: Narratives from Aus- Environments Conference, Monash University, Melbourne, tralia’s Immigration Detention Centres, 1999–2003” (PhD February 21, 2012). thesis, University of Technology, Sydney, 2006). 3. Th e People’s Inquiry into Detention was a citizens’ inquiry 26. Ibid., v. (Xanax is medication to relieve symptoms of held between 2005 and 2008, led by the Australian Council anxiety). of Heads of Schools of Social Work. Th e fi ndings are pre- 27. Cited in From Nothing to Zero: Letters from Refugees in Aus- sented in L. Briskman, S. Latham, and C. Goddard, Human tralia’s Detention Centres (Melbourne: Lonely Planet Publi- Rights Overboard: Seeking Asylum in Australia (Melbourne: cations, 2003), 80. Scribe, 2008). 28. D. Gosden, “From Humanitarianism to Human Rights and 4. Evidence of harm arising from detention has been pre- Justice: A Way to Go,” Australian Journal of Human Rights sented by mental health specialists. Broader human rights 13 (2007): 149–176. violations associated with the deprivation of liberty have 29. Ibid., 154. received attention from such bodies such as Amnesty Inter- 30. “Ali,” personal communication, 2004. national and the Australian Human Rights Commission. 31. Browning, “States of Exclusion,” 46. 5. L. Weber and S. Pickering, Globalization and Borders: 32. From Nothing to Zero. Death at the Global Frontier (Houndsmills: Palgrave Mac- 33. Cited in From Nothing to Zero, 151 -152. millan, 2011), 211. 34. R. Scott, “Another Country”, in Acting from the Heart: Aus- 6. M. Grewcock, Border Crimes: Australia’s War on Illicit tralian Advocates for Asylum Seekers Tell Th eir Stories, ed. S. Migrants (Sydney: Institute of Criminology Press, 2009), Mares and L. Newman (Sydney: Finch Publishing, 2007), 154. 175–176. 7. “Immigration Department” is used as a generic term 35. Ibid., 176. through most of the paper. Th e name of the department 36. Crock, Saul, and Dastyari, Future Seekers, 191. has changed from time to time and at the time of writing is 37. Personal communication to C. Fleay, 2012. the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC). 38. Briskman, Latham, and Goddard, Human Rights Overboard. 8. S. Washington, “Ruddock’s Secret Report,” Business Review 39. Leung, Finney Lamb, and Emrys, Technology’s Refuge, 20. Weekly, October 9–15, 2003, 18. 40. Briskman, Latham, and Goddard, Human Rights Over- board, 66.

18 Technology, Control, and Surveillance

41. Ibid. 1999–2005” (PhD thesis, Curtin University, Perth, 2012): 42. Ibid., 67. 188–189. 43. Ibid., 90–91. 58. Ibid., 189. 44. Ibid., 90 59. Browning, “States of Exclusion,” 97. 45. “Hamid,” personal communication, 2006. 60. Fiske, “Insider Resistance.” 46. Leung, Finney Lamb, and Emrys, Technology’s Refuge, 19. 61. Briskman, Latham, and Goddard, Human Rights Over- 47. Cited in From Nothing to Zero. board, 164. 48. D. Wroe, “Videos to Deter Asylum Seekers”, Th e Age, Sep- 62. Browning, “States of Exclusion,” 86. tember 3, 2012, accessed September 5, 2012, http://www. 63. Briskman, Latham, and Goddard, Human Rights Overboard. theage.com.au/opinion/political-news/videos-to-deter- 64. Fiske, “Insider Resistance.” asylum-seekers-20120902-258hu.html. 65. Briskman, Latham, and Goddard, Human Rights Overboard. 49. J. Stratton, “Dying to Come to Australia: Asylum Seekers, 66. Grewcock, Border Crimes, 196. Tourists and Deaths,” in Our Patch: Enacting Australian 67. “Abbas,” personal communication, December 30, 2002. Sovereignty Post-2001, ed. S. Perera (Perth: API Network, 68. Journal entry, January 11, 2003. 2007), 167. 69. “Ali,” personal communication to author, January 15, 2003. 50. Briskman, Latham, and Goddard, Human Rights Over- 70. Journal entry, January 23, 2003. board, 277. 71. Journal entry, January 11, 2003. 51. Leung, Finney Lamb, and Emrys, Technology’s Refuge, 13. 72. Journal entry, January 19, 2003. 52. “Mohammed,” personal communication, 2004. 73. DIAC, “Services Available”. 53. Briskman, Latham, and Goddard, Human Rights Over- 74. C. Fleay and L. Briskman, “Th e Hidden Men,” Report to the board, 66. Minister for Immigration on visits to the Curtin Detention 54. Ibid., 185. Centre (Perth: Centre for Human Rights Education, 2011). 55. “Ali,” personal communication. 75. L. Briskman, L. Fiske, and M. Dimasi, “Beyond Reach,” 56. DIAC (Department of Immigration and Citizenship), “Ser- adapted from Report to the Minister for Immigration and vices Available at Immigration Detention Facilities,” online: Citizenship on a visit to Christmas Island, April 6–20, 2010 (nd) accessed September 9, 2012, http://www.immi.gov.au (Perth: Centre for Human Rights Education). /managing-australias-borders/detention/about/services -available.htm. 57. L. Fiske, “Insider Resistance: Understanding of Refu- Linda Briskman is professor of human rights at Swinburne gee Protest against Immigration Detention in Australia, University of Technology in Australia.

19 Volume 29 Refuge Number 1

Policy Report on UNHCR’s Community Technology Access Program: Best Practices and Lessons Learned

Jessica Anderson

Abstract plus importants de ce programme se situaient au niveau Th is report gives an overview of UNHCR’s Community de la jouissance des droits fondamentaux à la liberté Technology Access (CTA) program, which aims to improve d’expression et à l’accès à l’information, ainsi qu’au niveau education and livelihood opportunities for displaced popu- de l’intégration dans la communauté d’accueil et du lations via technology. Th e paper analyzes the key fi ndings réseautage social. Toutefois, l’accès à la technologie n’est of a comprehensive external evaluation of the program pas suffi sant seul pour atteindre les objectifs d’éducation conducted in 2012. According to the evaluation, the areas et d’autonomie. Cette évaluation recommande donc le of greatest positive impact for people of concern were in développement stratégique et contextuel de contenus et the enjoyment of basic rights to freedom of expression and d’outils en matière d’éducation et de moyens de subsist- information, in building relationships with the host com- ance, dans le but d’atteindre les objectifs d’apprentissage, munity, and social networking. However, access to technol- de compétence, d’accès à l’emploi, et de réévaluer les possi- ogy alone is not suffi cient to achieve the goals of quality bilités d’autonomie opérationnelle et fi nancière des Centre education and self-reliance. Th erefore, the evaluation rec- Communautaires d’Accès à la Technologie de divers pays. ommends developing strategic, contextualized education and livelihood content and tools in order to achieve the Goals desired goals of learning, skills, and access to employment, As an integral part of its protection mandate, UNHCR aims to empower refugees, internally displaced persons, and as well as a reassessment of CTAs’ potential for operational others “of concern”1 and to enhance their overall well-being, and fi scal autonomy in diff erent countries. along with their education and livelihood opportunities. Indeed, two of the Global Strategic Priorities for UNHCR Résumé in 2012–2013 are promoting “human potential through Ce rapport donne un aperçu du programme d’Accès education, training, livelihoods support and income gen- Communautaire aux Technologies (CTA) de l’Agence eration” and durable solutions.2 Promoting self-reliance des Nations Unies pour les Réfugiés (UNHCR), qui vise, among persons of concern can play an important role in à travers la technologie, à améliorer l’éducation et les preparing them for durable solutions, whether by facilitat- opportunités de moyens de subsistance des populations ing employability for local integration, by developing the déplacées. Cet article analyse les principaux résultats skills necessary to continue education upon resettlement, d’une évaluation externe complète du programme eff ec- or by improving their ability to contribute to peace build- tuée en 2012. Selon cette évaluation, les impacts positifs les ing and local development upon return to their country of

21 Volume 29 Refuge Number 1

origin.3 UNHCR understands self-reliance as the social and fi ve-year timeline, with the goal being that they become fi s- economic ability of an individual, household, or commun- cally self-suffi cient by the end of this period.9 ity to meet basic needs (including protection, food, water, shelter, personal safety, health, and education) in a sustain- Education, Livelihoods, and Technology for able manner and with dignity. Self-reliance, as a program Refugees goal, refers to developing and strengthening livelihoods of In examining the results of the 2012 CTA evaluation, it is persons of concern (PoCs), and reducing their vulnerability helpful to contextualize the CTA program within broader and long-term reliance on humanitarian or external assist- research on how to best promote livelihoods for refugee ance. By becoming self-reliant, displaced populations lead populations through education and training. Interest in active and productive lives and are able to weave strong promoting self-reliance for refugees has intensifi ed since social, economic, and cultural ties with their host com- 2003, which saw UNHCR establish its Refugee Livelihoods munities. UNHCR is committed to protecting the skills Project10 and the publication of Jeff Crisp’s article on pro- and productive assets that displaced people carry with tracted displacement.11 It became clear that a “hand-out” them, to building the capacities they might need in a new humanitarian assistance approach12 was not promoting self- environment, and to broadening opportunities in this new reliance for refugees, particularly in protracted situations.13 environment.4 On the other hand, focusing on self-reliance acknowledges refugees’ agency and their potential to benefi t host com- CTA Program Background munities.14 While barriers to livelihoods normally revolve In line with these broader imperatives, UNHCR launched around legal status, restricted mobility, and negative per- the Community Technology Access (CTA) program in 2009. ceptions by the host community, UNHCR has recently Th e main goals of the CTAs were to “enhance empower- emphasized the potential of innovation and private-sector ment, self-reliance and employability of refugees and other engagement to circumvent these obstacles.15 UNHCR persons of concern through access to education, As refugees assess their own prospects for self-reliance, vocational training and livelihoods via technology.”5 Th e they oft en use education as a future-oriented livelihoods CTA program provides centres that allow persons of con- strategy.16 However, determining which types of educa- cern and their host communities to have access to com- tion and skills development will actually improve self-reli- puter technology and the Internet for the purposes of basic ance is diffi cult, given the extreme uncertainty of refugees’ information technology (IT) classes; livelihoods, vocational, futures and their current precarious legal status.17 For this and life skills training; distance learning; language courses; reason, it is crucial to examine precisely which skills and promoting entrepreneurship and employability; access to programs will realistically improve refugees’ self-reliance in information; and/or social networking. Th is report gives an their current situations and immediate future, rather than overview of the CTA program and analyzes the key fi nd- envisioning durable solutions that may be years away.18 ings of a comprehensive external evaluation of the program Technical and vocational education programs should be conducted in 2012.6 tailored to the demands of the local labour market or the Th e CTA program is overseen by the Livelihoods Unit market in the country of origin, if return is imminent.19 within the Operations Solutions and Transition Section Otherwise, the investment in education will be lost and the within the Division of Program Support and Management frustrated expectations of youth can lead to further instabil- (DPSM) at UNHCR headquarters, in close collaboration ity.20 Walker, Millar Wood, and Allemano argue that with the Education Unit within the Division of International donors must be prepared to support participants through Protection.7 At the fi eld level, individual CTAs are usually the whole process of “school to skills to work,”21 rather run by NGO implementing partners. Other key partners than merely providing one-off programs or a training cer- include Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard, who provide tech- tifi cate.22 Integrating all of these activities, along with life nical assistance, soft ware, and equipment, as well as fi nan- skills training, into comprehensive education programs is cial support. Th ere are currently fi ft y-six CTAs in place, especially important for individuals whose education has spread throughout all fi ve of the regions where UNHCR been disrupted by confl ict and displacement and who there- works (Africa, the Americas, Asia and the Pacifi c, Europe, fore require accelerated programs.23 and the Middle East and North Africa). According to Th e strategy of using access to technology to advance DPSM, approximately 20,000 people benefi t from the global refugee education and livelihoods has received increased CTA program each year.8 CTAs are located in urban, semi- attention since the early 2000s.24 For example, using tech- urban, or rural/camp contexts and are implemented over a nology to provide distance learning opportunities for refugees has been the focus of various projects, including

22 UNHCR’s Community Technology Access Program

interactive radio instruction programs and mobile phone etc.34 Standardized surveys/questionnaires, guided inter- literacy games.25 More recently, Jesuit Refugee Services and view protocols, and guided focus group protocols were used the Borderless Higher Education for Refugees project are in the various sites.35 Th e evaluation consultants conducted working to provide tertiary education and teacher training fi ft een focus groups, which included a total of 181 CTA in camps through online learning.26 Access to technology benefi ciaries, forty-nine interviews with IPs and UNHCR can also be used to engage refugees in virtual work and data staff , and an unspecifi ed number of semi-structured inter- outsourcing for overseas companies, thereby bypassing views with CTA participants.36 Th e evaluation highlighted labour restrictions in host countries, as has been piloted in several positive outcomes of the CTA program, which are Dadaab.27 While these projects and others have had positive outlined below.37 results, one common pitfall in implementing Information and Communications Technology (ICT) initiatives is the Positive Outcomes of CTA Programs: Intended and tendency to “dump hardware in schools [and] hope for Unintended magic to happen” and to “think about […] content only aft er Human Rights you have rolled out your hardware.”28 UNHCR’s experience Firstly, CTAs have improved the ability of many persons of with its CTA program has highlighted both the positive concern to UNHCR to enjoy key human rights as set out in education, livelihoods, and social networking potential of international legal instruments, including the right to free- ICT initiatives, and the risks associated with attributing dom of expression and “freedom to seek, receive and impart inherently transformative qualities to technology. information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers… through any other media of his choice.”38 Indeed, CTAs Evaluation Methodology allow persons of concern to access information without hin- In April 2012, UNHCR decided to commission an external drance, both for its own sake and to improve their ability to evaluation of the CTA program, given its rapid expansion make informed and independent decisions.39 A focus group over the course of three years. Th e evaluation was commis- participant in Georgia explained, sioned as an impact assessment29 and does qualitatively analyze positive and negative outcomes,30 although it lacks Th is access and these computers play a really big role in our lives. the rigorous quantitative methods necessary to study causal Our society is so remote and the community center and having a mechanisms, as would have been required for a formal out- place to come to helps us not be afraid, helps us to know things. come evaluation.31 Th us, one could argue that this is a mixed People here never believed we would ever be connected to the out- evaluation, which also uses a more formative approach, in side world.40 that its fi ndings can serve to optimize CTAs’ future impact on quality of education and access to livelihoods.32 In addition, persons of concern can use CTAs to learn about Th e evaluation focused on fi ve countries (Armenia, the situation in their country of origin for the purposes of Georgia, Kenya, Rwanda, and Yemen) and took place over a possible repatriation. As one CTA user from Argentina a period of three months. Th ese sites were selected based stated, “I cannot expect a local TV channel here to show on the following criteria: (1) program implementation had the crisis in my country. But with the computer I can be been ongoing for at least twelve months; (2) representation informed. All I have to do is type the key words and read.”41 of both urban and camp CTAs; (3) representation of loca- Furthermore, CTAs have expanded the range of educational tions with both formal and informal education systems; options available to refugees, particularly tertiary education, and (4) users with diff erent socioeconomic and education and thus promoted the progressive realization of the right backgrounds.33 While the evaluation’s fi ndings can be to education, as foreseen in the International Covenant on taken as general best practices and lessons learned for other Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.42 CTAs, these fi ndings will not be fully generalizable and will have to be adapted to the contexts of other CTA sites. Th e Self-Reliance evaluation included desk reviews, fi eld visits to CTA centres Although challenges have arisen in systematically improv- in four of the countries (travel to Yemen was hampered by ing self-reliance and employment among refugees through the security situation), and interviews with CTA program the use of CTAs, specifi c contexts and individuals have seen “graduates,” current participants, non-benefi ciaries, imple- success in this area. For example, one female CTA partici- menting partners, course instructors, and key UNHCR staff pant in Georgia used her new IT skills to advertise her home in the fi eld and in Geneva. When sampling participants on a government website as a guesthouse for tourists.43 from refugee and local host populations, eff orts were made Other participants in Georgia were able to use the IT cer- to include a balanced representation by gender, disability, tifi cates they received upon completion of CTA courses to

23 Volume 29 Refuge Number 1

obtain jobs as secretaries. A CTA participant in Argentina that all persons of concern enjoy their rights on an equal stated, “I use the computer to do my homework…I also send footing and are able to participate in decisions that aff ect CVs to fi nd a job. I received three answers for interviews them.52 In terms of the CTA, this means designing and last month.”44 Iraqi refugees in Armenia used CTAs to join implementing the program in such a way that it takes online advertising sites to publicize their small businesses.45 into account the unique needs of diff erent individuals and Another example from Uganda highlights the experience groups, especially women and girls, youth, persons with of a Congolese refugee setting up a successful multimedia disabilities, and other marginalized groups. CTAs in many business through the CTA centre.46 While these examples countries have made important steps in this regard, includ- demonstrate that certain individuals have experienced ing by providing an education opportunity that is access- positive self-reliance outcomes in various CTA locations, ible to women and viewed as culturally acceptable for them. overall results are more varied. In Kakuma camp in Kenya, One CTA participant in Georgia noted: approximately 90 percent of CTA graduates have been employed by NGOs and other organizations.47 However, in Th is CTA helps us as women become more than just slaves, which Georgia, the evaluation consultants noted that most CTAs we are in our homes. It helps us show men that we can learn some- provided no programming beyond basic IT skills and did thing they haven’t bothered with that is critical for our children not collect data on employment outcomes of these gradu- and their education and their lives. Th e CTA gives us two hours of ates. Unfortunately, the evaluation report provides mainly freedom a day when we are able to take classes here; freedom we anecdotal evidence about overall livelihoods outcomes for would not otherwise have.53 CTA graduates, and so it is diffi cult to objectively analyze the causes of disparities between programs. Female graduates can oft en pursue further independent learning in various areas, such as microenterprise skills. Education CTAs also provide users with the opportunity to research In its 2012–2016 Education Strategy, UNHCR lists as one problems that they identify within their communities and of its strategic approaches the “innovative use of technol- to take ownership of possible solutions. As one Kenyan CTA ogy [to] expand education opportunities,” and names col- participant stated, laboration with the CTA program and the use of Skype in the classroom as two ways to accomplish this.48 Indeed, [I use the CTA to] research specifi c problems aff ecting my CTAs provide an ideal forum for augmenting both formal immediate community in order to work on a plan to solve the and informal education opportunities and distance learn- problem—for example conducting research on why the rate of the ing, including specifi c courses for school children, adult girls’ enrolment in schools is very low in our community.54 learners, and single mothers, among others.49 For example, primary school children in Kiziba camp in Rwanda were Although eff orts are made to include persons with dis- able to participate in Skype chat sessions with students in abilities in CTA programs, including by making centres the United States, thus broadening horizons for both groups accessible, obstacles persisted, such as poor furniture set- of children. Th e Kiziba CTA also provided access to a dis- up in the centres or poor mobility conditions in the rest of tance-learning math and science simulation program.50 In the camp.55 Th e most positive outcome was experienced in Yemen, some CTA participants accessed English language Yemen, where 27 percent of participants in one CTA were training through soft ware developed by the implementing persons with disabilities. Th is success was due in part to the partner. Finally, CTAs can also be used to develop import- fact that the IP was an NGO that worked specifi cally with ant life skills, such as human rights awareness, reproductive persons with disabilities.56 It was noted that the participa- health knowledge, or the prevention of sexual and gender- tion of people with disabilities in this program had signifi - based violence. However, the evaluation notes that the edu- cantly increased the community’s acceptance of them as a cation potential of CTAs is being severely underutilized, result of interactions at the centre.57 particularly in Georgia, Armenia, and Kenya, where the consultants were unable to fi nd evidence of any systematic Relationships with the Host Community education or life skills programming beyond basic IT skills Th e CTA program has successfully promoted UNHCR’s courses.51 policy to ensure that its projects assist both persons of con- cern and the host community. Indeed, the 2009 Policy on Age, Gender, and Diversity Mainstreaming Refugee Protection and Solutions in Urban Areas states that UNHCR’s 2011 Age, Gender and Diversity Policy calls for UNHCR will the mainstreaming of a programming approach ensuring

24 UNHCR’s Community Technology Access Program

encourage refugees and their local hosts to interact in a posi- Challenges, Lessons Learned, and tive manner. To attain this objective, UNHCR will endeavour to Recommendations combat discrimination and xenophobia and will ensure that the While highlighting positive impacts of the CTA, the evalua- services it provides to urban refugees bring benefi ts to other city- tion also noted several obstacles that were preventing the dwellers, especially the neediest sections of the population and program from reaching its full potential. those who live in closest proximity to refugees.58 Education and Livelihoods Impact Th is principle also applies in camp settings, although in Th e main limitation revealed by the evaluation was that practice, the location of camps sometimes represents an CTAs oft en experienced diffi culties in providing courses obstacle to including local communities in CTA activities. beyond basic IT skills or in creating a tangible diff erence Nevertheless, the fact that generally both persons of concern in the employment outcomes of graduates. For example, and local residents have access to CTA programming facili- few CTAs in the countries evaluated had actually been able tates interaction and exchange between these groups, thus to off er distance learning courses and many of the school improving intercommunal relationships, peaceful coexist- teachers interviewed said they had not used the CTAs for ence, peace building, and security. During focus groups in the development of lesson plans. Furthermore, in certain Georgia, AIR researchers recorded that: contexts, refugees have limited or no access to the labour market, due to legal provisions, remote location, or general [participants] said that locals from neighboring villages and economic conditions. Even in situations where persons of towns would be in the classes and they started making friends. concern have the right to work, basic IT skills may not be Some of the locals also gave work to some of the men to tend enough to seek sustainable employment. Indeed, the set-up their land. Th ey…mentioned that CTA brought people together of a CTA was rarely accompanied by a labour market assess- and gave locals and IDPs an opportunity to know each other and ment to determine what type of livelihoods programming behave as neighbors. Th ese kinds of activities, several said, need would be most useful.63 For example, one NGO staff mem- to continue, as it isn’t “just an idea” to have locals and IDPs work- ber in Georgia observed that: ing and doing activities together; “it’s a need.”59 IDPs think that if they take a course to learn how to use a com- Th is type of interaction may promote greater openness to puter, and they receive the certifi cate that this will mean they get local integration on the part of the population and author- an automatic job. Th en when this doesn’t happen, there has been ities, as well as ensuring that UNHCR’s presence is viewed lots of disappointment and frustration. Th ere is a value in provid- as contributing to local development. ing free access to computers for IDPs and refugees, but there needs to be support and refl ection in how to use the basic IT skills.64 Social Networking Moreover, CTAs have played an important role in family Th erefore, the evaluation recommends strategic map- communication and even reunifi cation, in particular when ping of local labour market and income-generating oppor- persons of concern have been able to use social networking tunities and the tailoring of CTA programming to off er the sites to track family members lost during displacement or to most relevant skills training for each particular situation. maintain connection with relatives who had been resettled Furthermore, greater synergies could be promoted between abroad. Th e use of Skype, email, and Facebook allows per- CTAs both within and across countries, such as by creat- sons of concern to communicate across borders even when ing forums for CTA teachers to share experiences and les- 60 telephone and postal services are unavailable. Th is some- son plans.65 While numerous researchers66 have advocated what unexpected benefi t of CTAs should not be underesti- for labour market mapping when designing technical and mated in its positive impact on refugees’ well-being. Indeed, vocational education, it is clear that the CTA program has previous research in Kakuma camp showed that communi- not yet fully implemented this strategy, and so repeated cation with family was the top reason motivating refugees to recommendations are necessary. In addition, one way to 61 access the Internet. Furthermore, in other contexts, access improve CTAs’ livelihoods impact might be to build on to technology has enabled refugees to improve their liveli- current momentum towards innovation, in particular by hoods by connecting with family members and the diaspora implementing the Humanitarian Innovation Project’s rec- community and receiving remittances from them, which in ommendation of Refugee Innovation Centres. Th ese centres turn oft en allow persons of concern to pursue further edu- are envisioned as “a physical space within which refugees 62 cation and training. could receive access to microcredit, vocational training, mentorship, support with social innovation, business

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development, and the incubation of innovative ideas”67 and Operational and Fiscal Autonomy it could be fi tting to incorporate this type of programming Th e stated goal for CTAs is that they will become independ- into pre-existing CTAs. Regarding education, two key strat- ent from UNHCR headquarters and donors’ support from egies advocated by ICT in education experts include priori- the second year onward (being integrated into the oper- tizing the use of ICT for teacher training and professional ational budget of the fi eld offi ce) and then fully fi scally sus- development, as well as off ering distance learning oppor- tainable, preferably fi ve years aft er start-up.72 Ideally, this tunities to students.68 means that they would be handed over to the ownership of entrepreneurs from refugee or host communities and would Gender Equality be able to cover their own costs. Although small user fees Despite UNHCR’s eff orts to ensure equal participation, in have been implemented in some CTA programs, such as in many settings, such as Kakuma refugee camp, male partici- Yemen, many persons of concern would have diffi culty pay- pants far outnumber female participants. For example, among ing any fee for CTA use, especially refugees in remote camps the Somali and Sudanese refugee communities in Kakuma, who are not employed as incentive workers.73 Th erefore, women and girls have signifi cant household responsibilities, such income-generating strategies must be tailored to the are expected to focus on marriage rather than education as specifi c capacities of each population of CTA users. In addi- they grow older, or have not completed primary school, which tion, the evaluation recommends that UNHCR focus on is required for enrolment in a CTA course. In these contexts, alternative approaches for reducing operational costs (i.e. UNHCR and its partners need to conduct increased outreach by reducing energy input and decentralizing service provi- to include women and girls and to off er classes for women sion) and promoting diff erent income-generating options only, taught by female instructors, wherever necessary, such (i.e. formatting and printing documents for NGOs). as is done in the centre in Jalalabad, Afghanistan.69 Conclusion Technical Problems Overall, the evaluation concluded that while UNHCR has Another challenge that seriously hampered the functioning been largely successful in providing access to technology of many CTAs was technical shortcomings. During the through CTAs, this access alone is not enough to achieve start-up phase, many fi eld offi ces experienced delays in signifi cant improvements in education quality or livelihoods receiving necessary materials, such as computers and soft - opportunities. Rather, if substantial impact is to be realized ware. In addition, when maintenance and repairs were in all CTA centres, expertise and strategic planning at vari- needed for computers, internet connectivity, complex soft - ous levels are required to ensure that the content of CTA ware, or solar panels, CTA functioning could be aff ected for programming fi ts each specifi c context and eff ectively meets long periods because of a lack of expertise among local tech- the needs of persons of concern. To this end, it is crucial to nology companies. For example, when solar panels required have continuous “buy-in” at the fi eld level and an experi- repairs, CTAs were forced to run on generator power, thus enced implementing partner that can support UNHCR staff signifi cantly increasing costs.70 in identifying the resources required and available to bridge In order to ensure consistency and the fulfi llment of gaps in targeted content preparation and program delivery, program commitments to persons of concern, the evalua- based on market and socio-economic assessments, through tion recommends that procurement and maintenance be local or regional solutions.74 Nevertheless, the fundamen- decentralized. Ideally, if computers and internet service are tal value of basic IT literacy and access to information and purchased locally rather than delivered via UNHCR head- social networking, which is already being provided by CTAs quarters, there would be fewer delays caused by transporta- around the world, should not be underestimated. Rather, the tion and customs issues. In addition, IT companies in the concrete recommendations spelled out in this evaluation country would be familiar with the equipment and would will only strengthen the ability of UNHCR to build on these be able to provide timely troubleshooting and support.71 accomplishments and to use both new and existing CTAs Furthermore, this approach would allow UNHCR to sup- to their fullest potential in empowering persons of concern. port the domestic economy in the country of operation, UNHCR’s Livelihoods Unit is currently developing a new thus promoting its policy of positively contributing to local CTA strategy, which is still in its early phases. Some prelim- development. However, reliance on in-kind donations from inary ideas for change include: virtualizing services (making corporate partners and limited or nonexistent local alterna- them available online); alternative approaches for running tives restrict the feasibility of decentralized procurement CTAs (including renting time at existing Internet cafes and/or and maintenance at the current time. privatizing centres); building capacity for training course cre- ation at the local level; increasing on-site learning assistance;

26 UNHCR’s Community Technology Access Program

and engaging with education content marketplaces.75 Th is 12. Horst, “Refugee Livelihoods.” new CTA strategy, along with UNHCR’s increased focus on 13. Alexander Betts, Louise Bloom, and Naohiko using innovation and technology to benefi t persons of con- Omata, “Humanitarian Innovation and Refugee Pro- cern, indicate bright prospects for CTAs.76 tection,” Refugee Studies Centre Working Paper Ser- ies No. 85 (2012). http://www.oxhip.org/publications/ humanitarian-innovation-and-refugee-protection-2/. 14. Ibid. Notes 15. Horst, “Refugee Livelihoods”; Betts, Bloom, and Omata, 1. “Persons of concern” is the term used by UNHCR to refer “Humanitarian Innovation.” to the categories of persons for whom UNHCR has respon- 16. Sarah Dryden-Peterson, “Refugee Children Aspiring sibility under its mandate, namely refugees, asylum seek- Toward the Future: Linking Education and Livelihoods,” in ers, returnees, internally displaced persons, and stateless Educating Children in Confl ict Zones, ed. Karen Mundy and persons. UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Self-Study Sarah Dryden-Peterson (New York: Teacher’s College Press, Module 1: An Introduction to International Protection. Pro- 2011). tecting Persons of Concern to UNHCR, 1 August 2005, 83, 17. Sarah Dryden-Peterson, “Th e Present Is Local, the Future Is http://www.refworld.org/docid/4214cb4f2.html. Global? Reconciling Current and Future Livelihoods Strat- 2. “2012–2013 Global Strategic Priorities,” Executive Com- egies in the Education of Congolese Refugees in Uganda,” mittee of the High Commissioner’s Program, 53rd Refugee Survey Quarterly 25, no. 2 (2006): 81–92. Standing Committee, 21 February 2012, EC/63/SC/ 18. Machtelt De Vriese, Refugee Livelihoods: A Review of the CRP.7, accessed 29 August 2012, http://www.unhcr Evidence (Geneva: UNHCR, Evaluation and Policy Analy- .org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/home/opendocPDFViewer sis Unit, 2006). .html?docid=4f6215e79&query=a%20guide%20to%20 19. Barry Sesnan, Graham Wood, Marina L. Anselme, and resettlement%20and%20integration. Ann Avery, “Skills Training for Youth,” Forced Migration 3. “UNHCR and Self-Reliance,” UNHCR website, accessed Review 20 (2004); Dominic Odwa Atari, Samer Abdelnour, August 29, 2012, http://www.unhcr.org/pages/4ad2e7d26 Kevin McKague, and Robert Wager, Technical Vocational .html. and Entrepreneurial Capacities in Southern Sudan: Assess- 4. “Livelihood Programming in UNHCR: Operational Guide- ment and Opportunities (Toronto: Centre for Refugee Stud- lines,” 2012, http://www.refworld.org/docid/512611392 ies, York University, 2010). .html; communication with UNHCR Livelihoods Unit staff , 20. Lynn Davies, “Can Education Interrupt Fragility? Toward July 17, 2013. the Resilient Citizen and the Adaptable State,” in Educat- 5. UNHCR Division of Operational Services, “Provision of ing Children in Confl ict Zones: A Tribute to Jackie Kirk, ed. Education and Livelihoods through Technology and Con- Karen Mundy and Sarah Dryden-Peterson (New York: nectivity, Community Technology Access (CTA)” (April Teacher’s College Press, 2011), 36; G. Walker, J. Millar 2009), 5, see American Institutes for Research (AIR), “Th e Wood, and E. Allemano, Liberia Youth Fragility Assessment Current State of UNHCR’s Community Technology Access (Washington, DC: USAID, 2009), ix. Program,” Annex A: References section. 21. I.e. basic education to relevant vocational training to career 6. Th e author of this report was not personally involved in counselling/apprenticeships/microcredit. conducting the CTA evaluation. Th e aim of this paper is to 22. Walker, Millar Wood, and Allemano, Liberia Youth. present the evaluation fi ndings, lessons learned, and next 23. Dryden-Peterson, “Refugee Children Aspiring”; Walker, steps for the CTA program. Millar Wood, and Allemano, Liberia Youth. 7. American Institutes for Research (AIR), “Th e Current State 24. I.e. “Technology Issue,” Forced Migration Review 38 (2011), of UNHCR’s Community Technology Access Program” http://www.fmreview.org/technology; Melissa Beouy, Ste- (July 2012), 1. ven Ehrenberg, and Stephen Luke, “Technology (ICT) 8. Ibid., 17. Strategies to Support Education: A Brief Analysis Report,” 9. Ibid.; Division of Operational Services, UNHCR, “Project Family Health International (FHI) 360 (2012); Jacqueline Proposal for the Provision of Education and Livelihoods Strecker, “Refugee ICT Initiatives: Improving Practices for through Technology and Connectivity” (April 2009), con- Refugee Participation” (Ottawa: International Develop- tained in AIR,“Th e Current State of UNHCR’s CTA Pro- ment Research Centre, 2010). gram,” Annex A: References Section. 25. Michael Brophy, “Open Learning and Distance Education 10. Cindy Horst, “Refugee Livelihoods: Continuity and Trans- for Displaced Populations,” in Th e Open Classroom: Dis- formations,” Refugee Survey Quarterly 25, no. 2 (2006), tance Learning In and Out of Schools, ed. Jo Bradley (Lon- 6–22. don: Taylor and Francis, 2004). 11. Jeff Crisp, “No Solutions in Sight: Th e Problem of Protracted 26. See Strecker, “Refugee ICT Initiatives,” for an expanded list Refugee Situations in Africa,” UNHCR New Issues in Refu- of refugee ICT initiatives. gee Research 75 (2003), http://www.unhcr.org/3e2d66c34 .html.

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27. Communication with UNHCR Livelihoods Unit 43. AIR, “Th e Current State of UNHCR’s Community Tech- staff , July 30, 2013; “Analysis: Refugees Aim for nology Access Program,” 18. Self-Reliance, Not Hand-outs,” IRIN News, 6 Febru- 44. Ibid., 14. ary 2013, http://www.irinnews.org/report/97418/ 45. Ibid., 43. analysis-innovating-for-refugee-self-reliance. 46. Ibid., 75. 28. Michael Trucano, “Worst Practice in ICT Use in Education,” 47. Ibid., 75. Edutech: A World Bank Blog on ICT Use in Education (30 48. UNHCR, UNHCR Education Strategy, 2012–2016 (Feb- April 2010), http://blogs.worldbank.org/edutech/worst ruary 28, 2012), 38–39, http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/ -practice; see also Jacqueline Strecker, “Recommendations docid/4f4cd9812.html. for CTA Kakuma Programming” (Ottawa: International 49. Division of Operational Services, “Project Proposal,” 13–15. Development Research Centre, 2010). 50. AIR, “Th e Current State of UNHCR’s Community Tech- 29. “Impact evaluation is the systematic identifi cation of the nology Access Program,” 78. eff ects—positive or negative, intended or not—on individ- 51. Ibid., 18. ual households, institutions, and the environment caused 52. UNHCR, Age, Gender and Diversity Policy (June 8, 2011), by a given development activity,” quoted from Daniel A. http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/4def34f6887.html. Wagner, “Overview,” in Monitoring and Evaluation of ICT in 53. “CTA Impact Evaluation Mission Field Notes,” 35. Education Projects: A Handbook for Developing Countries, ed. 54. Daniela Ionita, “Community Technology Access Project,” Daniel A. Wagner, Bob Day, Tina James, Robert B. Kozma, Forced Migration Review 38 (2011), accessed 29 August Jonathan Miller, and Tim Unwin (Information for Develop- 2012, http://www.fmreview.org/technology/ionita.html. ment Program 2005), http://www.infodev.org/articles/ 55. AIR, “Th e Current State of UNHCR’s Community Tech- monitoring-and-evaluation-ict-education-projects. nology Access Program,” 74. 30. P. Duignan, “Approaches and Terminology in Programme 56. Ibid., 91. and Policy Evaluation,” in Evaluating Policy and Practice, 57. Ibid., 88. ed. N. Lunt, C. Davidson, and K. McKegg (Auckland: Pear- 58. UN High Commissioner for Refugees, “UNHCR Policy on son Education, 2003). Refugee Protection and Solutions in Urban Areas,” (Sep- 31. Indeed, the evaluation notes that reliable statistical data on tember 2009), para. 40, accessed August 29, 2012, http:// CTAs was largely unavailable, in part due to implementing www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/4ab8e7f72.html. partners’ lack of capacity (AIR, “Th e Current State of 59. “CTA Impact Evaluation Mission Field Notes,” 30. UNHCR’s Community Technology Access Program,” 2). 60. AIR, “Th e Current State of UNHCR’s Community Tech- 32. Operational and fi scal autonomy refers to the point when nology Access Program,” 44. the CTA program is fi scally independent and no longer 61. Strecker, “Refugee ICT Initiative.” requires annual funding injections; Duignan, “Approaches 62. Naohiko Omata, “Online Connection for Remittances,” and Terminology in Programme and Policy Evaluation.” Forced Migration Review 38 (2011), accessed 29 July 2013, 33. UNHCR, “Sub-Project Description,” Annex A, 2012, in http://www.fmreview.org/technology/omata.html. AIR, “Th e Current State of UNHCR’s Community Technol- 63. AIR, “Th e Current State of UNHCR’s Community Tech- ogy Access Program.” nology Access Program,” 86. 34. AIR, “Th e Current State of UNHCR’s Community Tech- 64. “CTA Impact Evaluation Mission Field Notes,” 40. nology Access Program,” I1. 65. AIR, “Th e Current State of UNHCR’s Community Tech- 35. Ibid., 7. nology Access Program,” 30–31. 36. Th e evaluation report does not specify precisely how the 66. Walker, Millar Wood, and Allemano, Liberia Youth Fragility data was analyzed. Assessment; Dryden-Peterson, “Refugee Children Aspiring.” 37. AIR, “Th e Current State of UNHCR’s Community Tech- 67. Betts, Bloom, and Omata, “Humanitarian Innovation,” 15. nology Access Program,” 5–6. 68. Beouy, Ehrenberg, and Luke, “Technology (ICT) Strategies 38. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 19 to Support Education”; Tim Unwin, “Towards a Frame- December 1966, 999 UNTS 171, Art. 19(2). work for the Use of ICT in Teacher Training in Africa,” 39. Th is activity is only an option in countries where CTAs are Open Learning: Th e Journal of Open and Distance Educa- connected to the Internet (i.e. not in Bangladesh). tion, 20, no. 2 (2005), 113–129. 40. “CTA Impact Evaluation Mission Field Notes,” American 69. AIR, “Th e Current State of UNHCR’s Ccommunity Tech- Institutes for Research (June 2012), 39, in possession of nology Access Program,” 31. author. 70. Ibid., 66. 41. “Community Technology Access,” UNHCR web- 71. Ibid., 28. site, accessed August 29, 2012, http://www.unhcr.org/ 72. Ibid., 20. pages/4ad2e8286.html 73. Ibid., 30; Strecker, “Refugee ICT Initiatives.” 42. International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural 74. AIR, “Th e Current State of UNHCR’s Community Tech- Rights, 16 December 1966, 993 UNTS 3, Art. 13. nology Access Program,” 24.

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75. Communication with UNHCR Livelihoods Unit staff , 30 July 2013. [NB: Th ese ideas for the strategy have yet to be fully developed and approved.] 76. For example, the establishment of UNHCR’s Innovation Unit and its partnership with the Humanitarian Innova- tion Project indicate that CTAs and similar programs will be the focus of continued attention and improvement. See: https://www.facebook.com/UNHCRInnovate.

Jessica Anderson has a master’s degree from the Glendon School of Public and International Aff airs, York University, Toronto. She completed an internship in the Division of International Protection, UNHCR HQ, Geneva, in the sum- mer of 2012. Th is report summarizes the 2012 CTA evalua- tion report (currently unpublished) and was written in col- laboration with Terra MacKinnon, Audrey Nirrengarten, and Jacqueline Strecker (Education Unit), Daniela Ionita, Troy Etulain, and Line Pedersen (Livelihoods Unit), and Jeff Crisp (Policy Development and Evaluation Service).

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30 Volume 29 Refuge Number 1

Channels of Protection: Communication, Technology, and Asylum in Cairo, Egypt

Nora Danielson

Abstract l’examen de précédentes initiatives technologiques, mon- Communication between service providers and refugees trent qu’alors que les services comptent toujours sur la about services, legal processes, and rights helps shape transmission orale de l’information, d’autres moyens tels refugees’ experience of asylum but has, in Cairo, Egypt, que l’imprimé, le téléphone, la messagerie texte, les sites been a source of misunderstandings and confl ict. Based web, et les réseaux sociaux, consistent en autant de pos- on qualitative pilot research, this paper explores the prac- sibilités signifi catives de développement. Les pratiques et tices, challenges, and potentials of information technolo- les initiatives actuelles au Caire illustrent que les projets gies old and new in facilitating access to asylum in this technologiques ont le potentiel de surmonter les barrières southern city. Interviews with refugee and service provid- urbaines et la variété des langues et des degrés de litté- ers and review of previous technology-based initiatives ratie des communautés de réfugiés du Caire. Toutefois, show that although service providers tend to rely on oral les organisations et les réfugiés ont besoin de davantage information transfer, other channels—print, phone, text de subventions et de soutien institutionnel pour réaliser ce messaging, websites, social media—hold signifi cant cap- potentiel. acity for growth. Existing practices and initiatives in Cairo demonstrate the potential for technology-based projects to Introduction overcome the geographic barriers of the urban setting and Most of the world’s refugees live in their region of origin, and more than half live in urban centres, where their per- the range of literacy and languages in Cairo’s refugee com- iod of asylum oft en lasts many years. Th e experiences of munities. However, service providers and refugees require forced migrants in cities in the global south are shaped by further funding and institutional support if this potential intersecting stressors and constraints, many of which are is to be realized. impervious to change. Th is paper examines one set which, it argues, is neither intractable nor insignifi cant: the channels Résumé of communication through which humanitarian and non- La communication entre les services et les réfugiés au sujet governmental organizations communicate with refugee des ressources, des processus juridiques et des droits infl u- communities1 about rights, processes, and services avail- ence l’expérience des réfugiés, mais au Caire, en Égypte, able through refugee or asylum seeker status. cet aspect a été une source de malentendus et de confl its. Taking as a case study one of the world’s major refugee- Basé sur une recherche qualitative pilote, cet article explore hosting cities—Cairo, Egypt—this paper outlines the fi nd- les pratiques, les défi s et le potentiel des technologies de ings of a 2011–12 qualitative pilot study of the changing l’information, anciennes et nouvelles, dans la facilitation technologies of service provider outreach to refugee com- munities. First, the paper shows that communication de l’accès à l’asile dans cette ville du sud. Les entretiens and information about asylum in Cairo has signifi cant avec les réfugiés et les responsables des services, ainsi que

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psychosocial, service provision, and protection impacts. Th ough Egypt has long hosted refugee communities, it Second, the channels and technologies that service provid- lacks a domestic legal framework for refugee protection. ers use to communicate asylum-related information diff er Since 1954, it has given the responsibility for asylum seeker in reach, effi cacy, and ease of use for both service provid- registration and refugee status determination (RSD) process- ers and refugee communities. Th ird, evidence of contextual ing to UNHCR.8 Its reservations on the 1951 Convention9 barriers, population diversity, and local use and interest in limit refugees’ work opportunities, leaving most with no or new technologies by refugees and service providers high- little work, or risking jobs in the unregulated informal mar- lights considerable need and capacity for the improvement ket.10 Forced migrants in Egypt face frequent discrimina- of such communication. Setting out these fi ndings in a con- tion alongside the challenge of working across social, cul- text of rising global interest in innovation and technology, I tural, and language diff erences. Th e country’s widespread argue that urban refugee community outreach is due greater poverty and unemployment, worse since the 2011 revolu- attention and policy development than it currently receives. tion, further reduce livelihood options, and most live in poverty.11 Background: Asylum in Cairo Egypt’s Convention reservations also restrict refugee Egypt is one of the world’s major hosts of urban refugees. access to health care and education, both of which are fur- At the start of 2013, more than 125,000 people were regis- ther complicated by overcrowded, underfunded institutions tered with the Egyptian offi ce of the United Nations High and exclusionary procedures.12 Such compounding restric- Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), originating from tions and challenges make the local integration of forced Sudan, Syria, Iraq, Somalia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, amongst migrants in Egypt “nearly always impossible.”13 other countries.2 Until 2012, when UNHCR opened a camp Th e experiences, support, and aspirations of forced in Saloum for people fl eeing Libya, Egypt had no refugee migrants in Cairo are linked into wider geopolitical con- camps.3 texts, including international social and economic networks, Although forced migrants in Egypt live in Alexandria diasporic migration patterns, and changing socioeconomic and smaller towns, this paper focuses on Cairo, where the and political situations in home countries. Yet few options majority reside. Greater Cairo is the largest city in both the for onward movement are available even to those recognized Middle East and the African continent, and host to refugee as refugees. Tension between the hope for resettlement and communities throughout its densely populated neighbour- its actual limits increase both uncertainty about future plans hoods.4 As confl icts in the region shift and fl are, new asy- and frustration with present circumstances. Such problems lum seekers arrive in the city each year,5 others return to have been raised at multiple demonstrations at the Cairo their countries of origin, and a minority move onward. But offi ces of the UNHCR over the last decade and have driven the majority of forced migrants in Cairo experience pro- some to abandon Cairo as a place of asylum.14 tracted asylum, some staying for more than a decade. Asylum in Cairo consists of several elements, variously During their time in the city, forced migrants negotiate provided, in what has been called “a system of diff use survival and aspirations within a challenging, restrictive responsibility.”15 First and foremost, asylum entails protec- set of national and international contexts. As signatory to tion, which UNHCR holds as its core mandate.16 Protection the 1951 Refugee Convention, Egypt grants refugees the refers primarily to the prevention of refoulement—the right to residence, legal recourse, and freedom of religion forcible return of refugees to their country of origin—but and movement. Th e government also ratifi ed the Refugee extends to other elements of safety, security, basic human Convention’s 1967 Protocol, the 1969 Organization of rights, and access to legal recourse which UNHCR seeks to African Unity Convention Governing the Specifi c Aspects ensure. In rare instances, special protection needs can result of Refugee Problems in Africa, and some human rights in individual resettlement to a third country, which may be conventions. negotiated between UNHCR, the embassies of countries Yet the national context is characterized by insecurity that that directly resettle refugees from Cairo, and agencies such particularly impinges on refugee communities. Incidents as the International Organization for Migration. of mistreatment by police have included raids, corrup- Additionally, refugees and asylum seekers in Cairo may tion, arbitrary arrest, violence, and harassment.6 Political access limited education, fi nancial, material, legal, and upheaval since 2011 has led to increased crime, instability, health assistance. A range of state-run, community-based, and xenophobia. Violence and harassment towards women religious, and international and local non-governmental and visible minorities has also increased throughout the organizations off er support services for refugee commun- country.7 ities in Cairo. Eligibility requirements for programs on off er diff er: some may be accessed only by individuals recognized

32 Channels of Protection

by UNHCR, some by those who fi t an organization’s own mobile phone and Internet use in camps, detention centres, defi nition of asylum seeker, and some by all members of a and resettlement countries, with less evidence from urban refugee national group. settings in the global south.24 Attention has focused on Th e legal positions of forced migrants in Egypt depend communication over distance, between refugees and their on their recognition by UNHCR, which carries out all asy- social networks in sending and receiving countries. Th e lum seeker registration and RSD procedures. People who role of information technologies within countries of fi rst register with UNHCR and await the outcome of their case asylum, and their cities, has been neglected. Since many of receive yellow cards that identify them as asylum seekers. the world’s refugees live in cities and have social ties to refu- Recognized refugees hold blue UNHCR-issued identity gees in other settings, their assessments of access to and the cards, and a small number of stateless people also register importance of diff erent technologies provide an interesting with the offi ce.17 Some forced migrants do not register with counterpoint to existing knowledge. In cities in the global UNHCR, and others continue to live in Cairo aft er their south, questions of access and literacy are paramount, and applications for status with UNHCR have been denied. communication channels may not necessarily use new tech- Th e way that service providers communicate and share nology. Th is paper contributes a preliminary exploration of information about these complex elements of asylum in how technologies of communication are used by and for Cairo is only one of many factors impacting their well-being refugees in one such setting. and access to support. Yet for multiple reasons it is both sali- Given growing attention to the signifi cance of trans- ent and promising, as following sections will unfold. national social relations, refugee-related technology studies have thus far largely centred on communication between Communication Technologies in Urban Asylum: refugees.25 Communication between refugees and ser- Current Research vice providers raises a diff erent set of questions about how Increasing policy and academic attention has been paid to information is delivered and received, given variations of refugees in urban centres in countries both of fi rst asylum culture, institution, power, language and literacy that it and of resettlement, and to the ties they maintain across must negotiate. Initial studies profi ling ICT interventions geographically dispersed social networks. New technolo- in refugee service provision—refl ecting its growing signifi - gies are critical channels in transnational communication, cance in the humanitarian aid sector—have largely focused and research has begun to examine their role in refugees’ on single programs or on camp, resettlement, or emergency lives. Corporate and philanthropic interest in information settings.26 How ICT might help in urban situations in the and communication technology (ICT) initiatives aimed at global south has yet to be examined in depth or breadth, social problems is high. Th e intersection of these strands although such use has been recommended.27 Th is paper is due greater attention, especially as refugee communities draws together these areas of study to consider, through the “increasingly live in cities rather than in camps, and are case of one city, how expanded use of information and com- harder to reach.”18 munication technologies might improve refugee experien- Growing recognition of the importance of refugees’ input ces of urban asylum. into eff ective urban policy has led to research into the chan- nels of their participation.19 Yet there has been limited study Pilot Project Methods of outward communication between service providers and Th is paper considers fi ndings of pilot research into refugee populations of concern, although the topic arises repeatedly community outreach in Cairo. Th ree questions framed the in reviews of UNHCR’s urban refugee policy.20 UNHCR’s study: First, how do service providers communicate with urban policy names interaction with refugees and com- Cairo’s refugee communities? Second, what capacities exist munity orientation as key principles,21 but the content, for the development of diff erent information-sharing tech- approaches, and impacts of such interaction beyond face- nologies? Th ird, what barriers complicate access to asylum to-face meetings remain largely unexamined.22 Th e com- information in the city? munity outreach eff orts of single programs or organizations Carried out between July 2011 and March 2012, the pro- have been profi led, drawing attention to good practices.23 ject was fi rst conceived in 2006 during work on two collab- But in complex urban settings, information about asylum orative projects in Cairo28 and developed through research moves through multiple media and institutions. Th is paper into asylum in Cairo in the years since. To facilitate an off ers an initial view into the role of information in urban initial overview of the parameters of the topic and direc- asylum. tions for further study, the project adopted several qualita- Research on technology and refugees has emerged as a tive methods. growing fi eld, populated primarily by studies of refugee

33 Volume 29 Refuge Number 1

In twenty-four in-person, semi-structured, in-depth been repeatedly been identifi ed as a critical issue by those interviews, recorded and transcribed, participants were involved with refugee protection in Cairo. asked for their assessments of local dynamics and capaci- Asylum in Cairo became world news in 2005, when sev- ties. Trained interpreters assisted in around half of the eral thousand Sudanese forced migrants30 staged a sit-in for interviews. Th e interview schedule contained open-ended three months in front of UNHCR’s Cairo offi ce. Although questions on the content, channels, and effi cacy of cur- the demonstration had its roots in multiple problems faced rent information about asylum in Cairo, the development by Sudanese in Egypt,31 its high numbers were also due at of communication and information strategies, and par- least in part to rumours about the benefi ts of joining in.32 ticipant estimates of literacy and of mobile and web use During the sit-in, UNHCR Cairo closed its doors, so asylum prevalence. seekers newly arrived in Cairo remained unregistered and Participants were selected based on their professional and at risk of imprisonment and refoulement. personal experience in refugee service provision and self- Th e 2005 protest brought multiple communication issues assistance in Cairo. Contacted through personal networks to light: inaccessibility of information about the rules and as well as UNHCR Cairo’s 2011 Referral Guide for Refugees rights of asylum, mutual distrust between refugees and and Refugee Service Providers, nine participants worked in UNHCR, a spiralling rumour mill, and a “fortress mental- service providing organizations (SPOs), including UNHCR, ity” from the offi ce.33 In an interview on the event, Barbara and fi ft een were refugees, thirteen of whom were affi liated Harrell-Bond, who taught at the American University in with community-based organizations (CBOs) from the Cairo at the time, stated, “What the protest symbolises is the major national groups in Cairo (Sudanese, Somali, Iraqi, total breakdown of communications between the UNHCR Eritrean, Ethiopian).29 Th e research is thus limited, most and the refugees.”34 notably by the absence of input from Egyptian government Th e event became known as a “tragedy of failures and offi cials, who I was unable to reach in the interview stage. false expectations”35—expectations formed by its par- Th e research additionally draws from fi eld notes from ticipants in part due to a “lack of understanding on what informal conversations with researchers, service providers, UNHCR can and cannot do.”36 In its report on the protest, and refugees in Cairo, and participant observation in Cairo UNHCR Cairo acknowledged its “lack of dialogue” with 2005–6 and 2010–12 in workshops, seminars, and events refugees and the “need to enhance the availability and dis- related to the topic at hand. Th e project also reviewed rel- semination of credible information.”37 Following a brutal evant published and unpublished reports (some provided by forced eviction by police, in which at least twenty-seven research participants), online sources, and UNHCR docu- protest participants were killed, the absence of communi- ments related to communication and outreach with urban cation channels between service providers and refugees refugee and asylum seeker populations. Th is included study impeded the task of tracking, reuniting, and assisting the of “shelved” communication projects to learn how previous injured, arrested, and missing. plans had been conceived, what had been learned in their Th e 2011 revolution became another crisis of communi- development, and why they failed. cation for service providers and refugee communities in Drawing from this pilot research, the following fi ndings Cairo. Mobility within the city became dangerous and off er an initial view into dynamics of communication in tightly restricted by soldiers and neighbourhood patrols. refugee protection and services in Cairo, bringing attention Th e government cut off Internet and mobile phone net- to uses and potentials around information and communica- works for fi ve days of the uprising. UNHCR and many of tion technologies in the urban asylum context. its partners closed their offi ces, with some staff evacuated and others working from home. Refugees could not access Project Findings their jobs, services, cash assistance, or subsidized health Communication about Asylum in Cairo: care. Th e ignorance of soldiers about the special legal status Role and Impacts of refugees resulted in at least 133 arrests.38 To frame its study of information and communication tech- Th e UNHCR offi ce reopened to a series of protests nologies in asylum in Cairo, the research examined the by refugees angered by what they felt was their abandon- broader role of communication between service providers ment during the crisis.39 Eff orts by high-ranking offi cials and refugee communities in Cairo. As this section reviews, to address their concerns through face-to-face meetings such outreach has had access, protection, and psychosocial intended to deliver information to the broader community impacts, both in emergency situations like the 2005 protest were marred by diffi culty fi nding representative messengers. and 2011 revolution, and in times of relative stability. It has Th e following months would see groups from Cairo’s major refugee communities staging multiple demonstrations for

34 Channels of Protection

assistance and attention, resulting in several periods of clos- the UNHCR-Cairo gate when trying to submit requests or ure of the UNHCR offi ce over 2011.40 inquiries in writing.”44 Th is inaccessibility was, not surpris- Th e 2005 demonstration and 2011 revolution and sub- ingly, “a source of frustration and anxiety for applicants.”45 sequent political turmoil illustrate both the important role Such emotional responses comprise a third impact— of communication between service providers and refugee psychosocial—of communication about asylum. Th is con- communities in Cairo, and its complex and emotional sequence is particularly evident with regard to information nature. Th e problems faced by forced migrants in the crises about resettlement in Cairo, a lack of which may create were multiplex and driven by major contextual factors. Yet “extreme distress” for some refugees.46 Th e rules surround- in both, communication failures in particular impacted the ing resettlement—a goal of many forced migrants in Cairo— access, safety, and well-being of both service providers and are complex and opaque. Resettlement processes are long forced migrants. and undefi ned, entailing coordination between multiple Th e pilot project found such impacts evident in times of local and international bodies, all of which have their own stability as well as in emergencies. First, limited distribu- sets of checks, processes, and screenings. An Iraqi refugee tion of information about the range of services for forced research participant described the stasis of not knowing migrants in Cairo impacts access to services. An indica- the status of his resettlement case as “truly a slow death, tive example is the 2009 survey research commissioned by because you are waiting and waiting and waiting.” Th e inci- UNHCR into refugee livelihoods in Egypt that found that dents described above also show how withheld or limited “refugees and asylum seekers lack information about most information can contribute to mistrust, anger, and stress in of the vocational training programs targeting them.”41 Th is the individuals involved. issue is not unique to asylum in Cairo; lack of information has been shown to be a barrier to refugee service access in Channels of Outreach: Uses multiple urban contexts around the world.42 Having argued that communication between service pro- Second, problematic outreach to refugee communities viders and refugees plays a signifi cant role in how forced has direct outcomes for protection. Th e crises described migrants experience and access assistance and protection above showed that, unabated, communication problems in Cairo, this paper turns to review the channels used in can disrupt the functioning of service providers, with pro- current outreach. Th e pilot research found evidence of slow tests leading to offi ce closures that leave both newly arrived but positive expansion of strategies for communication and asylum seekers and Cairo resident forced migrants without the distribution of information to refugee communities in access to protection. Closures can also slow the process- Cairo. ing of RSD procedures, resulting in delayed recognition Th ough refugee communities and service providers are and protection. Communication has also played a role in spread throughout greater Cairo, in-person, site-specifi c the physical safety of refugees: both past and ongoing pro- communication remains the primary medium for asylum tests have resulted in arrests and imprisonment. During the information delivery in the city, through individual case revolution, communication might have helped prevent army management, community meetings and workshops, and arrest of refugees and asylum seekers on the basis of ignor- formal and informal outreach work by refugees and service ance about UNHCR identity cards. More indirectly, com- providers. Research participants reported that its increase munication failures around the 2005 protest contributed to in recent years has improved the circulation of accurate the actual injury and deaths of Sudanese men, women, and information and in some cases helped address the concerns children. of people protesting at UNHCR. Communication’s role in protection emerged in stud- Refugees who have formed community-based organ- ies of asylum in Cairo as early as 2002. UNHCR Cairo izations or are employed by service providers oft en spread acknowledged that misinformation had become an obstacle information informally as well, as they become known as to protection as the circulation of rumours in refugee com- trusted and knowledgeable in their communities. Th e offi ces munities undermined applicant confi dence in the refugee of community-based organizations and businesses catering status determination (RSD) process and led to a decrease to refugee communities—restaurants, cafes, bakeries—are in recognition rates.43 A lack of information provision additional key sites of in-person information sharing. from the UNHCR side exacerbated this problem. Asylum Service providers use several kinds of printed material seekers reported that they had “diffi culty obtaining rou- to link refugees with information about asylum in Cairo: tine information from UNHCR Cairo about the status of distributed letters, posted results listings, information their applications,” were “unable to ask simple questions booklets, posters, and occasional brochures. Th e majority of UNHCR about procedures,” and even were “refused at of printed information about asylum in the city is either

35 Volume 29 Refuge Number 1

site-specifi c, like printed notices and letters posted in offi ces to a group text service with mobile company Vodafone that and businesses frequented by refugees and asylum seekers, provides computer soft ware allowing them to easily send or lengthy, with limited distribution. out announcements on a mass scale. Th e SPO also uses SMS Sometimes, such as in the aft ermath of the 2011 revo- to reschedule appointments and to remind benefi ciaries to lution, or when a major offi ce has an emergency closure, bring in certain documents, of timing of activities, or to UNHCR and other major service providers send announce- renew their membership cards. Seeing the success of the ments in the form of letters attached to emails, usually in system, other service providers have begun to adopt it. Arabic and English, for community-based organizations Service provider use of websites, email, and social media and service providers to print and post. UNHCR uses the to reach refugee communities in Cairo is mixed but gen- same method to distribute lists of results of the status of erally limited. Th e majority of Cairo’s service provider individual RSD cases, which refugees can then view posted organizations’ websites are donor oriented, describing their at service provider locations. Some service providers use work much in the style of an annual report. Although this posters to publicize details of their services or programs at was previously the case for UNHCR Cairo, the offi ce has their offi ces. recently updated their site to include its address, hours, More in-depth information about asylum in Cairo takes email address, phone, fax, and location map, as well as a the form of printed booklets. One is an annual 96-page list- complete directory of their partners’ organizations. At least ing of service-providing organizations in the city. Th is dir- one service provider used to have a section of its website ectory is comprehensive and useful, but published only in with information for refugees, but it is now under construc- English and Arabic and limited in distribution. Two refugee tion; one CBO contains a listing of SPOs and CBOs but is research participants who work at service providing organ- several years out of date. Many of Cairo’s refugee services izations had not seen it before their interview for this project. websites lack even basic information about how to fi nd or A 47-page booklet published by another service provider contact the organization. reviews refugee status determination procedures, frequent An organization that deals with resettlement has an legal problems, psychosocial and health services available in online case tracking system, but provides minimal explana- Cairo, information for unaccompanied children and young tion and no timing estimates. A service provider said she people, sexual and gender based violence in Egypt, and the has a client awaiting resettlement whose online profi le has resettlement process and programs. It is published in the simply said “pending” for the past three years—an example languages of Cairo’s fi ve predominant refugee communities that illustrates the importance of helpful content to the suc- and distributed at the organization’s offi ce and by commun- cess of even new technologies. ity outreach workers.47 Email is widely used in service providers and commun- A more accessible form of print is the short brochure ity based organizations for interagency communication used by another service organization. A single, thick, full- and referrals. However, the service providers interviewed colour page folded into three panels, an envelope is affi xed for the research said that email is a less eff ective channel to the central panel which contains the appointment time for receiving queries from refugees. Incoming messages of each refugee who applies for the service. Th e brochure is tend to be long and complex requests which would be better printed with the details and requirements of the services in dealt with through an interpreter on the phone or in person. simple, clear language (albeit only in English and Arabic). Outgoing email, on the other hand, has been productive. As Physically linking the appointment slip with the brochure noted earlier, service providers use email to widely distrib- ensures that each client receives the same essential informa- ute notices in multiple languages for further oral or print tion about the service. dissemination. Service provider use of two telephone channels to pro- vide information to refugees in Cairo has begun to expand. Channels of Outreach: Considerations for Development Following the 2011 revolution, UNHCR introduced a phone Th e pilot research considered evidence of interest in the hotline by which refugees and asylum seekers can make development of outreach practices in light of both relevant inquiries and appointments in their native language—ser- features of Cairo’s refugee populations and the city itself. vices previously only accessible in person. Th is section reviews these fi ndings in order to consider dif- One Cairo service provider has introduced the use of ferentials in effi cacy of channels and approaches chosen for group text messaging (also known as Short Message Service, outreach to refugee communities. SMS), both for reaching its benefi ciaries and for contacting First, Egypt’s heterogeneous refugee communities rep- potential newly registered asylum seekers, whose names resent a shift ing range of nationalities, languages, and and numbers they get from UNHCR. Th e SPO subscribes education and literacy levels. At the time of the pilot study,

36 Channels of Protection

refugees and asylum seekers in Egypt originated from Th ird, initial evidence suggests widespread use of mobile Sudan, Iraq, Somali, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Syria, and other phones and growing use of the Internet by forced migrants countries.48 An initial study with refugees in Cairo from six in Cairo. In a survey made by an Iraqi refugee in 2007 of sub-Saharan African countries documented over thirty fi rst 1,320 Iraqi refugees in Egypt, 99 percent said they could be languages and dialects.49 People from linguistically diverse reached by mobile phone.54 Pilot research participants were Sudan form the majority of Cairo’s refugees and speak a unanimous in their assessment that the majority of refu- range of languages and dialects. Even the diff ering kinds gees and asylum seekers in Cairo use mobile phones, using of Arabic spoken (including Sudanese, Fur, Egyptian, Iraqi) phrases like “everyone” and “everybody” to describe how can pose signifi cant problems of communication between many have mobiles. them. Furthermore, some refugees for whom Arabic is not Th e pilot research found the Internet to play a signifi cant a mother tongue reject the learning of Egyptian Arabic.50 role in Cairo’s refugee communities. In a 2006 survey of 162 Th e pilot research found misunderstandings due to lan- refugees and asylum seekers of various nationalities, distrib- guage diversity to have been a major barrier to eff ective uted at SPOs and CBOs in Cairo, 152 (94 percent) reported communication between service providers and refugee that they used the Internet. Ninety-six of those surveyed communities.51 said they accessed it in Internet cafes, twenty-six at home, Levels of education and literacy in Cairo’s refugee com- nine at home or a cafe, and fi ve at their workplace.55 In a munities also vary signifi cantly. Participants in the pilot 2007 survey of 1,320 Iraqis, 86 percent said they could be research reported mixed education and literacy levels in reached by email or social networking sites.56 In both sur- their communities, and amongst those who accessed their veys, the participant selection was non-probabilistic and services. A 2009 UNHCR survey of 376 Sudanese, Iraqi, convenience-based, so may not be generalized, but is none- Somali, and Ethiopian refugees and asylum seekers pro- theless indicative. vides a more systematic view: 38 percent of those surveyed Refugee research participants said that although most had attended or completed technical or university edu- in their communities do not own personal computers, cation, 29 percent had attended or completed secondary many nonetheless access the Internet through Cairo’s education, 10 percent had attended or completed primary many Internet cafes, and at service provider and commun- school, and 22 percent had not received formal education. ity based organizations that have computers for public use, Of those surveyed, 15 percent had very limited literacy.52 at least one of which off ered computer classes as early as Th is suggests the need for outreach to tailor to a range of 2005. Others share computers, or rely on others for web- literacy levels. based information. An Iraqi refugee estimated that amongst Second, the urban setting makes travel to offi ces diffi cult Iraqis in Cairo, “there is one in each family who can use for intersecting reasons, including cost of transportation, computers.” A Somali research participant reported that long travel times, incompatible working hours, and insecur- Somali youth relay online information to their older family ity (as it does for refugees accessing services in Nairobi, members. Computer sharing thus also helps overcome Kenya).53 Given the city’s notorious crowding and traffi c, varying levels of literacy, language acquisition, and com- travel by minibus, bus, taxi, or the metro rail system pose puter literacy within households. Another trend indicated considerable levels of cost, time, and hassle. Th e hardship of in research interviews was a prevalence of social media use, travel can be exacerbated by long wait times at service pro- which is burgeoning in refugee communities in Cairo, espe- vider offi ces. Travel across Cairo can be diffi cult or impos- cially amongst young people. sible for the elderly, chronically ill, or those with physical disabilities, and can pose safety issues. Visible minorities, Developing Urban Refugee Outreach: Interest and Ideas especially sub-Saharan Africans, face public discrimination, Th e diversity of Cairo’s refugee communities, diffi culty of harassment, and abuse. Since the 2011 revolution, increased transport, and indications of rising use of new informa- street crime has disproportionally impacted minorities in tion and communication technologies in refugee commun- poor areas, and civil unrest has resulted in frequent and ities suggest the importance of the expansion of existing unpredictable disruptions of transport as well as offi ce clos- outreach practices. Th e pilot research solicited partici- ures. One service provider interviewed called the need for pant assessments of the benefi ts, limits, and ideas for this travel to access information services “a great burden,” stat- development. Th is section considers potential channels in ing that “it’s really getting on refugees’ nerves, because they turn, demonstrating caveats and capacities in technologies deal with so many entities, diff erent services.” Stress in the old and new to improve information and communication experience of accessing services can build resentment that about urban asylum. can become a communication barrier in itself.

37 Volume 29 Refuge Number 1

Th e study found site-specifi c communication to be con- discussions in regular interagency meetings, participants sidered a cornerstone of good information provision in the could stuff bags or envelopes with brochures which could city, whether at offi ces or through neighbourhood visits. then be further distributed at events and offi ces and easily Provided that an interpreter is present if needed, oral com- passed along from person to person. munication can allow service providers to explain, discuss, SMS and phone hotline programs are logical matches to and respond to queries in a way that tailors to the specifi c widespread mobile phone use in refugee communities in needs of the individual or group present. It may also foster Cairo. Th ese two phone uses serve quite diff erent purposes, relationships and trust. but were each unanimously supported by both refugee and Th e employment of refugee outreach workers has been service provider research participants. a key element. One organization has formed specifi cally to All participants spoke of the SMS system’s success. An train and place refugee psychosocial workers in organiza- employee of the organization said that the system has tions and communities throughout the city. Th ese employ- “impacted on the relationship between staff and refugees ees travel into neighbourhoods, pass out their mobile num- when they are in the offi ce. It really has improved.” An Iraqi ber, and invite co-nationals to workshops and meetings. refugee said that his mother, who receives services from Th is approach was credited by several research participants the SPO, has benefi ted from the text message system: “She as being the biggest single improvement in the regular doesn’t need to go to [the SPO] every month to check when spread of accurate information amongst refugee commun- is the day of payroll. She receives the message every month, ities in Cairo. and they tell her the exact time to receive the money.” One Th e research found interest in the use of offi ce waiting pointed out SMS’s ability not only to instantly transfer rooms to reach out during waiting times, through posters, information, but to provide a record of that transfer, and to brochures, or video—a site-specifi c medium which could be a resource that its recipients can consult repeatedly. bypass literacy barriers and, if off ered in multiple languages, A telephone hotline established aft er the revolution has language diff erence. been another appreciated initiative, as a Somali participant Despite such potentials, however, site-specifi c informa- commented: “I think it’s a very good step forward. It saves tion provision has drawbacks. It can disadvantage newly cost, it saves time.” He also noted that a friend had success- arrived asylum seekers who do not know where to fi nd fully made an appointment through the hotline in his native information, and those with few social ties. Messages spread tongue. An Iraqi participant stated: “Phone numbers, tex- within communities by word of mouth are oft en distorted ting, giving refugees more attention than they are giving in the process, and misinformation and rumours have oft en now, it’s one of the good things, good intentions that they spread within Cairo’s refugee communities as a result. could show to refugees, that ‘We are taking care of you, we Th e utility of printed material depends on its distribu- are giving you care, we are trying.’” Communication eff orts tion and the extent to which it addresses the diversity of that harness multiple channels thus also convey eff ort and languages and literacy rates in Cairo’s refugee communities. respect. Long and complicated documents were cited by multiple Some service providers seem to underestimate refugee research participants as a problematic technology, and the use of the Internet and neglect it as a channel of contact. use of short, simple, easy-to-distribute brochures and fl y- Yet research participants unanimously supported increased ers is not common in Cairo. Yet expanded use of printed use of the Internet to provide information about asylum for materials could off er a way to reach people who, for what- refugees. Th eir suggestions included user-friendly, multi- ever reason, do not or are unable to make offi ce visits or sel- lingual websites,57 online video, photographs and draw- dom attend events for refugees. ings, downloadable audio podcasts, and use of social media. Several research participants suggested increased use Service providers suggested that current print information of cartoons and comics developed with refugee input, to be provided online as well, with each organization given increase comprehension and effi cacy of the documents being access in order to keep contact and service information up distributed. One program that gives a short, clear brochure to date—information that could then also be downloaded, to all who access its services reports unanimously positive printed, and further distributed. feedback, whereas previously, program requirements were In the past years, several initiatives were launched by explained only orally and therefore vulnerable to misinter- refugees and service providers to build informative websites, pretation or inconsistency between staff members. phone hotlines, and web forums for Cairo-based refugees. One participant suggested that each service provi- In the projects’ initial phases, which included surveys, focus sion organization in Cairo have a short fl ier or brochure groups, and content development, both projects received that briefl y describes how to access their services. During strong community support and positive feedback. However,

38 Channels of Protection

those involved in their creation lacked institutional support conveniences and addresses the needs of refugee commun- or external funding to move the projects forward, and they ities can strengthen protection, improve access to services, have not come to fruition. and ease refugees’ experiences of asylum in the city. In the growing study of technology’s role in the lives of refugees, Conclusion this paper highlights the continued need to consider how Th is article explored the role of information in urban asylum, intersecting geopolitical and technological contexts impact and current and possible uses of technologies to facilitate upon asylum, and to include attention to the particular urban refugees’ access to needed information, services, and experiences of forced migrants who live in cities in the protection. Pilot research into communication about asy- global south. lum in Cairo found it to play a serious role in access, protec- tion, and the experiences and relationships between forced migrants and service providers. To address existing needs, Notes questions, and misunderstandings, the content of infor- 1. Th is paper uses “refugee” and “asylum seeker” to refer to mation strategies should thus be refugee-centred. In Cairo, people recognized as such by UNHCR, with the knowledge this includes publicizing services, addressing the need for that matters discussed could be relevant to a wider popula- estimates for wait times regarding RSD and resettlement tion of forced migrants. It uses “refugee communities” to processes, and more generally clarifying procedures, lim- refer to populations of people with mixed migratory and its, and responsibilities vis-à-vis resettlement, rights, and legal statuses who originate from refugee sending countries. benefi ts. 2. UNHCR, “2013 UNHCR country operations profi le— Egypt,” UNHCR-Egypt website (2013), accessed June 30, Service providers increasingly share information about 2013, http://www.unhcr.org/pages/49e486356.html. Th ere asylum through face-to-face, printed, phone, and online are 50,000 to 70,000 Palestinians who also live in Egypt, channels. Th e linguistic and literacy diversity of forced under the care of the United Nations Relief and Works migrants in Cairo, the diffi culty of transit in the city, and Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) indications of rising use of new information and communi- rather than UNHCR. See Oroub El-Abed, “Th e Palestin- cation technologies in refugee communities all suggest the ians in Egypt: Identity, Basic Rights and Host State Policies,” importance of the expansion and development of existing Refugee Survey Quarterly 28, no. 2–3 (2009): 531–549. outreach practices. Passive forms of information can over- 3. As of June 2013, 1,250 refugees and asylum seekers remain come constraints of site-specifi c and oral communication, in Saloum. See UNHCR, “Depression grips forgotten refu- especially if multiple channels are used simultaneously, gees stranded at Egyptian-Libyan border,” UNHCR web- updated regularly, and designed with content in multiple site-News Stories (2013), accessed June 30, 2013, http:// languages and media in order to be accessible across Cairo’s www.unhcr.org/51cad70f9.html. 4. For an innovative mapping of residence patterns of Sudan- diverse refugee communities. ese in Cairo, see Karen Jacobsen, Maysa Ayoub, and Alice Th e urban setting’s challenges make the expansion and Johnson, “Remittances to Transit Countries: Th e Impact of institutionalization of good communication practices for Sudanese Refugee Livelihoods in Cairo,” Cairo Studies on refugees in cities particularly important. Th e project of Migration and Refugees 3 (2012): 16–18, accessed October communicating with urban refugee populations should 30, 2012, http://www.aucegypt.edu/GAPP/cmrs/reports receive more funding and attention from donors, govern- /Documents/paper%20No.%203.pdf. ments, and international organizations. International phil- 5. At time of publication, these included a growing popula- anthropic and corporate interest in ICT’s use for social tion of Syrians, as well as new arrivals seeking asylum from problems ought to be harnessed to support existing and Sudan and South Sudan. For current statistics, see UNHCR, future locally led initiatives that are designed with the par- “2013 UNHCR country operations profi le.” ticipation of refugees. Service providers and refugees have 6. Martin Jones, “We Are Not All Egyptian,” Forced Migra- made eff orts in this direction but lack the required time, tion Review 39 (2012): 16; Jacobsen, Ayoub, and Johnson, “Remittances to Transit Countries,” 28, 36–39; and Michael funds, and institutional support to make them sustainable. Kagan, “Shared Responsibility in a New Egypt: A Strategy Further research is also needed into how refugees learn for Refugee Protection” (working paper, Center for Migra- about and discuss asylum, and how the use of websites and tion and Refugee Studies, American University in Cairo, social media to link refugee communities with information 2011): 4. about asylum might best be developed. 7. Jones, “We Are Not All Egyptian,” 16; Jacobsen, Ayoub, Communication cannot overcome the substantial con- and Johnson, “Remittances to Transit Countries,” 21, 28, textual barriers to asylum in Cairo, but it has the poten- 36–39; Zehra Rizvi and Dale Buscher, “Shift ing Sands: Risk tial to mitigate their eff ects. Information delivery that and Resilience among Refugee Youth in Cairo,” Women’s

39 Volume 29 Refuge Number 1

Refugee Commission (2012): 6, accessed November 20, 2012, .pdf; Rebecca Furst-Nichols and Karen Jacobsen, “African http://womensrefugeecommission.org/resources/doc_ Refugees in Israel,” Forced Migration Review 37 (2011): download/858-shift ing-sands-risk-and-resilience-among 55–6; and Rachel Humphris, “Refugees and the Rashaida: -refugee-youth-in-cairo. Human Smuggling and Traffi cking from Eritrea to Sudan 7. Kagan, “Shared Responsibility in a New Egypt,” 11. and Egypt,” New Issues in Refugee Research 254 (2013): 4. 8. See Fateh Azzam, ed., “A Tragedy of Failures and False 14. Katarzyna Grabska, “A System of Diff use Responsibil- Expectations: Report on the Events Surrounding the Th ree- ity, With Blame Shared by All,” RSDWatch (2006), Month Sit-In and Forced Removal of Sudanese Refugees in accessed October 2, 2010, http://rsdwatch.wordpress Cairo, September-December 2005” (Report, Forced Migra- .com/2006/06/16/forum-the-lessons-of-cairo-a-system-of tion and Refugee Studies, American University in Cairo, -diff use-responsibility-with-blame-shared-by-all/. 2006): 9. 15. See Kagan, “Shared Responsibility in a New Egypt,” 9–20, 9. Ibid., 18–19; Ray Jureidini, “Irregular Workers in Egypt: for a more detailed overview of refugee protection in Egypt. Migrant and Refugee Domestic Workers,” International 16. At time of publication, the total “population of concern” to Journal on Multicultural Societies 11 (2009): 75–90; Dale UNHCR Egypt was 126,949 people. Of these, 109,933 held Buscher and Lauren Heller, “Desperate Lives: Urban Refu- refugee status, 16,952 were asylum seekers, and 60 were gee Women in Malaysia and Egypt,” Forced Migration stateless. UNHCR, “2013 UNHCR country operations Review 34 (2010): 20–1; Rizvi and Buscher, “Shift ing Sands,” profi le.” 1, 9. 17. UNHCR, Th e State of the World’s Refugees (Oxford: Oxford 10. Elzbieta Gozdziak and Alissa Walter, “Urban Refugees in University Press, 2012). Cairo,” Institute for the Study of International Migration 18. See for example Noel Calhoun, “UNHCR and Community (2012): 17, accessed November 22, 2012, http://issuu.com/ Development: A Weak Link in the Chain of Refugee Pro- georgetownsfs/docs/urban_refugees_in_cairo/1; Jacobsen, tection?” New Issues in Refugee Research 191 (2010); Tania Ayoub, and Johnson, “Remittances to Transit Countries,” Kaiser, “Participation or Consultation? Refl ections on a 28. ‘Benefi ciary Based’ Evaluation of UNHCR’s Programme 11. See Emily Eidenier, “Providing Health Care Information for Sierra Leonean and Liberian Refugees in Guinea, June- to Refugees in Cairo: Questions of Access and Integration” July 2000,” Journal of Refugee Studies 17, no. 2 (2004); (Report, Forced Migration and Refugee Studies, Amer- Terry Rempel, “UNRWA and the Palestine Refugees: A ican University in Cairo, 2006), accessed March 2, 2012, Genealogy of ‘Participatory’ Development,” Refugee Survey http://www.aucegypt.edu/GAPP/cmrs/reports/Docu- Quarterly 28, no. 2 & 3 (2010): 412–437; Roxane Wilber, ments/Eidenier.pdf; Marisa Ensor, “Education and Self- “Leveraging Women’s Community Leadership: A Model Reliance in Egypt,” Forced Migration Review 34 (2010): for Outreach in Urban Refugee Populations” (Institute 25–6; and Sarah Hodgson, “Psychosocial Well-Being for Inclusive Security publication, 2011), accessed April within Refugee Education in Cairo,” Fahamu Refugee 22, 2011, http://www.inclusivesecurity.org/wp-content/ Legal Aid Newsletter (June 2013), accessed June 4, 2013, uploads/2013/05/Urban-Refugees_FINAL.pdf. http://frlan.tumblr.com/post/51869692799/psychosocial 19. See for example Larry Bottinick and Areti Sianni, “No -well-being-within-refugee-education-in. Place to Stay: A Review of the Implementation of UNH- 12. Kagan, “Shared Responsibility in a New Egypt,” 5. CR’s Urban Refugee Policy in Bulgaria” (UNHCR Policy 13. See Azzam, “A Tragedy of Failures; Nora Danielson, “‘Field Development and Evaluation Service Evaluation Report Report: Revolution, Its Aft ermath, and Access to Infor- 2011/04, 2011); Angela A. L. Rosi, Marco Formisano, and mation for Refugees in Cairo,” Oxford Monitor of Forced Ljubo Jandrijasevic, “Lives in Limbo: A Review of the Migration 2 (2012): 57–63. Following the killing of at least Implementation of UNHCR’s Urban Refugee Policy in twenty-eight Sudanese protesters at the end of a three- Tajikistan,” (UNHCR Policy Development and Evaluation month long sit-in in front of UNHCR Cairo in 2005, grow- Service Evaluation Report 2011/03, 2011). ing numbers of forced migrants left Cairo to seek asylum 20. UNHCR, UNHCR Policy on Refugee Protection and Solu- in Israel. Th is trend subsided, however, following multiple tions in Urban Areas (2009), accessed April 3, 2012, http:// instances in which Egyptian border security shot and killed www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/4ab8e7f72.html. those attempting to cross into Israel; ongoing cases of kid- 21. Tim Morris, “Selected Bibliography: Displacement to napping, extortion, and torture by traffi ckers in the Sinai; Urban Areas,” UNHCR Online (2011), accessed June 5, and harsh measures towards asylum seekers taken in Israel. 2011, http://www.unhcr.org/4b0ba1209.html. Th e Sinai remains a site of unhindered human rights vio- 22. Elizabeth Campbell, “Age, Gender, Diversity Mainstream- lations in human traffi cking from Eritrea and Sudan. See ing Initiative Key to Urban Protection,” Refugees Inter- Human Rights Watch, “Sinai Perils: Risks to Migrants, national (2010), accessed April 15, 2011, http://www Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Egypt and Israel,” Human .refugeesinternational.org/print/4501; Karine Le Roch, Rights Watch (2008), accessed March 13, 2011, http://www Emmanuelle Pons, Jason Squire, Josephine Anthoine-Mil- .hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/egypt1108webwcover homme, and Yann Colliou, “Two Psychosocial Approaches

40 Channels of Protection

for Iraqi Urban Refugees in Jordan and Lebanon: Center- communication for refugees and volunteers in Cairo’” Based Services Compared to Community-Outreach Servi- (2006), on fi le with author. ces,” Journal of Muslim Mental Health 5 (2010): 99–119. 28. To maintain participant confi dentiality, both organiza- 23. Linda Leung, “Phoning Home,” Forced Migration Review tional and personal names of research participants have 38: (2011): 24; Linda Leung, “Taking Refuge in Technology: been anonymized. Communication Practices in Refugee Camps and Immigra- 29. Th e demonstrators were primarily UNHCR-recognized tion Detention,” New Issues in Refugee Research 202 (2011); asylum seekers and refugees. Of the 2,174 surviving dem- Linda Leung, Cath Finney Lamb, and Liz Emrys, “Tech- onstrators arrested on the night of the eviction of the pro- nology’s Refuge: Th e Use of Technology by Asylum Seek- test, all but 169 were eventually released from detention on ers and Refugees” (Sydney: UTS ePress, 2009); Anastasia the basis of being people of concern to UNHCR. Azzam, “A Panagakos and Heather Horst, “Return to Cyberia: Tech- Tragedy of Failures,” 23. nology and the Social Worlds of Transnational Migrants,” 30. Nora Danielson, “A Contested Demonstration: Resistance, Global Networks 6, no. 2 (2006): 109–124; Manuela Prejato, Negotiation and Transformation in the Cairo Sudanese and Alfonso Molina, “La Tecnologia Digitale Come Stru- Refugee Protest of 2005” (master’s thesis, University of mento Di Integrazione Per I Rifugiati,” in La Tecnologia Oxford, 2008), on fi le with author. Digitale Come Strumento Di Integrazione Per I Rifugiati 31. UNHCR Regional Offi ce Cairo, “Response to FMRS (Rome: Fondazione Mondo Digitale, 2010). Report: ‘A Tragedy of Failures and False Expectations’” 24. Mette M. L. Berg, “Conference Report: Digital Diasporas,” (2006): 18–20, on fi le with author. Anthropology Today 27, no. 2 (2011): 28; Victoria Bernal, 32. Azzam, “A Tragedy of Failures,” 5, 16, 58–59. “Diaspora, Cyberspace and Political Imagination: Th e Eri- 33. Gamal Nkrumah, “Radical Refugees,” Al-Ahram Weekly trean Diaspora Online,” Global Networks 6, no. 2 (2006): 769 (2005), accessed 6 November 2006, http://weekly 161–179; Myria Georgiou, “Diasporic Communities On- .ahram.org.eg/2005/769/feature.htm. Line: A Bottom-Up Experience of Transnationalism,” Hom- 34. Azzam, “A Tragedy of Failures.” mes Et Migration (London: London School of Economics, 35. UNHCR Regional Offi ce Cairo (2006): 6. 2002). 36. Ibid., 26, 29. 25. See Antoine Bertout, Marc de Bourcy, and Mohammad 37. Jones, “We Are Not All Egyptian,” 16. Faisal, “Luxembourg-UNHCR-Skype Synergies,” Forced 38. Mahmoud Farag, “Cairo Refugees and the Revolution” Migration Review 38: (2011): 18–19, and others in Forced (Student Action for Refugees presentation, American Uni- Migration Review 38; Caitlin Van Orden, “Community versity in Cairo, 23 March 2011), on fi le with author. Technology Access: Bridging the Digital Divide for Refu- 39. Jon Jensen, “For Refugees in Egypt, It’s Worse,” Shoot- gees,” Th e Blue Key Blog (2011), accessed May 30, 2011, ing Egypt Blog (2011), accessed September 9, 2011, http:// http://bluekeyblog.org/blue-key/community-technology jonjensen.com/blog/?p=1829#more-1829. -access-bridging-the-digital-divide-for-refugees; UNHCR, 40. Heba Moghaieb, “Strengthening Livelihood Capacities of “Q&A: Former Bosnian Refugee Promotes Technology Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Egypt,” UNHCR Survey to Bring Hope to the Displaced,” UNHCR News Stor- Report (2009): 30. ies (2010), accessed May 30, 2011, http://www.unhcr.org/ 41. See for example Adam Saltsman, “Rumour versus Infor- print/4ced313b6.html; UNHCR, “Community Technol- mation,” Forced Migration Review 26: (2010): 57–58; ogy Access,” UNHCR Livelihoods & Self-Reliance Website Adam Saltsman, “Displaced Iraqis in Jordan: Formal and (2011), accessed May 30, 2011, http://www.unhcr.org/ Informal Information Flows, and Migratory Decisions in a pages/4ad2e8286.html; UNHCR, “Innovative Learning Context of Uncertainty,” Refuge 28 (2011): 81–96. Methods and New Technology Assist Refugees Who Learn 42. Michael Kagan, “Assessment of Refugee Status Deter- Ukranian: Th e UN Refugee Agency Equips Language Lab mination Procedure at UNHCR’s Cairo Offi ce 2001–2002” in Odesa International Humanitarian University,” UNHCR (working paper, Forced Migration and Refugee Studies, Press Release (2011), accessed May 30, 2011, http://www American University in Cairo, 2002): 11, 12, 17. .unhcr.org.ua/news.php?in=1&news_id=206; UNHCR 43. Ibid., 20. Regional Representation Bulgaria, “Launching the Com- 44. Ibid., 20. munity Technology Access Project for Refugees in Bul- 45. Hala Mahmoud, “Disrupted Lives and Shattered Dreams: garia,” UNHCR Regional Representation Central Europe Culture, Identity, and Coping Pathways among Sudanese Facebook Webpage (2010), accessed May 27, 2011, http:// Refugees in Cairo” (PhD dissertation, Faculty of Politics, www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=471850182846. Psychology, Sociology, and International Studies, Univer- 26. See for example Roger Zetter and George Deikun, “A New sity of Cambridge, 2009): 3; Moghaieb, “Strengthening Strategy for Meeting Humanitarian Challenges in Urban Livelihood Capacities,” 30. Areas,” Forced Migration Review 38 (2011): 48–50. 46. Since the pilot research a third booklet, 116 pages long, 27. Azzam, “A Tragedy of Failures”; Emily Eidenier, “Gen- has been produced, which clearly presents comprehensive eral project proposal: ‘STAR website: information and information on the rules and processes of asylum. At time

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of publication it was available in English and Arabic, with 54. Eidenier, “Providing health care information.” plans to translate it into other languages. 55. Email from research participant (2012), on fi le with author. 47. UNHCR RO-Cairo, UNHCR Egypt fact sheet, January 2012 56. A good model is the Australian website Asylum explained (2012), accessed February 20, 2012 at http://www.unhcr (Asylum Seeker Resource Centre 2012), which is off ered in .org/4f4c956c9.pdf. Th is number included some living in English, Arabic, Chinese (simplifi ed and traditional), Dari, Alexandria and smaller towns in Egypt, and new asylum Sinhalese, Urdu, Bengali, Korean, Indonesian, Tamil, Viet- seekers who fl ed from the 2011 unrest in Libya to the bor- namese, Malay, Persian, Th ai, and Hindi. Th e site lists con- der town of Saloum. Th e total did not include Palestin- tacts and resources, and covers the topics “What is ‘seek- ians living in Egypt, who do not receive assistance from ing asylum’ in Australia?”; “Am I a refugee?”; “How do I UNHCR; people who had not sought recognition as refu- get protection?”; and “I arrived by boat” (available online, gees; people whose applications for refugee status had been http://www.asylumexplained.asrc.org.au/). rejected but continue living in Egypt; or some asylum seek- 57. Eidenier, “Providing health care information”; Helpline ers who passed through the Sinai in an attempt to reach Egyptian for Asylum Seekers, Migrants and Refugees, Israel. “Final Report of HEAR’s Activities” (2010), on fi le with 48. Daniele Calvani, “Initial Overview of the Linguistic Divers- author. ity of Refugee Communities in Cairo” (working paper, Forced Migration and Refugee Studies, American Univer- sity in Cairo, 2003): 2–3, 9. Nora Danielson holds an MPhil in migration studies from 49. Ibid., 38. the University of Oxford, where she is a doctoral researcher in 50. Nora Danielson, “Urban Refugee Protection in Cairo: Th e anthropology at the Centre on Migration, Policy and Society. Role of Communication, Information and Technology,” Th is paper draws from research partially funded by UNHCR’s New Issues in Refugee Research 236 (2012): 15–17. Policy and Development and Evaluation Service (PDES) and 51. Moghaieb, “Strengthening Livelihood Capacities,” 14–15. is revised from a working paper written for its series New 52. See Martin Anderson, “Th e Cost of Living: An Analysis of the Time and Money Spent by Refugees Accessing Services Issues in Refugee Research. Th e author wishes to thank PDES, in Nairobi,” New Issues in Refugee Research (2012), accessed as well as those who participated in the pilot research and March 30, 2012, http://www.unhcr.org/4f070ace9.pdf. commented on the working paper. 53. Email from research participant (2012), on fi le with author.

42 Volume 29 Refuge Number 1

Social Media Usage, Tahriib (Migration), and Settlement among Somali Refugees in France

Houssein Charmarkeh

Abstract de l’ethnographie critique et multi-sites sur laquelle repose Technologies are omnipresent in our society, from mobile cette présente enquête de terrain. Il s’agit en dernier, après telephone systems to satellite television and Internet broad- avoir décrit les conditions de vie des réfugiés Somaliens en casting, which shape the way we live, work, and interact. France, de présenter les résultats. Cette présente recherche Th ey have also transformed the experience of international tente de contribuer à l’avancement du savoir sur les usages migration, making it possible for migrants to maintain des médias sociaux par les réfugiés. strong ties between the host society and the home coun- try. In this article, we examine the precarious situation Introduction lived by Somali refugees in France, and we explore their Information and communication technologies (ICT) per- meate today all levels of society and undoubtedly contrib- uses of social media during tahriib or their migratory path ute to a sense of reduced space and time. Th e accelerated and settlement in three French cities. Th e fi rst section dis- development of these technologies arises from a radical cusses the method on which this fi eld study is based, that of transformation of a largely globalized capitalist economy.1 critical and multi-sited ethnography. Aft er describing liv- Mobile telephone systems, satellite television, and Internet ing conditions experienced by Somali refugees in France broadcasting shape the way we live, work, and interact. in the next section, the last section presents the fi ndings of Th ey have also transformed the experience of international the fi eld study. In doing so, the present research strives to migration, making it possible for migrants to maintain fi ll a research gap by contributing to the advancement of strong ties between the host society and the home country. knowledge on social media use by refugees. Many studies have been conducted in this context on the uses of ICT by migrants in host countries.2 However, stud- Résumé ies focusing on the uses of ICT by refugees during their Les technologies de l’information et de la communica- migratory trajectories and their settlement are limited. In a 3 tion (TIC) sont omniprésentes et la téléphonie mobile, la research report prepared by Linda Leung for the UNHCR and published in 2011, the author highlights the fact that télévision par satellite et internet façonnent notre façon de there was little consideration of the particular importance vivre, de travailler et d’interagir. Elles ont aussi transformé technology held for refugees and asylum seekers, individ- la migration internationale, rendant possible pour les uals who are also aff ected by problems of migration and migrants le maintien des liens forts entre la société d’accueil marginalization. Th e present research strives to fi ll this gap et le pays d’origine. Dans cet article, nous examinons le by contributing to the advancement of knowledge on social sort précaire des réfugiés Somaliens en France et explorons media use by refugees. In this context, “social media” refers leurs usages des médias sociaux pendant le tahriib ou tra- to primarily new media including Facebook and YouTube. jet migratoire et l’installation dans trois villes françaises. Th ere are also supporting instant communication tools such Dans un premier temps, nous allons présenter la méthode as Skype, MSN Messenger, and VoIP (Voice over Internet

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Protocol). In order to do so, the analysis of social media use When it comes to studying a community in diaspora by refugees should not limit itself by considering technical and its complex, contemporary migratory trajectories, the devices as guarantors of individual autonomy and by tak- multi-sited ethnography method is increasingly becoming ing refugees to be actors in control of their social and eco- the method of choice in media studies, technological sci- nomic environment. Consequently, a more critical view is ences, and cultural studies.9 While traditional ethnography needed of the discourses claiming that society has become involves the practice of participant observation for extended more “equal” and “solidary” thanks to ICT. Th is utopia, as periods of time at a specifi c site (thick ethnography), multi- described by Armand Mattelart,4 poorly hides relations of sited ethnography is committed to studying a spatially dis- domination and exclusion in society, which are based on persed fi eld whereby the ethnographer moves across two or ethnicity, social class, gender, and age. In this article, we more locations.10 Th is epistemological turn was advanced examine the precarious situation lived by Somali refugees by Georges Marcus who in 1995 demonstrated the inabil- in France, and we explore their uses of social media during ity of traditional ethnography to capture multiple and their migratory trajectory and settlement in three French complex eff ects of contemporary social systems and struc- cities. Th e fi rst section discusses the method on which this tures on individuals. For other authors, the popularity of fi eld study is based, that of critical and multi-sited ethnog- multi-sited ethnographic research lies in the fact that the raphy. Aft er describing living conditions experienced by researcher is required to follow “the steps” of the individ- Somali refugees in France in the next section, the last sec- uals under study who are becoming increasingly mobile. tion presents the fi ndings of the fi eld study. Th e increased popularity of this method also corresponds with the changing work conditions of researchers whose Critical and Multi-sited Ethnography time is split between their fi eld studies, search for funding, Th e research is based on data collected during a critical teaching duties, and family obligations.11 Th erefore, profes- and multi-sited ethnographical study carried out in France, sional, family, and economic needs are increasingly driving namely in the cities of Rennes, Angers, and Paris. Th e fi eld the researchers to conduct multi-sited ethnographic studies study took place between January and April 2011 and cen- that take place “here” and “there” and “between” diff erent tred on the understanding of the role played by social media projects, as researchers are no longer immersed in studying in the migratory trajectory of Somali refugees in France. one single site for long periods of time.12 Th e choice of methodology refl ects the critical approach Two important factors facilitated the completion of this and aims at denouncing social and economic inequalities fi eld study. Th e fi rst factor is the help received from a Somali lived by refugees in France. Critical ethnography has for family with whom we came into contact in Rennes in 2002 the objective to uncover processes that create iniquity and during the participant recruitment campaign. Th e family injustice lived by a specifi c social group in a specifi c con- has since become a gatekeeper with whom we established text.5 In critical ethnographic research, the researcher feels privileged ties. Th e second factor is related to our profi - that he or she has a moral obligation to attempt to change ciency of the Somali language spoken by Somalis. In this these processes.6 To do so, the researcher must use available regard, George Marcus writes: resources and skills in an eff ort to arrive at a deeper under- standing of the lived experience of excluded groups and to Just as ‘knowing the language’ guarantees the integrity of trad- make their usually hidden experiences and silenced voices itional fi eldwork and gives the bounded fi eld—e.g. a people, an 7 accessible to others. However, critical ethnography is more ethnic group, a community, its most coherence as culture, this than a fi eld study on socially marginalized groups; it largely skill is as important in multi-sited fi eldwork and even with more 8 denounces all sorts of domination exerted on individuals. exactitude.13 Th e ethnographic approach used in this study is also multi-sited. In Rennes, Angers, and Paris, we approached Research participants were selected through the snow- approximately one hundred Somalis, but only thirty-four of ball sampling method. We met the fi rst participants in them agreed to directly take part in the research, complete Rennes, who later recommended other Somalis resid- a questionnaire on media use and ICT devices, and partici- ing in Angers and Paris who they felt were “trustworthy.” pate in an individual and a group in-depth interview. Th e Although the snowball sampling method produced non- two methods combined allowed us to collect data on the representative and non-random samples, the participants uses of ICT by immigrants as they migrate from Somalia to were chosen with the aim of obtaining various profi les, in France and particularly to listen to the voices of those who terms of sex and age. Th is method was a preferred method are not oft en awarded the chance to speak. due to the fact that many Somalis are suspicious of inquiries into their migration trajectories since many of them were

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seeking asylum as refugees through the French Offi ce for environment and the daily life as much as possible. In small, the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons.14 Another one-person, sparsely furnished rooms, three or sometimes reason behind the suspicion expressed by Somalis is the even four Somalis occupy the space, lacking any form of fragile psychological state of many Somalis whose journey privacy. Kitchen and bathroom are shared by the residents since leaving Somalia has been traumatic. In this context, living on the same fl oor. Meals are prepared together, while our research fi rst consists of gaining Somali asylum seek- all administrative matters related to the asylum applica- ers’ trust before carefully obtaining data. Th e snowball sam- tion process are handled jointly. When they are not in their pling method is well adapted for research projects which rooms, Somalis always walk together in groups in parks deal with sensitive topics.15 or shopping centres. Th e process of adapting to the new environment is undertaken in groups which are formed in Living Conditions of Somali Refugees in France accordance with age and their home city or village. As an To our knowledge, there are no studies which focus on aside, it is important to note the geographic location of the Somali refugees in France despite the fact that there are participants. Th e majority of participants were from the cit- French research specialists who work on issues related to ies of Borama, Burao, and Mogadishu. Borama and Burao Somalia and its Diaspora.16 And yet, the number of Somalis are located in Somaliland which comprises the northern living in France has continued to grow in the last ten years, part of the country and has had independence from Somalia as confi rmed by the statistics published by the Offi ce fran- since the civil war of the 1990s. çais de protection des apatrides et des réfugiés (OFPRA) It is in this set-up that the youth gather in groups and (see Table 1). Somalis traditionally settle in a country where live together. Th e oldest Somalis do not hesitate to socialize a Somali community already exists or, for historical reasons, with younger ones, producing somewhat of a paradox since in countries of former colonizers, such as England or Italy. in Somalia younger men are kept at a distance by the elders, Many other Somalis choose Scandinavian countries which who hold more decision-making power in the Somali soci- generously accepted asylum seekers until the 1990s.17 ety. Clan affi liation seems to be less restrictive and plays a Th e number of Somalis living in France is estimated to be lesser role in the living arrangements of Somali groups. In between two thousand and three thousand.18 Even though her study on the migrants temporarily living in “transit” the choice to settle in France is motivated by the asylum countries such as Egypt and Sudan, the author Fabienne Le acceptance rate, Somali families hesitate to move to France Houérou notes that: due to limited assistance off ered by the French govern- ment as well as due to diffi culties fi nding accommodation. …in exile, clans, without disappearing, become less restricting According to a study by the French Refugee Integration realities. Somalis belonging to competing clans in Somalia can 19 Observatory, it is estimated that refugees in France, much be found sharing the same residence apartments here—a living like other categories of immigrants, experience great chal- arrangement perceived as scandalous back home. What makes lenges in accessing independent accommodation and that sense for the individual is the shared experience, and it’s rather they are faced with serious obstacles such as low income, this principle that guides residential group living.20 prohibitively expensive rents, and inability to fi nd a guar- antor for rent leases, as well as racial discrimination. Th e In the respondents’ profi les (Table 2), it is of interest to study specifi es that the issue of limited access to accommo- note the high number of young people aged between eight- dation within the refugee context is common to most of the een and twenty-nine. With regard to the gender dimension, European countries. there a very limited number of women among the Somalis Most Somalis who participated in the present research in France. Additionally, the living arrangements in France live in immigrant residences. During the three months that (crowded housing and multiple residents) made it even this research was being conducted, we spent entire days, less appealing for women to settle in the country. Th e few from morning until late evening, in the presence of Somalis Somali women that we did come across were living either living in these residences. Th e goal was to immerse in the

Table 1. Number of Somali Asylum Seekers in France per Year Year 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Number of Somalis 120 115 91 139 123 57 57 101 776 360

Source: Offi ce français de protection des apatrides et des réfugiés (OFPRA)

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alone or with their spouse and it was diffi cult for them to and of the will “to show asylum seekers that we know how to participate in the interviews due to cultural norms of inter- dismiss but not how to expel.”24 Th ese initiatives are similar action. Women in the Somali culture are more easily iden- to those recently taken up in Canada where in April 2012 tifi ed as Muslims due to religious clothing. Religion plays the federal government proposed to reform health bene- an important role in the lives of Somali women. A study fi ts available to refugees. Th is government proposal, which found that the increased veiling among the Somali women sparked an outcry and a collective protest by Canadian doc- living in Finland is connected on the one hand to their tors, social workers, and lawyers, was intended to take away increased religious knowledge and observance and on the refugee health benefi ts that include access to medication, other hand the necessity to preserve their own culture and care, and non-urgent treatment such as pregnancy care and identity in the Diaspora.21 Based on this, we can assume chronic illness care. that the Internet is central to their access to their religious knowledge. Tahriib, Migratory Trajectories, and Usage of Instant Communication Tools and Social Media Table 2. Demographic Variables Tahriib refers to a recent phenomenon and can be translated Age Percentage % from Somali into English as “illegal entry” into European 18–29 76 countries. Th e word tahriib is used by Somalis 25 living in 30–39 12 Somalia, Djibouti, and Ethiopia. Aft er the fall of President Siyaad Barré’s regime in December 1991, large numbers of 40 or more 12 Somalis abandoned their country as it was being ravaged Total 100 by a civil war. Th ey ran from armed militia which, in the absence of a central government, was terrorizing fam- Sex Percentage % ished populations. In the last twenty years, the main cities in the South have been shaken by fi erce fi ghting between Female 12 a number of opposing groups. Close to a million Somalis Male 88 have since been forced to leave their homes.26 Consequently, Total 100 many Somalis are trying to join the Somali Diaspora which formed in Scandinavian countries (Norway, Denmark, and Most of the time Somalis eat two meals per day and Sweden), Netherlands, the UK, and North America. In this sometimes even only one meal. Th ose individuals who have sense, tahriib is the only means of entering Europe. submitted their asylum application receive a welfare sup- Seventy percent of Somali respondents admitted to hav- plement, the so-called “revenu de solidarité active,” which ing lived in at least three European countries before com- amounts to about 300 euros per month. However, those ing to France. In the late 1980s, migrants’ linear trajectories individuals whose fi ngerprints have been clearly or par- that would originate from one point (in the South) and end tially identifi ed by the Eurodac22 database are not entitled in another (in the North) began to transform into diverted, to assistance and must wait several months before receiving circular, or even zigzag trajectories.27 To come to France, the fi nal decision regarding their asylum application. In the Somali refugees had three possible routes to take: meantime, they are hosted by the Red Cross housing centres (1) starting their journey in the United Arab Emirates, where meals are provided, or are housed by churches. Some they obtain a tourist visa for Russia from where they of the respondents confi ded that they sometimes sleep on cross countries like Ukraine, Hungary, Romania, and the street when they are not able to fi nd accommodation. Austria to fi nally arrive in Western Europe; Th e asylum application process can last up to two years, and (2) aft er a long and perilous journey through countries during this waiting period refugees do not have a permit to such as Eritrea and Sudan, refugees arrive in Libya, work or to take French classes. Based on the income data of where they board makeshift boats destined for Italy our participants, we were able to calculate that 41 percent of and Malta; our respondents earned an annual income of 1,000 to 5,000 (3) from Djibouti, they take a fl ight to Morocco with a euros and that 29 percent of them had no income, num- stopover in Paris, where they submit a request for bers which are signifi cantly below the poverty line which asylum immediately upon arrival. Th is route is no is at 11,400 euros per year, according to French government longer possible since France introduced an airport statistics.23 transit visa (VTA) in 2008 for passengers coming Such dire conditions in which Somali refugees live are from Djibouti, reducing the number of Somali asylum a result of the toughening of asylum regulations in France seekers.28

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Th e majority of participants stated that during their essentially for the purpose of communicating and that they entire journey they would use cybercafés in order to gain use the phone for emergency situations. access to the Internet and telephone. Th e respondents who provided the most descriptive accounts of social media use MSN Messenger were those who crossed African countries. While staying MSN Messenger allows migrants to maintain contact in an African “transit” country, Somalis regularly frequent with others by sending emails via Hotmail and by chat- cybercafés which they call Somali staag. 29 Telephone and ting online with family members in Somalia, Europe, and Internet booths proliferate in urban neighbourhoods of North America in order to keep them updated on the situa- African cities and off er numerous services such as access to tion. Th is direct link with the family is crucial because in high-speed Internet, telephone communications, and the cases where Somalis are arrested by the police in “transit” possibility to receive money sent by families, as well as the countries or where the smuggler’s price is too high, they are possibility to purchase cigarettes and other food products. still able to receive money sent by the family via Hawalas Cybercafés are not only places with access to ICT but also or through money transfer companies which are sometimes a space for socialization. In this way, cybercafés provide a located inside the cybercafé. MSN Messenger is also used space where Somalis are able to meet with others to talk, for receiving information from friends34 regarding the next exchange useful information, and off er support to each step in the journey, making it possible to plan in advance and other as they face the fear of being arrested in the “transit” to adapt to potential new obstacles. Somalis also use MSN country. One respondent comments: Messenger to look for information on the European country that they are trying to reach and that accepts asylum appli- Somali Staags are very important places for us because thanks to cations by refugees coming from Somalia. Th ey contact the Internet they allow us to stay in permanent contact with the their friends whom they have met while crossing the “tran- members of our families who’ve stayed back in Somalia or are liv- sit” countries to learn of the diff erent options possible once ing in other European countries or in North America. It’s also they arrive in Europe. Th is constant search for information a place where we can fi nd all kinds of information concerning on European asylum policies continues once they arrive in rental accommodation, smugglers’ contact information, pending Europe and aft er their asylum application is denied. Th ey departure for another country, and news about friends who’ve engage in so-called “asylum shopping” in an eff ort to apply crossed the border and into another country. for asylum following a rejection so as to increase the chan- ces of obtaining asylum in a given country.35 Fabienne Le Houérou30 notes that in “transit” cities forced Somali migrants can be distinguished from migrants Skype of Abyssinian origin, who thanks to their “inexhaust- Among the wide array of technologies used by Somali refu- ible ingenuity” and “creativity” devise strategies for fi nd- gees, Skype fi gures as yet another option. Skype makes ing cheapest possible communication with the use of the videoconferencing possible with friends living in Europe Internet and even establish cybercafés. Communication and family members in Somalia. However, parents of refu- has always been central to the Somali identity, creating and gees are oft en less familiar with the technology than the cementing relationships both personal and professional. youth, and due to the lack of access to Internet connection Somalis are oft en referred to as “a society of poets” because at home, they rely on cybercafés in Somalia to see their chil- poetry served, and still serves, as a traditional form of com- dren and hear their voices. Oft en, cybercafé employees or munication. Th e Polish linguist and literary scholar B. W. their children assist them with setting up the connection Andrzejewski 31explored and documented the intense love and videoconferencing. In his research on the uses of ICT of poetry and language that has in one form or another by Ecuadorian migrants, Jacques P. Ramírez stresses that underpinned Somali culture for at least a century and a among all other modes of communication videoconferen- half.32 From poetry as a traditional form of communication, cing produces the “strongest emotional and aff ective eff ects,” Somalis have transitioned on to new forms of communica- and “the possibility of seeing ‘the loved one’ on the screen tive tools based on the Internet. For example, a recent study allows families to meet again, for a moment, and to observe found that Somalis oft en watch past Somali plays based on each other despite the distance.”36 poetry on the Internet.33 For those participants who do not use Skype, they remain In what follows, we describe the diff erent uses of the in contact with their families through communication Internet by Somalis in Somali Staag or cybercafés. Most of using “Voice over Internet Protocol” (VoIP). VoIP telephone the respondents confi rmed that their use of the Internet was communication, originally designed to support communi- cations between computers through soft ware, is a method

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of making phone calls via the Internet. Developments in events. In regard to Somali websites, Bjork38 suggests that telecommunications systems revolutionized communica- these websites can contribute to the strengthening and even tion. Somali telecommunications companies like Telesom- recreation of sub-national identities which are most oft en Albarakat, Telecom, Olympic, and others have adopted VoIP clan-based. and now off er the service to their customers. Participants reported that their families choose oft en subscribe to VoIP YouTube through local telecommunications company. With this Some 85 percent of respondents stated that they watch option, Somalis in France can make international calls at YouTube videos posted by the Diaspora or by Internet users a lower cost. in Somalia. Some of these videos are old theatre plays and songs that were broadcast on national television under the Facebook former president Syaad Barre’s regime, as well as fi lms made Th e social media tool Facebook is the second preferred tool by young Somalis in diaspora and especially podcasts from used by the Somalis. As a media platform, it allows its users diff erent Somali websites and television stations owned by to search for childhood friends with whom they lost con- the Somali Diaspora such as Somali Channel and Universal tact when they left their homeland, with friends living in TV. Some of the podcasts are taken from Al Jazeera’s web- Europe, and with those individuals with whom friendships sites and the Somali-language BBC website. Sometimes were formed while in exile in Sudan, Eritrea, and Libya. these podcasts are recovered, posted on YouTube, and dis- Facebook is also an ideal tool for fi nding one’s “soulmate.” cussed by Somali migrants. Th e popularity of YouTube may According to young Somali respondents, Facebook can help be based on that fact that is easy to use from being able to to establish romantic ties with Somali girls successfully view videos, comment, and search for additional content. settled in Europe and with a European citizenship. In this Th e use of social media by Somalis and their knowledge light, the possibility of marrying a European citizen repre- of computer technology paint a contrast with the stereotyp- sents for a Somali migrant a way out of the precarious situa- ical and sordid images that are usually associated with refu- tion he is in. Moreover, several respondents37 that we met gees. Somalia, with its hordes of refugees, is oft en portrayed in Angers had gotten married to Somali women living in by the media with a plethora of negative terms, calling it the other European countries just a few weeks before our meet- most dangerous country in the world and the greatest failed ing. Once in France, Somalis continue to use MSN to get in state in recent history. Images depicting chaos, famine, vio- touch with their friends or family members for the purpose lence, and anarchy fl ash across television screens around of verifying the accuracy of the news reported on websites the world. However, the Independent Institute, cited by regarding political events that took place in their region. BBC,39 states that: Th e participants explained that despite the proliferation of news media and the almost instantaneous availability of a far from chaos and economic collapse, we found that Somalia is wealth of news on Somalia, most of the sites publish exag- generally doing better than when it had a state [and] urban busi- gerated stories in order to generate considerable online traf- nessmen, international corporations, and rural pastoralists have fi c and thereby earn money from advertisements. A young all functioned in a stateless Somalia, achieving standards of living Somali man explains: for the country that are equal or superior to many other African nations.. Somali media do not produce accurate reporting and television shows. Also, the information broadcasted by Somali media is Th ese observations were confi rmed by researchers biased. For these reasons, I rarely go to Somali outlets. All the Benjamin Powell, Ryan Ford, and Alex Nowrasteh40 who, information I need I can fi nd on Facebook. My contacts living in basing their work on the data collected by the World Bank Somalia give me the latest news. Sometimes, I call my family or and United Nations agencies, indicate that Somalia is doing my friends to obtain additional information on the situation in noticeably better without the state than when it had a state the region I am from. Th en, I compare these news with the news and that the standard of living has generally improved com- broadcasted on the Somali websites, and so I am able to fi lter fab- pared to many other African countries. Following the same ricated news from real news. line of argument, they note that in the area of telecommuni- cations there has seen considerable progress. Th e authors Even though Somali refugees consult Somali websites, highlight the fact that the country is ranked eighth out of a they remain very critical of their country’s media, and the total of fi ft y-four African states for the number of telephone majority of them stay informed by reading a variety of news lines, sixteenth for mobile phones, eleventh for Internet sources so as to avoid reading only biased interpretation of users, and twenty-seventh for the number of households

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with television. In a stable country such as Kenya, it takes Internet Access, ICT Equipment, and Media Practices in several years for a telephone line to be installed, while it France generally takes only three days in Somalia.41 Indeed, four Once arrived in France, Somalis extend their usage of media telecommunications companies operate in Somalia, out to include traditional forms, particularly television. It is of which three are in the South (Telcom, Nationlink, and worth exploring as they settle into the country, the condi- Hormuud) and one (Somtel) in the self-declared independ- tions under which they have Internet access and ICT equip- ent region of the North (Somaliland). Th ese telecommuni- ment, as well as the presence of French television. cations companies are taking advantage of the no-tax Th e questionnaire distributed to our participants specif- environment and are off ering Internet access, mobile phone ically asks the respondents to indicate how many techno- and landline services at record-breaking low prices. Such logical devices they own (laptop or desktop computers, conditions have sparked a proliferation of cybercafés in all television sets, subscription to a cable package, DVDs, neighbourhoods, bringing ICT access to the Somali popula- VCRs, radios, and digital cameras) and to describe their tion and even mobilizing the civil society in order to ensure Internet access. Th e data collected reveals that 62 percent people receive training on how to use these technologies. of the youth, aged eighteen to twenty-nine, and all inter- Two participants recount: viewed adults, aged thirty to thirty-nine, own a laptop (see Table 3). In France, the price of a laptop varies on average I was in Mogadishu. Th e city was at war. You know, even if there’s between two hundred and three hundred euros, which is war, life goes on. I wanted to learn how to use a computer, so I took signifi cantly higher than Somalis’ monthly salary. Th ose a training course off ered by an NGO. When fi ghting was going on who are not able to purchase a computer go to cybercafés for in the neighbourhood where we were supposed to have training, Internet access. Others fi nd solutions by going to munici- we would move all the equipment to another, safer neighbour- pal public libraries where Internet access is free of charge. It hood. In Mogadishu, at the height of the war, people had iPhones, should be noted, however, that individuals who wish to use sometimes even the latest models. Others use phones on Android a computer at a public library are required to show an iden- or Galaxy tablets. tity card with a valid address if they are to receive a library access card. Somali refugees resort to diff erent strategies in All the communication technologies that we can see here and in order to obtain the library card. It can also be noted that our the rest of the world also exist in Somalia. Phones and comput- data highlight a gap that exists between the Somalis aged ers are sometimes much cheaper there than here [France]. I fi nd eighteen to thirty-nine and those aged forty and above in this surprising. If, for example, a family member asks me to send terms of the ownership of ICT equipment. Th is gap points them a computer, I prefer to send them money so that they can to a technological divide that separates two diff erent age buy a computer there, because it’s much cheaper. Ethiopia is one groups of Somali refugees. country, for example, that imports computers and mobile phones In terms of Internet access or TV sets, Somalis who own from Somalia. an Internet connection or digital television in their room through subscription are Somalis whose asylum application ICT use by Somali refugees stands in contrast to stereo- was accepted and who received housing in the immigrant typical and dark images that oft en go hand in hand with residences. Out of the thirty-four participants, only three refugees. What is more, our data show that the majority of were in this situation. Th e vast majority of Somalis fi nd our participants in France own a computer despite their low other ways such as going to residence rooms of their fellow incomes. Somalis and taking turns to connect their or borrowed lap- tops to their friends’ Internet.42 Television is the second most used technology aft er the computer. Somalis generally watch French television:

Table 3. ICT Equipment and Devices Computer/ Age Laptop TV Set DVD VCR Radio Camera 18–2962%69%4%0%0%0% 30–39 100% 75% 25% 25% 25% 25% 40 and above 0% 25% 0% 0% 0% 0%

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When I see television images, I realize that the French have a dif- safe refuge, while traditional media serve as a window into ferent culture. Th ere are great diff erences between my culture and France and French culture for Somali refugees. theirs. Besides television, when I am outside, I observe French people. I see that they are workers who always have something Conclusion to do. Th ey are people who work all the time, who try to improve Studying the way refugees use social media may appear their lives and bring progress to their country. trivial when compared to the dire and increasingly worsen- ing living conditions of refugees. Collectively, these two Like my friend, I watch television. I see that the French are really notions, of social media and refugees, serve as the prime diff erent from us, especially in terms of poverty. Th e French are example of the technological divide which separates social rich. You could say that there is a great gulf between us and the media users living as citizens of rich countries and those liv- French. But, let’s not forget that they’ve also had war and poverty ing as refugees, lacking equipment and technology training. like us. We know history and what happened. In this region where Th is study strove to show that refugees know how to employ we are, people have fought to have bread. In terms of human rela- social media, contrary to prevailing clichés, because social tions and culture, the French know how to live with others. Th ey media play a crucial role in their navigation of the migratory are people with whom you can live. trajectories and also allow them to fi nd a place where they feel accepted. International organizations and governments French television is a companion to the Somalis, even if should facilitate access to ICT for refugees and asylum they do not fully master the French language; it stays on all seekers. Nevertheless, in the words of Dominique Wolton, day and serves as an introduction to the French culture. It “having the same keyboard and the same information is not is a showcase of the West. When they were in Somalia, they enough to create equality.”46 Or, in other words, we need to watched through satellite channels. It is no longer a distant distance ourselves from the utopian idea that would have us dream, the West. Th ey constantly compare television fi c- believe that easier access to ICT could improve the refugees’ tion to reality of French life. Somalis, as large consumers of living conditions. news, oft en compare major television networks such as BBC World News and Al Jazeera with BFM TV and LCI. Studies have shown that the media in host countries play Notes the role of mediators for newly arrived migrants43 and espe- 1. Francis Jauréguiberry and Serge Proulx, Usages et enjeux cially for refugees who do not speak the language.44 However, des technologies de communication (Paris: Erès, 2011). this role is not always positive. A study by Ridjanovic45 on 2. Asu Aksoy and Kevin Robins, “Banal Transnationalism: the place occupied by the media in the adaptation process Th e Diff erence Th at Television Makes,” in Th e Media of Diaspora, ed. K. H. Karim (London: Routledge, 2003); of Bosnian refugees in Quebec City showed that refugees, Myria Georgiou, Diaspora, Identity and the Media: Dias- due to their painful experiences in their home countries, poric Transnationalism and Mediated Spacialities (Cresskill, are particularly sensitive to negative media representations NJ,: Hampton Press, 2006); A. Adams Parham, “Diaspora, of immigrants and foreigners. In this regard, during the Community and Communication: Internet Use in Trans- interview, we asked questions about the representation of national Haiti,” Global Networks 4 (2004): 199–217; Burrell Somalis in French television and they strongly criticized the Jenna and Ken Anderson, “‘I Have Great Desires to Look projected images: beyond My World’: Trajectories of Information and Com- munication Technology Use among Ghanaians Living Th e French media oft en talk about terrorism and piracy. When Abroad,” New Media & Society 10, no. 2 (2008): 203–224; they are not talking about that, they are broadcasting news about Sherry Yu and Daniel Ahadi, “Promoting Civic Engage- disappeared or kidnapped journalists in Somalia […], when ment through Ethic Media,” Journal of Media and Com- munication 2, no. 2 (2010): 54–71. people ask us what country we’re from, we say we’re from Somalia 3. Linda Leung, “Taking Refuge in Technology: Communica- and immediately, they say to us: “You are the Somali pirates!” tion Practices in Refugee Camps and Immigration Deten- People think that all Somalis are pirates. Before, people didn’t tion” (Research Paper No. 202, Policy Development and used to associate us with piracy. No one’s interested in Somali his- Evaluation Service, UNHCR, 2011). tory and identity. 4. Armand Mattelart, “Une éternelle promesse: les paradis de la communication,” Le Monde diplomatique, November As shown above, Somalis employ social media as much 1995. as traditional media. However, these two types of media do 5. D. Soyini Madison, Critical Ethnography: Method, Ethics, not fulfi ll the same function, as social media are strongly and Performance (California: Sage Publications, 2005). linked to mobility and are used for the purpose of fi nding a 6. Ibid.

50 Volume 29 Refuge Number 1

7. Jim Th omas, Doing Critical Ethnography (California: Sage 20. Fabienne Le Houérou, Passagers d’un monde à l’autre, Publications, 1993). migrants forcés éthiopiens et érythréens (Paris: L’Harmattan, 8. George E. Marcus, “Ethnography in/of the World Sys- 2004), 103 (my translation). tem: Th e Emergence of Multi-Sited Ethnography,” Annual 21. Marja Tiilikainen, “Somali Women and Daily Islam in the Review of Anthropology 24 (1995): 95–117. Diaspora,” Social Compass 50, no. 1 (2003): 59–69. 9. Marc-Anthony Falzon, “Introduction,” in Multi-sited Eth- 22. Created aft er the 1990 Dublin Convention, Eurodac is nography: Th eory, Praxis and Locality in Contemporary a European digital database that stores fi ngerprints and Research, ed. M.-A. Falzon (Cambridge: Ashgate Publish- aims at preventing asylum seekers from submitting several ing, 2009). applications at the same time. Th e database also ensures 10. Cindy Horst,. “Expanding Sites: Th e Question of Depth that applicants must apply in the member state which has Explored,” in Multi-sited Ethnography: Th eory, Praxis allowed them to enter Europe. Th is measure has the object- and Locality in Contemporary Research, ed. M.-A. Falzon ive of dissuading asylum applicants from “shopping” for (Ashgate Publishing, 2009), 119–135; Ulf Hannerz, “Being the most generous country. there... and there... and there!: Refl ections on Multi-Site 23. Philippe Lombardo, Éric Seguin, and Magda Tomasini, Ethnography,” Ethnography 4 (2003): 201–216. “Les niveaux de vie en 2009,” division Revenus et patri- 11. Hannerz, “Being there... and there... and there!” moine des ménages, INSEE (Institut national de la statis- 12. Marcus, Ethnography in/of the World System, 101. tique et des études économiques), 2009, http://www.insee 13. Ibid. .fr/fr/themes/document.asp?ref_id=ip1365. 14. “Rapport d’activité,” OFPRA (Offi ce français de protection 24. Luc Legoux, “Changements et permanences dans la protec- des réfugiés et des apatrides), http://www.ofpra.gouv.fr/ tion des réfugiés,” Revue européenne des migrations interna- index.html?dtd_id=10&xmld_id=2679 . tionales 20, no. 2 (2004), 9, my translation; accessed June 15. P. Biernacki and D. Waldorf, “Snowball Sampling: Prob- 2012, http://remi.revues.org/961. lems and Techniques of Chain Referral Sampling,” Socio- 25. “Somali” refers both to the citizenship of the people of logical Methods and Research 10, no. 2 (1981): 141–163. Somalia and to a specifi c ethnic group (Pérouse de Mont- 16. Roland Marchal, “La militarisation de l’humanitaire: clos, “Des diasporas africaines en construction”). Somalis l’exemple somalien,” Cultures & Confl its 11 (1993): 77–92; are Cushitic nomads spread over four countries: they form Roland Marchal, “Mogadishu dans la guerre civile: rêves the dominant ethnic group within Somalia (between six d’Etat” (Paris: Les Etudes du CERI, no. 69, 2000), 1–36; and seven million people); they also represent two-thirds Didier Morin, “Reconstruire la Somalie,” Politique Afric- of the Djibouti population (500,000 people) and consti- aine 23 (1986): 117–131; Marc-Antoine Pérouse de Mont- tute important minorities in Ethiopia (more than a million clos, “Des diasporas africaines en construction: le cas du individuals in the Haud and Ogaden regions) and in Kenya Nigeria,” Anthropologie et Sociétés 30, no. 3 (2006): 183– [300,000 people in the northeast region; François Piguet, 199; Marc-Antoine Pérouse de Montclos, “Villes en guerre “Des nomades entre les villes et le sable” (Paris: Karthala, en Somalie,” Les dossiers du CEPED, no. 59 (2000); Marc- 1998)]. In other words, Somali ethnicity is not coterminous Antoine Pérouse de Montclos, “Interprétations d’un con- with borders of Somalia. However, this study concerns the fl it: Le cas de la Somalie,” Travaux et Documents du Centre Somali citizens from Somalia. d’Études d’Afrique Noire, no. 70 (2001). 26. United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), 17. T. K. Bauer, M. Lofstrom, and K. F. Zimmermann, “Immi- “Somalia’s Missing Million: Th e Somali Diaspora and Its gration Policy, Assimilation of Immigrants and Natives’ Role in Development” (Nairobi: UNDP, 2009). Sentiments towards Immigrants: Evidence from 12 OECD- 27. Le Houérou, Passagers d’un monde à l’autre, migrants forcés Countries” (Working Paper No. 33, Center for Compara- éthiopiens et érythréens. tive Immigration Studies, University of California-San 28. Anafé-Gisti (L’association nationale d’assistance aux fron- Diego, La Jolla, California, 2001). tières pour les étrangers et le groupe d’information et de 18. It is diffi cult to determine the exact number of Somalis who soutien des immigrés), Visas de transit anti-tchétchènes: are currently living in France or in Europe due to the dif- annulés par le Conseil d’État, rétablis cinq jours plus tard fi culties related to obtaining fi rm numbers of foreigners par décision ministérielle, 2008, http://www.gisti.org/spip with irregular immigration status, the lack of a harmonized .php?article1183. national census system, and especially the phenomenon of 29. “Somali staag” literally means in the Somali language “the secondary and tertiary migration of Somalis. place where the Somalis stand.” 19. Étude de l’Observatoire de l’intégration des refugiés statu- 30. Le Houérou, Passagers d’un monde à l’autre, migrants forcés taires, décembre 2008, Panorama des initiatives sur l’accès éthiopiens et érythréens. au logement des refugiés dans 15 pays européens, rédigé 31. B. W. Andrzejewski, “Th e Literary Culture of the Somali par Christophe Andreo, Samantha Dallman, Antoine Jan- People,” Journal of African Cultural Studies 23, no. 1 (2011): bon et Isabelle Pelletier, http://www.cear.es/fi les/Estudio 9–17. .pdf.

51 Volume 29 Refuge Number 1

32. Ruth Finnegan and Martin Orwin, “Introduction,” Journal 42. During our group interviews, we were able to observe that of African Cultural Studies 23, no. 1 (2011): 1–3. some participants were using their laptops at the same time 33. Oft en, Somalis will plan their escape and travel in groups, as they were responding to our questions. It was explained either with friends from Somalia or with new-found to us that a computer connected to the Internet was used friends whom they meet while on their journey. in turns and that regardless of the circumstances no con- 34. Marie-Claire S.F.G. Foblets, “Europe and Its Aliens aft er nected time was to be wasted. Maastricht: Th e Painful Move to Substantive Harmoniza- 43. Robert E. Park, Th e Immigrant Press and Its Control (West- tion of Member-States’ Policies Towards Th ird-Country port, CT: Greenwood, 1970); S. H. Chaff ee, C. I. Naas, and Nationals,” American Journal of Comparative Law 42, no. 4 S. M. Yang, “Th e Bridging Role of Television in Immigrant (1994): 783–805. Political Socialization,” Human Communication Research 35. J. P. Ramírez, “ ‘Aunque sea tan lejos nos vemos todos los 17, no. 2 (1990): 266–88. días’: Migración transnacional y uso de nuevas tecnologías 44. Young Yun Kim, Communication and Cross-Cultural Adap- de communicacón,” in Los usos de internet: Comunicación y tation: An Integrative Th eory (Philadelphia: Multilingual sociedad, ed. C. Albornoz et al. (Quito and Ottawa: Flacso- Matters Ltd., 1988). CRDI, 2007), 7–64; cited in T. Mattelart, “Les diasporas 45. Amra Curovac Ridjanovic, “Le rôle des médias dans à l’heure des technologies de l’information et de la com- l’adaptation des réfugiés dans leur pays d’accueil. Le cas des munication: petit état des saviors,” tic&société, online 3, réfugiés bosniaques dans la Ville de Québec,” Recherches no. 1–2 (2009), DOI : 10.4000/ticetsociete.600. Qualitatives, Hors Série, 4 (2007): 69–91. 36. Th e participants who got married thanks to Facebook 46. Dominique Wolton, “Le même clavier et les mêmes infor- shied away from expressing themselves on the subject. We mations ne suffi ssent pas à créer une égalité” (2003): 32; my learned about it from other respondents who talked about translation. how some of their friends met their spouses. 37. Houssein Charmarkeh, “Médias ethniques et pratiques médiatiques des Somaliens au Canada,” Les enjeux de Houssein Charmarkeh is a Ph.D. candidate in the l’information et de la communication 2012 (2012): 44–59. Department of Communication at the Université Sorbonne 38. Stephanie R. Bjork, “Clan Identities in Practice: Th e Somali Nouvelle, Paris 3. His current research examines the usage Diaspora in Finland,” in Somalia: Diaspora and State of social media by refugees in North America and Europe. Reconstitution in the Horn of Africa, ed. A. Osman Farah, He has applied critical and multi-sited ethnography to the Mammo Muchie, and Joakim Gundel (London: Adonis & study of migration patterns and usage of ICT. He is a lec- Abbey Publishers, 2007). 39. BBC News Africa, “Somalia: Far from a failed state?” 20 turer in the Department of Communication at the University February 2012, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa of Ottawa. His current research includes a multi-year, multi- -17080664. disciplinary project which was awarded a Social Sciences and 40. Benjamin Powell, Ryan Ford, and Alex Nowrasteh, “Somalia Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) grant to explore the aft er State Collapse: Chaos or Improvement? Journal of role of digital technologies and media in the integration and Economic Behavior & Organization 67 (2008): 657–670. adaptation of immigrants to Ottawa (Ottawa Multicultural 41. Joseph Winter, “Telecoms Th riving in Lawless Somalia,” Media Initiative, http://artsites.uottawa.ca/ommi/). BBC News, 19 November 2004, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/ hi/africa/4020259.stm.

52 Volume 29 Refuge Number 1

Impact of Remittances on Refugees’ Lives in Canada: Views of Sudanese and Vietnamese Leaders and Settlement Counsellors

Phyllis J. Johnson and Kathrin Stoll

Abstract sur leur installation et sur des objectifs fi nanciers réalistes Focus groups were conducted with Sudanese and avant d’envoyer des fonds à leur famille. On a également Vietnamese refugee leaders and settlement counsellors suggéré des changements à la politique de réunifi cation des (twenty seven participants) to identify their views about familles. the eff ect of sending remittances on refugees in these two communities, and their suggestions about optimizing the Introduction situation. Leaders and counsellors noted that refugees feel Th e purpose of this study is to identify Vietnamese and Sudanese leaders’ and settlement counsellors’ views about pride at helping out and guilt at not being able to send how sending remittances to relatives living in other coun- suffi cient money. Th ey postponed education and skills tries aff ects the lives of refugees resettled in Vancouver, upgrades, and worked several jobs to support family here Canada. Participants were also asked for their views about and abroad. Newcomers were advised to focus fi rst on the eff ect of family reunifi cation policies on remittance settling in and creating realistic expectations about their sending, and their suggestions for educational or policy resources before sending remittances. Changes in family initiatives to optimize the situation. reunifi cation policy were suggested. In the extensive literature on migrants and immigrants sending remittances, the focus has been on the impact of Résumé remittances on the recipients or the recipients’ country.1 Des groupes de discussions ont été organisés avec les repré- Studies concerning the impact on remittance senders have sentants des réfugiés vietnamiens et soudanais et des con- looked at one refugee group each.2 Th is study is unusual in seillers en établissement (vingt-sept participants) afi n de examining two refugee groups living in Vancouver, one of connaître leur point de vue sur l’impact qu’avait sur les which has been settled in Canada for over thirty years (the Vietnamese) and one that has arrived in the past ten years réfugiés leurs envois de fonds dans leurs pays d’origine, (the Sudanese). Aft er Toronto and Montreal, Vancouver has et leurs suggestions pour améliorer leur situation. Les the largest number of immigrants in the country.3 représentants et les conseillers ont noté que les réfugiés Studies of Vietnamese refugees’ economic and social étaient fi ers de pouvoir aider leur famille fi nancièrement adaptation have usually highlighted the early days of their ou se sentait coupable de ne pouvoir le faire. En eff et, ils resettlement, which peaked in Canada between 1979 and remettent à plus tard leur éducation et la mise à niveau de 1981.4 Although remittances are mentioned in some of these leurs compétences et prennent plusieurs emplois pour pou- publications, the consequences of sending remittances to voir soutenir leur famille ici et à l’étranger. On a recom- Vietnamese senders are not known.5 mandé que les nouveaux arrivants se concentrent d’abord

53 Volume 29 Refuge Number 1

Th e current study builds on previous research by the fi rst groups of fi ve or more individuals who agree to assist the author about the adaptation of Vietnamese and Sudanese refugees fi nancially for up to a year. Funds from the govern- refugees. Including both groups provides an opportunity ment through the Resettlement Assistance Program provide to assess the eff ect of remittances on documented refugees similar fi nancial assistance for the government-sponsored from diff erent parts of the world who have diff erent lengths refugees. Both types of sponsorship provide assistance with of time in Canada, but who have experienced resettlement locating housing, obtaining employment, upgrading occu- under some similar circumstances (e.g., Canada’s refugee pational training and English skills, and learning about life resettlement program, no prior ethnic community avail- in Canada. Th e Vietnamese were the first group resettled able when they arrived, and both resettling in Vancouver, under this system.6 Vietnamese refugee arrivals from 1979 Canada). through the 1990s and subsequent sponsorship of family A second novel aspect of this study is that it sought the members created a 2006 census count of 22,950 Vietnamese views of leaders of the refugees’ ethnic communities and in Vancouver; all but 1,295 arrived prior to 1991.7 of settlement counsellors. Leaders have knowledge about Th e Sudanese could potentially be settled under either their community that goes beyond their own experiences. type of sponsorship; however, the majority was government Moreover, they have been involved in organizing commun- sponsored. Th e private sponsorship program is no longer ity activities and in serving as a liaison with the agencies designated for an unnamed refugee, but is for named refu- assisting in settlement and integration. Settlement counsel- gees who have been identifi ed by relatives and by refugees lors have considerable experience and training in providing already settled in Canada.8 Church and community groups settlement assistance to newcomers to Canada. Knowing were the main private sponsors. Th e 2006 census count was the counsellors’ views of the situation and how these com- 765 Sudanese refuges, mainly Christian from Southern pare to the leaders’ views provides an assessment of whether Sudan, in Vancouver; 60 percent arrived between 2001 and there is congruence in understanding the potential impact 2006, with the remainder between 1991 and 2000.9 of remittances on refugee settlement and integration. Such congruence is important because counsellors and leaders Vietnamese as Remitters are potentially in a position to eff ect educational changes During their initial resettlement, meeting the obligation of and program initiatives related to refugee resettlement. supporting family in Vietnam or refugee camps was dif- A third aspect of this study is the inclusion of questions fi cult for refugees with limited wages or sporadic employ- concerning the participants’ views about the eff ect of family ment.10 Many showed considerable ingenuity in sending reunifi cation policies on sending remittances. Th e rules food, clothing, medical items, and money to relatives in governing refugees’ sponsorship of relatives as potential Vietnam during their early resettlement.11 Reasons for not immigrants can ameliorate or exacerbate fi nancial and sending money included being too poor, having lost contact other problems of resettlement and remittance, and refugee with relatives, or parents being deceased.12 leaders and counsellors have relevant views concerning pos- As North American trade relations with Vietnam evolved sible changes in those rules. in the mid-1990s, the Vietnamese were able to return for visits, to work with Vietnamese businesses manufacturing Literature Review consumer goods for export, and to serve as consultants in Th is section provides a review of the situation of Vietnamese development projects.13 Such visits were also opportunities and Sudanese in Canada: information about Canada’s to provide remittances. One other pattern of remittances Refugee and Humanitarian Resettlement Program under is that Vietnamese men go to Vietnam to choose a marital which they were settled; the size of the communities; what partner, and then send money to support her until sponsor- is known about their remittance patterns; and a descrip- ship is completed.14 tion of Canadian family class sponsorship, which is high- A World Bank study of remittance channels between lighted because of the decision refugees face about saving to Canada and Vietnam found that remittances are now pri- sponsor family or continuing to send remittances to family marily for special holidays, weddings, or funerals, rather members left behind. than sent on a routine basis, and some are for investing in family-run businesses. Th e study noted that nothing is Canada’s Refugee Resettlement Program and Number of known about the consequences of such remittance behav- Vietnamese and Sudanese Resettled iours for either the sender or the recipient.15 Th e Canadian Refugee and Humanitarian Resettlement Program includes both private and government spon- sors. Private sponsors are church or community groups or

54 Impact of Remittances on Refugees’ Lives in Canada

Sudanese as Remitters sponsoring family while continuing to send remittances Positive and negative eff ects of sending remittances to Sudan and supporting themselves in the new country. were identifi ed by Akuei.16 Refugees were oft en pressured to Canada’s immigration legislation on family sponsorship remit money, and were overwhelmed by the expectations to allows citizens and permanent residents who are over the send money for emergencies and ongoing living expenses. age of eighteen to sponsor the following family members: Th ey felt anxious and guilty when they could not juggle (i) spouse, common-law partner, or conjugal partner; (ii) their own expenses and those of family abroad who were parents and grandparents; (iii) dependent children; (iv) in more dire fi nancial straits than themselves. Th ey also brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, or grandchildren under felt pride at sending remittances that helped maintain kin- age eighteen and not married or common-law. If the refugee ship ties. Not fulfi lling their responsibility to family created does not have a member in the fi rst category, then he or she distress for Sudanese in Ontario.17 In their early resettle- may sponsor someone from the next category, and so on.24 ment, Sudanese men experienced high levels of emotional Proof of fi nancial ability to sponsor is required. Sponsors and fi nancial strain from remitting an average of $148 per must provide for basic requirements for a minimum of month.18 three years for a spouse or ten years for other relatives.25 Lim19 noted that Sudanese refugees in the US gave up Longitudinal data indicate that fewer than 10 percent of educational opportunities to work more hours to support Vietnamese in Vancouver were able to qualify to sponsor family elsewhere. Others noted that fi nancial diffi culties20 family aft er four years in Canada; however, aft er ten years, and fi nancial role strain21 had an impact on their adjust- 29 percent had sponsored, with over half of them spon- ment in their new country. soring two or more family members.26 Findings from two Canadian studies on remittances pro- vide context for Vietnamese and Southern Sudanese remit- Method tance patterns. In the Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants Participants were recognized leaders who were current or to Canada, 21 percent of new immigrants sent money in past offi cers in their respective community associations the fi rst two years; 29 percent at four years. Refugee and or leaders serving as liaisons with settlement agencies. A Family Class (sponsoring family) were more likely to send published listing of Vietnamese associations and agencies money than the Economic Class (skilled workers, entrepre- serving Vietnamese was the source used to identify and neurs) immigrants (28 percent, 27 percent, and 23 percent, recruit Vietnamese participants. Th e Southern Sudanese respectively). As a percentage of a remitter’s family income, Association was the source of male leaders; female lead- the rates were relatively low, 3 percent at two years and four ers were recruited from those women who had served as years aft er arrival. Refugees experienced more of an impact liaisons with the settlement agencies. Settlement counsel- on income because of their lower incomes.22 A Vancouver lors who had worked with African refugees, in particular survey of immigrants’ transnational activities found that those from Southern Sudan, were recruited from the major 24 percent of refugees sent money to family in their home settlement agencies. country.23 A consultant who had worked with immigrants was hired to organize and conduct the focus groups, with the Remittances or Family Sponsorship: A Tradeoff ? assistance of the second author, who was similarly trained. Vietnamese and Sudanese families are extended ones, Th e questions covered three areas: (1) remittance practices which may translate into extensive fi nancial responsibilities used by members of the community, (2) the eff ect of send- for remittances or for eventually sponsoring relatives to ing remittances on individuals and families, and (3) the Canada. In addition, refugees whose kinship ties may have eff ect of family reunifi cation policy on remittance sending, been fragmented, with close family escaping to diff erent and potential educational or policy initiatives to optimize countries, or whose close family members were killed, may the situation. establish closer ties with remaining relatives, even distant Focus groups were chosen to stimulate discussion that ones. How these family relationships are defi ned by immi- might not have been possible with individual interviews. gration policy is critical in the refugees’ ability to sponsor Th ere were seven focus groups: two for Vietnamese (one and build family support networks in their new country. with two women; one with three women and two men), If sponsorship is not possible, continuing to support these two for Sudanese women (one with two and one with fi ve extended family relationships fi nancially through remit- women), one for Sudanese men (fi ve men), and two (four tances may be the refugee’s only recourse. Th e competing people each) of settlement counsellors. To facilitate par- demands on refugees’ income include saving to qualify for ticipation, settlement counsellors suggested separate focus groups for Sudanese, but not Vietnamese, men and women.

55 Volume 29 Refuge Number 1

Vietnamese female leaders were more interested in partici- message to us—we need your help fi nancially—you have to pating than male leaders; Sudanese men and women were contribute—you fi nd that to be an obligation.” If they do not equally interested. A male Vietnamese leader who was also answer a phone request for remittances, the overseas rela- a settlement counsellor but not a participant in the study tives say on the voice mail, “We know you are there—you read through a summary report of the fi ndings to provide don’t want to answer.” an additional assessment of the Vietnamese remittance As conditions improve for the family remaining in situation. He made editorial but not substantive changes to Vietnam, the meaning of obligation has less urgency and the report. refl ects primarily traditional cultural expectations. Th e Focus groups were in English, took place aft er work or Vietnamese leaders noted that in contrast to the early days on weekends, and were held in a local community meet- of their resettlement, sending remittances was no longer ing room. Participants received a $25 honorarium. Th e ses- urgent because relatives in Vietnam are not poor and goods sions lasted 1.5 to 2.5 hours, with more time spent by the are available for purchase more cheaply there than they Sudanese than the Vietnamese participants. Th e sessions are in Canada. However, there are circumstances based on were audio recorded and transcribed by a professional traditional customs and fi lial piety when remittances would transcriptionist. be sent, and obligation, regardless of need, would be the Open coding, followed by categorizing, was done for basis for the remittances. A Vietnamese leader said, “You each set of questions and participant group; comparisons of are obliged to send, especially during the [lunar] New Year. themes across groups were then completed.27 Comparisons If your parents are alive you will [send] no matter how rich were between Vietnamese and Sudanese in their early years they are.” of resettlement, male and female leaders within each refu- While the urgency of the remittance obligation may gee group, and leaders’ and settlement counsellors’ views. decrease with time, most of the settlement counsellors did not think that the practice would ever stop. Reasons for con- Findings tinuation were that there may not be enough work in the Participants’ Views about the Sender’s Perspective on home country, wars create an urgent need for support of Remittance Sending family, and sponsorship of family has not been completed, Th e leaders and settlement counsellors discussed remit- especially for the more recently arrived refugees. Another tance practices, noting potential eff ects on the sender and ongoing reason is the desire to locate a spouse from one’s how refugees coped with meeting the needs of family mem- own culture, which requires remittances to a wife until bers in Canada and overseas. Th e leaders in both com- sponsorship is completed. munities said that sending remittances was a very common practice and members of their communities soon learned Impact on the sender of remittances that it was too expensive to send goods so they focused on Th e leaders and settlement counsellors identifi ed eff ects on sending money. Th e leaders also noted that remittances are the remitters of carrying out the obligation of remittance viewed as an obligation, that meeting the obligation has sending. Th ese eff ects included reduced money for living consequences for the remitters, and that refugees develop expenses in Canada; working multiple, low-wage jobs; post- strategies for coping with the obligation. ponement of their own skill or language upgrades in order to send money; confl icts in family relations; and guilt or Remittances are an obligation pride, depending upon whether the obligations were met. Remittances are a necessity rather than a choice, at least According to the Vietnamese leaders, sending remit- initially. “Obligation” has multiple meanings, including an tances aff ected families “quite a bit” in the early days of urgent need, reciprocation for past help received, and cul- their resettlement. In particular, they did not have a break tural views regarding familial support. from work, or worked several jobs, which meant that there Th e Sudanese leaders noted that family overseas have a was no time for school, for improving English, or getting desperate need for remittances for their survival. As stated their job qualifi cations recognized. In essence, a chance for by one female leader, “We have to send money because where a well-paying job was less likely because of the urgent need we come from people are suff ering so they need help from to get employment to support themselves and their fam- us… .” Money sent oft en addresses the most urgent situation, ilies elsewhere. Similar negative eff ects were identifi ed by not the support of a specifi c close family member if the need male but not female Sudanese leaders. Th e male leaders also is greater for a distant relative or friend overseas. noted that needs of family in Canada were not being met Th e male Sudanese leaders gave examples of the pres- and funds were not being saved for future education of the sure to meet fi nancial obligations. “[T]hey kind of send a children. Th us, development, or recognition, of their skills

56 Impact of Remittances on Refugees’ Lives in Canada

and education was postponed or not done as the money was the rest of the month. Her solution was to go to a settlement needed for remittances. counsellor to borrow money. Th e client said, “At least here For both groups of refugees, accumulation of fi nancial I can go back to immigration or whatever and I can bor- resources was not possible in the early days of their resettle- row more but back home there’s nowhere they can get the ment; this was due to sending remittances and to having a money.” low income, both during their time as a sponsored refugee Refugees’ memories of what life was like in the home coun- and as an entry level employee in low-wage work. In speak- try, and how they themselves had reacted to family mem- ing about Sudanese refugees, a settlement counsellor gave bers not sending them suffi cient remittances, reinforced this example of the eff ects of sending remittances on their feelings of guilt at not meeting those expectations. Th e male inability to increase their fi nancial resources: Sudanese leaders provided examples of the quandary refu- gees faced when they could not meet the expectations and Th ey send money regularly and this puts fi nancial pressure on did not want to let their relatives down: “We don’t want to them, such as can’t aff ord to buy a house … and then you don’t kill their hopes—we are the hope—so if this person is sick have any help to just cover the hole because you keep sending— and relying on you and if you say completely no—his hope and you have also other commitment here—you have to live—you is going to die.” have to eat—you have to feed your kids or your loved one and Meeting the obligation, that is, sending money to family, your commitment to your community and the other end you’re fostered additional family members seeking some fi nancial sending the money again in the other country so—you will be help, as described by a settlement counsellor: poor every day. [Y]ou start sending money just to your mom—or to your sister— An example of long-term eff ects of sending remittances she start dressing up—somehow—people start seeing her getting was given by a Vietnamese leader who described the impact better—and other relatives will start emailing you—phoning on an eldest son who continued to carry out the traditional you—writing you letter—so you end up having a kind of custom- obligation to support his extended family here and over- ership you know in the family. seas. He earned a good wage but had had fi nancial diffi cul- ties because of his continuing remittance obligations. In Female Sudanese leaders highlighted problems remit- comparison to others who arrived in Canada at the same tance sending created in family relationships, including time, he had neither become a homeowner nor did he have divorce. Th e Sudanese male leaders talked about how argu- a newer model car. ments and misunderstanding between the spouses might Meeting the remittance obligation was exacerbated by occur in deciding which relatives would be sent remittances. the disconnection between the perceptions of those over- Th e Vietnamese leaders noted that over time sending remit- seas about the resettled refugees’ fi nances and the reality of tances has created confl icts between spouses and between the refugees’ fi nances. Th e perception that those settled in parents and children. Confl icts occurred in deciding which Western countries had money overshadowed the refugees’ side of the family received the remittances, whether the per- explanations of any diffi culties they might have in sending son making the money had control over who would receive money. We labelled this a “mirage of fi nancial resources.” In the remittances, and whether the money was for family in talking about family in Sudan and neighbouring countries, Canada or in Vietnam. In some instances, a spouse sent a female Sudanese leader said, money to his or her family secretly, which was upsetting to the other spouse, who felt that the money should be sent to Th ey have [the] idea that people who come here they have money. both sides of the family. Th ey don’t even know what’s going on for you—maybe your child Recognizing that family confl icts might have arisen about needs a dental treatment or—that costs a lot of money so—do they equity in sending money, the Sudanese and Vietnamese ever ask you how you’re doing here and how things are going. Well leaders also noted that sending remittances was one way to they ask but it doesn’t really make it any diff erent like if you even keep the family connected. In the words of a male Sudanese try to explain that we are struggling here too—that doesn’t really leader, count in their minds. We try to protect our family tree—so like you send to your mother A settlement counsellor gave an example of why some and then you send to your father or you just send to somebody refugees send more remittances than they can aff ord, from your mother’s side or somebody from your father’s side and reinforcing this “mirage of resources.” A mother of six chil- also you send to someone from your wife’s side—you know both dren sent $500 and then did not have enough to live on for sides too—so you know that keeps all this family coming together.

57 Volume 29 Refuge Number 1

Although the leaders emphasized that meeting the obli- Coping with the remittance obligation gation was important, they also expressed the concerns Th e Sudanese, but not the Vietnamese, leaders provided a that refugees have about recipients becoming dependent on number of examples of how members of their communities continued fi nancial support. Th e Vietnamese leaders gave dealt with the obligation to send remittances. Th e strategies several examples that showed how upset the refugees, who were primarily fi nancial, but also included a reliance on cul- had worked hard to send the money, felt when they visited tural strengths. relatives in Vietnam and saw how the recipients lived and Th e main fi nancial strategy was getting a job with used the money they had received. Th e settlement counsel- adequate wages to support relatives overseas. Th e lead- lors noted that the money received was not suffi cient to set ers noted that refugees’ current minimum wage work was up a business, but was enough to live on. Because the people not suffi cient to meet remittance obligations and their own knew the money was coming regularly, they did not get a living expenses. As well, their savings accounts were bare job, but remained dependent on the remittances. and they no longer had a good credit rating. Th e remain- Dependency on remittances was not an issue for the ing source of fi nances for an emergency was their friends. Sudanese, as they understood the need for remittances Th us the Sudanese had “a credit union among us” that did for immediate survival and they were not yet at a point of not have set payback periods, but commitment to repay was discussing longer-term dependency. Settlement counsel- honoured. Th e female leaders noted the strategy of women lors cautioned that war zones are diff erent and that people pooling their fi nances and rotating which person’s family residing in those areas cannot really seek a job but remain would receive the remittance that month. Th is system pro- dependent on support from elsewhere; thus, reinforcing vided more money than individual contributions, but at less remittances are an urgent need. frequent intervals. Th e Sudanese male leaders were concerned that the focus Spirituality was evident as a coping mechanism to han- on working hard to meet the remittance obligation might dle the circumstances they and their relatives overseas were have a negative impact on the development of the Southern facing. A male leader said, “We believe in God … He will Sudanese community. Because community members were change the [plan] one day and that keeps us moving you working many hours, they had less time to organize and know.” A female leader said, “We are not here without pur- attend cultural events. Such events were viewed as import- pose—and I know in my heart that there’s to be a time that ant in developing a sense of community to teach their chil- everything will be okay—-and especially for those [in] the dren about their heritage and to contribute to the needs places where we came.” of Sudanese here and overseas. Similar concerns were not Another male leader identifi ed the cultural value of shar- expressed by the Vietnamese leaders. ing as a basis for dealing with the remittance obligation: All of the focus groups noted that the refugees felt proud that they could help out by meeting their remittance obliga- [W]ell it’s part of our nation because sharing is one of the tions, that they slept well knowing they had taken care of privilege[s] that we believe in—whether you have plenty or you their family members, and that they were pleased that their are in need—you have to share with your friend or family or remittances had had a positive impact on the recipients. whatever—because every—every human you know need another Sudanese leaders said the remittances delivered the recipi- human—if we share the least we have I think we feel that we have ents from debt, provided them with basic living expenses reached for perfection—yeah—so it’s not a matter of how much which were necessary given that their wages had not been we get but how little we get and how we share [it]. paid for several months, and paid for their educational fees. Vietnamese leaders identifi ed a number of positive eff ects Additional cultural strengths of humour and resili- on the recipients because of the outside fi nancial help: chan- ence were highlighted by other male leaders: “[T]hen there ces to renovate or buy houses, to run a business, to get an is our ties together as people—we talk to each other—we education, to get medical care, and to raise their children. joke about everything—about the situation” and “Sudanese Th ey noted that recipients are proud of how they have done are very resistant to diffi cult situations—maybe based on in comparison to others in Vietnam, and know that their history.” success was not possible without the remittances. Knowing that their remittances had helped the recipients in so many Remittances and Family Sponsorship: Ways to Optimize ways reinforced the senders’ feeling good about meeting the the Situation obligation. Participants discussed ways to optimize the situation of handling the remittance obligation. Th ey also identifi ed issues with current family sponsorship policy and suggested

58 Impact of Remittances on Refugees’ Lives in Canada

initiatives to address those issues to help refugees achieve for yourself here … don’t send money end of the month … because family sponsorship. you’ll fi nd yourself not paying your rent—so you’re going to be kicked out of the house. Advice about meeting remittance obligations Th e leaders’ practical advice emphasized creating realistic expectations for refugees and their overseas relatives about Family sponsorship issues the amount of remittances possible, focusing on settling In discussing current family reunifi cation policy, the lead- in fi rst before sending remittances and on budgeting for ers noted diffi culties in carrying out family sponsorship, in remittances. sponsoring the relatives refugees wanted rather than the Th e Vietnamese leaders suggested that newly arrived priority established in the policy, and in meeting the fi nan- refugees should be sincere about their situation, e.g., that cial obligations to qualify for sponsorship. they are not doing well and cannot aff ord to send money or Evident in the discussions were transnational issues, with at least not at the level that relatives overseas might expect. diffi culties arising from regulations in the home county as Th is advice came from what they had observed in their early well as in the receiving country. For example, the leaders years in Canada: some Vietnamese felt they needed to say, “I identifi ed instances of family members applying to leave am doing well here. I can buy a lot of things and things are Vietnam and being denied because the Vietnamese govern- wonderful here,” even though they were struggling to send ment blocked their exit. From the Canadian perspective, the money while supporting family in Canada. Th e Sudanese Vietnamese leaders told stories of refugees applying to spon- male leaders in highlighting the juggling act refugees have sor family but not being eligible to sponsor that particular between their dreams for life in Canada and their desire to relative, and emphasized the long time (e.g., several years) support people back home also suggested presenting a real- it took to obtain authorization for the sponsored relative istic picture of the situation for newcomers: “Th e advice that to come to Canada. Th e Sudanese leaders gave examples of I would give them—they have to drop their highest expecta- extended family members who had applied to the Canadian tions—they have to live reality and they have to adjust to the commission to come to Canada but were rejected. At the reality of where they are now.” time of this study, the Canadian government was not bring- Both Sudanese and Vietnamese leaders said that new- ing in sponsored refugees from Southern Sudan, and most comers should focus on getting settled fi rst, rather than of the local residents were not earning enough to sponsor getting a job right away to send money. Settling in meant relatives. As a result, the leaders remembered only a few in that they would have time to use wisely Canada’s refugee their community who fi nally succeeded in family sponsor- resettlement program’s provisions for education, language, ship aft er eight or nine years in Canada. Th eir recourse has and other skill upgrades. With the additional training and been to turn to church groups, who have assisted in spon- knowledge gained, they would be able to get a job that would soring their relatives. Th eir Sudanese Association has been support their family better in Canada and overseas. given the authority to be a sponsoring organization. Th e Vietnamese leaders’ advice to newcomers was to budget fi rst person they had tried to sponsor had been turned down their money carefully in order to meet their needs and to by the Canadian embassy in Cairo and they were discour- send remittances. Th is is important because the newcom- aged about trying to sponsor others. ers may not have a good grasp of the costs of living in the A major concern expressed by all of the participants new country, or how far the settlement assistance or entry- was that Canadian immigration policy on family sponsor- level earnings will go to support family here and abroad. As ship uses a narrow defi nition of family, when an extended well, the Sudanese female leaders cautioned newcomers not family defi nition is more appropriate for their culture. Th e to assume that the initial large amount of money received Sudanese leaders talked extensively about how family mem- upon arrival for settlement purposes (e.g., rental deposits, bers reacted when they explained that they could not spon- purchasing household and personal items, etc.) would con- sor them. Th e relatives wanting to be sponsored thought that tinue to be paid out on a monthly basis. A male Sudanese their Canadian-based relatives just did not want to sponsor leader gave specifi c advice on how to send remittances so them, not that they were not able to sponsor them, given that the monthly amount was not too great and allowed for the offi cial priority for sponsorship. As a result, there was the refugees meeting their own needs, as well as emergen- tension between family in Canada and Sudan and between cies for relatives overseas. He said: specifi c family members within each country. Regulations on sponsorship also made it diffi cult for Don’t send at the same time—if you send to your uncle—at refugees to take responsibility for relatives who would trad- the same time don’t send to your brother—leave another month itionally be under their care. For example, in Sudan, if a

59 Volume 29 Refuge Number 1

man was widowed, his sister-in-law might raise the children. patterns over time. While the need for remittances is great However, if the sister-in-law was in Canada and wanted to in the fi rst few years of resettlement due to the political sponsor the children, they would be excluded from spon- situation in the home country, this need should diminish as sorship because they have a father to provide for them. As the home country becomes more stable politically and eco- a result, she could not fulfi ll her obligation to her extended nomically. Much of the discussion during the Vietnamese family. focus groups centred on past remittance practices, when the Th e Sudanese leaders said that the number of years refu- political situation in their home country was more unstable gees would be fi nancially responsible for sponsored family and relatives relied heavily on money sent from abroad. members was not a major problem. However, they were Over thirty years later, the Vietnamese are still sending concerned about members of the community meeting the money, not because there is a dire need, but because cul- fi nancial requirement to qualify to sponsor, which made tural norms prescribe that money is sent for holidays and it easier to support elderly family abroad than to sponsor fi lial responsibilities. them. Th e male leaders said, “If we take care of them at Sudanese refugees, who have a short history in Canada, home [with remittances]—why can’t we take care of them provide evidence of the strain—emotional and fi nancial— once they are here with us.” Th e Vietnamese did not provide that refugees face when they are safe and have their basic information on this issue; sponsorship was no longer a cur- daily living needs met, but have little left over to send to rent issue for them. family to help them reach safety or to provide for their Suggested policy initiatives. Th e leaders and counsellors needs. Th e early years for both refugee groups show a con- identifi ed an expanded defi nition of family as their main stant balancing act between expectations, of the refugee and policy initiative. Th e Sudanese leaders clarifi ed this by say- of family members back home, and the reality of limited ing Sudanese refugees wanted to sponsor relatives such as fi nancial resources. A situation of potential “lost opportun- brothers and cousins, who could get employment; together, ities” emerges if refugee newcomers opt for early low-wage they could support their extended families overseas or have employment in order to support family elsewhere rather the fi nancial ability to sponsor them. than taking the advice of leaders to settle in and take advan- Th e Vietnamese leaders thought that making it easier to tage of language, education, or employment training in visit Canada would create less tension for refugee newcom- Canada’s resettlement program. Findings from two recent ers. Two situations that had made getting visitors’ visas dif- qualitative studies with Sudanese refugees in the United fi cult were: (1) relatives overstaying their visas, which then States and Australia show the negative eff ect of fi nancial made getting a visitor’s visa more diffi cult for subsequent obligations to family back home on educational advance- legitimate visitors, and (2) relatives could not come on a ment28 and adjustment.29 visitor’s visa while their sponsorship application was under Th e similarity of Vietnamese and Sudanese remittance consideration. Temporary work visas were also suggested. patterns and views about sending remittances in the early Th ey could legally work in Canada for a specifi ed time, pro- years provides some evidence that the longer-term experi- vide for themselves, and also help ease the burden of send- ences of the Vietnamese may be refl ective of the future situ- ing money to relatives overseas. ation of the Sudanese refugees. If so, the obligation to remit Th e female Sudanese leaders wanted the Canadian gov- money, the desperate and urgent need for money, guilt at not ernment to know the pressures that sending money created meeting obligations, family confl icts about equity in send- on their lives in Canada, and that a large quantity of money ing money, and the fi nancial struggle associated with the was sent to support extended family elsewhere. Because remittance obligation will be less evident, and remittances having dependents in Canada brings income tax breaks, will be for special events rather than on a regular basis. Th is they thought support of dependents elsewhere should qual- scenario is likely if the fi nancial situation has improved for ify for a tax break. those in Southern Sudan, as well as in Canada, and the pro- longed Sudanese confl ict abates. However, if wars continue Discussion and family members are not sponsored to safety, the need Th e leaders and settlement counsellors presented their views for remittances will continue for years to come. about Sudanese and Vietnamese refugee remittance practi- Unrealistic expectations about remittances on the part ces and the impact of sending remittances on the remitter. of both relatives and remitters are a concern. Relatives not A comparison of the leaders’ and counsellors’ views about only anticipate that the refugees are better off fi nancially the experiences of a more established group of refugees (the than they are, “a mirage of fi nancial resources,” they also do Vietnamese) with those of a more recently arrived group not believe any statements to the contrary. Th e refugees also (the Sudanese) allows us to examine changes in remittance have high expectations about their need to meet all of the

60 Impact of Remittances on Refugees’ Lives in Canada

remittance obligations. Leaders advised newcomers to lower the majority of female leaders were single parents who those expectations. Incoming refugees might benefi t from described the situation of women in the community in sim- a discussion during their orientation sessions about remit- ilar circumstances. As such, they were “providers” respon- tances, set within the context of settlement funds/entry level sible for supporting family in Canada and elsewhere from wages and cost of living in Canada. Such information could their employment or social assistance income. be made available on web sites through testimonials of the Family reunifi cation policy and remittances are clearly experiences of others, and/or through discussion groups intertwined, especially in the early years. Refugees seem with refugees who have had several years of experience in to have diffi culty in earning suffi cient income to support Canada. family here and elsewhere while saving to sponsor family to One eff ect on senders that the leaders and counsellors Canada. Given that social support is helpful in the adjust- identifi ed that has not been highlighted in previous research ment of newcomers,31 identifi cation of workable strategies with these groups is the family confl icts that occurred when for fostering family sponsorship are needed. While encour- remittances were sent too frequently at the expense of family aging the group’s refugee association to sponsor relatives is needs in Canada, or were not sent equitably to both sides of one option, and has occurred for the Sudanese, it is likely the family. Th us, an act that kept family connected, which to be diffi cult for such associations to have suffi cient fi nan- had a positive eff ect for the remitters, also created confl icts cial capability on their own. Unless churches or non-profi t for them. Additional research is needed to identify the con- organizations can assist the associations fi nancially, it is ditions under which remittances are viewed as keeping the unlikely that the refugee associations can amass the amount family together or potentially pulling it apart. of money needed to meet the community’s sponsorship Coping with the necessity as well as the obligation to needs. send remittances was particularly salient for the Sudanese Two existing policy provisions were not in existence dur- refugees, whose leaders provided insight on how refugees ing Vietnamese resettlement, and have not met the spon- dealt with the potential stress. Sudanese cultural strengths, sorship needs of the Sudanese. One is the “named refugee” including a sense of sharing, spirituality, and humour were opportunity for private sponsorship groups, in which vul- emphasized. Th ese have been described as core Southern nerable refugees named by refugee relatives in Canada can Sudanese values in the social science literature.30 Settlement be sponsored, and the “one year window of opportunity” for counsellors and leaders of other newly arrived refugee sponsoring non-accompanying family members without groups need to identify and build on specifi c cultural meeting the fi nancial requirements.32 Th e refugees may not strengths in helping newcomers to deal with the necessary know where their relative is, having been separated from obligation of sending remittances. them during their fl ight from confl ict; they may not real- Similar to the Sudanese male leaders, the female leaders ize that they need to identify relatives within one year; and described the obligation to remit money, the lack of fi nan- they may identify extended family, such as adult children cial resources to remit enough money, reliance on friends for or cousins, or relatives who for some other reason, do not fi nancing remittances, and the positive eff ects of remitting, qualify as non-accompanying family members. Settlement such as supporting sick and aging relatives and funding the counsellors also alluded to the fact that these two policies are education of children. Th ey agreed with the men that the not well-known among refugee groups. Th ey believed that remittance obligation was stressful, as relatives back home the “one year window of opportunity” should be extended were suff ering, desperately relied on the remittances, and indefi nitely for a refugee’s spouse and dependent children. did not understand the fi nancial struggles of resettled refu- Additional eff ort to inform refugees and their leaders about gees. As well, both male and female leaders identifi ed family the actual policies seems warranted, either through the confl icts about sending remittances. orientations off ered by settlement agencies or by programs Gender diff erences among the Sudanese seem to refl ect off ered by the refugee associations. Information needs to be traditional roles of men as providers and women as the provided more than once during the resettlement assistance managers of home and family. Th e male but not female lead- period as this is one of numerous important issues covered ers talked about working several jobs, not having time for during the initial resettlement. courses to improve their English or job skills, having used Vietnamese leaders mentioned diffi culties in relatives up their savings and credit, and not having time to partici- obtaining visitors’ visas and not being able to visit while pate in community activities. Male leaders spoke more than their sponsorship to Canada was being considered. Recent female leaders about systemic inequities and inadequate changes to Canadian immigration policy allow parents and refugee policies. It should be noted that life circumstances grandparents to apply for expedited and extended visitors’ in Canada led to changes in traditional roles: for example, visas, with which they can stay twenty-four months for each

61 Volume 29 Refuge Number 1

visit. If permanent relocation to Canada is not the goal, such men and women participated in the study compared to visas should be helpful for participating in important family Sudanese men and women, most likely because they did not events. Reducing the wait times for family sponsorship has regard remittances as an urgent problem in their commun- been a continuing problem. With the advent of extended ity. In addition, it was diffi cult to assess the eff ect of send- visitors’ visas, application to sponsor parents and grandpar- ing remittances on women versus men due to the relatively ents is closed for two years; the hope is that the backlog for small sample size. other applicants will be reduced. 33 Whether sponsorship or Th is study has focused on two refugee groups settled in extended visas for parents and grandparents are preferred Vancouver approximately twenty years apart. Our fi ndings by refugees is an area for future research. Factors aff ecting can be placed in a broader perspective of remittance obliga- preferences may be the political and economic vulnerability tions for other fi nancially stressed refugee and immigrant of those family members. groups in Canada. For example, Kosovar refugees made One issue on which all of the leaders and counsellors sacrifi ces in their own consumption to have some money to agreed was that the defi nition of family in Canada’s family send to family whose needs they viewed as more urgent than sponsorship policy is not suffi ciently inclusive for Sudanese their own.36 Guatemalan refugees were stressed by trying and Vietnamese extended families. However, expanding to meet fi nancial obligations to their family, feeling pulled the defi nition of family without changing the order of pri- between survival for their family in Canada and fi nancial ority for sponsorship may not meet the need of refugees help to extended family in Guatemala. Low incomes, high who want to sponsor relatives, such as a sibling who can get living costs in Canada, and high costs of making trans- employment and help support the extended family abroad. national connections (visits, phone calls, and remittances) As well, the “one year window of opportunity” for refugees’ resulted in the refugees becoming isolated from their sponsorship of family uses the same defi nition of family. extended family in Guatemala.37 Caribbean immigrants Continued family separation rather than unifi cation have a strong commitment to fi nancial support to family seems to be fostered because of the mismatch between refu- elsewhere. Such support continues because of close trans- gees’ and the government’s defi nitions of family.34 Rather national ties of aff ection and obligation. Recipients also than changing the defi nition of family or order of sponsor- reinforce that such support is important and appreciated.38 ship, changes in Canadian immigration policy have focused Simmons summarized the importance of remittances in on extended visas, possibly as an alternative to sponsoring the transnational cultural and family lives of immigrants parents and grandparents. Given that refugees’ spouses and refugees.39 Th e themes identifi ed and discussed with and dependent children could be sponsored under the the Vietnamese and Sudanese refugees in the current study one year criterion, and without having to meet the fi nan- appear to be relevant for other refugee and immigrant cial requirement, refugees could save to sponsor another groups experiencing strong remittance obligations coupled family member. Some policy consideration should be given with limited or strained fi nancial circumstances. to their wishes and knowledge about which relative might be the most helpful in supporting family. Tax recognition Conclusion for remittance obligations is not likely to be included in For political refugees, reaching a safe country is the begin- taxation law, as national rather than transnational bound- ning of the journey to reduce their family’s political vul- aries determine income tax deductions for dependents. nerability. Because the refugee is now safe, his or her situa- Others have suggested that if a policy could be established tion, regardless of resettlement diffi culties, always appears between the countries to verify that dependent parents were to be better than that of those left behind. Knowing that being supported, Canada might grant a tax credit for such remittances are of considerable help reinforces that this is assistance.35 an important ongoing obligation. Th e feasibility of spon- Th e leaders and settlement counsellors provided soring family, given the legal fi nancial requirements and examples that were based on their own experiences with defi nition of family, are continuing concerns for refugees, their respective refugee communities. Th eir views were very especially when family members remain in a politically similar about remittances and family sponsorship issues, unstable situation. Th ere is room for improving existing and are consistent with the limited available literature about immigration and sponsorship policies to reduce fi nancial the impact of remittances on refugees. Such demonstrated and psychological strain on refugees who are expected to congruence in knowledge is useful for eff ecting orientation remit money. Education about policy provisions available sessions about refugees’ remittances and family sponsorship. to facilitate visits and achieve sponsorship is necessary. As A limitation of our study is the small number of well, orientation sessions for refugees would benefi t from Vietnamese focus group participants. Fewer Vietnamese including the advice of leaders and counsellors on how to

62 Impact of Remittances on Refugees’ Lives in Canada

handle the remittance obligation while adjusting to life in 9. Statistics Canada, Immigrant Status and Period of the new country. Immigration. 10. Don Locke, Increasing Multicultural Understanding (New- bury Park, CA: Sage, 1992). Notes 11. Gold, Refugee Communities. 1. Ismail Ahmed, “Remittances and Th eir Economic Impact in 12. Dorais, Pilon-Le, and Nguyen, Exile in a Cold Land. Post-war Somaliland,” Disasters 24 (2000): 380–389; Bimal 13. Rosalie Wieder, “Who Are the Vietnamese Americans?” in Ghosh, Migrants’ Remittances and Development: Myths, Asian American Almanac: A Reference Work on Asians in Rhetoric and Realities (Geneva: International Organization the United States, ed. S. Gall and I. Natividad (Detroit, MI: for Migration, 2006); Nicholas Glytsos, “Determinants and Gale Research, 1995), 165–174. Eff ects of Migrant Remittances,” in International Migration: 14. Hung Cam Th ai, “Money and Masculinity among Low Trends, Policies and Economic Impact, ed. S. Djajic (New Wage Vietnamese Immigrants in Transnational Families,” York: Routledge, 2001), 253–272; Oded Stark and Robert International Journal of Sociology of the Family 32 (2006): Lucas, “Migration, Remittances, and the Family,” Economic 247–271. Development and Cultural Change 36 (1988): 465–481. 15. Hernández-Coss, Th e Canada-Vietnam Remittance 2. Stephanie Riak Akuei, Remittances as Unforeseen Burdens: Corridor. Considering Displacement Family and Resettlement Con- 16. Akuei, Remittances as Unforeseen Burdens. texts in Refugee Livelihood and Well Being. Is Th ere Any- 17. Laura Simich, B.Khamisa Baya, Hayley Hamilton, and Ger- thing States or Organizations Can Do? accessed September trud Neuwirth, Th e Study of Sudanese Settlement in Ontario: 20, 2004, http://www.unhcr.ch/chi bi n/texis/vtx/home/; Final Report, Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Settle- Phyllis Johnson and Kathrin Stoll, “Remittance Patterns ment Directorate, Ontario (May 28, 2004), acessed Sep- of Southern Sudanese Refugee Men: Enacting the Global tember 18, 2012, http://atwork.settlement.org/downloads/ Breadwinner Role,” Family Relations 57 (2008): 431–443; atwork/Study_of_Sudanese_Settlement_in_Ontario.pdf. Soh-Leong Lim, “‘Loss of Connections is Death’: Trans- 18. Johnson and Stoll, “Remittance Patterns of Southern national Family Ties among Sudanese Refugee Families Sudanese Refugee Men.” Resettling in the United States,” Journal of Cross-Cultural 19. Lim, “’Loss of Connections is Death’.” Psychology 40 (2009): 1028–1040; Ann Lindley, “Th e 20. Jane Shakespeare-Finch and Kylie Wickham, “Adaptation Early-Morning Phone Call: Remittances from a Refugee of Sudanese Refugees in an Australian Context: Investi- Diaspora Perspective,” Journal of Ethnic and Migration gating Helps and Hindrances,” International Migration 48 Studies 35 (2009): 1315–1334; Dianna Shandy, “Global (2010): 23–44. Transactions: Sudanese Refugees Sending Money Home,” 21. Kathrin Stoll and Phyllis Johnson, “Determinants of the Refuge 23, no. 2 (2006): 28–36. Psychosocial Adjustment of Southern Sudanese Men,” 3. Statistics Canada, Census Snapshot—Immigration in Can- Journal of Refugee Studies 29 (2007): 621–640. ada: A Portrait of the Foreign-Born Population, 2006 Census, 22. René Houle and Grant Schellenberg, “Remittances by accessed September 10, 2012, http://www.statcan.gc.ca/ Recent Immigrants,” Perspectives, July 2008, 5–16. pub/11-008-x/2008001/article/10556-eng.htm#21 23. Daniel Hiebert and David Ley, “Characteristics of Immi- 4. Louis-Jacques Dorais, Lise Pilon-Le, and Huy Nguyen, grant Transnationalism in Vancouver,” in Transnational Exile in a Cold Land: A Vietnamese Community in Canada Identities and Practices in Canada, ed, V. Satzewich and L. (New Haven, CT: Yale Southeast Asia Studies, 1987); Ste- Wong (Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, ven Gold, Refugee Communities: A Comparative Field Study 2006), 71–90. (Newbury Park, CA: Sage, 1992). 24. Andrew Telegdi, “Family Reunifi cation: Th e Key to Suc- 5. Raul Hernández-Coss, “Th e Canada-Vietnam Remittance cessful Integration,” Canadian Issues: Immigration and Corridor: Lessons on Shift ing from Informal to Formal Families, Spring 2006, 94–96. Transfer Systems” (World Bank Working Paper No. 48, 25. Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Sponsoring your World Bank, Washington, DC, 2005). Family accessed January 2009, http://www.cic.gc.ca/ 6. Bob Orr, “Resettlement: A Durable Solution,” Canadian english/immigrate/sponsor/index.asp; Rell DeShaw, “Th e Issues, March 2004, 22–24. History of Family Reunifi cation in Canada and Current 7. Statistics Canada, Immigrant Status and Period of Immi- Policy,” Canadian Issues: Immigration and Families, Spring gration (8) and Place of Birth (261) for the Immigrants 2006, 9–14. and Non-permanent Residents of Canada, Provinces, Ter- 26. Phyllis Johnson, “Financial Responsibility for the Family: ritories, Census Metropolitan Areas and Census Agglom- Th e Case of New Residents from Southeast Asia,” Journal of erations, 2006 Census—20% Sample Data, accessed Sep- Family and Economic Issues 24 (2003): 121–142. tember 10, 2012, http://www5.statcan.gc.ca/bsolc/olc-cel/ 27. John Knodel, “Th e Design and Analysis of Focus Group olc-cel?catno=97-557-X&chropg=1&lang=eng. Studies: A Practice Approach,” in Successful Focus Groups: 8. Orr, “Resettlement: A Durable Solution.” Advancing the State of the Art, ed. D. L. Morgan (Newbury

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Park, CA: Sage, 1993), 35–50; Anselm Strauss and Juliet 37. Catherine Nolin, Transnational Ruptures; Gender-Enforced Corbin, Basics of Qualitative Research: Grounded Th eory Migration. (Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2006). Procedures and Techniques (Newbury Park, CA: Sage, 1990). 38. Alan Simmons, Immigration and Canada: Global and 28. Lim, “’Loss of Connections is Death’.” Transnational Perspectives (Toronto: Canadian Scholars’ 29. Shakespeare-Finch, “Adaptation of Sudanese Refugees.” Press and Women’s Press, 2010). 30. So-Leong Lim, “ Loss of Connections is Death”; Shake- speare-Finch and Wickham, “Adaptation of Sudanese Refugees”; Stoll and Johnson, “Determinants of the Psycho- Phyllis Johnson (corresponding author; phyllis.johnson@ubc. social Adjustment of Southern Sudanese Men.” ca) is in the Department of Sociology at the University of 31. Laura Simich et al., Th e Study of Sudanese Settlement; British Columbia. She is the author of the book Consumer Shakespeare-Finch and Wickham, “Adaptation of Sudan- Acculturation: Financial Issues of Immigrants and Refugees ese Refugees.” (Springer, forthcoming, anticipated publication date 2014). 32. Orr, “Resettlement: A Durable Solution.” She was the 2011 recipient of the Jan Trost award from the 33. Citizenship and Immigration Canada, News Release—Gov- ernment of Canada to Cut Backlog and Wait Times for Family National Council on Family Relations’ International Section Reunifi cation—Phase I of Action Plan for Faster Family in recognition of her signifi cant research contributions to Reunifi cation, accessed July 1, 2012, http://www.cic.gc.ca/ cross-cultural family scholarship. english/department/media/releases/2011/2011-11-04.asp. Kathrin Stoll has degrees in psychology and sociology, and 34. Brooke Wilmsen, “Family Separation: Th e Policies, Pro- recently completed an interdisciplinary PhD (midwifery/nurs- cedures, and Consequences for Refugee Background ing/epidemiology) at the University of British Columbia. She Families,” Refugee Survey Quarterly 30 (2011): 44–63. 35. Alan Simmons, Dwaine Plaza, and Victor Piché, Th e has been active in academic and community based research Remittance Sending Practices of Haitians and Jamaicans for the past ten years with a focus on immigrant and refugee in Canada (CERLAC, York University, Toronto, 2005), and maternity care issues. She is a postdoctoral fellow at the accessed June 15, 2013, http://www.yorku.ca/cerlac/ University of British Columbia and a part-time lecturer in documents/remittances.pdf. the European Master’s of Midwifery program. 36. Kathy Sherrell and Jennifer Hyndman, “Global Minds, Funding sources were the Margaret Speechly Stansfi eld Local Bodies: Kosovar Transnational Connections beyond British Columbia” (Working Paper Series No. 04–10, Van- Memorial Award from the Canadian Home Economics couver Centre of Excellence: Research on Immigration Foundation, and a UBC-Social Sciences and Humanities and Integration in the Metropolis, Vancouver, BC, 2004), Research Council Small Grant. accessed June 15, 2013, http://mbc.metropolis.net/assets/ uploads/fi les/wp/2004/WP04-10.pdf.

64 Volume 29 Refuge Number 1

Resilience among Single Adult Female Refugees in Hamilton, Ontario

Karen Chung, Ellie Hong, and Bruce Newbold

Abstract avec des femmes réfugiées célibataires ont été eff ectuées Single adult females remain among the most vulnerable of à Hamilton en Ontario. L’approche basée sur la théorie all refugee populations. However, there is a lack of research a mis en lumière leur point de vue sur le soutien qu’elles on supporting and empowering these women. Th ere is a reçoivent des communautés culturelles et religieuses et des new interest in identifying factors that reinforce resilience organisations gouvernementales et non-gouvernementales, and, ultimately, adjustment to the host country. In line plus particulièrement au niveau de leur adaptation. Le with the current work on resilience, semi-structured, in- soutien formel et informel, en plus des caractéristiques depth, personal interviews with single refugee women were personnelles, s’avèrent être des facteurs importants pour conducted in the city of Hamilton, Ontario. A grounded l’amélioration de leur résilience, illustrant un modèle de theory approach revealed participants’ perspectives on the résilience qui va au-delà de la résilience individuelle et des support received from religious or cultural communities, communautés. Les recherches à venir devraient examiner non-governmental organizations, and the government in la perception des réfugiés qui n’ont pas reçu de soutien terms of their perceived contribution to adaptation. Both social et évaluer l’effi cacité des services actuels de soutien informal and formal support, along with individual char- aux réfugiés. acteristics, were found to be crucial for reinforcing resili- ence among these refugees, refl ective of a collective resili- Introduction ence model that moves beyond individual and community Internationally, there has been a sustained increase in the number of people who seek refuge from harm in their home resilience. Future research should aim to investigate the country.1 Although Canada prides itself on its humani- perspectives of those who did not receive social support tarian role and acceptance of refugees, there is compara- from shelters as well as to assess the effi cacy of current tively limited research evidence surrounding the needs of refugee support services. refugees, as well as their ultimate success in adaptation to the host country. Indeed, a systematic review of published Résumé research on Canadian refugee health emphasizes the urgent Les femmes adultes célibataires demeurent parmi les need to fi ll the gaps of health knowledge for refugee popu- plus vulnérables des groupes de réfugiés. On remarque lations, including the refugees’ perspective on factors that cependant un manque de recherches sur le soutien et ease their relocation.2 l’autonomisation de ces femmes. Il y a par ailleurs un nou- Th e limited research on refugees in the host country vel intérêt pour l’identifi cation des facteurs augmentant context typically focuses upon the barriers to health care la résilience et par conséquent la capacité d’ajustement au encountered by refugees that limit or slow their adapta- 3 pays d’accueil. En lien avec ces travaux sur la résilience, des tion to the host country. While these barriers are relatively well understood, there is a new interest in identifying the entrevues individuelles approfondies et semi-structurées

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strengths or features that promote resilience and, ultim- For example, single adult females remain among the most ately, adjustment to the host country, rather than focusing vulnerable of all refugee populations,15 with diff erences on problems, risks, and failures. Th is is what is referred to as including origin, journey, health status, language ability, an asset-focused model: factors that support the ability for refugee status, and culture having diff erent impacts on how refugees to overcome barriers and that promote more suc- these women will adapt to the host country.16 Social and cessful integration to the host society.4 Much of this work is community supports may be missing or cannot be accessed conducted through the concept of resilience. While there are owing to limited opportunities and barriers that prevent varying defi nitions of resilience, it can be broadly defi ned as support access. Such risk factors, inclusive of the individual “a class of phenomena characterized by the ability to bounce or community, can reduce or deny individual opportunities back and cope eff ectively in spite of serious threats to adap- and prevent meaningful participation in the community. tation or development.”5 Resilience is distinct from adapta- In order to understand these similarities and diff erences tion: it refers to a refugee’s ability to resist serious stress dur- as well as the factors that promote resilience, narratives ing the process of adapting to a new community. Although from refugee women are needed. Th e objective of this study many refugees are likely to have experienced war, political is to share the perspectives of single, low-income refugee instability, physical/sexual violence, death of family or women on factors that encourage successful adaptation into friends, and multiple displacements across refugee centres,6 new communities by examining how resilience is promoted, there is signifi cant optimism about the capacity of refugees reinforced, or grown among refugee women in Hamilton. for resilience to trauma and dislocation.7 As Pulvareti and It is our hope that this will be a stepping stone for policy Mason note, “Resilience is oft en said to be about bending, advocates and invested stakeholders to gain a more compre- not breaking, when facing stress, trauma and adversity.”8 hensive awareness of relevant public policies, forms of social To date, however, much of the work has searched for indi- support, and more appropriate resource allocation. vidual protective factors,9 rather than identifying it as a col- lective process,10 leading to calls for moving research away Background from a focus on individual resilience toward recognition of Hamilton, Ontario, is a mid-sized Canadian city located in the role of multiple factors, including group composition, southern Ontario, about sixty kilometres west of Toronto. institutions, non-governmental agencies, and public poli- Th e city has an estimated 500,000 residents, including a for- cies.11 As an alternative, “collective resilience”12 diff ers from eign-born population greater than 100,000. Approximately individual resilience (personal resilience) and community 1,440 refugees arrive annually in Hamilton; around 440 are resilience (resilience in one community). While individual government-assisted refugees (GAR), while 1,000 are refu- attributes remain important, collective resilience allows the gee claimants or individuals who claim refugee status aft er exploration of the broader structures that bridge and hold arrival in Canada.17 Up to one-third of all foreign-born communities while providing support and enable resettle- within the city entered Canada as refugees, representing a ment, including support from the wider society, particularly greater proportion of all immigrants than observed for all contributions “from community members; people from the Ontario or all Canada, with Hamilton’s refugees arriving same country of origin or people who share values; respect from a diverse set of origins. Due to its proximity to Toronto for each other; empathy and support of local people; and and its lower cost of living, Hamilton is also an important community members talking, negotiating, discussing and centre for “secondary” settlement of refugees (i.e., settling balancing their needs and views.”13 in Hamilton aft er an initial settlement elsewhere). Within collective resilience, the community can provide Prior to changes to refugee health care (enacted by the assets, including support networks, infrastructure, and Canadian federal government in June 2011), both refu- resources that empower and create participation. Social gee claimants and GARs were eligible for health coverage support from within the community, including shared through the federal government’s Interim Federal Health vision, mutual assistance, cooperation, and attachment, Program (IFH).18 Following a three-month residency per- has been noted to aid resilience and adaptation to the host iod in the province, GARS could also apply directly to society. For example, social support, including strong reli- the provincially funded Ontario Health Insurance Plan gious beliefs, engenders increased psychological well-being (OHIP) which provides more extensive health coverage.19 in refugees.14 In building community support, more people In comparison, IFH is a temporary health insurance pro- gain support from the community, reinforcing the process, gram (twelve months, with options for extending up to and ultimately aiding adjustment and resettlement in a cir- twenty-four months for recipients with identifi ed special cular and cumulative process. Conversely, if social support health needs20) that covers urgent and essential health is missing, resilience may be lower and resettlement slower. needs including prenatal, contraception, and obstetrical

66 Resilience among Single Adult Female Refugees

care; essential prescription medications; emergency dental Methods treatments; and treatment and prevention of serious med- Th is research paper aims to examine how resilience is pro- ical conditions. Counselling or psychotherapy, diagnostic moted, reinforced, or grown among low-income single procedures, certain ambulance services, and vision care refugee women in Hamilton. In order to assess this, formal are also covered to an extent but required preapproval from support received from government agencies, NGOs, and Citizenship and Immigration Canada. GARS also receive religious organizations, along with informal support from access to resettlement services (funded through the fed- family and from religious and cultural communities, were eral government) which provide services including health, evaluated through their experiences. Th e strength, positive employment, language, and settlement. Refugee claimants, attitude, and resourcefulness of these refugee women were on the other hand, are not eligible for IFH and are also also assessed. Both were accomplished through personal, unable to access settlement and integration services until semi-structured interviews of single adult female refugees they have attained permanent status (i.e., until their refugee of childbearing age, eighteen to fi ft y years. claim has been approved). Refugee women who arrived in Hamilton within the Refugees commonly arrive in Canada with greater health, period of one month to ten years before the study date of social, and economic needs than other immigrants: a sig- September 2011, with an annual income below the 2010 nifi cantly greater proportion of refugees report physical, Statistics Canada low-income cut-off , were recruited to the emotional, or dental problems than all other immigrants. study. Approval was gained from the author’s institutional One reason for this is that refugees are much more likely to Research Ethics Board (REB) before proceeding with the have experienced war, political instability, physical/sexual recruitment process. Study recruitment fl yers were trans- violence, death of family or friends, and multiple displace- lated prior to recruitment into Czech, Hungarian, Arabic, ments across refugee centres.21 Refugee women suff er in and Spanish. Th e interviewees were recruited with the help strikingly diff erent ways than men upon arriving in Canada, of three community service centres in Hamilton. Th ese and are particularly vulnerable to mental health issues dur- centres were contacted in advance to request permission to ing resettlement.22 Due to the subordinate role of women in place study recruitment posters in traffi c-heavy areas. With many cultures, they are at greater risk of facing exposure to further permission from administrative members from violence, lack of or reduced autonomy, lack of recognition these centres, administrative staff recruited interviewees by of foreign credentials and experience, cultural and system- word of mouth. atic barriers to care, poverty, underemployment, the burden A total of nine interviews between September and of multiple roles within the family, social isolation, and December 2011 were conducted. Th e women interviewed loss of pre-existing social support. Single and low-income came from diverse backgrounds including Hungary, Nigeria, women may face even greater barriers than married women Iraq, Cameroon, Afghanistan, Sudan, and Congo, with because they oft en arrive without any pre-existing forms three out of the nine interviews requiring a professional of social support.23 Cultural norms that govern women’s translator to be present at the interview. Prior to each inter- roles in social situations may render it diffi cult for them to view, interviewees were given a consent form and notifi ed become part of larger refugee communities: this isolation that they could withdraw from the study at any point, which may heighten risks of sexual and gender-based violence, would in turn lead to the deletion of any recorded informa- including sexual exploitation and forced prostitution.24 As tion. A recording device was used during the interview to a result, they are more likely to experience low income and record the interview proceedings. An interview guide was to be among the most vulnerable. used to facilitate responses from interviewees, whereby a While these barriers to successful acculturation exist, combination of open- and closed-ended questions were there may be resources and opportunities that promote used. Th e interview script included questions addressing resilience and ultimately enable individuals to overcome their life prior to arrival, the arrival and settlement pro- barriers. Formal services such as government programs, cess, their experience with social, educational, and health settlement services, immigrant groups, and informal forms services in Canada, support used and received (inclusive of support such as religious and cultural communities may of family, friends, and providers), and sources of fear and all facilitate resilience for these women. Th is paper will con- stress upon coming to Canada and settlement. Aft er the sider these forms of support from the perspectives of single interview, interviewees were provided with a small token of refugee women. appreciation for participating in the study, consisting of two bus passes and a $20 grocery gift card. Interviews lasted an average of fi ft y-fi ve minutes and were transcribed for a total of twenty-four hours verbatim,

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and their content was analyzed. Transcripts were marked in—single mothers, low income, living in a new community, with a number that replaced the interviewee’s name to and reliant on the government for income support—their ensure confi dentiality, and to identify which recorded infor- resilience was apparent: more than just adapting to their mation must be deleted in the event that a given interviewee new life, the resilience among the women interviewed for wished to withdraw from the study. As this was an explora- this project was enhanced by various assets within the com- tory study, the research did not attempt to test existing munity. Th e discussion below explores why. theories.25 Instead, a grounded theory approach was used during the coding process to facilitate understanding about Support from the Government resilience.26 Grounded theory enables theory generation Although education is not a direct avenue of support, refu- related to social processes “grounded” in empirical data gee women interviewed for this study saw education, which and the experiences of participants,27 with the resulting is funded through the provincial government, as an instru- theory able to inform research and interventions. Data col- mental factor in securing their long-term success in Canada. lection and analysis occurred simultaneously, with each Th e single female refugees who arrived with children were transcript coded for themes relating to resilience. Th ese very pleased with the educational support provided by themes were placed in categories based on the source/type the government. Seeing their children transition to life in of resilience identifi ed, and then further broken into subcat- Canada aided by the educational system gave these women egories refl ecting participants’ experiences of those barriers. hope and motivated them to attain educational success as Common themes within and across groups were identifi ed well. Following the educational experiences of her children, through the coding process and further discussed by the one woman commented: “I know but I want education now. authors for relevance and signifi cance. Because for me this is important, I can’t work all my life in McDonald. For the future, I want a good job” (5). Results Th e education system also provided a signifi cant source Th e narratives of these single, low-income refugee women of hope to these women. Many of these women came from reveal how resilience was promoted through informal occupations they were interested in pursuing aft er settle- sources, NGOs, government support, and personal charac- ment in Canada. “I have master degree in English language teristics such as their resourcefulness, determination, and teaching, but I cannot get a job in Egypt, here they said you strength. Most strikingly, all participants were dependent can go to Mohawk degree, they say you can work at least as on all of these supports in order to meet their needs, refl ect- a teacher in any organization here” (3). ing notions of collective resilience, although some services However, like many below the low-income cut-off , these were seemingly more important than others. women struggled with the fi nancial and health services pro- All but one of the women interviewed for this project were vided by the government. All of these women arrived with single when they arrived in Canada, either having separated little fi nancial resources, having spent most of their savings from their husbands or having been widowed before arrival to get to Canada. Th us, although the women were grateful in Canada. Th e one woman who arrived in Canada with her for whatever the government could provide, the struggle to husband later separated from him aft er arrival and prior to gain fi nancial resources and access to health care eroded the interview. Most (six) brought young children with them. resilience and made it diffi cult for these women to adapt. Most came directly to Canada from their home country; others transited through other countries before arriving I get paid $334 from Ontario Works, $200 for rent. It’s not enough, in Canada. Six came directly to Hamilton aft er landing in food and groceries are very expensive. $200 is just good for the Canada, while the others transited or temporarily resided food. For one month, $800, not enough. Internet, home, it’s not in other Canadian cities before arriving in Hamilton. Once enough. And other bills are lots. It’s good child tax give me $1000, in Hamilton, all used temporary accommodation (typically with this I manage the house. But you don’t have no choice. (5) refugee shelters) for their fi rst few weeks in the city before fi nding their own accommodation, oft en with the assist- Being part of the workforce is crucial to resilience ance of the shelter, friends, or community groups. through the creation of long-term sense of belonging and All of the interviewees were unemployed at the time of community. One woman expressed feelings of frustration the interview and received their income from the provin- from not being able to obtain a job of a similar status to cial government through the Ontario Works program. Most what she had in her home country because of her lack of were taking, or had taken, ESL courses to strengthen their Canadian experience. Not being able to fi nd a job decreased English ability, and two volunteered in the local commun- her sense of belonging: ity. Despite the circumstances that they found themselves

68 Resilience among Single Adult Female Refugees

Because if you read in the Immigration Canada website, they any clothes, so I got taken to the warehouse and got myself some promise you everything, they promise you everything. Th ey clothes. (4) promise you a job. But when you come here you realize that the jobs here are less than the people. And the jobs that are menial Oh it was, I, I, thank God it was good! Th e most important thing jobs, 8 to 10 dollars, minimum wage. It’s not something I want to for me is shelter, the shelter and the food. Th at’s what is important, do. I did these a student, but I didn’t expect to do it here now in you have this for your kids, your kids when they say I’m hungry Canada, with all my qualifi cations I thought I could get a job. But and there is nothing, your heart is break. You know? But there’s no, they told me that I don’t have a Canadian experience. So that food, there’s shelter. …they give us the food and the shelter. (6) is the barrier that we are facing. (4) We actually got contact information from the shelter to get in Beyond employment, good health and access to health touch with a person where we can get help with navigating, and care when needed are critical to resilience promotion. As planning appointments, and just helping us with the settlement noted in McKeary and Newbold,28 lack of access to health process. We got a lot of help that was very helpful. (1) care remains a concern among refugees in particular and newcomers to Canada more generally. Surprisingly, and Mental health issues remain a concern within the popu- despite the fact that other researchers and providers alike lation and are vital for resilience, as many refugee women have noted consistent issues with the IFH,2, refugees did not have come from a place of war and political instability, while discuss the role or need of health insurance and the pro- being subjected to physical and sexual abuse. However, only gram. For some, they had not needed to venture into the three of the nine interviewees mentioned that they had used health care system, or had not been in Canada long enough some form of counselling. Th is is in line with current evi- to have received coverage through the provincial health dence that Western mental health services are oft en under- plan. For those that had used the health care system, com- utilized because they are “culturally alien to most refugees, munity groups or shelters had helped to facilitate fi nding a the majority of whom come from non-Western societies and doctor and/or they persevered in fi nding health care. Still, bring with them culturally specifi c ways of understanding one-third of respondents did not know what IFH was and and responding to psychological distress.”30 NGOs are cru- did not know how it worked. cial support networks that can help these refugee women overcome emotional and psychological challenges that may Support from NGOs prevent their successful adaptation: “Yeah, Oh [the com- Government support for refugee health care (i.e., through munity centre people] are very good people, you know they the IFH program) or other services is limited both tempor- helped me to, to you know, move from my trauma and get ally as well as fi nancially, forcing refugees to seek assistance past that” (7). with settlement from other organizations or communities. Th is support is important, because when these women Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) enhance resili- arrive in Canada, some of them still struggle from the ence by providing refugee women not only with the resour- trauma that they have experienced as refugees. In addition, ces that they need to adjust to living in Canada (i.e., access to many of these women miss their families and their friends— language services, shelter, food, and other services), but also and fi nd it diffi cult to adapt to the reality that they may with connections and opportunities to become established never see them again. and enhance their resilience by building personal assets. While NGOs help refugees manage, the assistance is Language support has been identifi ed as a signifi cant oft en only short term. For some of our participants, shel- barrier to health care and other services following arrival. ter was provided for the period of one year by NGOs, aft er NGO support included English language training, mental which their eligibility for support ended. When the year fi n- health, and employment assistance. NGOs also provided ishes, these participants needed to move out and fi nd shelter refugees with access to better shelter, child services, trans- and furniture for a permanent place to live: portation, food, and clothing, and are oft en critical sup- ports for refugees by fi lling in the blanks that government Th e home that we’re in is only for one year, it’s not ours. Ours no, programs do not provide: but they provide for us a dinner table, couch and chairs and they put bed and drawers and they helped me a lot because they put Yeah when I came to [the community centre] that night, they said bed and everyone tells me they look for bed and mattress and stuff oh no problem, you sleep here, you stay here, so they gave me and now aft er we stay here…kitchen, everything I got, blankets I food, and gave me bed, before that I showered, hadn’t showered got, jacket I got. (7) in 2 weeks, got up in the morning and showered. I didn’t have

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NGOs provide important support and assets by provid- Th e women also relied upon their religious community to ing resources, education, encouragement, and support to help overcome barriers to health and language: refugees, all of which built resilience. At the same time, sup- port from NGOs is oft en limited, forcing refugees to ndfi I have friends, before I don’t have friends, now I have gotten other forms of support. While it is reasonable to expect that friends, I have pastor that talk to me, I have church that come support should be withdrawn at some point aft er arrival, the to visit me. Th ey bring so many things for me. Each time they termination of support at one year appears to be arbitrary, come they bring so many things for me. Th ey bring clothes for my and threatens resilience given that it oft en takes longer than baby, for my son, only that because I’m too fat, sometimes they a single year to adjust to the host community. say that they will bring things for me, only that because I’m too fat, they don’t have my size you know? Th ey can’t fi nd my size in Informal Support from Religious or Cultural their wardrobe. But for my kids, for my little baby, for my son, Communities they bring things for them. My house is full you know? Th ey call Community, and more importantly community assist- me on phone and talk to me, do you have any you know, do you ance and support for refugees, is an important component need things? (2) of resilience. For new arrivals, creating or participating in a community is vital and provides support and a sense of While providing material and social support, the reli- belonging through attachment and place. At the same time, gious community helped to build community, enable settle- community enhances resilience by providing coping mech- ment, and integrate refugees in the community, and oft en anisms through social networks, infrastructure, education, linked them into the broader community beyond their own, encouragement, support, and resources and can create potentially more narrowly defi ned, ethnic group. Ethnic opportunities that encourage meaningful participation in or cultural communities fi lled a similar role in providing the community. However, such community must be built, both short-term support as well as long-term assistance as most refugees lost a large degree of their social network, that contributed to resilience. Importantly, resilience wasn’t including family, in coming to Canada. Likewise, commun- something that just happened, but refl ected a process that ity does not occur naturally, and must be nurtured through unfolded over time and through interaction with various contributions by community members, shared values, and agents and providers. Refugees who came from cultural engagement. Consequently, refugees needed to rely on a backgrounds previously established in Hamilton had an range of individuals for their social network, inclusive of advantage in that connections into the community could be others sharing their same origin or ethnic background as easier and access to NGOs and other forms of support were well as the broader community who provided opportunities facilitated. Oft entimes, these community members under- to discuss problems with adjusting to Canadian life. stood their challenges and empathized with them.33 “And Regardless of the process that brings newcomers to they make a contact here—the Sudanese people they met Canada, the existence of religious, ethnic, or cultural com- me and at the border when I crossed the border they met me munities is generally seen as an advantage and enabler and… we went to that shelter” (7). of social and economic acculturation to the host society. Being understood, and having a community in which Cultural background plays a major role in the informal to relate their experiences, allowed these refugee women support that a refugee woman may receive. Like many new- to improve upon their coping mechanisms and fostered a comers, the refugee women sought emotional and informa- sense of belonging. However, there are also refugees from tional support from peers, relatives, and friends established cultural backgrounds that are not as well established in in Canada.31 Most newcomers viewed those who came to Hamilton. Many miss their families and their friends, and Canada before them as an important source of support fi nd it diffi cult to adapt to the reality that they may never see because they had fi rst-hand knowledge of Canadian society, them again. Some participants found life lonely and isolat- customs, and the settlement process.32 ing given the lack of a pre-existing refugee community, and especially because their cultural understanding of com- From Egypt, there is somebody there. He helped me, he’s like my munity diff ered drastically from that found in Hamilton. translator? Yeah, he helped me a lot, he came to me, we came to For example, many women were born and raised in small Niagara Falls, anyways he helped me, he came to me over there, he communities with lots of family and where friends were helped me, we stayed with a friend for two three days and we came considered family too. Th ese women found it diffi cult to to the [community centre] house. (7) adapt to a community of strangers: “And back home too, always something happening with aunts and grandma, but

70 Resilience among Single Adult Female Refugees

here—there’s no one … and they told me, “don’t knock on a problem here, because everyone says hi and smiles. Th ere is no anybody’s door” (6). problem here. (1) Th us, participants revealed that this form of support lead to a more successful acculturation, while a lack of a cultural Support from family and a welcoming environment typically or religious community seems to have a negative impact on encouraged resilience by promoting a positive approach to resilience. life. Th us, these forms of informal support meet emotional, Other informal forms of support included family and the informational, material, and social needs, greatly contribut- social environment of the community. Of the nine single ing to successful acculturation in a new community. refugee women that were interviewed, only three arrived without children. Participants with children described Strength, Positive Attitude, and Resourcefulness of the them as a source of social support and motivation for life: Women Interviews with refugee women identifi ed that resilience is I’m very happy with my life. Th ank God I have my kids. I’m both conditional upon the assistance of the broader com- happy, I’m going on. I don’t need anything else. For me my kids is munity and also constructed through the support of com- important. Th is, everyday is going on. Life goes on. Just stand up munity, agencies, family, and friends. Refugees clearly val- and say I’m happy. You need to keep yourself strong. I think this ued the support that they received from service providers, was bad happening to me, I’m done now, because I have two more including help that was timely, relevant, and refl ective of kids. My job, I go on, for my kids. I’m going on for my kids. I want community strengths. Fundamental to resilience, but also to be both mother and father. (5) beyond formal and informal support, each interviewee demonstrated incredible courage and strength, not only Furthermore, almost all agreed that the community in with their decision to come to Canada, but in how they dealt Hamilton was supportive, open, welcoming, and respectful: with challenges upon arrival. Th ese diffi culties included, but were not limited to, discrimination, food, language, work, It was good. Over here, in Canada everything is available. Healthy, culture, and lack of fi nancial resources. Th ough the chal- the country is helping the women for the food and the services. lenges that many of these women faced were daunting, their Th is is good. For us culture, if women is single and divorced with strength, positive attitude, and resourcefulness showed that kids, no one give them clothes or food. Th ere are no services. they are capable individuals, able and willing to contribute Th ese women and kids die on the road. Th is place is a 100% better to the community. Furthermore, the women demonstrated than our countries. Good services, good school. Th is experience great resourcefulness as they were not reliant on just one is healthy experience for women especially. (5) group, but rather used a combination of resources provided by the government, NGOs, and cultural organizations in I have so many that talk to me, my doctor is the fi rst person…. I order to succeed. Th e ability to ask questions underscores have friends, before I don’t have friends, now I have gotten friends, their resilience: I have pastor that talk to me, I have church that come to visit me. Th ey bring so many things for me. Each time they come they bring “So how were you able to learn about the bus system?” so many things for me. … Th ey call me on phone and talk to me, do you have any you know, do you need things? Does your daugh- “Because I am always asking. I keep asking.” (2) ter need anything? Sometimes I say, it’s okay my house is full, I don’t need anymore, they say Sabina you need! Your daughter as well as the ability to manage their lifestyle and spending need! Brittney is growing! And I have a friend, she gets me things habits: wow, very, very well. When I was in my house she always came to visit me—even now she came to visit me, call me on phone. Okay, 747 dollars...it’s not enough, you consider, internet, rent, TV. It’s so they care, people care for me, they want me to live! (7) not enough. I try to manage. (3)

It was specifi cally noted that there was a lack of racial dis- Moreover, there was a sense of independence among the crimination in Hamilton, a factor which could reduce resili- refugee women interviewed, especially refugee women with ence by creating barriers to the broader community.34 children:

…I like to talk about the experience with people. Because where we I wanted to depend on myself, I don’t want everyone doing for me come from, no one says hi to us because of our origin. Th is is not like a baby, you know no! But like you know they give me and they

71 Volume 29 Refuge Number 1

say its’ your responsibility, yeah but they tell you, they advise you Th e assets supporting resilience and integration into the know? How to do—and then it’s for you. (6) host society are collective and are reinforced by the strength, positive attitude, and resourcefulness of the women, For me it’s easy, I’m a mother, it’s normal. (5) enabling this vulnerable population to manage despite the challenges and diffi culties they are faced with.36 Collective Not only were the refugee women able to manage given the resilience, encompassing support from government agen- few resources provided, but they also many maintained a cies, NGOs, and informal sources, was crucial in creating positive attitude despite the language, resettlement, and and reinforcing resilience among refugee women. More cultural barriers they encountered: than just aiding their adaptation to their new country, these sources of support allow the ability to overcome barriers to Now, thanks God thanks God thanks God... Before I came here adaptation by drawing upon their own strengths while also I was crying, you know? But now I look at it and say thanks God, connecting the women to a larger community and know- thanks God we came here and everything here is better, diff er- ledge of the resources that are embedded within it. Th at is, ent life, diff erent, diff erent life, diff erent life diff erent everything. promotion and building of resilience will aid adaptation. What do you want more? (2) However, not all assets were equally strong. Government support, for example, appeared limited to programs such as I’m very happy with my life. Th ank God I have my kids. I’m happy, Ontario Works and access to some services including health I’m going on. I don’t need anything else. You should be going on. care through the IFH program, meaning that NGOs were If sometime bad is coming, you don’t want to stand up and say I’m consequently forced to pick up what is not covered by the done. You can’t be like that. You need to keep yourself strong. (5) government. Support from NGOs provided the women with access to language services, shelter, food, services for their Th us, these refuge women, through their optimism, strength, children, and transportation information; however the sup- and determination, were able to foster a sense of collective port is oft en short-term and limited to GARs, while refugee resilience by drawing upon the resources that they embod- claimants are largely forced to fi nd their own way. In other ied, but also by drawing upon the community resources. words, the support provided by NGOs is only as good as Th is is turn acted to promote their successful acculturation those provided by more formal institutions, and refugee into the broader Hamilton community. claimants are forced to rely on these multiple sources of support. Discussion Likewise, support through social networks, such as reli- Th is research paper sought to explore how resilience is gious or cultural communities and peer and family support, reinforced among refugee women in the Hamilton com- enabled resilience and is an infl uential factor of emotional munity. Th e ability of these women to adapt is dependent and physical health.48 However, not all social networks on who they are (internal), as well as on the external sup- were supportive or well established, with some commenting ports (assets) available in their community. Refugees are, by on their still developing networks, while others noted the nature, a resilient group, given the traumatic experiences diffi cult time immediately aft er arrival when they had no 35 they encountered before fi nding a way to come to Canada. one. Without a sense of community and belonging, feelings As such, individual strengths and traits are necessary, but of rejection and depression can oft en persist,37 while estab- not suffi cient, for resilience. Instead, resilience extends to lishing proper support networks will help promote resili- the broader community “collective,” including an individ- ence among refugee women and ultimately allow them to ual’s ability to draw on various assets for support: govern- contribute and thrive in their adopted communities. ment services, NGOs, and informal religious and cultural Social capital cannot, on its own, substitute for more communities: all provided education, encouragement, and formal resources. Instead, such facilitating and positive support that enabled resilience by allowing them to cobble sources of resilience are most eff ective when available together suffi cient resources to allow them to manage and together. However, resilience supporting assets can be overcome barriers. It can be said that it is the ability to “man- withdrawn and/or weakened, jeopardizing resilience and age” what they have that underscores a successful accultura- integration. In 2011, for example, the Canadian federal gov- tion. Resilience also appears as a process—it is not some- ernment signifi cantly reduced health coverage for refugee thing that necessarily has a defi ned start or end point, but claimants.38 Likewise, a major settlement service closed in continues as settlement occurs, new languages are learned, the years prior to this work. Although other agencies had and lives are reconstructed through new opportunities. stepped in to cover the missing services, overall funding was reduced and the loss of the one provider demonstrated

72 Resilience among Single Adult Female Refugees

the frailty of the system. Such examples highlight the many 2. C. L. Patil, T. Maripuu, C. Hadley, and D. W. Sellen, funding reductions and program restructuring with respect “Identifying Gaps in Health Research among Refugees to refugees, with cuts aff ecting the most vulnerable. NGOS Resettled in Canada,” International Migration (2012), are unlikely to have suffi cient resources to fi ll the new gaps doi:10.1111/j.1468-2435.2011.00722.x). that emerge. Instead of cutting funding towards refugees, 3. M. McKeary and K. B. Newbold, “Barriers to Care: Th e more programs that address the unique challenges experi- Challenges for Canadian Refugees and Th eir Health Care Providers,” Journal of Refugee Studies 23 (2010): 523–545; enced by refugees in Hamilton (and likely elsewhere) need J. Naish, J. Brown, and B. Denton, “Intercultural Consul- to be made available, with funding for programs refl ecting tations: Investigation of Factors Th at Deter Non-English the long period of adaptation to the host country—a period Speaking Women from Attending Th eir General Practi- that cannot be neatly defi ned by a single year. If the refu- tioners for Cervical Screening,” British Medical Journal 309 gees interviewed in our study are refl ective of the broader (1994): 1126–1128. refugee population and arrive in Canada having experi- 4. M. Pulvirenti and G. Mason, “Refugee Women’s Experiences enced trauma and the distress of relocation to a strange of Violence and Resilience: Early Explorations,” Australian land, this would include tackling sources of emotional or and New Zealand Critical Criminology Conference, 2010, psychological distress upon arrival, along with counselling http://ses.library.usyd.edu.au/bitstream/2123/7377/1/ services. Mason%20and%20Pulvirenti_ANZCCC2010.pdf. Th roughout the interviews, measures were in place to 5. M. A. Sossou, C. D. Craig, H. Ogren, and M. Schnak, “A maintain objectivity. We remained aware of the assump- Qualitative Study of Resilience Factors of Bosnian Refugee Women Resettled in the Southern United States,” Journal tions we made regarding the barriers with accessing proper of Ethnic and Cultural Diversity in Social Work 17 (2008): health care, fi nding proper housing, receiving proper edu- 365–385. cation, and eating healthfully. However, a limitation of 6. Pulvirenti and Mason, “Refugee Women’s Experiences of this study was that the administrative staff members from Violence and Resilience: Early Explorations.” the two community service centres were the ones actively 7. A. Fielding and J. Anderson, “Working with Refugee Com- recruiting the interviewees. Th is may have biased the munities to Build Collective Resilience” (ASeTTS Occa- administrative staff members to select interviewees that sional Paper 2, ISBN 1 74067 587 8), http://asetts.vacau had received the best support from their service agency. As .com/Documents/collectiveresilenceweb.pdf. a result, the interviewees chosen for the study may have had 8. Pulvirenti and Mason, “Refugee Women’s Experiences of a much more positive outlook on given social services than Violence and Resilience: Early Explorations.” what might be representative of the entire population of sin- 9. S. Luthar, D. Cicchetti, and B. Becker, “Th e Construct of gle refugee women in Hamilton, Ontario. A second limita- Resilience: A Critical Evaluation and Guidelines for Future Work,” Child Development 71 (2000): 543–562; T. A .P. Wit- tion was that this study only recruited interviewees through mer and S. M. Culver, “Trauma and Resilience among community service centres. Th us, refugees who were not Bosnian Refugee Families: A Critical Review of Literature,” able to receive this form of support (inclusive of claimants) Journal of Social Work Research 2 (2001): 173–187. were not included and their perspectives should be taken 10. S. Mohaupt, “Review Article: Resilience and Social Exclu- into account in future investigations. Finally, there is the sion,” Social Policy and Society 8 (2008): 63–71. concern that the limited number of participants may not 11. Pulvirenti and Mason, “Refugee Women’s Experiences of refl ect the refugee women in the community. Although the Violence and Resilience: Early Explorations.” sample size is relatively small, it should be noted that par- 12. Fielding and Anderson, “Working with Refugee Commun- ticipants were recruited until data saturation was reached. ities to Build Collective Resilience.” Future research should aim to investigate the perspectives 13. Ibid.; Martin, “Refugee and Displaced Women.” of those who did not receive social support from shelters 14. R. Schweitzer, F. Melville, Z. Steel, and P. Lacharez, as well as to assess the effi cacy of current refugee support “Trauma, Post-migration Living Diffi culties, and Social Support as Predictors of Psychological Adjustment in services. Resettled Sudanese Refugees,” Australian and New Zea- land Journal of Psychiatry 40 (2006): 179–187; J. Ahern, S. Galea, W. G. Fernandez, K. Bajram, R. Waldman, and D. Notes Vlahov, “Gender, Social Support and Posttraumatic Stress 1. United Nations, “Refugees, Resources for Speakers in Postwar Kosovo,” Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease on Global Issues,” http://www.un.org/en/globalissues/ 192 (2004): 762–770; M. Brune, C. Haasen, M. Krausz, O. briefi ngpapers/refugees/nextsteps.html; S. Martin, “Refu- Yagdiran, E. Bustos, and D. Eisenman, “Belief Systems as gee and Displaced Women: 60 Years of Progress and Set- Coping Factors for Traumatized Refugees: A Pilot Study,” backs,” Amsterdam Law Forum 3 (2011): 72. European Psychiatry 17 (2002): 451- 458.

73 Volume 29 Refuge Number 1

15. Martin, “Refugee and Displaced Women”; Z. Deacon and 16 (2006): 547–559; H. Starks and S. Brown Trinidad, C. Sullivan, “Responding to the Complex and Gendered “Choose Your Method: A Comparison of Phenomenology, Needs of Refugee Women,” Affi lia 24 (2009): 272–284. Discourse Analysis, and Grounded Th eory,” Qualitative 16. Beth Dewitt and Naomi Adelson, “Toward Equitable Health Health Research 17 (2007):1372–1380. and Health Services for Cambodian Refugee Women: An 28. McKeary and Newbold, “Barriers to Care.” Ethnographic Analysis,” http://pi.library.yorku.ca/dspace/ 29. Ibid. bitstream/handle/10315/10248/AdelsonDewitt2005 30. Miller and Rasco, Th e Mental Health of Refugees. .pdf?sequence=1 ; McKeary and Newbold, “Barriers to 31. M. Stewart, J. Anderson, M. Beiser, E. Mwakarimba, A. Care.” Neufeld, L. Simich, and D. Spitzer, “Multicultural Mean- 17. S. Wayland, “A Demographic Profi le of Immigrants to ings of Cultural Support amongst Immigrants and Refu- Hamilton” (Hamilton: Hamilton Immigration Partnership gees,” International Migration 46 (2008): 123–159. Council, 2010). 32. Ibid. 18. Citizenship and Immigration Canasda, “Interim Federal 33. Ibid. Health Progream: Summary of Benefi ts,” http://www.cic 34. S. Edge and K. B. Newbold, “Discrimination and the Health .gc.ca/english/refugees/outside/summary-ifh p.asp. of Immigrants and Refugees: Exploring Canada’s Evidence 19. Th e Canadian federal government enacted major chan- Base and Directions for Future Research in Newcomer ges to the IFH following data collection and analysis. We Receiving Countries,” Journal of Immigrant and Minority raise the potential implications of this policy change in the Health, DOI 10.1007/s10903-012-9640-4. 2012. conclusion. 35. J. Hooberman, B. Rosenfeld, A. Rasmussen, and A. Keller, 20. J. Wales, “Interim Federal Health: A Public Health Perspec- “Resilience in Trauma-Exposed Refugees: Th e Moderating tive,” McMaster University Medical Journal 7 (2010): 50–52. Eff ect of Coping Style on Resilience Variables,” American 21. K. E. Miller and L. M. Rasco, Th e Mental Health of Refugees: Journal of Orthopsychiatry 80 (2010): 557–563. Ecological Approaches to Healing and Adaptation (Mah 36. C. L. Dennis and L. Ross, “Women’s Perceptions of Partner Wah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2010). Support and Confl ict in the Development of Postpartum 22. V. Crooks, M. Hynie, K. Killian, M. Giesbrecht, and H. Cas- Depressive Symptoms,” Journal of Advanced Nursing 56 tleden, “Female Newcomers’ Adjustment to Life in Toronto, (2006): 588–599. Canada: Sources of Mental Stress and Th eir Implications 37. P. A. Th oits, “Mechanisms Linking Social Ties and Sup- for Delivery Primary Mental Health Care,” GeoJournal 76 port to Physical and Mental Health,” Journal of Health and (2011): 139–149. Social Behaviour 52 (2011): 145–161. 23. Deacon and Sullivan, “Responding to the Complex and 38. Th ese changes were announced and put in place following Gendered Needs of Refugee Women.” the completion of the data gathering stage of this project. 24. Martin, “Refugee and Displaced Women”; Deacon and Sul- livan, “Responding to the Complex and Gendered Needs of Refugee Women.” Karen Chung and Ellie Hong were students in McMaster 25. M. Cope, “Coding Qualitative Data,” in Qualitative University’s Health Sciences program. Research Methods in Human Geography, 2nd ed, ed. I. Hay (Toronto: Oxford University Press, 2005); K. G. Esterberg, Bruce Newbold (corresponding author) is a professor in Qualitative Methods in Social Research (Boston: McGraw- the School of Geography and Earth Sciences at McMaster Hill, 2002); University. Trained as a population geographer, his research 26. J. Corbin and A. Strauss, Basics of Qualitative Research: focuses on health and settlement issues among immigrants to Techniques and Procedures for Developing Grounded Th eory, Canada. Th is research was funded by the Canadian Institutes 3rd ed. (London: Sage, 2007). of Health Research (CIHR, #86517). 27. D. Walker and F. Myrick, “Grounded Th eory: An Explora- tion of Process and Procedure,” Qualitative Health Research

74 Volume 29 Refuge Number 1

Just Kids? Peer Racism in a Predominantly White City

James Baker

Abstract retaining immigrants; in fact, in 2009, Newfoundland and Th is article examines the eff ects of racialized name-calling Labrador attracted less than 1 percent of the total immigra- on a group of twelve visible minority refugee youth from tion population arriving in Canada.2 Th is process is further Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Th rough one-on- complicated by the fact that as many as 70 percent of those one in-depth interviews, the author discusses their experi- who arrive in Newfoundland and Labrador leave within the fi rst year.3 Coupled with this exodus is a low provin- ences in order to better understand how this important cial retention rate which, according to a report completed group of adolescents conceptualizes, constructs, and copes for Citizenship and Immigration Canada, averaged about with racism while living in a highly homogeneous white 43 percent from 2000 to 2006.4 Still, Newfoundland and Canadian city. Th e author concludes by noting that these Labrador continues to slowly increase its immigrant and experiences are having a negative eff ect on their social inte- refugee population, especially from such areas as Asia, gration and that increased eff orts by teachers and admin- Africa, and South America. In 2002, for example, 404 immi- istrators are needed to help combat peer racism in this pre- grants arrived in the province while in 2011, that number dominantly white city. had increased to 682.5 Indeed, as the province continues to diversify, there is no doubt that the issue of racism will gain Résumé greater public salience. Cet article examine les eff ets des injures raciales sur un While many Canadians take pride in the belief that groupe de jeunes réfugiés de douze minorités visibles de Canada is viewed as a country that promotes immigration Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador, au Canada. À l’aide d’entrevues and multiculturalism, the fact remains that racism does exist within contemporary Canadian society.6 Ibrahim M. individuelles approfondies, l’auteur examine leurs expéri- Alladin argues that many visible minorities living in large ences dans le but de mieux comprendre comment ce groupe urban centres (such as Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver) important d’adolescents comprend le racisme et négocie have experienced widespread discrimination in hous- cette réalité dans le cadre de leur intégration dans une ing, employment, and education.7 In fact, a 2005 poll con- communauté urbaine canadienne blanche et homogène. ducted by the Dominion Institute and Ipsos Reid suggests L’auteur arrive à la conclusion que ces expériences ont un a shift in those targeted by racism. In 1993, it was reported eff et négatif sur leur intégration sociale, et que les enseig- that Canadians felt that African-Canadians were the most nants et administrateurs doivent fournir un eff ort supplé- likely population to be discriminated against; however, by mentaire pour lutter contrer le racisme par les pairs dans 2005, that view had shift ed towards individuals from the une ville canadienne blanche, telle que St. John’s. Middle East.8 Regionally, the same poll found that 15 per- cent of Atlantic Canadians felt they had been a victim of Introduction racism while 10 percent believed that racism had increased Over the past few years, the role that immigration can play in Atlantic Canada in the past fi ve years. While research in sustaining Canada’s, and specifi cally Newfoundland and polling on racism tend to focus on the experiences of and Labrador’s, population has been well documented.1 visible minority adults, there is still a paucity of research on Th e province, however, has had problems in attracting and the experiences of adolescent visible minorities, especially

75 Volume 29 Refuge Number 1

younger refugees living in a smaller urban centre like St. total immigrant population in Newfoundland and Labrador John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador. Indeed, the focus on is estimated to be 8,380 (representing approximately 2 per- refugee youth is especially important given the fact that cent of the total provincial population) which is relatively numerous studies have identifi ed the eff ect that racism has comparable to New Brunswick (its total immigrant popula- on the lives of visible minorities.9 As Varma-Joshi and her tion is estimated to be 26,359 representing approximately colleagues note, “Studies suggest that children are aware of 4 percent of the total population).15 As these numbers will racial diff erences, can cite experiences in racism, hold racial also include immigrants from the United States of America, preferences, and demonstrate discriminatory behaviour as the United Kingdom, and other white European countries, early as four years old.”10 the number of visible minorities who are newcomers will be Th e purpose then of this study is threefold: to under- invariably lower. stand how adolescent refugees conceptualize racism; to describe the nature of racism as experienced by those living Sampling and Methodology in a predominantly white city; and to examine their coping Th is research involved twelve Government Assisted Refugee responses to racist incidents. Th e specifi c questions asked (GAR) adolescents aged fourteen to twenty (from geographic were: How do self-described adolescent victims of racism areas that include Eastern Europe and South Asia [n=4], conceptualize the term? What is the nature of racism as Africa and Middle East [n=4], as well as South America experienced by self-described adolescent victims of racism in [n=4]) who were residing in St. John’s, Newfoundland and the St. John’s Census Metropolitan Area (CMA)? How do self- Labrador at the time of the study. A potential participant described adolescent victims of racism respond to perceived was described as a visible minority GAR youth who believed racist incidents? In order to address these research questions, her/himself to be a victim of a racist incident. One of the key this article focuses on the experiences of twelve refugee issues for this research was agreeing on a proper defi nition youth aged fourteen to twenty who were enrolled in three of youth. For example, a cursory review of Statistics Canada junior and senior high schools in St. John’s, Newfoundland reports suggests that the defi nition of youth can range and Labrador.11 anywhere from fourteen to thirty-fi ve, depending on the Th is research was partly driven by a desire to better research, and even the United Nations Educational, Scientifi c understand the nature of racism as experienced by adoles- and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) diff ers in its assess- cent refugees living in a small urban centre (defi ned in this ment (using fi ft een to twenty-four in some instances and fi f- study as having a CMA population of less than 200,000) teen to thirty-fi ve in others).16 As such, for the purposes of as well as to contribute, in a small way, to the literature on this study, youth will be defi ned as fourteen to twenty-fi ve, racism.12 Th is article was also conceived, in part, aft er a based on Statistics Canada’s National Longitudinal Study of discussion with individuals who are associated with, and Children and Youth. work for, the Association for New Canadians. Aft er several In order to secure potential participants for the research, discussions with the Association’s Settlement Team, it was GAR youth were contacted with the assistance of the becoming quite clear that racist incidents among refugee Association for New Canadians, a non-profi t, community- youth were increasing within the St. John’s CMA. based settlement agency located in St. John’s, Newfoundland Given the similarities between New Brunswick and and Labrador. As the main settlement agency in the prov- Newfoundland and Labrador, and the desire to research ince, it was believed that they would be best positioned racism in a smaller centre, it was thought that replicating the to help identify youth who would be able to address the methodological approach of Cynthia Baker’s New Brunswick research questions. Th e Association’s Settlement Social study would be both useful and practical.13 Generally speak- Worker made an initial contact with potential participants ing, both New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador and, if the individual agreed to participate, the researcher have a relatively homogeneous population (although New followed up shortly aft erwards. In an attempt to achieve Brunswick has a more visible Aboriginal population located as large a sample as possible given the research limitations, closer to the major population centres of Fredericton, the snowball technique was utilized. With this process, Moncton, Saint John, and Miramichi). In terms of popu- existing study subjects recruit future subjects from among lation, Newfoundland and Labrador has approximately their acquaintances. Th is was especially important given 514,000 residents with 196,000 of these individuals located that the population was uncharacteristically small (i.e., self- within the St. John’s CMA while New Brunswick has an identifi ed victims of racism aged fourteen to twenty among approximate population of 751,000 with 138,000 located a refugee youth population of approximately one hundred in Moncton, 127,000 located in Saint John, and 94,000 in at the time of the study). While this technique is useful in Fredericton.14 Furthermore, based on the 2006 census, the managing the characteristics of a sample, it would be nearly

76 Just Kids? Peer Racism in a Predominantly White City

impossible to balance the sample by location, age, or gender. interview process, the researcher could ensure both confi - Moreover, due to the small sample size, the schools remain dentiality and anonymity (which would not be the case with unidentifi ed in order to maintain participant anonymity. focus groups); and third, given scheduling limitations, the Th e fi nal sample included seven females and fi ve males from interview process proved to be most eff ective for the inter- Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Ukraine, Sierra Leone, Colombia, Iraq, viewees (it is easier to schedule for one person rather than to and India. try to schedule for a group). Researching youth is especially important given that the To ensure that no problems arose during the interview, millennial generation (those born post-1980) are the lar- responses were recorded via both hand and tape. Although gest, most racially diverse generation in Canada. Th ere is no the questions were predetermined, the interviewer had doubt that such changes will have important implications fl exibility in following up on related topics, and in order for smaller provinces like Newfoundland and Labrador to ensure consistency, the author conducted all the inter- which remains largely (greater than 95 percent) homogen- views. In order to get a reasonable sample, some interviews eous and may experience resistance from the local popu- were conducted via telephone. Th is proved to be highly con- lation as it continues to diversify.17 Furthermore, for those venient for the interviewee given that the interviews were who arrive in Canada as refugees, asylum seekers, or low- conducted during the exam period for the students, thereby skilled immigrants, research conducted by the Canadian allowing them to participate in the research while ensur- Race Relations Foundation found that the unemployment ing minimal disruption to their studies. Th e author also rate is higher among foreign-born visible minorities and believed that the telephone interviews put an emotional dis- Canadian-born visible minorities than their white counter- tance between the interviewer and the interviewee, allowing parts, that good jobs remain elusive for minorities, that for a freer discussion on racism. Unfortunately, phone inter- higher education off ers fewer payoff s for minorities, and views were not practical for all participants given that the that racism, especially subtle racism, continues to be a fac- English language skills of some interviewees were limited. tor in the workplace.18 Finally, refugee youth are an import- It is important to note that interpreters were not used as the ant cohort for study given that there is so little research on researcher wanted to ensure that the interviews refl ected, in this group within either the Canadian or Atlantic Canadian their own words, participants’ lived experiences. As such, context. the sample was further limited to those youth whose under- Table 1: Youth Participants standing of English was strong enough to be able to com- municate reasonably well in English. Gender Age Source Country Prior to taping the telephone interviews, the consent M14Ukraine form was verbally read to the potential participant and then F 18 Kyrgyzstan the participant’s desire to continue with the interview was audio recorded. Th e research assistant then followed up M 18 Kyrgyzstan with a sealed written consent form that was provided to the M18Liberia student at their respective school for their signature. For the F17Liberia in-person interviews, youth were given a copy of the con- M 18 Colombia sent form and asked to read it. If they did not have any ques- tions, and agreed to participate, they were asked to sign and M 14 Colombia date the document. F 14 Colombia Data was collected from the participant interviews and F 20 Sierra Leone interpreted using a hermeneutical methodology.19 Th is F 17 Colombia approach is most useful when one wishes to understand what it means to be a victim of racism. As Varma-Joshi, F15Iraq Baker, and Tanaka note, “In a hermeneutical framework, F15India interviews are treated as texts created by participants who were engaged in the particular experience being studied.”20 Each of the twelve participants engaged in an in-depth Texts were fi rst treated as a whole, then were broken into one-to-one interview on the subject of racism. Interviews relevant parts. Th ese parts were constantly read and reread were chosen as the preferred method of research for a num- as the data was divided into categories in order to develop ber of reasons: fi rst, it was felt that other methods (such relational patterns. Indeed, Allan and Jensen note that text- as focus groups) would limit the discussion given that ual interpretation is at the core of a hermeneutical frame- the research addressed a sensitive topic; second, with the work given that “the purpose of a hermeneutical description

77 Volume 29 Refuge Number 1

and explanation is to achieve understanding through inter- Indeed, the concept of “new” racism is best conceptual- pretation of the phenomena under study.”21 As part of the ized as the idea that “traditional forms of racism, based on constructivist inquiry paradigm, hermeneutics is useful in explicit beliefs in white superiority, have been giving way to that it presumes that individuals bring a body of prior know- new forms of racism, which are more subtle than traditional ledge to new situations. Assessing the participants’ prior forms, and which in many cases (though by no means all) understanding of racism was crucial, as this would not only rely on discourse rather than violence and segregation….”27 help frame their experiences, but also contribute to a better Whereas traditional racists exhibit a direct and overt pat- understanding of their reality living within a predominantly tern of discrimination, the “new’ racists” actions may white city. It is important to note that given the small sample appear variable and inconsistent. As Dovidio and Gaertner size, the research cannot be generalized to the entire refugee point out, “Sometimes [‘new’ racists’] do not discriminate, youth population in the province or even St. John’s; rather, refl ecting their egalitarian beliefs; other times, they do dis- the intent is to allow for a better understanding of how this criminate, manifesting their negative feelings.”28 particular group of refugee youth conceptualize, construct, By exploring the concept of “new” racism, van Dijk and cope with racism while living in a relatively homogen- argues that latent racist messages can exist everywhere, eous white city. yet in some popular manifest perspectives, exist nowhere. For van Dijk, racist messages “are expressed, enacted and, “Old” versus “New” Racism confi rmed by text and talk, such as everyday conversations, Th e contemporary scholarly consensus suggests that the board meetings, job interviews, policies, laws, parliament- concept of race is a modern phenomenon.22 Ian Law, how- ary debates … movies, TV programs and news reports in ever, suggests that racism has existed in numerous forms the press, among hundreds of other genres.”29 Th us the across the globe since antiquity. For example, commenting idea of a “new” racism can potentially provide important on Middle Eastern racism, he notes, “Ancient Hebrews insights regarding the existence and infl uence of latent or thought interbreeding between natural kinds abhorrent … subtle racism on adolescent refugees living in a small white [and the] biblical story of God cursing black Africans with urban centre. eternal slavery … has been used as the single greatest justi- Indeed, such contemporary racism is, as Barker argues, fi cation for slavery for millennia.”23 Law further argues that masked in racially neutral language and rearticulated to Christian European racism has its origins in the expul- make it more acceptable in public discourse.30 Th is “new” sion of the Jews and Moors from Spain and that racism has racism is most potent because it refl ects a subtle, continued existed in China and Japan as far back as feudal times. In form of prejudice—even though an individual may not rec- eff ect, Law’s assessment challenges the notion that “old” ognize that her/his actions are causing anguish. Indeed, as racism has its origins in European colonialism.24 Phil Fontaine notes, “particularly in politics, racism and Th e idea of “old” racism (as juxtaposed against the idea prejudice are always founded on seemingly rational, stra- of “new” racism) can be best described as “a belief that race tegic arguments, designed to appeal to ‘common sense’ and is the primary determinant of traits and capacities and that so-called logical thinking.”31 His assessment implies that racial diff erence produce an inherent superiority of a par- the prejudices, upon which such racist arguments are based, ticular race.”25 While racism can exist at multiple levels seem acceptable. including institutional, environmental, cultural, and inter- Philomena Essed also argues that the micro forms of personal, identifying individual racism may be problematic racism have their origin in the macro forms; in other words, given that its identifi cation is invariably based on one’s per- it is the inherent structural inequalities and historical pro- ception of a situation and/or interaction. Whether institu- cesses that have led to the micro forms of racism. Such tional or individual, Ying Yee argues that while racism is a everyday racism is especially hurtful because it represents social construct, it does carry meaning within contempor- something that may not be consciously experienced by its ary society, thereby infl uencing the ways in which individ- perpetrators; it can occur without thought and be dismissed uals interpret and defi ne the term. Hence, the defi nition of when attention is brought to it. It integrates itself into every- “old” racism is oft en based on skin colour, culture, national- day practices and over time becomes part of the expected, ity, or religion.26 the unquestionable, and the habitual. It represents “the Th is research, however, proposes that the key to assess- empty seat next to a person of colour which is the last to ing racism in contemporary Newfoundland and Labrador be occupied in a crowded bus, the slight movement away society is to apply Teun van Dijk’s “new (or subtle)” racism. from a person of colour in an elevator, [and] the over atten- Van Dijk’s theory can help to explain the potency of such tion to the Black customer in the shop….”32 Indeed, every- concepts as fi tting in, passing, and blaming the victim. day racism is quite similar to the concept of “interpersonal

78 Just Kids? Peer Racism in a Predominantly White City

context” as described by Shelly Harrell, who argues that that comments such as the one above continued to perpe- “at the interpersonal level, racism is manifested through trate an overall negative image of Colombian refugees. both direct and vicarious experiences of prejudice and dis- Similarly, the three African youth interviewed for this crimination. Th is involves interactions with other people, research conceptualized racism in terms of their skin colour. as well as observation of their actions, nonverbal behaviour, Moreover, one Liberian youth indicated that there were “lev- and verbal statements.”33 While everyday racism (or inter- els” of racism in the province, and he perceived blacks to be personal context) may be subtle, invisible, and ethereal to at the base of that racial hierarchy. He states that racism is: those who perpretrate it, for those who experience it, every- day racism is obvious, visible, and substantial. …physically by color [be]cause, um, especially black and white, It is important to recognize that everyday racism can- because if you are white and you’re from Mexico they [white not simply be reduced to a singular event. It is a systemic people] won’t treat you diff erently because you’re white, but if process that works through multiple interactions, situations, you’re black [laughs] and you’re from, and you [don’t] look like and experiences. Indeed, many of the young interviewees white people, they treat you diff erently because of your color…. identifi ed multiple everyday racist experiences that, to the outside observer, might appear innocuous but to the young Th is statement suggests that the interviewee perceives refugee, they can have a lasting and signifi cant eff ect. As individuals from South America as on a par with other white Henry et al. note, “Th ese [everyday racist] incidents are youth. Obviously, as the interviews indicate, Colombian diffi cult to quantify because they are only revealed in the students do not share this view. thoughts, feelings and articulations of victims….”34 Another interesting problem with conceptualizing racism stemmed from the fact that two respondents had “Maybe I Do Something Wrong”: Young Refugees’ diffi culty understanding the term. While both of these Conceptualization of Racism individuals had little trouble recognizing the fact that they Given that hermeneutics presumes that individuals bring a were viewed as diff erent in St. John’s, having arrived from a body of prior knowledge to new situations, it was import- country where they were the majority, racism, as a concept, ant to understand how adolescent refugees conceptualized was foreign to them. Such a view is supported by Essed, who racism. Indeed, Essed argues that the meaning attached to notes that “it may be assumed that, without general know- specifi c racist events can only have signifi cance within a ledge of racism, individuals cannot comprehend the meaning framework of one’s general understanding of racism.35 For of racism in their lives.”36 those youth from Colombia, their racist experiences in St. While they were unable to conceptualize racism, the nega- John’s refl ected a well-known negative Colombian stereo- tive eff ect it has had on them was nonetheless compelling: type. For example, the Colombian youth noted that their peers oft entimes made disparaging comments about their Interviewer: When I ask about the word racism, what image country and its connection to the drug trade. As one female comes to mind or what ... how would defi ne racism or how do you student noted: see racism?

…well Colombia is known for its drug thing, the drug trade and Interviewee: Racism? Umm … I don’t know what it means. all that because people assume that if you come from a place you necessarily, you know, do things that some other people have Interviewer: How would you describe when someone treats you done so sometimes people ask me about drugs and they make diff erently? constant comments about you know about being related to drugs and cocaine and marijuana or stuff like that … they’ll ask me if I Interviewee: Mistreating me? (Yeah) okay, it’s like treating me have some or if I grow it at home or if I smoke it. badly (uh-huh) yeah (long pause) umm maybe someone does not like me (okay) umm maybe sometime I may do something wrong Th is statement is perhaps an excellent example of a “lesser” and the person does not understand and maybe… I don’t know… form of racism (assuming that there are even “degrees” of racism). For the individual making the comment, it may Th is exchange speaks volumes regarding the problems be viewed as harmless (or merely a source of curiosity) but that newcomers, especially refugees, face when coming to for this young refugee, it speaks directly to her identity. In Canada. Two of the three African refugee youth who were fact, the Colombian youth interviewed in this research were interviewed were at a loss to explain why some individuals highly cognizant of the “Colombian stereotype,” and felt reacted this way when,

79 Volume 29 Refuge Number 1

… as for you, you said racism right [nervous laugh] … I don’t know I want[ed] to go to the ESL to see [name removed] but I thought the meaning of the word too good … so if anybody tells such she didn’t say anything and I just put my hand on her shoulder, a thing that it would not feel good … what action I would take she was like ‘Leave me alone’ and I said ‘Why? Can you please against the person if somebody … somebody to tell me I didn’t do direct me somewhere?’ and she said ‘I don’t want to direct you.’ I anything to them. said ‘Why?’ she said ‘I don’t know you’ I said ‘I want you to be my friend. You can direct me because I don’t know anyone here.’ She Obviously, they recognize the emotional distress that said ‘I don’t like blacks.’ And I said ‘Because I’m black.’ She was racism can cause, despite their inability to “name” it. like ‘Yeah.’ Finally, while one Eastern European interviewee described a racist experience that was not directed toward Another youth reported that she remembered being him (rather toward a Chinese student in his class), he was called a “P—i” and an “Oreo Cookie” in elementary school.39 nonetheless cognizant of the harm it can cause. 37 He states, Clearly, such examples go beyond the covert form of racism to a point where the individual wanted to ensure the vic- you don’t expect people to think [about people like that] and when tim knew that they were the “outsider.” Th ese racial slurs people think something like that about someone who’s diff erent, were not limited to youth of colour as four other students I’m diff erent from the others, I look like Chinese too, and you just reported being persecuted due to their religious practices. … I feel like something like that might happen [to] me, and there’s As noted earlier, one youth noted that he was picked on for going to be bad things said about me for nothing. not being Jewish (while living in Israel) while a Muslim youth in the sample noted that she had been called a ter- For his sister, however, her experience with racism was rorist numerous times because she wears a hijab. As Picca refl ected through her nationality, which she recognized as and Feagin suggest, there are some whites who “engage in making her diff erent. She went on to describe her experi- racialized performances to show people of color that they ence as one in which her female peers would give her are trespassers into white space.”40 demeaning glares—a prime example of the overt nature of Th e remainder of the sample described being subjected everyday racism. to anti-immigrant sentiments, stereotypes, and discrimina- Sadly, some students in the sample perceived their racist tion. Th e anti-immigrant comments ranged from such state- experience as a result of their own actions. As the female ments as “immigrant go home” and “you’re not wanted here” Liberian youth noted, “I used to say umm ‘I think most to “go back to your country” and “stop killing my language.” people doesn’t like Blacks’ and he’d [her brother] just say Th ese stereotypes were refl ected mostly in the comments ‘maybe no they don’t want to talk to you because you just made by the Colombian interviewees who noted that they came here’ and I was like ‘yeah, maybe’.” Such experiences had been subjected to numerous references about the drug may be rooted in the discourse of blaming the victim. As trade in Colombia. In fact, when asked if there had been Frances Henry and her colleagues note, “In this form of other racist incidents in his life, one youth responded, “Well dominant discourse, it is assumed that certain communities [pause] mostly comments people make about my [pause] (such as African Canadians) lack the motivation, education, my country, and like my color, and stuff like that, like they or skills to participate fully in the workplace, educational make a lot of comments about drugs and stuff like that.” system, or other arenas of Canadian society.”38 Finally, one of the interviewees recounted being sub- jected to discrimination while applying for a job in St. John’s. “I Don’t Like Blacks”: Young Refugees’ Experience Despite her belief that she was qualifi ed, she felt that she with Racism was not hired due to her skin colour. She notes that she felt While it was a relief to fi nd that none of the interviewees “like they [the business] are really racist in that place because had experienced any violent racist incidents (in contrast to they hadn’t picked me, but it’s not even in the context, that the study by Baker, Varma-Joshi, and Tanaka), there was, place is, like a public place.” In fact, the particular individ- however, concern over the number of incidents in which ual went on to note that, from this experience she would racial slurs were used. During the interviews, seven youth not feel comfortable applying again for a job in the province. described an incident where they were subjected to a racial slur. In one incident, a female youth described how another “You Just Try To Be Like Everyone Else”: Coping student would not help her fi nd a classroom because she was with Racism black: Much research has been conducted on the social and mental eff ects of racism on visible minority adolescents.41 For youth of all ethnicities, adolescence can be a diffi cult

80 Just Kids? Peer Racism in a Predominantly White City

time; indeed, it becomes more acute when adolescent refu- American identity—perhaps as a means to fi t into “trad- gees have to deal with the added pressures produced by itional” North American society and to adopt traditional their race or ethnicity. One of the more troubling results behavioural norms associated with that identity.48 of racism is the sense of loneliness and isolation it can cre- Two trends deal with the way in which these youth ate. As Rokach and Neto note, “Loneliness has been linked address the emotional pain created by these experiences. to such maladies as depression, suicide, hostility, alcohol- First, there appears to be a tendency for these young refu- ism, poor self-concept, and psychosomatic illnesses….”42 gees to dismiss their experience with racism by attempting Furthermore, Brennan has noted that “adolescence seems to ignore the comments and incidents. Second, and per- to be the time of life when loneliness fi rst emerges as an haps even more serious, refl ects the fact that their parents intense recognizable phenomenon.”43 while Feagin and his are also encouraging this behaviour. Th e majority of those colleagues have suggested that racism, as experienced by interviewed indicated that their parents advised them to visible minority youth, has resulted in a higher degree of forget about their experience, and even suggested that it isolation, alienation, segregation, and concomitant stress.44 was not all that important. As one youth noted, “Th ey [his Brondolo and her colleagues indicate that racism can be parents] said that we just had to get used to it because ahh … a signifi cant source of stress and may have “deleterious like racism really exists everywhere all around the world.” If eff ects even when the target does not consciously perceive these youth bottle up the associated feelings they have with the maltreatment or attribute it to racism.”45 Indeed, those racism, it may create greater emotional and social prob- aff ected by racism must not only cope with the substance of lems for them in the future. Interestingly, evidence suggests racism (e.g., interpersonal confl ict, blocked opportunities, that specifi c coping mechanisms may be culturally based. and social exclusion) but also must manage its emotional Brondolo et al. reported that while black Americans would consequences (e.g., painful feelings of anger, nervousness, “try to do something and talk to others” in response to a sadness, and hopelessness). racist incident, Asian immigrants in Canada would prefer In these interviews, the youth respondents expressed to “regard it as a fact of life, avoid it or ignore it.”49 feelings of embarrassment, hurt, sadness, uneasiness, and While some youth in this sample felt the need to ignore shyness. Th ese feelings can also infl uence their development the pain of racism, others sought social supports from their and lead to an increased sense of loneliness. One young family and friends. Social supports are defi ned as the pres- refugee noted that aft er experiencing the initial racist inci- ence or availability of network members who express con- dent, he remembered being sad and moody. He went on to cern, love, and care for an individual and provide coping note that racism “makes me feel not good about myself, like, assistance.50 Seeking social support involves communicat- I don’t know, makes you think, like, that you don’t deserve ing with family and/or friends about the experience, and to be like everyone else and all that.” Surprisingly, only two many of the youth interviewed indicated that they had the interviewees indicated that their experience with racism support of their friends in dealing with racism in St. John’s. made them angry—a natural response given the seriousness While they recounted there were times when they felt they of the issue.46 were an outsider, the fact remains that they do have some Another refugee youth suggested that he had to “act white” degree of peer support. Several students indicated that their in order to be accepted; indeed, this acceptance would come friends came to their defense during the racist incident and at the expense of his own identity. Indeed, the coping tasks provided support following it. Th is is especially important posed by racism may create a need to manage the damage to young refugees since it may give them cause to believe to one’s self-concept and social identity.47 He states, “You that not all of their white peers espouse racist attitudes or know like you don’t always like being the one who is out- beliefs, and that their adopted country will support and side who is like you know … it’s like you and everybody protect them. else … so you just like try to be like everyone else is….” Th is too has serious implications for Canada given the emphasis Discussion and Conclusion that is placed on promoting multiculturalism as an offi cial Th is paper sought to answer three key questions: “How do policy. If young refugees feel that they need to “act white” in self-described adolescent victims of racism conceptualize order to fi t in with Canadian society, then this directly chal- the term?”, “What is the nature of racism as experienced by lenges the very notion of Canada as a multicultural mosaic. self-described adolescent victims of racism in the St. John’s Indeed, his sentiment mirrors the anecdotal evidence as CMA?”, and “How do self-described adolescent victims of reported by settlement counsellors at the Association for racism respond to perceived racist incidents?” It is evident New Canadians in Newfoundland and Labrador. Th ey have that these refugee youth understand the nature of racism observed that some African youth have adopted the African and are able to conceptualize it despite the fact the some

81 Volume 29 Refuge Number 1

respondents appeared unable to comprehend the term. individuals are more accepted due to the homogeneity of Moreover, the nature of their experiences seems to fall their culture and language in relation to their white peers.52 directly into the scope of “new” racism although one indi- Racism, either real or perceived, can also aff ect young vidual’s experience could be considered to be institutional refugees by creating undue stress in their lives. Indeed, it is racism. Finally, the coping strategies of these youth varied the accumulation of racism-based stress that can have the ranging from accepting and/or ignoring it to seeking out most devastating eff ect. As Harrell notes, “Th e stress—and social supports. potential damage—of racism lies not only in the specifi c Indeed, the connection between the respondents’ vision incident but also in the resistance of others to believing of racism and their own experiences is especially powerful. and validating the reality or signifi cance of one’s personal Th ey recognized that racism was having a negative eff ect on experience.”53 Th e reliving or retelling of the experience to their lives, and was creating an environment where they did someone who is doubtful can create added stress beyond not feel welcome. In fact, one of the observations made by the original event. Moreover, persistent racism can signifi - the researcher was that the interviewees generally became cantly impact the social and mental well-being and develop- quiet and withdrawn when describing their experiences. ment of youth by infl uencing their ability and willingness Th is can become problematic if these experiences begin to to trust, to form close relationships, and to be part of a occur on a regular basis, especially for the younger respond- social group. It can also infl uence their overall academic ents (i.e., younger than sixteen), if they choose not to discuss performance. their experiences, or if they choose not to seek out peer or Th e research demonstrates that racism has had an family support. immediate, and in some cases, long-term eff ect. Many Th e evidence also suggests that the described experiences respondents indicated that they felt ashamed about being have the potential to go beyond the spectre of everyday/“new” diff erent from their white peers and that the comments racism and may refl ect the possibility that a virulent overt oft entimes resulted in a poor self-image. When asked about racism is developing in the city. Indeed, a report prepared how the racist comments made them feel, one student for the Association for New Canadians found that over 40 responded that “sometimes it makes me feel bad because percent of white youth in the St. John’s CMA felt that racism I’m not doing anything wrong. I’m just being here.” As an was a problem at their school.51 Such statistics are especially adolescent refugee to Canada, developing a poor self-image relevant as St. John’s seeks to move away from its traditional at such a critical stage in the integration process may have monocultural (i.e., English/Irish) demography to one that is serious implications for his later emotional and cogitative more refl ective of the Canadian mosaic. While the majority development. of Canadians may believe that Canada is generally devoid Another consistent observation emanating from the of prejudice, discrimination, and racism, the evidence interviews was the respondents’ belief that education can presented here, at least among a select group of St. John’s help to eliminate racism and that community groups have refugee youth, appears to contradict that assertion. Clearly, an important role to play. Th e respondents spoke about the there is a discrepancy between the perceived and the actual types of events in their schools as well as the education sem- degree to which racism is a problem within the city. Indeed, inars that take place. Indeed, March 21, the International each respondent felt that racism created an environment Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, was cited where they did not feel welcomed or where they could not by many of the youth as an important part of the school year be viewed as equal to their white peers. Beyond the trad- for them. Furthermore, settlement agencies, such as the itional problems associated with language and culture, refu- Association for New Canadians, have done a tremendous gee youth also have to deal with the issues that follow from job in developing programs to educate youth on such key experiencing racism. topics as racism, multiculturalism, and cultural diversity. Th e experiences of racism also diff ered among the vari- Yet, despite all the programs, events, and training designed ous ethnic groups. For Middle Eastern and Indian youth, to promote diversity, racism still looms large. their belief system and religious practices were most likely Th e interviews clearly demonstrate that adolescent refu- to be attacked by their peers and their conceptualization of gees are experiencing increased instances of racism in racism refl ected this view. Moreover, the Eastern European St. John’s, and perhaps more seriously, this racism is peer and Colombian students seem less likely to experience driven. Indeed, the eff ect that racism can have on the men- racism on a level similar to African students, though the tal health of these refugee youth is immense and can ser- impact is perhaps just as devastating. Evidence from Warren iously impact their integration into Canadian society. It is et al. suggests that this could result from the fact that these also perhaps likely that the limited racial diversity found in Newfoundland and Labrador may diminish the critical

82 Just Kids? Peer Racism in a Predominantly White City

impact of the interviewee’s experiences. As such, given the 8. “March 21st, International Day for the Elimination of lack of a familiar ethnocultural community, this may result Racial Discrimination,” Ipsos Reid and the Dominion in an increased mental strain on young visible minorities, Institute, accessed January 31, 2013, http://www.dominion especially given the tendency for the youth in this sample .ca/Downloads/IRracismSurvey.pdf. to cope with the racialized name calling by accepting and/ 9. Russell W. Rumberger, “Dropping Out of High School: Th e or ignoring it. Infl uence of Race, Sex, and Family Background,” American Educational Research Journal 20 (1983): 199–220; Ruben While it was anticipated that racism would exist in the G. Rumbaut, “Th e Crucible Within: Ethnic Identity, Self- city, it was disconcerting to realize its overall eff ect on young Esteem, and Segmented Assimilation Among Children of refugees. Both this study and the one conducted by Baker, Immigrants,” International Migration Review 28 (1994): Varma-Joshi, and Tanaka suggest that racism does have 748–794; Rodney Clark, Norman B. Anderson, Vernessa immediate and long-term mental and social consequences R. Clark, and David R. Williams, “Racism as a Stressor for for adolescents.54 It is hoped that this research will not only African Americans: A Biopsychosocial Model,” American help to increase the knowledge of the eff ects of racism in Psychologist 54 (1999): 805–816; Toni Terling Watt and a predominantly white city but also provide the necessary Susan F. Sharp, “Race Diff erences in Strains Associated impetus for teachers and administrators to act to address it with Suicidal Behavior among Adolescents,” Youth and sooner rather than later. Society 34 (2002): 232–256. 10. Manju Varma-Joshi, Cynthia J. Baker, and Connie Tanaka, “Names Will Never Hurt Me?” Harvard Educational Review 74 (2004): 176. Notes 11. As the interviews were conducted between May and June 1. Wade Locke and Scott Lynch, A Survey of the Attitudes 2007, it is important to note that this research occurred of Employers in Newfoundland and Labrador Toward well before the adoption in 2012 of Protecting Canada’s the Recruitment and Employment of New Canadians and Immigration System Act. While this legislation will no International Workers (St. John’s: Leslie Harris Centre doubt infl uence all categories of immigration (including of Regional Policy and Development, 2005), accessed 25 refugees), the implication of those changes are not dis- October 2009, http://www.mun.ca/harriscentre/reports/ cussed in this paper. research/2006/immigartion_fi nal_report.pdf; Goss Gil- 12. Th e 2011 census estimated that the St. John’s CMA had a roy Inc., Retention and Integration of Immigrants in New- population of 196,966 while the 2006 Census estimated foundland and Labrador—Are We Ready?(St. John’s: Atlan- that it had a population 181, 113. tic Canada Opportunities Agency and the Coordinating 13. Cynthia J. Baker , Manju Varma-Joshi, and Connie Tanaka, Committee on Newcomer Integration, 2005), accessed 25 “Sticks and Stones: Racism as Experienced by Adolescents October 2009, http://www.nlimmigration.ca/media/2854/ in New Brunswick,” Canadian Journal of Nursing Research immigrationstudyfi nal.pdf; Government of Newfoundland 33 (2001): 87–105. and Labrador, Offi ce of Immigration and Multiculturalism, 14. Canada, Statistics Canada, “Population and Dwell- Diversity ~ Opportunity and Growth: An Immigration Strat- ing Counts, for Census Metropolitan Areas and Census egy for Newfoundland and Labrador (St. John’s: Human Agglomerations, 2011 and 2006 Censuses” (Ottawa: Sta- Resources, Labour, and Employment, 2007), accessed 25 tistics Canada, 2011), accessed January 31, 2013, http:// October 2009, http://www.nlimmigration.ca/media/2842/ www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2011/dp-pd/ strategydoc-mar07.pdf. hlt-fst/pd-pl/Table-Tableau.cfm?LANG=Eng&T=201&S= 2. Canada, Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Canada 3&O=D&RPP=150. Facts and Figures: Immigrant Overview Permanent and 15. Canada, Statistics Canada, “Immigrant Population by Temporary Residents (Ottawa: Citizenship and Immigra- Place of Birth, by Province and Territory (2006 Census)” tion Canada, 2010), 31. (Ottawa: Statistics Canada, 2006), accessed February 10, 3. Goss Gilroy, Retention and Integration of Immigrants, 19. 2013, http://www.statcan.gc.ca/tables-tableaux/sum-som/ 4. Canada, Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Research l01/cst01/demo34b-eng.htm. Please note that these esti- and Evaluation, Ima Okonny-Meyers, Th e Interprovincial mates are based on the 2006 census data as the 2011 num- Mobility of Immigrants in Canada (Ottawa: Citizenship and bers were unavailable. Immigration Canada, 2010), 4. 16. UNESCO, “UNESCO: Acting with and for Youth,” accessed 5. Canada, Canada Facts and Figures, 30. February 10, 2013, http://www.unesco.org/new/en/social 6. Keith Banting and Will Kymlicka, “Canadian Multicultur- -and-human-sciences/themes/youth/.; Canada. Statistics alism: Global Anxieties and Local Debates,” British Journal Canada, “National Longitudinal Survey of Children and of Canadian Studies 28 (2010): 43–72. Youth” (Ottawa: Statistics Canada, 2010), accessed February 7. Ibrahim M. Alladin, Racism in Canadian Schools (Toronto: 10, 2013, http://www23.statcan.gc.ca/imdb/p2SV.pl?Functi Harcourt Brace Canada, 1996). on=getSurvey&SDDS=4450&Item_Id=25609&lang=en.

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17. Canada, Statistics Canada, “Community Profi les (2006 35. Philomena Essed, Understanding Everyday Racism: An Census)” (Ottawa: Statistics Canada, 2006), accessed May Interdisciplinary Th eory (Newberry Park: Sage Publications, 27, 2013, http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recense- 1991). ment/2006/dp-pd/prof/92-591/details/page.cfm?Lang=E& 36. Ibid., 77; emphasis in original. Geo1=CMA&Code1=001&Geo2=PR&Code2=10&Data= 37. It should be noted that the author was not wholly con- Count&SearchText=St.%20John%27s&SearchType=Begins vinced that the respondent was referring to a student in his &SearchPR=01&B1=All&GeoLevel=PR&GeoCode=001. class. Varying cues and specifi c responses to other ques- 18. Jean L. Kunz, Ann Milan, and Sylvain Schetagne, “Unequal tions seem to suggest that the student was, in fact, describ- Access: A Canadian Profi le of Education, Employment ing his own experience. and Income” (Ottawa: Canadian Race Relations Founda- 38. Henry et al., 2nd ed., 27. tion, 2000), accessed February 12, 2013, http://www.crr.ca/ 39. Following the example of Essed, this article does not spell images/stories/pdf/unequal/Engfi n.pdf. out racial slurs unless it is necessary for comprehension. 19. Norman Denzin and Yvonna S. Lincoln, eds., Th e Hand- 40. Leslie Picca and Joe Feagin, Two-faced Racism: Whites in book of Qualitative Research, 2nd ed. (Th ousand Oaks: Sage the Backstage and Frontstage (New York: Routledge, 2007), Publications, 2000). 80; emphasis in original. 20. Varma-Joshi, Baker, and Tanaka, “Names Will Never Hurt 41. George Dei, Josephine Mazzuca, Elizabeth McIssac, and Me?” 180. Jasmine Zine, Reconstructing ‘Drop-out’: A Critical Ethnog- 21. Marion Allen and Louise Jensen, “Hermeneutical Inquiry: raphy of the Dynamics of Black Students’ Disengagement Meaning and Scope,” Western Journal of Nursing Research from School (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1997); 12 (1990): 243. James H. Carter, “Racism’s Impact on Mental Health,” Jour- 22. Michael James, “Race,” in Th e Stanford Encyclopedia of Phil- nal of the National Medical Association 86 (1994): 543–547; osophy (Winter 2012 ed.), ed. Edward N. Zalta, accessed S. Fernando, “Racism as a Cause of Depression,” Inter- February 12, 2013, http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/ national Journal of Social Psychiatry 30 (1984), 41–49. win2012/entries/race/. 42. Ami Rokach and Felix Neto, “Causes of Loneliness in Ado- 23. Ian Law, Racism and Ethnicity: Global Debates, Dilemmas, lescence: A Cross-Cultural Study,” International Journal of Directions (Harlow: Pearson Education, 2010), 5. Adolescence and Youth 8 (2000), 66. 24. Ibid. 43. T. Brennan, “Loneliness at Adolescence,” in Loneliness: A 25. June Ying Yee, “Racism, Types of,” in Encyclopedia of Race, Sourcebook of Current Th eory, Research, and Th erapy, ed. Ethnicity and Society, ed. Richard T. Schaefer (Th ousand Letitia Peplau and Daniel Perlman (New York: Wiley, 1982), Oaks: Sage Publications, 2008), 1119. 269–296. 26. Ibid., 1120. 44. Joe Feagin, Hernan Vera, and Nikitah Imani, Th e Agony of 27. Marie Gillespie and Jason Toynbee, Analysing Media Texts Education: Black Students at White Colleges and Universities (London: Open University Press, 2006). (New York: Routledge, 1996). 28. John F. Dovidio and Samuel L. Gaertner, “Aversive Racism,” 45. Elizabeth Brondolo, Nisha Brady ver Halen, Melissa Pen- in Encyclopedia of Race, Ethnicity & Society, ed. Richard T. cille, Danielle Beatty, and Richard J. Contrada, “Coping Schaefer (Th ousand Oaks: Sage Publications, 2008), 1116. with Racism: A Selective Review of the Literature and 29. Teun A. van Dijk, “New(s) Racism: A Discourse Analytical a Th eoretical and Methodological Critique,” Journal of Approach,” in Ethnic Minorities and the Media, ed. Simon Behavioral Medicine 32 (2009): 64–88. Cottle, (Philadelphia: Open University Press, 2000), 33. 46. Howard C. Stevenson, Jocelyn Reed, Preston Bodison, and 30. Martin Barker, Th e New Racism (London: Junction Books, Angela Bishop, “Racism Stress Management: Racial Social- 1981). ization Beliefs and the Experience of Depression and Anger 31. Phil Fontaine, Modern Racism in Canada (Kingston, ON: in African American Youth,” Youth and Society 29 (1997): Queen’s University Press, 1998). 197–222. 32. Frances Henry, Carol Tator, Winston Mattis, and Tim Rees, 47. David Mellor, “Responses to Racism: A Taxonomy of Cop- Th e Colour of Democracy: Racism in Canadian Society, 2nd ing Styles used by Aboriginal Australians,” American Jour- ed. (Toronto: Harcourt Brace, 2000), 55. nal of Orthopsychiatry 74 (2004): 56–71. 33. Shelly P. Harrell, “A Multidimensional Conceptualization 48. Holly White, “Settlement Workers in the Schools Program of Racism-Related Stress: Implications for the Well-Being Overview” (panel presentation, Annual Meeting of the of People of Color,” American Journal of Orthopsychiatry 70 Atlantic Region of Association of Immigrant Serving Agen- (2000): 42–57. cies (ARAISA), St. John’s, NL, September 19–21, 2006). 34. Frances Henry, Carol Tator, Winston Mattis, and Tim Rees, 49. Brondolo et al., “Coping with Racism,” 69. Th e Colour of Democracy: Racism in Canadian Society, 3rd 50. Irwin Sarason, Henry Levine, Robert Basham, Barbara ed. (Toronto: Th omson Nelson, 2006), 27. Sarason, “Assessing Social Support: Th e Social Support Questionnaire,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychol- ogy 44 (1983): 127–139.

84 Just Kids? Peer Racism in a Predominantly White City

51. James Baker, “Not in My Backyard” (unpublished report Financial support for this research was provided by the prepared for the Association for New Canadians, 2008), 3. Atlantic Metropolis Centre and the Department of Health 52. W. Warren, E. Samuel, M. King, and J. Yealland, Study of and Community Services, Government of Newfoundland and Adolescents in Selected Ethnocultural Groups: School, Health Labrador. Th e author would also like to thank the Association and Home (Kingston, ON: Social Program Evaluation for New Canadians for providing offi ce space for the research Group, 1997). and to Dr. Cynthia Baker for providing the interview sched- 53. Harrell, “A Multidimensional Conceptualization of Racism- ule used in the New Brunswick study. In addition, the author related Stress,” 45. 54. Baker, Varma-Joshi, and Tanaka, “Sticks and Stones,” 94. is grateful for the comments and eff orts of the anonymous reviewers, the eff orts of the editor, as well as Robbie Bisson, who acted as the research assistant. James Baker is a PhD Candidate in the Department of Sociology at Memorial University. Since 2006, he has worked as a researcher with the Association for New Canadians, a community-based, non-profi t immigrant settlement agency located in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador.

85

Volume 29 Refuge Number 1

Literacy, Teens, Refugees, and Soccer

Eric Dwyer and Mary Lou McCloskey

Abstract résultats incluent l’augmentation du plaisir de la lecture Th is study examined the literacy development of teenage et de l’écriture exprimé par les étudiants, en particulier au refugee boys in a one-month intensive summer literacy sujet de l’expérience qu’ont faite les étudiants plus vieux de camp. Th e study intervention sought to abate literacy lire aux plus jeunes. De plus, les données indiquent que la regression among language minority students in a sub- régression de littératie propre aux vacances estivales avait urban southern US city by combining physical training été évitée. Néanmoins, les évaluations des compétences and promotion of literacy culture. Students experienced an de lecture laisser présager que les étudiants rencontreront intensive schedule of athletics and reading/writing work- des obstacles dans l’obtention de leur diplôme d’études shops. Data were collected regarding student writing, read- secondaires dans les temps prévus. Enfi n, on y fait la cri- ing profi ciency, and dispositions toward literacy practices. tique des moyens que les enseignants réguliers emploient Outcomes included increased expressed student enjoyment pour évaluer la littératie des étudiants réfugiés, surtout expressed for both reading and writing, especially for the en comparaison avec l’évaluation des étudiants de langue experience of older students reading to younger peers. In anglaise. addition, data indicated that summer literacy regression was largely avoided. However, reading profi ciency level Introduction assessments foreshadow obstacles for students in achiev- Just outside Atlanta, a summer camp is conducted for ado- lescent boys who are avid soccer players. However, this is ing timely high school graduation. Finally, means used by no ordinary camp. It is intended for refugee boys from mainstream teachers of assessing the literacy of refugee Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Burundi, Cuba, the students, especially compared to assessments of profi cient Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Iraq, English-speaking students, are critiqued. the Karen region of Burma, Kosovo, Liberia, Nepal, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia, and Sudan, and has important lit- Résumé eracy goals. Many of these young people have experienced Cette étude examine le développement de la littératie de the violence of war and separation from parents, relatives, jeunes adolescents réfugiés lors d’un camp d’été intensif and mentors. Various relief agencies have helped these stu- d’alphabétisation d’une durée d’un mois. L’intervention dents and their families fi nd a suburban community in the examinée visait à freiner la régression de la littératie chez southern United States, one with a warm climate, some job les étudiants de minorités linguistiques d’une banlieue du opportunities, good public transportation, and underused sud des États-Unis, en combinant l’entraînement physique apartments. Camp fees are paid by donors, and teachers are et la promotion de la culture écrite. Les étudiants ont suivi volunteers. Th e authors, both professionals in English lan- guage teaching, were invited to volunteer as instructors and un horaire intensif d’activités athlétiques et d’ateliers de to report to the organization’s donors on the boys’ literacy lecture et d’écriture. Les données recueillies se rapportai- development during this summer literacy camp. ent à l’écriture, les compétences de lectures, et à la dis- Th e boys belonged to local soccer teams working with position aux pratiques de la littératie des étudiants. Les the same coach. Th e purpose of this collective was not only

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to provide a means for boys to play organized soccer but assessments are calculations based on student ethnicity, also to use soccer as a springboard to advance the boys’ aca- disability, and socio-economic status. Another such calcu- demic growth and potential. In order to participate, boys lation is derived for English language learners (ELLs), a stu- followed closely enforced restrictions, including no smok- dent body oft en constituting students with limited access to ing, no drugs or alcohol, no missed practices, no gang- formalized education (known as limited formal schooling, or related activity, and no grade average lower than a C. Th e LFS), students with interrupted education (usually students coach understood, however, that many students who were of migrant families who move from one school to another new to English might not maintain the C grade without aft er short periods of time), and refugees. However, beyond extracurricular support; thus, English language develop- the labelling of ELL, these additional descriptions of stu- ment and reading were partnered with soccer practice. dents are not teased out in state-reported data. As a result, During the school year, every ninety-minute soccer work- in the US and indeed worldwide, little is known with direct out was followed by a ninety-minute tutoring session. Th e respect to literacy development of refugee students. coach instituted additional requirements for acquiring vital uniform pieces the boys needed to play in any game: regular Research in ELL Literacy Development attendance at practices and tutoring sessions and reading a English language teachers currently use a number of tools to minimum number of books on their own. Th is, along with assess students’ English language profi ciency. Th e most com- transportation support, enabled the boys, whose families monly used assessment scale for English learners in the US could rarely aff ord uniforms or other fees, to play in soccer today is the Assessing Comprehension and Communication leagues as long as they were attending practice and studying, in English State-to-State for English Language Learners reading, and working in school classes, including English. (ACCESS for ELLs) based on the framework and stan- dards of World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment Refugee Youth and Literacy Development (WIDA).5 At present, thirty-two states and one territory of Numerous agencies allude to right of refugee youth to the US use ACCESS to assess whether students should be attain education and aspire toward higher education (e.g., placed in a preliminary English as a Second Language (ESL) the 1951 Refugee Convention1 and the UNHCR in its class or in a mainstream class, for level placement in classes, education policy2). Furthermore, the Refugee Act of 1980, and to inform instruction. Once students graduate from which initiated the Federal Refugee Resettlement Program, ESL to mainstream, they are then measured against native states, “Th e Secretary of Education is authorized to make speakers on standardized exams and other reading assess- grants, and enter into contracts, for payments for projects ment measures designed specifi cally for profi cient or native to provide special educational services (including English English speakers (NESs). language training) to refugee children in elementary and In mainstream classes, teachers must keep track of stu- secondary schools where a demonstrated need has been dents’ reading profi ciency. To accomplish such, teachers use shown.”3 While such sentiment may be heralded, none of reading inventories—a battery of reading passages rated by these policies refers in detail to how to educate refugees to grade level. Since NES-based research has shown that native enable them to ultimately attend college, even if they are speakers’ accurate pronunciation of words when asked to fortunate enough to gain access to ongoing quality K-12 read them (also known as decoding) correlates strongly to schooling. As such, the documents fail to indicate that their comprehension level,6 teachers ask students to read educational approaches for refugees, even when they gain these graded passages aloud, and teachers note misprono- access to mainstream schooling, might need to be diff erent nunciations. Students are then determined to belong to the from those used with their new peers. profi ciency level corresponding to the graded passage where In the US, in an eff ort to track how students progress they start making a mistake or two. through their educational careers and into post-secondary Th e implementation of NES-based surveys (such as the education, state departments of education are charged with Flesch-Kincaid grade level index7) for ELLs has been cri- tracking the number of students who pass standardized tiqued, with suggestions that concern for syntactic com- examinations regarding reading development.4 In other plexity, rhetorical organization, propositional density,8 words, there exists an underlying assumption that students’ and word frequency are oft en overlooked when teachers fundamental ability to achieve graduation and matricula- assess their students’ reading profi ciency levels.9 In other tion into college depends on their ability to read and write words, many ESL teachers know that some students can in sophisticated ways. Th ese departments of education decode words accurately without knowing what they mean. then determine which schools are successful in helping Additionally, these critiques point to the concept of aca- students attain predetermined literacy levels. Among these demic language—i.e., linguistic skills specifi cally needed to

88 Literacy, Teens, Refugees, and Soccer

master schooling and textbooks10—as an integral feature of consistent instruction and exposure needed for students to ELL reading development that is oft en disregarded by NES- attain the academic language that can support them toward based reading researchers and mainstream teachers in their high school graduation. lesson plans. However, in spite of the critiques, to our know- ledge, no full-scale study had been developed showing the Soccer Plus Literacy Program Goals degree to which an NES-based reading assessment helped Th e coach had observed that the refugee students had little or hindered literacy development in new English readers, let to do in the summer. Most parents worked, some at two or alone a study directed toward refugee students. more low-paying jobs. Th e boys’ families didn’t have fi nan- Th e researchers had noted that their own teacher trainees, cial support to send their kids to camps, had little time aft er who had numerous experiences observing primary and sec- work to spend with them, and were oft en English learners ondary level classrooms, reported that oft en good-hearted themselves who didn’t have the skills to help their children mainstream teachers, considering ELLs to be capable and with language development. Th e coach, concerned about a bright, treated both NESs and ELLs similarly when using three-month lull in the boys’ language development, began cooperative learning practices.11 Treating all students equit- the fi rst year by holding a short summer literacy camp. She ably is, of course, laudable; however, it may not be suffi cient. instituted a reading chart and challenged the boys to read a DeJong and Harper have documented the importance of number of books. Th e coach found the camp moderately suc- teachers’ recognition that learners of a new language need cessful, but she wished to improve the camp in both length specifi c support to focus on particular linguistic hurdles12 and quality for the second summer. As a result, she asked the and that classes and programs should be diff erentiated so authors to help with the year-two four-week summer camp. that students of similar ages or language profi ciency lev- In conceiving language goals for the program, two major els can study together as appropriate. In practice, how- tenets were promoted—accentuating the positive (using ever, some teachers with positive dispositions might not heightened motivation and appropriate instruction to be grouping students of similar language abilities so that enhance learning) and defying the negative (overcoming teachers and students themselves can bolster their language the challenges of interrupted schooling, summertime slack, development in manageable ways.13 and less eff ective instruction).18 Soccer was a valuable cata- Additional concerns arise when students enter school lyst for accentuating the positive, as correlations have been at secondary school ages. Th e US school system navigates cited between physical activity and academic progress.19 students through two or three years of middle school or Th e coach’s observations and assumption, supported by the junior high school (generally) and four years of high school. research of Walker and of Singh et al., was that soccer could However, research suggests that newcomers may need on serve as motivator, energizer, and self-esteem builder.20 the order of seven years or more to master so-called aca- Accentuating the negative is the students’ experience of the demic language and perform like native-language peers.14 issues of tracking. Because students are language learners Th us, any newcomer into a secondary school with little or have interrupted education, they have low entrance test English faces a daunting challenge, as do these students’ scores and are frequently placed in slower-paced, lower- teachers. Yet very little research has been conducted on tracked sections and sequences in school. Unfortunately, reading development of ELLs in secondary settings and students have a diffi cult time moving out of those levels and the scope of this challenge is not fully understood. In other may not end up in a program that adequately prepares them words, even when using NES-based surveys, we know lit- for higher education.21 Th e researchers designed a program tle with respect to secondary students with limited formal to ameliorate summertime slack through treating all stu- schooling, including their overall comprehension rates or dents positively and, while accommodating language levels, their writing development. challenging them cognitively as if they were tracked into While little is known regarding secondary ELLs’ read- the highest-level tracks. Th is approach aligned well with ing development, research has indicated slow academic those of the coach and the program. advancement due to socio-economic status, both in minor- With these caveats in mind, the following notions of ity children15 and English learners.16 In addition, research second language development were implemented: has shown that some immigrant students may forget some 1. using what works to create long-term, self-initiating of the English they’ve learned because they don’t practice learners,22 it over summer break, a phenomenon known as summer- 2. fostering reading improvement through sustained time slack.17 In other words, refugees who already oft en silent choice reading,23 come into school with inconsistent periods of education 3. developing self-expression and cultural representa- fi nd summer break an additional interruption from the tion through process writing of personal narratives,24

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4. developing science concepts and promoting environ- include activity-based communicative language learning, mental sustainability and responsibility through study content-based language learning, balances between reading of water ecology,25 and and writing, and the development of language skills in con- 5. treating students as authors, and authors as readers.26 text.28 Th e following daily routine was conducted: Such an approach was established in an eff ort to give refugee • Book club—where we focused on independent read- students voice27 which could viably demonstrate students’ ing, shared reading, and language experience, using literacy progression, as well as their potential contributions authentic texts chosen for interest, relevance and to the community. learner profi ciency level; Th us, the authors and leaders program for the academic • Journals—where we asked students to begin each camp that included sports, reading, and writing made use of day by writing in a journal, engaging with teachers activities designed to be appropriate to students’ profi ciency or other students in informal written interactions, levels and age. We wanted this program to illustrate how keeping content and communication as the primary literacy development can be motivating, engaging, mean- goal, but never using this activity as a means of error ingful, and purposeful though we had only one month of correction; intervention. • Writing for publication—where we examined intri- cacies of writing—including correction of spelling, Research Objectives grammar, and style—on the way to establishing some In sum, a group of refugee boys playing soccer needed help sort of community book; with their English and academic development. Th eir coach • Green Club—where students examined their role in also desired accurate data showing the educational advan- environmental issues, building this summer upon cement achieved by the program to report to donors. And the themes of “reduce, re-use, and recycle,” as well as fi nally, we found opportunities within this experience to water cycle and water monitoring; share evidence on refugee youth literacy development that • Arts—where students explored media and re-inter- had not yet been reported. At the basic level, there was a press- preted content; ing desire to avert summertime slack in the boys’ language • Inter-class teaching and learning—where students development. Equally important, however, was to determine worked with other students through tutoring and if teachers and students could parlay students’ motivation for book sharing; soccer into motivation for their own linguistic and academic • Fitness—where students participated in karate, yoga, advancement. In other words, while enjoying soccer, could and stretching; the students enjoy and improve their literacy? Answers to • Self-monitoring skills—where students were overtly these questions could not only serve as important informa- asked to participate, contribute, support, and initiate; tion for the program donors, but also be useful information and for teachers of refugees and administrators of refugee pro- • Field trips—usually organized around the environ- grams, particularly as they themselves report progress in ment theme of the camp. reading comprehension levels and writing development to In addition, a daily schedule was set: students’ families, administrators, and policy makers. Time Activity Methodology 10:00–10:30 am Workout 1 Setting: Th e Summer Camp Structure 10:30–12:00 noon Small group class time, including Th e coach, other team organizers, four AmeriCorps Book Club, journals, and content Volunteers, and seven teacher volunteers comprised the activities camp staff . Th e program had thirty-fi ve student partici- 12:00–12:30 pm Workout 2 pants, ranging from age nine to seventeen, with an average 12:30–1:00 pm Lunch age of 13.7 years. (Many refugees do not have birth certifi - cates because of such factors as war, cultural diff erences, 1:00–1:30 pm Independent Silent Reading Time and refugee camp record-keeping. Th e age levels were the 1:30–3:00 pm Art Club or Green Club best we could determine based on parent reports and immi- Some weekday Field trips to content-related sites gration information.) Th e camp team met before the pro- afternoons gram began and interacted regularly during the program, Friday afternoon Fun fi eld trips and activities both through almost daily meetings and email interactions. Teachers were asked to plan their sessions with learners to

90 Literacy, Teens, Refugees, and Soccer

Data Collection Th e reading survey consisted of twenty questions, of Greene and Caracelli write of a dialectical approach to which three directly applying to research goals are reported mixing methods in research practices for achieving both here: logical and political means.29 As the researchers also served • How much do you enjoy reading? as two of the teachers in the summer camp, this approach • How oft en do you read outside of school? was embraced within the framework of a participant action • Do you like reading to younger children? research project.30 Since the research itself would be short, only four weeks in duration, the usual recursive nature of NES Reading Assessment both dialectical and action research practices would be A desired consequence of this research was to be able to con- truncated, leaving the results here only to be judged for verse with mainstream teachers about research regarding subsequent revisions of program structure. Nevertheless, L1 reading inventory use for L2 profi ciency level decision since understanding the degrees of student enjoyment and making, basing comment on actual experience by having literacy development were the most immediate goals of the implemented such with secondary refugee students. Th us, research, a dialectical combining a qualitative analysis of Lois Bader’s Reading and Language Inventory35 was imple- students’ verbal answers and quantitatively based assess- mented as our baseline for establishing reading grade lev- ment of student progress was employed. As a result, the fol- els. From this inventory, we chose two aspects—word lists lowing steps were applied in this research: and reading passages—both of which would help establish • a qualitative analysis of student journal writings as a reading level for each student. First, we counted pronun- well as in-camp compositions; ciation errors the students made when reading levelled • a learner reading survey to be given pre/post; ten-word lists aloud. We had to take special eff orts in the • an NES reading assessment, using an Informal training to establish which errors in reading word lists were Reading Inventory, to be given pre/post; caused by learner accents and which by lack of knowledge of • a rubric-based writing assessment to be given pre/ the words. Th e grade level was established when the student post; and made no more than two errors in reading words from that • a program listserv for teachers and organizers to share list. We then asked students to read some levelled passages daily notes, observations, and ideas. written especially for children. Given the likelihood that stu- dents would out-decode their comprehension,36 we started Student Journal Writings with a passage marked at a grade one level lower than where At the core of examining the students’ experience with lit- they scored on the word reading assessment. For example, eracy was having students develop portfolios. Th is enabled if a student had two errors on the fourth grade vocabulary us to include qualitative analysis of students’ daily journals, read-aloud list, we started him with a third grade reading as well their creations manifested during a month-long passage. Students started by reading the passage aloud. If book project. It was thought that diary entries and actual a student had any read-aloud errors in his oral reading, we examples of student work would most likely yield the most asked comprehension questions for that passage. Th e Bader in-depth descriptions of the boys’ educational experience.31 instrument includes prepared questions, which we asked in Data from these journals were analyzed with an inductive the following order: fi rst unprompted; then questions for content analysis approach to identify key themes.32 memories not mentioned; then an interpretive question. If students correctly answered the required number of ques- Learner Reading Survey tions to pass the level, we moved to the next level. If, how- In an eff ort to capture student attitudes toward reading and ever, frustration level was reached in the oral reading, we how they might change over a month, a learner reading sur- gave the child a second chance to read the passage silently vey was devised. As a foundation, a reading attitudes sur- before administering questions. If the student achieved the vey from the Literacy Trust in Great Britain33 was selected minimum number of accurate responses on the compre- and altered to meet the camp’s needs. Because most stu- hension, we continued to the next level with oral reading, dents would have language profi ciencies precluding them then silent reading and comprehension. However, when a from completing the entire survey, several questions were student did not achieve the minimum number of accurate paraphrased grammatically, while (hopefully) maintaining responses on the comprehension questions, we concluded meaning.34 Most learners were asked to fi ll out surveys on the assessment and noted the grade level of the correspond- their own; however, several learners of lower language profi - ing passage. ciency gave oral answers with researchers taking as detailed Carrying out such a procedure entailed a conundrum: notes as possible. that examining the program by comparing statistical means

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would entail comparing a wide range of ages and profi ciency encouraged to interact with one another regarding any levels to a single norm—a notion we found inappropriate. questions, experiences or concerns. Data from these listserv However, camp administrators explained that local stake- entries were analyzed with an inductive content analysis holders, including donors to the teams, would likely wish approach such that key trends might be determined.39 to look at publicly canonized numbers—namely English reading grade levels and high stakes test scores, i.e., scales Outcomes designed for NESs. As a result, any quantitative research Students’ Expressions of Th eir Interest in Literacy design involving pre- and post-data would most likely result Th e boys engaged in a number of writing projects over in insignifi cant result—set here to a p-level of .05—due to the month. One project was poetry writing. Th is activity the short four-week program schedule of the program. sparked quite a fl urry of positive experiences. Th e lowest Furthermore, any dedication to levels of signifi cance with profi ciency level group, inspired by Nikki Giovanni’s “Two respect to decision making might prevent making reason- Friends,”40 a composite group poem referring to clothing, able decisions for students with outlying results. Th us, in soccer uniforms, sport trademarks, wristbands, and their an eff ort to use quantitative analysis as descriptively as we relationships: could, we opted to use box plots and examinations of 95 Our class has: percent confi dence interval data, showing likely ranges of Two pairs of jeans, literacy development among the students. Th ree pairs of shorts, Two shirts with number seven, Writing Assessment Th ree swooshes, For our student writing assessment, we prepared parallel Five wristbands, pre/post prompts administered at the beginning and the Figure 1. Radar chart regarding pre- and post-camp responses to end of the summer program. Teachers asked the boys to the question, “How much do you enjoy reading?” write for no more than ten minutes on the topics, which were preselected and discussed by the participants. To be parallel with our approach to reading assessment and in light of the demands for use of an NES-based analysis, we opted to adapt a noted writing rubric deigned by Ruth Culham called the 6+1 Writing Rubric.37 Culham empha- sizes the following seven facets of writing to help learners to be engaged, practiced, and advanced: ideas, organization, voice, word choice, sentence fl uency, conventions, and pres- entation. Student output was graded by two outside raters, who did not know learners or whether the sample was pre or post. Our prompts and adapted rubric may be found in Figure 2. Radar chart regarding pre- and post-camp responses to Appendix A. the question, “How oft en do you read outside school?” Writing samples were collected at the beginning and the end of the camp. Th ree instructors with credentials in TESOL but not involved with the camp evaluated the writ- ings, implementing the Culham-adapted 6+1 rubric. Th ey attended an evaluation session which began with a short training session to increase evaluator consistency. A Fleiss kappa inter-rater reliability rating was calculated, regis- tering a .60 coeffi cient, indicating borderline “moderate” to “substantial agreement” on Landis and Koch’s scale defi ning such coeffi cients.38 Th e evaluators gave scores of 1, 2, or 3 for each of the seven categories, thus eliciting an overall writing score range of 7 to 21. Ten sandals and two cleats, One chain, one watch, Teachers’ Notes One favorite sport—soccer—and Finally, we asked teachers to provide notes and observa- One good family friendship tions of their classes each day on a listserv. Teachers were

92 Literacy, Teens, Refugees, and Soccer

In another group, a student of higher language profi ciency convinced of the importance of reading; however, we were constructed a poem called “In Love with a Ball” in the for- pleased to see such an upswing in students’ saying they mat of a Shakespearian sonnet, where he asked the ball how actually enjoyed the pleasure reading activities. it felt when his cleats crossed his face. In one class where a We also asked the question, “How oft en do you read more advanced group attempted haiku, one student wrote a outside of school?” Initially, three students responded with poem from the perspective of the pitch, a selfi sh turf desir- “daily”; on the post assessment the number increased to ten ing cleats but instead receiving faces. Th e students provided students. We of course wondered if students could maintain additional evidence in diary entries that the camp’s writ- this newly attained penchant for reading over the regular ing classes provided additional enticement to attend. One school year. student expressed that he was having fun writing haiku. One enlightening fi nding from the Literacy Trust adapted Another said that poetry writing was one of the “funnest” survey was that seventeen of twenty students reported on things he’d done that summer. the pre-test that they liked to read to younger kids. Upon Such comments were later supported by comments from noticing this result, daily opportunities were built into the the Literacy Trust adapted survey of reading attitudes. schedule for older students to read to younger kids. Th e Twenty students responded at the beginning and end of learners enthusiastically prepared writings and read to each camp to this question: “How much do you enjoy reading?” other during free reading and classroom exercises. Notably, as evident in Figure 1, reporting of reading enjoy- ment among the athletes had increased. Use of the Bader Reading Inventory We worked tenaciously to fi nd books students could enjoy. As we worked with students for only four weeks, we were Gratifyingly, students reported a tremendous upswing in skeptical with respect to obtaining signifi cant diff erences reading enjoyment over one month, increasing “very much” in reading results using the Bader reading inventory. Th e ratings from 1 to 10, and decreasing “a little” ratings from pretest mean grade level measured by this group was 4.60 14 to 3. We found the study more remarkable since some of (SD=2.32), meaning that the average grade level for these the students had already gone through a literacy camp the students, as measured by this inventory, was in the middle previous year, though without the implementation of these of the fourth grade. Considering students’ ages averaged theoretical foci. Th e students may have been somewhat well into eighth grade, we then framed our thoughts that users of such an inventory might register these students Figure 3. 95% confi dence interval of students’ reading grade as a group approximately four years behind their peers in level, pre- and post, over a 4-week period, as determined by English reading ability. More alarmingly, no student who Bader Reading Inventory attended high school registered a high school reading grade level, indicating that learners trying to acquire suffi cient English to graduate or attend college face a mountain of work to be conquered in a very short time. Aft er twenty literacy camp days, learners tested at a mean grade level of 5.62 (SD=3.16) on the Bader scale. Did students make an overall gain in a month? We do not claim such (t=- 1.02; SD=2.77; p=.24). However, the 95 percent confi dence level plot (1) indicates no overall Werner-Smith and Smolkin- type summertime regression by the students, and (2) hints that achieving signifi cant results is probable should such robust reading exercise continue. Table 1. Student reading grade level, mean and 95% confi dence interval, as determined by Bader Reading Inventory Pre Post mean 4.60 5.62 SD 2.32 3.16 95% confi dence 3.38 thru 5.82 4.40 thru 6.84 interval range 0.50 thru 9.50 0.00 thru 11.50

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Decoding vs. Comprehension Table 2. Comparison of student reading grade level scores, In administering the Bader inventory, we had learners read mean and 95% confi dence level, as determined with specifi c a graded list of words to determine initial placement on the respect to pre-test decoding and overall comprehension reading, then had learners read successively more diffi cult through the Bader Reading Inventory passages. We had suspected that in a single assessment, the passages– diff erence between students’ grade level pertaining to decod- word lists– comprehension ing a list of words and their ultimately determined reading decoding level level comprehension levels would be signifi cant. Th is however was mean 5.36 4.60 not the case (t=1.09; SD=2.27; p=.27). As a result, at least in SD 2.23 2.32 terms of a viewpoint across all profi ciency levels from novice to superior, decoding does seem to predict to some degree 95% con- 4.36 thru 6.36 3.59 thru 5.60 English learners’ ability to comprehend text. Nevertheless, fi dence interval an analysis of the 95 percent confi dence levels comparing decoding and comprehension is compelling; such data indi- range 0.50 thru 8.50 0.00 thru 9.50 cate that when accounting for outliers, a good number of Th ese data, however, do not distinguish among grade levels students seem to be decoding at levels a grade or two higher or profi ciency level, and there are too few students to estab- than they are actually comprehending. lish grade levels in this research design. Hence, we would pre- If we observe that when a majority of our students score dict that those at beginning levels might actually have similar as decoding one or two grade levels higher than their com- decoding and comprehension–that approaching zero—because the students are just getting started. Th en at intermediate and Figure 4. 95% confi dence interval representation of student lower advanced profi ciencies, we might actually see greater dif- reading grade level score as determined with specifi c respect to ferences between decoding and comprehension. Th eoretically pre-test decoding and overall comprehension through the Bader one’s knowledge of the language’s orthographic system should Reading Inventory then level off as one adds comprehension skills; hence, in more advanced profi ciency levels, a student’s comprehension could conceivably approach or even catch up to one’s decoding ability.

Figure 5. 95% confi dence interval representation of pre- and post assessments of students’ overall writing, across a 4-week period, based on Ruth Culham’s 6+1 Writing Rubric (range of score: 7—21)

prehension assessments, we must also consider that if only NES assessments like this are used, teachers might believe their English learners to be better English readers than they actually are. An extreme example of this occurred with one newly arrived Cuban athlete, a student who was highly liter- ate in Spanish and was able to use his knowledge of Spanish phonics to pronounce most words on the Bader word list, yet unable to answer most comprehension questions.

94 Literacy, Teens, Refugees, and Soccer

Table 3. Comparison of pre- and post assessments, mean and 95% confi dence intervals, of student writing samples, across a 4-week period, based on adaptation of Ruth Culham’s 6+1 Writing Rubric Pre Post 95% Mean 95% interval Mean interval p Overall writing 11.78 (SD=4.17) 9.71 thru 13.85 12.28 (SD=4.14) 10.22 thru 14.34 .72 Ideas 2.00 (SD=0.69) 1.67 thru 2.33 2.17 (SD=0.71) 1.83 thru 2.50 .48 organization 1.83 (SD=0.79) 1.45 thru 2.22 1.72 (SD=0.83) 1.34 thru 2.11 .68

voice 1.72 (SD=0.67) 1.41 thru 2.04 1.78 (SD=0.65) 1.46 thru 2.10 .80 word choice 1.78 (SD=0.73) 1.44 thru 2.10 1.83 (SD=0.62) 1.51 thru 2.16 .81 sentence fl uency 1.50 (SD=0.62) 1.18 thru 1.82 1.56 (SD=0.71) 1.24 thru 1.87 .80 conventions 1.44 (SD=0.62) 1.15 thru 1.74 1.50 (SD=0.62) 1.20 thru 1.80 .79 presentation 1.50 (SD=.0.62) 1.17 thru 1.83 1.72 (SD=0.75) 1.39 thru 2.05 .34

6+1 Writing Rubric prewriting brainstorm sessions. Most notably, teachers An analysis of the results indicates that, as expected, we did stated that students were paying attention to the environ- not achieve statistically signifi cant improvements in overall ment-related themes from the fi eld trips, reporting that stu- writing skills (t=-.36; sd=4.15; p=.72). Both pre- and post- dents discussed and referred to the themes reduce, re-use, means indicate that recycle almost daily. • most students were not currently able to write in However, several issues did emerge with regularity over the English to a level many language arts teachers might course of the month: see as “average”; 1. Health issues were noted, namely eyesight and hearing. • we cannot claim that gains were made with respect to Teachers suspected that some students might need glasses or the students’ writing abilities; however, we can claim hearing aids and requested that camp leadership seek exams for the learners, a request which was granted. that Werner-Smith and Smolkin’s notion of summer- 2. Teachers and camp organizers were pleased that the boys time regression was largely avoided; were able to have a rather large choice of free reading books. Th e • we can be pleased that we gave the boys opportun- degree of choice was much larger than in the previous camp and ities to express their own ideas in writing, as the ideas vastly larger than would have been possible without the camp. assessment hints at progress; However, the breadth of choices was clearly not wide enough • we off ered writing opportunity for students to focus and teachers experienced diffi culty in fi nding age-appropriate on formal composition structures, as suggested in the books corresponding to non-native language profi ciency levels presentation results; and cultural relevance. • subdivisions in writing progress over lower profi - 3. With respect to writing, teachers felt, much as O’Malley ciency levels were not captured in the Culham-adapted and Chamot suggest, that learning strategies (strategies for rubric, most likely masking any possible progress stu- learners to address learning challenges and independent study) dents of lower profi ciency level might have made; and needed to be specifi cally incorporated into lesson plans.41 Teachers suggested showing students how to take notes as an • overall writing improvement is indicated by the quali- area of emphasis in future literacy camps. tative results of student compositions and poetry. 4. Teachers were somewhat surprised to see how much stu- dents, especially the older ones, appreciated teacher read-alouds Teacher Observations during the morning “Book Club.” Most teachers in the program were diligent with respect 5. Not to anyone’s surprise, teachers noted a number of pro- to off ering comments and diary entries in an online con- nunciation issues. Th ose requiring the most attention were the versation over the month. Overall, there was satisfac- sound of “r” and both the voiced and voiceless “th’s.” as well tion expressed with the reading and writing, particularly as dropped fi nal syllables and fi nal “–ed’s”. Th ese are common because they found that pre-class meetings were helpful issues with new learners of English from students’ language in fostering teacher collaboration. Teachers felt success- groups. Teachers reported in the online diaries how they mod- ful in helping students choose books and in conducting elled tongue placement when making diffi cult sounds in their

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classes, and introduced tongue twisters that provided practice the regular school year. For students already in high school, with these sounds in a non-threatening way. hoping to graduate within one to three years and desiring col- 6. Students reported diffi culties with peers in their neigh- lege matriculation, raising reading profi ciency four grade levels bourhoods, including bullying and theft . Th is issue actually or more seems overwhelming and unlikely. caused the most teacher concern. One conversation included a We observed that refugee student intellect, creativity, and suggestion of involving police; however, both students and pro- cleverness were much more evident through the qualitative gram leaders suggested that this might be ineff ective or even inquiry. In fact, an analysis of student progress levied only dangerous since the students still had to live in the same neigh- through quantitative means would have skipped the students’ bourhood as their abusers. passion, poetry, humour, or intrigue in the subjects and assign- ments they experienced. Th e statistical approaches toward Conclusions describing student progress did not capture the emotion or Naturally, we wish we had had more time to do more. artistry exhibited in the students’ writing, nor did they yield Certainly we fancied beginning literacy lessons earlier than descriptions of the teachers’ passion for these students. In addi- 10:00 a.m. so that we could spend even more engaged time tion, the quantitative design was not sensitive enough to register reading, writing, and conversing on academic content such progress over four weeks. As a result, we learned that in future as science and social studies. Nevertheless, in retrospect, we research designs we will want to address more detailed attrib- utes of progress attributable to new English learners working felt positive with respect to our goals. We found we could eas- through the beginning stages of their language learning. Our ily treat students as top learners—giving them responsibil- choice of an NES-based writing assessment tool taught us why ity for their learning, having them make choices, including mainstream teachers may not notice progress in their English their culture in learning activities, tutoring younger learn- learners’ writing, thus potentially exposing refugee children to ers, and developing publishable writing—while tailoring unwarranted criticism for not making any measurable progress. their lessons to their profi ciency level needs. In the process, Th us, we may need to (1) combine established ELL-focused in spite of a lack of statistical signifi cance, we felt optimistic assessments including detailed descriptions of writing progress that students were making promising gains with respect to at lower profi ciency levels—with NES assessments, such that all their literacy, particularly in reading and avoiding summer students, NESs and ELLs, are included in data-driven descrip- language regression with these students. And most clearly, tions of students’ progress; and (2) insist that qualitative analy- our survey indicated that we successfully promoted positive sis of refugees’ writing examine the content and underlying attitudes toward reading and writing. aff ect expressed in their compositions. Of course, given the short-term research design, we can’t Furthermore, international refugee organizations may now claim that there is a correlation between the positive treatment address reading and writing as part of education related policy, of the students and their reading gains, as current quantitative noting any of the following issues: practice would preclude us from doing so within such a short • Regular and persistent attention to literacy-based timeframe. We learned that, even for ELLs, assessing decod- activities may be vital in helping refugee students ing can help us understand to some degree how English learn- attain higher education opportunities; ers are comprehending their new language. However, we also • Programs should account for the fact that refugee stu- learned that progress ELLs make with respect to decoding and dents, especially those of secondary school ages, may comprehending is unlikely to be congruent to that of NESs. face daunting challenges in achieving English lan- More importantly, however, we learned that the reading guage profi ciency levels suffi cient for graduation in a levels of the refugee students in our group lagged approxi- timely manner; mately four years behind those of their NES peers. In fact, no • Current NES-based practices can misdirect teachers high school student in the program began the summer at high in their assessment of refugees’ literacy profi ciency; school reading levels. (Th e accuracy of such consideration thus, assessment procedures specifi c to ESL students should be tempered as this assessment gives us no knowledge of learners’ profi ciency in their home language. Furthermore, should be promoted; and to our knowledge, to date we know of no multilingual reading • Refugee students bring stories and experiences that inventory that considers both the students’ home languages and can broaden and enlighten all students’ education. target language for the languages of our learners.) While there Th e soccer teams are made up of boys who have lived are enough data to warrant optimism that students were pro- through unspeakable experiences, and yet the contributions gressing in their reading, we left the summer worrying about these students may make to any mainstream literacy setting are the students entering their school year. We could not foster sta- immediately evident. Inappropriate assessment policies in the tistically signifi cant change in students’ reading ability in our US could easily and dangerously foster apathy toward a group of month together, even in an intensive setting where literacy is students who merit tremendous attention, not only for the sake emphasized for four to six hours each day. Th us, such results of their own prospects for graduation and college but also for portend a monumental task students will likely encounter over the advancement and enrichment of their teachers and native

96 Literacy, Teens, Refugees, and Soccer

English speaking peers. While the summers with the refugees doesn’t include either ELL-specifi c considerations, especially left us cherishing the students, we also professionally caution at lower profi ciency levels, or qualitative inquiry regarding stu- our colleagues to critique any analysis of ELL progress that dent ingenuity.

Rubric for Six Traits of Writing 123 Ideas A. No clear main idea A. Topic is fairly broad A. Narrow, manageable B. Limited or unclear B. Some support for topic topic information C. Ideas reasonable clear B. Quality, relevant details C. Idea is restatement of D. Writer drawing on know- C. Details support main topic or answer to ques- ledge or experience ideas tion – little detail E. Reader is left with D. Ideas fresh and original D. Topic not meaningful or questions E. Reader’s questions are personal F. Writer generally stays on anticipated and answered E. Not clear what is the topic but theme not F. Evidence of insight – important clear understanding of life/ F. May be repetitious or choosing what is disconnected important Organization A. Lacks clear direction, A. Introduction and conclu- A. Inviting introduction ideas, details confusing sion present B. Satisfying conclusion B. Connections between B. Transitions usually work C. Thoughtful transitions ideas not made or well connecting ideas confusing C. Some logical sequencing D. Pacing is well controlled C. Lack of sequencing D. Fairly well controlled E. Title is original and cap- D. Awkward or slow pace pacing tures central theme E. No title, or title doesn’t E. Title is present but may F. Organization fl ows very match be uninspired smoothly F. Hard to fi nd main point or F. Organization sometimes story line supports main points or story line Voice A. Writer is not aware of A. Writer aware of audience A. Tone adds interest and audience but more generalities appropriate for audience B. Writing is fl at or in than personal insights B. Reader feels a strong monotone B. Writing communicates in interaction with writer C. Writing is humdrum and an earnest, pleasing, yet C. Writer risks revealing self safe manner “risk-free” D. Expository/persuasive D. Writing is mechanical, C. Only a bit of intrigue and writing shows why reader overly technical, fi lled delight should care with jargon D. Expository or persuasive E. Narrative writing is E. No point of view is writing lacks engagement honest, personal, and present with topic engaging E. Narrative writing is sincere, but not unique perspective ......

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Rubric for Six Traits of Writing (cont’d) 123 Word Choice A. Words not specifi c, mean- A. Words are adequate, A. Words are specifi c and ing limited correct, and support accurate B. Reader confused by meaning B. Some striking words and words that don’t work B. Words communicate but phrases C. Words used incorrectly don’t capture imagination C. Language appropriate for for audience C. Attempts at colorful audience D. Limited vocabulary and/or language D. Lively verbs add energy, misused parts of speech D. Passive verbs, every- specifi c nouns and modi- impair understanding day nouns, mundane fi ers add depth E. Words and phrases modifi ers E. Language choices unimaginative and lifeless E. Words and phrases gen- enhance meaning and erally clear clarify understanding F. Language lacks F. Precision and care are refi nement apparent. Sentence Fluency A. Sentences choppy, A. Although not artful, sen- A. Sentences underscore incomplete, random or tences get the job done and enhance meaning awkward B. Sentences are generally B. Sentences vary in length B. Sentences don’t “hang correct and hang together and structure. Fragments together” C. Sentence beginnings add style, Dialogue C. Many sentences begin have some variety sounds natural the same way with monot- D. Reader sometimes has C. Purposeful and varied onous pattern to hunt for clues to how sentence beginnings add D. Endless connectives or sentences interrelate originality & energy lack of connectives con- E. Parts of the text invite D. Creative and appropriate fuse reader expressive oral reading connectives relate sen- E. Text does not invite tences and thoughts expressive oral reading F. Abundance of compound sentences over complex sentences.

Conventions A. Spelling errors frequent, A. Spelling usually correct or A. Spelling generally correct, even on common words reasonably phonetic even diffi cult words B. Punctuation often missing B. End punctuation usually B. Punctuation is accurate, or incorrect correct, internal some- even creative, and guides C. Capitalization random times missing or wrong reader D. Noticeable errors in gram- C. Most words capitalized C. Thorough understanding mar or usage correctly of capitalization present E. Paragraphing is missing D. Problems with grammar D. Grammar and usage or irregular and usage not serious correct and contribute to clarity and style F. Reader must read once to E. Paragraphing is decode, again for mean- attempted but some E. Paragraphing tends to be ing: extensive editing problems sound and reinforces the needed F. Moderate editing needed original structure F. Writer may manipulate conventions effectively for stylistic effect; nearly ready to publish ......

98 Literacy, Teens, Refugees, and Soccer

Rubric for Six Traits of Writing (cont’d) 123 Presentation A. Diffi cult to read and A. Handwriting readable, A. Handwritten text has con- understand because of some discrepancies in sistent slant, clear letters, writing shape, form, slant, and uniform spacing and is B. Writer has used too many spacing easy to read fonts and sizes that dis- B. Experimentation with B. Word-processed text tract the reader fonts and sizes somewhat uses appropriate fonts C. Spacing is random and successful. and font sizes confusing. May be little or C. Margins may crowd C. White space and format- no white space edges; spacing applied ting used to help reader D. Lack of markers confuse but not best choice focus on text reader D. An attempt is made to D. Title, side heads, page E. Visuals do not support integrate visuals and text numbering, bullets, and key ideas E. Little evidence of sophisti- use of style sheet makes cated formatting to assist it easy for reader reader E. Effective integration of text and illustrations and other graphics

Appendix Readability Index, Fob Count and Flesch Reading Ease For- Note that we off er this rubric, adapted from Culham’s 6 + 1 mula) for Navy Enlisted Personnel, Research Branch Report Traits of Writing, as evidence of what we did. However, we 8–7 (Millington, TN: Naval Technical Training, US Naval do not recommend the use of this rubric for ELs unless fur- Air Station, Memphis, TN, 1975). 8. P. Carrell, “Readability in ESL,” Reading in a Foreign Lan- ther detailed revision is made, providing for more gradual guage 4 (1987): 21–40. improvement in profi ciency levels. 9. S. A. Crossley, J. Greenfi eld, and D. S. McNamara, “Assess- ing Text Readability Using Cognitively Based Indices,” TESOL Quarterly 42, no. 3 (2008): 475–493. Notes 10. Academic language is described in concept in J. Cummins, 1. UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refu- Language, Power, and Pedagogy (Clevedon: Multilingual gees), Statistical Yearbook: Refugees, Asylum-Seekers and Matters Ltd., 2001). It is teased out word-by-word in A. A. Other Persons of Concern: Trends in Displacement, Protec- Coxhead, “New Academic Word List,” TESOL Quarterly 34, tion and Solutions (Geneva: UNHCR, 2002). no. 2, Summer (2000): 213–238. 2. UNHCR, “Education Strategy: 2010–2012” (Geneva: 11. Such fi ndings have been reported for years, including in UNHCR, 2009), 36. C. A. Harper and E. J. Platt, “Full Inclusion for Second- 3. Accessed September 7, 2013, http://www.acf.hhs.gov/ ary School ESOL Students: Some Concerns from Florida, programs/orr/resource/the-refugee-act. TESOL Journal 7, no. 5 (1998): 30–36. 4. Florida, in fact, has a Department of Education offi ce dedi- 12. E. J. DeJong and C. A. Harper, “Preparing Mainstream cated to the tracking of English learners. More information Teachers for English-Language Learners: Is Being a Good regarding this offi ce and its practices may be found at http:// Teacher Good Enough?” Teacher Education Quarterly 32, www.fl doe.org/aala/. Georgia similarly has an offi ce dedi- no. 2 (2005): 101–124. cated to ESOL/Title III issues; information may be obtained 13. For more on English language teaching and diff erentiated at http://www.doe.k12.ga.us/Curriculum-Instruction-and instruction, please see S. Herrera and K. G. Murry, Mas- -Assessment/Curriculum-and-Instruction/Pages/English tering ESL and Bilingual Methods: Diff erentiated Instruction -to-Speakers-of-Other-Languages-(ESOL)-and-Title-III for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CLD) Students .aspx. (Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 2005). 5. For more information, please see http://www.wida.us. 14. D. August and K. Hakuta, eds., Improving Schooling for 6. National Reading Panel, “Teaching children to read: An Language-Minority Children: A Research Agenda (Wash- evidence-based assessment of the scientifi c research litera- ington, DC: National Academy Press, 1997). ture on reading and its implications for reading instruc- 15. D. R. Entwisle, K. L.. Alexander, and L. Steff el, Children, tion,” 2000; http://www.nichd.nih.gov/publications/nrp/ Schools, and Inequality (Boulder: Westview, 1998). report.cfm. 7. J. P. Kincaid, R. P. Fishburne, R. L. Rogers, and B. S. Chissom, Derivation of New Readability Formulas (Automated

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16 J. S. Chall, V. A. Jacobs, and L. E. Baldwin, Th e Reading Crisis: 27. William Tierney writes that qualitative research should not Why Poor Children Fall Behind (Cambridge, MA: Harvard only chronicle silenced lives but also challenge the oppres- University Press, 1990). sive voices doing the silencing. In William G. Tierney, 17. A. M. Werner-Smith and L. B. Smolkin, “An ESL/Bilingual/ “Loose Change: Th e Production of Texts, in Power/Know- Bicultural Pre-Collegiate Program for Southeast Asian ledge/Pedagogy: Th e Meaning of Democratic Education in Refugee High School Students,” Bilingual Research Journal Unsettling Times, ed. Dennis Carlson and Michael Apple 19, no. 3 & 4 (1995): 395–408. (Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1998), 264–270. 18. Angela Carrasquillo and Vivian Rodríguez write of an 28. Levine and McCloskey, Teaching Content and Language in additive process, where students are respected as coming Mainstream Classes. in with their own education, though such may not be con- 29. See J. C. Greene and V. J. Caracelli, “Defi ning and Describ- gruent to local senses of schooling. Language Minority Stu- ing the Paradigm Issues in Mixed-Method Evaluation,” in dents in the Mainstream Classroom, 2nd ed. (Tonawanda, Advances in Mixed-Method Evaluation: Th e Challenges and NY: Multilingual Matters, 2002). Benefi ts of Integrating Diverse Paradigms (New Directions 19. F. Trudeau and R. J. Shepherd, “Physical Education, School for Evaluation, No. 74, pages 5–17), ed. J. C. Green and V. Physical Activity, School Sports and Academic Perform- J. Caracelli (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1997); please also ance,” International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and see T. S. Rocco, L. A. Bliss, S. Gallagher, A. Pérez-Prado, C. Physical Activity 5, no. 10 (2008), accessed September 24, Alacaci, E. S. Dwyer, J. C. Fine, and N. E. Pappamihiel, “Th e http://www.ijbnpa.org/content/5/1/10. Pragmatic and the Dialectic: Two Views of Mixed Methods 20. G. Walker, “Inner-City Soccer SCORES Big,” Soccer New Use in Education,” chapter in Handbook of Mixed Methods England, November 20, 2002, accessed September 24, 2008, in Social and Behavioral Research, ed. A. Tashakkori and C. http://www.soccernewengland.com/articles/view_article Teddlie (2002), 595–615. .php?id=11; please also see A. Singh, L. Uijtdewilligen, 30. S. Kemmis and R. Taggart, “Participatory Action Research: J. W. R. Twisk, W. van Mechelen,and M. J. M. Chinapaw, Communicative Action and the Public Sphere, in Strategies “Physical Activity and Performance at School: A Systematic of Qualitative Inquiry, ed. N. K. Denzin and Y. S. Lincoln Review of the Literature Including a Methodological Qual- (Th ousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Productions, 2007), 271–330. ity Assessment,” JAMA Pediatrics 166, no. 1 (2012): 49–55. 31. T. Schram, Conceptualizing Qualitative Inquiry: Mindwork 21. R. M. Callahan, “Tracking and High School English Learn- for Fieldwork in Education and the Social Sciences (Upper ers: Limiting Opportunity to Learn,” American Educational Saddle River, NJ: Merrill-Prentice Hall, 2003). Research Journal 42, no. 2 (2005): 305–328. 32. M. Q. Patton, Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods 22. Please see L. N.. Levine and M. L. McCloskey, Teaching Con- (Th ousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2002). tent and Language in Mainstream Classes: One Class, Many 33. C. Clark and A. Foster, “Children’s and Young People’s Paths, 2nd ed. (Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 2013); please Reading Habits and Preferences: Th e Who, What, Why, also see Y. Freeman, D. Freeman, and S. Mercuri, “Helping Where and When,” National Literacy Trust, 2005; accessed Middle and High School Age English Language Learners June 30, 2008, http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/research/ Achieve Academic Success,” NABE Journal of Research and Reading_Connects_survey.pdf. Practice 1, no. 1 (2005): 110–122. 34. J. Abedi, “High-Stakes Tests, English Language Learners, 23. K. S. Cho and S. Krashen, “Acquisition of Vocabulary from and Linguistic Modifi cation,” Sunshine State TESOL Jour- the Sweet Valley Kids Series: Adult ESL Acquisition,” Jour- nal 6, no. 1 (2007): 1-20. nal of Reading 37 (1994): 662–7. 35. L. A. Bader, Bader Reading and Language Inventory and 24. N. Zaragoza, Rethinking Language Arts: Passion and Prac- Reader’s Passages and Graded Word Lists (Spiral-Bound) tice (New York: Garland Publishing, 1997); please also see (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2004). J. K. Klingner and S. Vaughn, “Th e Helping Behaviors of 36. B. Gamse, R. Jacob, M. Horst, B. Boulay, and F. Unlu, Read- Fift h Graders while Using Collaborative Strategic Reading ing First Impact Study Final Report (NCEE 2009-4038) during ESL Content Classes,” TESOL Quarterly 34, no. 1 (Washington, DC: National Center for Education Evalua- (2000): 69–98. tion and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sci- 25. M. Tenam-Zemach, “An Analysis of Th emes of Environ- ences, US Department of Education, 2008); please also see mental Sustainability in the United State Curriculum Sci- Colorín Colorado, “Reading in Second and Th ird Grades,” ence Content Standards” (Ed.D. dissertation, Florida Inter- 2007; accessed May 24, 2010, http://www.colorincolorado national University, 2007). .org/educators/teaching/secondreading.. 26. A. F. Ada and I. Campoy, Authors in the Classroom: A 37. R. Culham, 6 + 1 Traits of Writing (New York: Scholastic, Transformative Education Process (Boston: Allyn and 2003). Bacon, 2003; please also see N. Zaragoza and E. Dwyer, 38. J. R. Landis and G. G. Koch, “Th e Measurement of Observer Look, I Made a Book (New York: Peter Lang USA Publish- Agreement for Categorical Data,” Biometrics 33 (1977): ing, 2005). 159–174.

100 Literacy, Teens, Refugees, and Soccer

39. M. Q. Patton, Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods (Th ousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2002). Eric Dwyer is Associate Professor in the Department of 40. N. Giovanni, Sing a Soft Black Song (New York: Farrar, Teaching and Learning, Florida International University, Straus and Giroux, 1987), 25. Miami, Florida. Mary Lou McCloskey is Director of Teacher 41. A. U. Chamot and J. M. O’Malley, Th e CALLA Handbook: Development and Curriculum Design at Educo, Atlanta, Implementing the Cognitive Academic Language Learning Georgia. Approach (White Plains, NY: Addison Wesley Longman, 1994); please also see L. N. Levine and M. L. McCloskey, Teaching English Language and Content in Mainstream Classes: One Class, Many Paths (Boston: Pearson, 2013).

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Volume 29 Refuge Number 1

The Location of Refugee Female Teachers in the Canadian Context: “Not Just a Refugee Woman!”

Snežana Ratković

Abstract Résumé Th is paper explores intersectionality of oppression and Cet article explore l’interaction entre les limitations et social agency in refugee narratives of four female teachers l’aptitude sociale au cœur des récits de quatre enseig- from Yugoslavia who immigrated to Ontario and Quebec nantes yougoslaves qui ont immigré en Ontario et au between 1994 and 1998. Th ese narratives reveal a number Québec entre 1994 et 1998. Leur récit révèle plusieurs of systemic barriers participants encountered in their new barrières systémiques auxquelles ces femmes ont été con- country, such as lack of coordination between immigra- frontées dans leur nouveau pays, telles que le manque de tion and settlement services, lack of information about the coordination entre les services de l’immigration et les ser- teacher recertifi cation process, systemic ignorance towards vices à l’établissement, le manque d’information au sujet international teaching credentials and experiences, and du processus de certifi cation des enseignants, l’ignorance a number of settlement practices that pushed the partici- systémique des expériences et des reconnaissances inter- pating women teachers to the margins of the Canadian nationales en enseignement et des pratiques de résolution, educational system. In addition to reporting a number of qui ont refoulé ces enseignantes vers les marges du système systemic barriers to teaching, these women also revealed canadien d’éducation. En plus de signaler ces barrières self-imposed psychological and culturally constructed bar- à leur activité d’enseignante, ces femmes ont également riers to settlement such as personal perceptions of having dévoilé des limites psychologiques et culturelles qu’elles se limited language competencies, of being “too old” to con- sont imposées et qui ont nuit à leur établissement, telles que tinue education, and of remaining permanent outsiders leur perception de leur compétences linguistiques réduites, to Canadian ways of being. Women also discussed their d’être trop vieille pour poursuivre leur éducation, et de choices and priorities in terms of their personal and profes- demeurer malgré tout étrangères au mode de vie canadien. sional lives and the ways in which these preferences facili- Ces femmes ont également discuté de leurs choix et de leurs tated and/or hindered their integration in the Canadian priorités dans le cadre de leur vie personnelle et profes- education system and society. Th e paper challenges the sionnelle, et comment ces décisions ont facilité ou freiné master narrative of refugeehood in Canada by exposing leur intégration dans la société et le système d’éducation the ways in which race, class, gender, age, ethnicity, and canadiens. Cet article conteste le discours courant sur les professional identity, in addition to refugeehood, shape réfugiés au Canada en mettant en lumière comment la the oppression and the privilege of refugee women in the race, la classe, le sexe, l’âge, l’ethnicité, et l’identité pro- Canadian context. fessionnelle, en plus du statut de réfugié, contribuent aux limitations et privilèges des femmes réfugiées dans le con- texte canadien.

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I am a woman. I am a person with much potential, I wouldn’t say Th is paper is a part of a larger study interrogating tran- quality, I don’t know how somebody would judge that, quality or sitions, experiences, and identities of ten refugee female not quality but potential [sighs]. I like to challenge, expand, I am teachers from Yugoslavia who immigrated to Ontario and a person that could be very useful, and it’s popular to say [I could Quebec between 1994 and 1998, during and aft er the civil be very useful] in making a diff erence [laughs]. war in the country (1991–1995). For the purposes of this paper, I document intersectionalities of oppression and —Zlata, Interview 1, May 2010 social agency in refugee narratives of four female teachers from Yugoslavia. Firstly, I discuss the theoretical lens and refugee literature used to analyze participants’ narratives. anada has been recognized as a leading advocate of Secondly, I report systemic barriers to teaching encountered international refugee protection and the third lar- by these women in Ontario and Quebec, their self-imposed Cgest settlement country, with eleven thousand new psychological and culturally constructed barriers, and their asylum claims received each year. In 2008, the Conference personal choices and priorities. Th irdly, I describe the ways Board of Canada suggested increasing immigration levels in which these women encountered and discussed neolib- and refugee intakes in the country to meet Canada’s eco- eralism—a dominant discourse in Canada that emphasizes nomic needs.1 Th e Board also stated that the Canadian self-responsibility for one’s place in the society. Fourthly, I immigration system must be transparent about the selec- challenge the master narrative of refugeehood in Canada tion criteria, working conditions, and available supports for by exploring the ways in which race, class, gender, age, eth- immigrants and refugees, as well as responsive to the immi- nicity, and professional identity shaped the oppression and grants’ and refugees’ needs and expectations. However, cre- the privilege of the refugee women teachers participating in dentials and skills of highly educated immigrants and refu- this study. gees are oft en ignored in the host country. Refugees leave their countries under extreme conditions Th eoretical Framework: Post-colonial Feminism, and come to Canada to re-establish their lives. Th e Offi ce of Intersectionality, and Identity the High Commissioner for Human Rights defi nes a refu- Th e refugee label is oft en perceived to be a symbol of dis- gee as: advantage, as are other labels, such as immigrant, visible minority, and Th ird-World woman.3 According to Khayatt, A person who is outside his/her country of nationality or habitual the perception of refugees as disadvantaged people raises the residence; has a well-founded fear of persecution because of his/ issue of discrimination and reveals the danger of labelling her race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social and marginalizing groups and individuals.4 Uma Narayan group or political opinion; and is unable or unwilling to avail challenges the process of sorting people into homogeneous himself/herself of the protection of that country, or to return and fi xed categories by complicating the sense of what it there, for fear of persecution.2 means to “inhabit a culture,”4 especially the culture of a Th ird-World woman and feminist. She explains: Such a defi nition, while providing some useful criteria, hides the diff erences across individuals and groups assigned Finally, though calling myself a Th ird-World feminist is subject to the refugee label and contributes to a portrait of refugees qualifi cation and mediation, it is no more so than many that is far too simplistic and therefore problematic. More labels one might attach to oneself—no more so than c a l l i n g specifi cally, this defi nition does not address the com- myself an Indian, a feminist, or a woman, for that matter, since plexities of refugee experiences oft en negotiated through all these identities are not simple givens but open to com- and shaped by the intersections of race, class, gender, plex ways of being inhabited, and do not guarantee m a n y age, ethnicity, and professional identity. Citizenship and specifi c experiences or concerns, even as they shape one’s life in Immigration Canada provides additional insights into powerful ways.5 refugee experiences by describing refugees as Government Assisted Refugees, Privately Sponsored Refugees, Refugee In the excerpt above, Narayan points out the danger of label- Dependants Abroad, or Asylum Refugees. Although helpful ling individuals and groups and highlights the intersection- in terms of developing immigration and settlement policies ality of ethnicity, gender, and epistemology in one’s life. She and practices, these categories continue to ignore other dif- argues that human experiences are diverse, unpredictable, ferences among refugees, which are oft en based on refugees’ and negotiated. social location such as race, gender, and class. Chandra Talpade Mohanty also draws attention to inter- sectionality in people’s lives: “It is the current intersection

104 “Not Just a Refugee Woman!”

of anti-racist, anti-imperialist and gay and lesbian struggles responsibility for systemic inequities vanishes in the light of which we need to understand to map the ground for fem- the individual’s responsibility for his/her place in the social inist political strategy and critical analysis.”6 She examines and economic order. Th is view perpetuates the production race, empire, and citizenship in US feminist projects and of a “permanent underclass, and even a permanent criminal observes that corporate cultures of power, domination, and class, along with a class of aliens, or noncitizens.”15 In such a surveillance overlap with a politics of complicity in the US context, even university-educated refugee women teachers academy.7 Mohanty urges progressive scholars to analyze are unable to fi nd jobs and oft en suff er high levels of pov- the language of imperialism and empire: “Th eorizing the erty.16 Even when refugee women teachers succeed in fi nd- place of immigrant, poor women of color in the citizenship ing employment, they usually obtain short-term, low-wage, narrative of Women’s Studies, and challenging the rescue non-teaching jobs.17 Th ese women fi nd themselves fi rst and narrative of privileged US feminists wherever it appears is foremost constructed as refugee women and continue to be a crucial aspect of feminist solidarity praxis at this time.”8 re-presented as an economically, socially, and politically In order to theorize the place of refugee women in the marginalized group. Canadian citizenship narrative, I explore how intersections Th e location of the refugee female teacher within the of race, class, gender, age, ethnicity, professional status, and Canadian neoliberal context is further troubled by myths refugeehood condition and complicate refugee women’s and stereotypes which are deeply embedded in the master lives in the Canadian context. narrative of forced migration. Th is master narrative warns us that refugee women come to Canada to do the “dirty Literature Review: Women, Refugeehood, and work”18 and “steal jobs from Canadian-born women.”19 (Professional) Identity Th ey “get into Canada by manipulating the system and Refugee women in particular are a highly vulnerable seg- bring with them their problems and confl icts”20 to this ment of the population because of both physical realities and refugee-welcoming country. Refugee women are oft en por- traditional cultural roles. Th e gap between refugee women’s trayed as uneducated women of colour who do not speak pre-exile and exile professional and socio-economic status English or French21 and as women who are “more feminine, is oft en so wide that it becomes hard to overcome, regard- docile, sexually available, obedient.”22 less of the fact that women are already used to balancing According to Morris and Sinnott, refugee women in gen- multiple roles and responsibilities (e.g. working and caring eral, and refugee female teachers in particular, are oft en for the family at the same time). Nikolić-Ristanović states: perceived as being diff erent from the mainstream groups in Canada (i.e., diff erent from those who are white, Canadian- In refuge, they [refugee women] oft en bear a heavier burden of born, and English-speaking).23 In the same vein, Ng and physical work, to which they are not accustomed. In addition, Shan argue that a lack of recognition of international teach- their education and previous experience turn out to be insuffi cient ing credentials is a form of othering that underlines “a col- for fi nding a suitable job in their fi eld in the country of asylum.9 onial legacy that downgrades education, training and cre- dentials from non-Western societies, thereby re-inscribing Refugee women teachers, in general, encounter multiple and exacerbating existing inequalities based on age, gender, challenges in re-establishing their teaching careers in a and race.”24 new country. Some of the key challenges reported in the literature include: non-recognition of teaching credentials Border Pedagogies and Borderless Possibilities and work experience,10 lack of profi ciency in the offi cial Over the past decade, the Canadian classroom has become language,11 lack of cross-cultural knowledge and a lack of more culturally and linguistically diversifi ed. Th e teacher familiarity with the multicultural student population,12 population, however, does not mirror such classroom divers- and negative stereotyping and discrimination by potential ity.25 Furthermore, the research indicates that Canadian employers and government services, as well as domestic teachers—who are mostly white, middle class and female— responsibilities and fi nancial diffi culties.13 are oft en poorly prepared for teaching students of diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds.26 Armstrong and Unsettled in Canada McMahon warn: “Th e reforms have failed to deliver their In Canada, refugee women teachers are oppressed not only espoused targets of excellence, equality, and high achieve- by their refugee status and gender, but also by the work- ment for urban students, particularly as they relate to social ings of competition, “a salient feature of neoliberalism.”14 class, race, ethnicity, language, and gender.”27 Th e free market in the neoliberal context sees its citizens as solely responsible for their success in the society. Social

105 Volume 29 Refuge Number 1

Dlamini and Martinovic urge educators to recognize the schools for the benefi ts of all students…and enhance learning value and the potential of a diverse student/teacher popula- opportunities for all students who must learn to exist within an tion in Canada: increasingly globalized local context.36

…diverse classes—classes that work in and in between two or more Th erefore, constructing and sustaining diverse classrooms languages and cultures to create students and teachers as engaged in Canada requires modelling acceptance, appreciating dif- brokers, investigators, participants and producers of culture, lan- ference, and fostering equity and social justice. In this con- guage and identity—would provide a more complex, rich and pol- text, refugee female teachers can be perceived as key players itically sensitive learning experience.28 in the implementation of border pedagogy and development of social justice education. According to Carr and Klassen, Dlamini invites schools and faculties of education to teachers of diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds can bene- embrace border pedagogy and “re-imagine the mainstream fi t the multicultural Canadian classroom by “enhancing as intercultural and multilingual in make-up.”29 She refer- cultural compatibility, demystifying the hidden curriculum, ences Giroux and argues for the implementation of border developing positive attitudes towards persons from a variety pedagogy as a tool for progressive classroom teaching, a of backgrounds, expressing lived experiences, connecting pedagogy that employs diff erence as an analytical tool and with the students, and connecting with the communities.”37 encourages students to cross over “into cultural borders that off er narratives, languages and experiences that pro- Methodology vide a resource for rethinking the relationship between the I approached this study with an understanding that many centre and the margins of power as well as between them- epistemologies are possible in the research process. I chose 38 selves and others.”30 According to Giroux, border pedagogy transnational feminist epistemology to guide my research is linked to critical democracy.31 Educators must under- decisions. I acknowledge the problematic nature of con- stand the frameworks in which “diff erence is constructed structing a feminist way of doing objective research, but I through various representations and practices that name, am hesitant to “completely throw the idea to the wind leav- 39 legitimate, marginalize, and exclude the voices of subordin- ing room for only absolute relativism.” For me, objectiv- ate groups.”32 Border pedagogy does not simply recognize ity and subjectivity are not confl icting paradigms; “femin- 40 diff erence as a social and historical construct, but makes the ist objectivity means quite simply situated knowledges.” I axes of power visible within and across educational settings. consider these situated and embodied knowledges as being Such a pedagogy should be seen as a site for critical analysis, space within knowledge creation that allows for diff erence, creativity, and possibility: complexity, contradiction, and social change. Furthermore, I assume that knowledge production is a political and …these pedagogical borderlands where blacks, whites, latinos [sic], socially constructed process; it is neither universal nor and others meet demonstrate the importance of a multicentric separated from its process of production. Th is approach to perspective that allows students to recognise and analyse how knowledge and objectivity is critical for my data analysis the diff erences within and between various groups can expand and decisions about representation; it does not only allow the potential of human life and democratic possibilities.33 for multiplicity of knowledge, but considers the role of gender, race, class, and other social constructions in the Dlamini warns, however, that border pedagogy fails to ask production of knowledge. the fundamental questions about power in the classroom I am also cognizant of the power and authority issues and can produce “a further marginalization of the very embedded in my relationship with those whom I research. discourses it aims to elevate.”34 Th erefore, teachers must I understand the importance of refl exive practice and the understand that border pedagogy is not only about teaching need to question and articulate my personal and research new skills and knowledges but also about challenging belief standpoints throughout the research process. I am aware systems, ways of living, and social privileges “that others that in my research with Yugoslavian refugee women teach- would kill to safeguard.”35 ers, I am both an insider and an outsider to the experience. Issues of representation remain crucial in educating a As a refugee woman teacher from the former Yugoslavia, socially and culturally diverse student population. Teachers I share some major status characteristics such as race, from a variety of racial and ethnic backgrounds gender, and refugee status with participants in my study. As a cultural insider, I was able to gain easy access to the not only provide role models for minority youth, but bring diverse Yugoslavian refugee women teachers’ population in Ontario teaching styles, modes of communication and knowledge into and Quebec and to develop a rapport with these women in

106 “Not Just a Refugee Woman!”

a short period of time. Sharing some characteristics with In addition to transcript poems, I used the storying stories the participants, however, does not necessarily enable me to method48 to move from digital recordings and transcripts fully understand their lived experiences.41 to meaningful stories. I searched for plots while listen- ing to recordings and typing up transcripts. I watched for Data Collection and Analysis what was said, how it was said, and what remained unsaid I conducted two individual, in-depth and open-ended con- but signalled between the lines. I looked at interview tran- versations with each of the women. Each individual conver- scripts through multiple lenses: active listening, narrative sation was two to three hours long, digitally recorded, and processes, language, context, and signifi cant moments.49 I transcribed verbatim. I also conducted two focus group created story subtitles and the main title for each conversa- conversations, one in Ontario and one in Quebec. Th e focus tion, including the fi rst interview, the second interview, and group conversation conducted in Quebec involved seven the focus group interview. Aft er identifying a number of participants and lasted for four hours while the Ontario subtitles and one main title for each interview, I developed focus group conversation involved three participants and an interpretative story for each interview. lasted for two hours. I kept notes and used a ten-minute I sent each transcript and synopsis including transcript debriefi ng session at the end of each focus group interview poems, interpretative story subtitles, interpretative story to verify the most frequent themes emerging from the con- titles, metaphors, and storying-the-researcher notes to par- versation. I transcribed the focus groups’ digital record- ticipants for member check. Aft er receiving the participants’ ings using purposeful transcription (i.e., I transcribed only approval for each transcript and for my interpretations of those lines relevant to the main stories verifi ed during the their words, I created an interpretative story for each of debriefi ng sessions). I kept fi eld notes and a refl exive journal the interviews. While I was frequently revisiting the tran- to document the research process. I was also interviewed scripts to write up interpretative stories, I noticed that each by one of my Ph.D. colleagues before I started interviewing participant would mention a particular story over and over other women to construct my personal narrative, one which again throughout our conversations, a dominant story that will not be infl uenced by other women’s stories. I used these embodied the core values and beliefs of the participant conversations to explore personal and cultural assumptions and off ered an opportunity for creating a new story by and biases inherent in my interview protocol and my per- answering the following questions: Are there similarities? sonal understandings of exile, settlement, and professional Does the same theme underline the stories? Is the charac- identity. ter passive or active? Is the confl ict similar each time? Has As I was aware that face-to-face interviews make ano- the participant resolved the confl ict in the same way? Is the nymity and even confi dentiality diffi cult to achieve, I mood consistent? What kind of mood is it? 50 Finally, I com- invited participants to choose pseudonyms. Th ree women piled interpretative stories and dominant stories together chose names of their family members (e.g., sisters, aunts, or with transcript poems and metaphors to compose a per- nephews). One woman, however, selected the pseudonym sonal experience narrative of refugeehood, teaching, and Nina Bloom, the name of the main fi ctional character in teacher identity for each participant. Each personal experi- Patterson and Ledwidge’s novel Now You See Her.42 ence narrative was sent to participants for member check During transcription and data analysis, I allowed for and aft er their approval was included in this text. multiple voices and subjectivities and employed poetic tran- To honour transnational and translingual identities of scription, 43 the storying stories method, 44 and concentric refugee female teachers from Yugoslavia, I created bilingual storying45 as alternative modes of data analysis and re-pres- data sources. My conversations with refugee women teach- entation. I created transcript poems using the participants’ ers from Ontario were held in English. Conversations with words. I fi rst identifi ed main stories in the transcript and refugee female teachers from Quebec, on the other hand, condensed those stories into poems by keeping in key words were held in the Serbo-Croatian language due to my lan- and phrases while taking out prepositions, adjectives, and guage limitations in French. Th e Serbo-Croatian language adverbs. I kept enough of the participants’ words together was our point of connection and allowed the refugee female to represent their “way of saying things.”46 Finally, I reread teachers from Quebec to be heard in English-speaking each poem several times to trim the poem down to its core, environments. All the transcript poems and quotations trimming down for rhythm, rhyme, and memorable stories. included in this paper from the interviews conducted in My goal was to achieve metaphorical generalizability and Ontario are presented in English. Poems and quotations “inspire an empathic, emotional reaction, so the consumer created from the interviews conducted in Quebec and in the of research can develop a deep, personal understanding of Serbo-Croatian language are, on the other hand, off ered as the ‘subject’ of the data.”47 bilingual text.

107 Volume 29 Refuge Number 1

Starting a Collective Narrative of Refugeehood, Odrekla sam se škole i izgubila svoj dom Teaching, and Teacher Identity in Canada [I gave up my teacher identity and lost my home.] In this section of the paper, I fi rst present Jagoda, Nada, Odrekla sam se škole I gave up school Zlata, and Nina Bloom through the summaries of their Ulagati u sebe nema Investing in me didn’t make personal experience narratives including a short biography, smisla, any sense; interpretative story titles, dominant story title, personal experience narrative title, and one of their transcript poems jer moja djeca rastu my children were growing up, echoing their narrative. Next, I chart the overlapping char- i u njih ulagati treba. it was time to invest in them. acteristics of their stories viewed through systemic and self- Odrekla sam se škole i I gave up school, imposed barriers to settlement in Canada. Finally, I high- ne žalim, light the unique characteristics of each woman’s narrative. ne, ne žalim, I have no regrets, Jagoda’s Personal Experience Narrative jer da sam okupirana I wasn’t the centre of the Jagoda is a French and Latin language teacher from sobom bila universe, Yugoslavia. She fi rst escaped from Bosnia and Herzegovina tko zna kakva bi se my children’s future was at (BiH), then a province of Yugoslavia, to Serbia. Jagoda and her nevolja zbila. stake. family joined a big wave of refugees immigrating to Serbia from other Yugoslav provinces between 1991 and 1996. Due to this big wave of refugees, Serbia was experiencing a great Nada’s Personal Experience Narrative economic crisis. Jagoda started working as a Latin language Nada is a Serbo-Croatian language teacher who immigrated teacher in a rural area. For the next three years, she was not to Quebec from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Yugoslavia, in able to obtain Serbian citizenship. She lost her job and was 1995 with her husband and two daughters. She taught the forced to seek a better life outside of Serbia. She was forty Serbo-Croatian language and literature for eleven years years of age when she arrived in Quebec with her husband prior to her immigration to Quebec. Immediately aft er her and two children. Jagoda planned to continue her education arrival, Nada started volunteering at a second-hand store. and re-establish her teaching career in Quebec, but encoun- She did not speak any French at the time. Nada tried to tered a number of personal, social, and systemic obstacles obtain employment as a Serbo-Croatian language teacher in her settlement. Th ese obstacles convinced Jagoda to give for Canadian solders going to Bosnia and Herzegovina aft er up her teaching career. She volunteered, however, at an ele- the war, but she was not accepted due to her ethnic origin. mentary school as a lunch supervisor and was invited by the Nada’s professional title is Serbo-Croatian language teacher, school principal to work full-time in this capacity. Jagoda rather than Bosnian language teacher. For this reason, she accepted the off er and continues to work as a lunch super- was labelled as unqualifi ed for this job. Despite her exper- visor to date. tise, Nada was not able to convince her potential employers Storying Jagoda’s stories... from the Canadian government that she was born in Bosnia Story Title 1: and that she speaks the Bosnian language “koji je do juce Da sam bila mlađa [kad sam došla u Kanadu], ne bih se bio srpsko-hrvatski” [which used to be Serbo-Croatian until nikada odrekla škole. yesterday] (i.e., before the civil war in the country). [If I were a younger woman, I would not give up my Nada gave up her teaching career due to her limited education.] French-language skills, her subject area (i.e., Serbo-Croatian Story Title 2: language and literature) that was rarely needed in Quebec, Ne žalim što sam došla u Kanadu, ali Kanada nije moj and her personal characteristics, including her devotion to dom. her family and the fact that she is not overly ambitious. She [I don’t regret coming to Canada, but Canada is not my is požrtvovana majka (an overprotective mother, a mother home.] who is willing to sacrifi ce her happiness for her children) Story Title 3: and she always puts fi rst “svu svoju porodicu a tek onda svoju Kanada je moja maćeha. profesiju” (her family and then, and only then her profes- [Canada is my stepmother.] sion) (Conversation 1, April 2010). Nada works as a manager Dominant Story: at the same second-hand store where she started volunteer- Ljuta sam na Srbiju. ing in 1995 and manages forty people with care and grace. [I am angry with Serbia.] Nada’s supervisor once noted that she looks like a teacher Personal Experience Narrative: who keeps her classroom effi cient and well organized.

108 “Not Just a Refugee Woman!”

Da rata nije bilo... If the war never happened... Živjeli bi normalno u Jugoslaviji, We would live a normal life in Yugoslavia, imala bih 25 godina radnog staža, I would have 25 years of teaching, razmišljala o skoroj penziji, I would think about retirement, fakultetski obrazovani, as university educated people, imali bi svoj stan i kuću, we would have our apartment and house, život mirniji. a life of peace. Ovde se puno radi Here, we work too much, i to mi malo smeta u mojim pedesetim. I am getting worn out, already in my 50s. Imam dvije djevojke koje će sad na fakultet, I have two daughters at university, neotplaćenu kuću, I have a mortgage, moju majku koja je daleko a pomoć joj treba. and my mother so helpless and so far away. Previse je toga na plećima mojim; My shoulders are sore; da radim, I must work, da pomognem dok djeca ne porastu, I must help my children, dok ne postanu ljudi. help them grow up. Moram, moram izdržati. I must, I must endure.

Storying Nada’s stories... Zlata’s Personal Experience Narrative Story Title 1: Zlata is a Serbo-Croatian language and literature teacher Mi ovdje u principu ne radimo ono što volimo nego ono who immigrated to Ontario from the war-torn Yugoslavia što nas je zadesilo. in 1994. Zlata and her husband came to Ontario through [We do what we are given to do, not what we desire to do.] an immigration program for ethnically mixed–marriage Story Title 2: couples from the former Yugoslavia at that time. As an eth- Mi smo poklon Kanadi, Snježana. nically mixed couple, Zlata and her husband did not feel [We are a gift to Canada, Snježana.] safe in any of the former Yugoslav provinces. Th is situa- Story Title 3: tion provided them with the opportunity to immigrate to Ostala sam ista: vrijedna, praktična i otvorena. Canada and receive one year of fi nancial support from the [I am still the same woman: diligent, practical and government. Zlata was in her late thirties when they landed honest.] in Ontario. Dominant Story: Zlata graduated from the University of Philosophy and Zadovoljna sam. Nisam ambiciozna. Philology and taught Serbo-Croatian for fourteen years at [I am ok. I am not ambitious.] the high school and university level in a large city in BiH. Personal Experience Narrative: She loved her profession, her students, and her colleagues. “Mi smo poklon Kanadi, Snježana, ali su nam šanse male.” For her, teaching was a mission. Zlata found her fi rst years [We are a gift to Kanada, Snježana, but our chances to in Canada diffi cult; she was a language teacher and spoke six teach are slim to none.] languages (Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian, Slovenian, French, Spanish, and Italian), but did not speak any English at the time. Once in Canada, Zlata studied English fourteen hours a day. Her “home” was language and teaching, and she could not aff ord to remain homeless in Canada. Zlata works part-time as a project manager and sessional instructor at a language institute. She is, however, disappointed with the role and the place of education in Canadian society. For Zlata, the attitude towards education in Ontario is akin to the attitude of going to the shopping mall. As a university instructor, she feels lonely and disposable. Storying Zlata’s stories... Story Title 1:

109 Volume 29 Refuge Number 1

ARE WE HERE ONLY TO ENTERTAIN!? I want to par- the Serbo-Croatian language and literature and English ticipate actively in this society. as second language at an elementary school in Croatia, Story Title 2: Yugoslavia. One year aft er her arrival to Ontario, she I feel drained out and feared of being on the street, but obtained her TESL, TEFL, and TOEFL certifi cates. While every human being has to go through ups and downs. studying English at an Ontario college, Nina Bloom was Th ere is time to cry and there is time to laugh. told by one of her instructors that she shouldn’t be study- Story Title 3: ing English; she should be teaching it. Soon aft er this event, I feel disposable. Nina Bloom started a part-time teaching job at the college. Dominant Story: She continued working in this capacity for eight years until I’m proud of being born in Yugoslavia. the college management changed. Th e new management let Personal Experience Narrative: Nina go. I want to participate actively in this society, but I feel dis- Nina Bloom studied hospitality together with her older posable. ARE WE HERE ONLY TO ENTERTAIN!? son at the same college from 1997 to 1999. Nina also worked full-time as an administrator at a hotel. She also studied I want to paint on the walls of the cave adult education courses together with her younger son at a local university from 2007 to 2009. She is only fi ve credits As humans we fi rst thought about survival, from her degree, but fi nancially she cannot sustain her stud- at the same time, people thought about art, ies at this point of time. Nina Bloom regrets not fi nishing they described their life every day, her adult education courses at a Canadian university and and that is missing today, you know, not teaching in Ontario. She feels fully competent, capable, those paintings on the walls of the cave. and entitled to teach, but she fi nds the teacher recertifi - Th at is what I don’t feel I have, you know? cation process in this province to be exhausting and dis- Th is is just biological existence, criminatory. She has retreated completely from this unjust I exist, process and this society. and I’m lucky that I have the theatre, Storying Nina Bloom’s stories... and literature, Story Title 1: and people who inspire me, Th ey [Th e Ontario College of Teachers] made it hard. who teach me something new every day. Story Title 2: I am lucky to have the energy I didn’t make right decisions and this is haunting me. to write a line, Story Title 3: to write a poem. Žao mi je, ali ne mogu doći na grupni intervju; jedna moja prijateljica me zamolila za uslugu i ne At work mogu je odbiti. only teaching inspires me. [I am sorry, but I will not make to the focus group inter- Aft er classes, I’ m exhausted view today; an old friend of mine asked me for a but happy. favour and I can’t say no to her.] It’s only that positive energy, Dominant story: that energy what keeps me alive, I have retreated completely. I am so lucky to teach! Personal Experience Narrative: My offi ce work Th ey [the Ontario College of Teachers] made it hard and is another story, I have retreated completely. it doesn’t give me that motivation, I was better educated than my judges were that urge to paint on the walls of the cave. My teaching credentials weren’t recognized and this deeply aff ected me, Nina Bloom’s Personal Experience Narrative only one credit they recognized Nina Bloom came to Ontario in 1995 with her husband and out of 13. two sons, who were seven and nineteenyears of age at that “It’s not compatible,” they said, time. She was forty-three years old and eager to teach in “Canadian experience you don’t have.” Ontario. Nina Bloom already had twelve years of teaching You must have heard that line experience. Prior to her arrival to the province, she taught over and over again.

110 “Not Just a Refugee Woman!”

And what is, please, “Canadian experience?” Nada also reported encountering two systemic barriers Is it more, to her integration in Canada: lack of French language profi - more valuable than Croatian, ciency and non-recognition of her teaching credentials and Serbian, experiences. She, however, argued that it was her personal Yugoslav, choice to give up teaching in order to work, take care of her Bulgarian? children, protect her family, and lead a humble but decent life. For Nada, family always comes fi rst. She is more than Twelve years thrown away. satisfi ed with her managerial position at a second-hand I was hurt, store. Nada warns, however, that refugee women teachers resentful, are not allowed to choose their careers in Canada; they do I knew, what they are given to do. She concludes that refugee female I was better educated than my judges were. teachers from Yugoslavia are a gift to Canada, but their Teaching in Canada: Challenges and Opportunities chances to teach in this country are slim to none. Jagoda, Nada, Zlata, and Nina Bloom have made attempts Zlata—who continued her education in Canada and to re-establish their teaching careers in Canada, but no obtained a part-time teaching position at an Ontario uni- woman has returned to her pre-exile professional position. versity—reported non-recognition of her teaching cre- In other words, no woman in this study secured permanent, dentials and experiences as well as discrimination against full-time employment in her subject area and her school refugee women in Canadian society as systematic barriers division within the Canadian context. to her settlement in Canada. She is aware of individual cir- Jagoda encountered three self-imposed barriers to estab- cumstances that shape each refugee woman’s life such as lishing her teaching career in Canada. First, Jagoda came to marital status, motherhood, age, membership in a refugee Quebec for her children so protecting them was her fi rst pri- diaspora, and personal connections to people and the land- ority. Second, she planned to continue her education and re- scape. She argues, however, that the role of the Ministry of establish her teaching career, but she was told by one of the Immigration and Settlement, the role of the government local school principals that her chance of getting a teaching agencies serving refugees, and the role of education author- position in Quebec, even with a teaching certifi cate, would ities in Ontario are critical for the refugee women teachers’ be only 50–50. For Jagoda, this probability of obtaining a settlement in the province. Although Zlata has obtained teaching position in the province was not good enough; she two part-time jobs in Ontario, she feels excluded from did not want to sacrifi ce her family time and her children’s Canadian society, a society based on the politics of diff er- future for embarking upon such a risky adventure. Th ird, ence, colonial hierarchy, and systemic marginalization of she trusted that coming to Quebec at the age of forty was refugee and immigrant women. another barrier to her professional career; she felt too old Nina Bloom lives somewhere in between her Yugoslavian to continue her education and obliged to support her chil- and her Canadian life. At fi rst, I wondered why she chose dren’s education rather than her own. the pseudonym Nina Bloom. To grasp the meaning of Nina Jagoda also encountered fi nancial diffi culties and made Bloom’s pseudonym, as well as similarities and diff erences some personal choices. Jagoda’s husband did not speak any between these two women, I read Patterson and Ledwidge’s French when they arrived in Quebec and was not able to novel before I analyzed Nina Bloom’s transcripts. In the obtain any employment. Jagoda became the family provider, novel, the fi ctional character Nina Bloom is a successful 51 took care of her family, and paid all the bills. She could not lawyer and a loving mother. She would do anything to devote any time to studying in her already busy schedule. protect her life built in New York—including lying to her Finally, Jagoda experienced two systemic barriers to teach- daughter about her past. I wonder if Nina Bloom, the par- ing in Canada: deskilling by the education authorities in ticipant in this study, would do anything to protect the lives the province and discrimination by a parent who did not of her husband and her sons—including lying to everyone, trust Jagoda’s teaching credentials from Yugoslavia and, as even herself, about her perfect Canadian life. But when a a result, transferred his child to another school. With all researcher comes along asking about her teacher identity, these obstacles in front of her, Jagoda gave up teaching. She Nina Blooms admits that her life is not perfect; she misses was willing to work harder than anybody else in her school, teaching. but she grew to understand that her work and her expertise Similarly to Nina Bloom, the fi ctional character whose would be dismissed anyway. secret life began eighteen years ago in New York, the par- ticipant in this study began her refugee journey fi ft een years ago in Croatia, Yugoslavia. She had looks “to die for,” a

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handsome caring husband, two lovely sons, and a teaching in Quebec but also practical and “not overly ambitious” job she adored. Nina Bloom’s world is, however, shattered (Individual Conversation, April 25, 2010). Another example once Yugoslavia was torn apart by civil war. She escaped of uniqueness can be illustrated by comparing and con- war-torn Croatia and changed her identity once and for all. trasting Jagoda’s and Nina Bloom’s narratives: Jagoda felt In Ontario, Nina Bloom experienced discrimination based too old to continue her education in her early forties, while on her place of origin and has completely retreated from Nina Bloom completed college in her early fi ft ies, started Canadian society. She left the professional/public sphere an undergraduate degree in her late fi ft ies, and concluded: behind and took refuge within a safe domestic sphere, shel- “What is life without learning” (Conversation 1, May, 2010)!? tered by her family and her books: “I retreated completely” Participants’ narratives challenge Canadian stereotypes (Conversation 1, May, 2010). By choosing the pseudonym of refugee women teachers by exposing the ways in which Nina Bloom, the participant brought up a number of gender race, class, gender, age, ethnicity, and professional status, issues including female body image (e.g., the looks to die in addition to refugeehood, shape the oppression and the for), vulnerability, and domestic sphere identity (e.g., being privilege of refugee women in this country. Similarly to predominantly a wife and a mother). Khayatt, Narayan, and Mohanty, who critique stereotyping Narratives told by Jagoda, Nada, and Nina Bloom reveal of racialized, immigrant, and Th ird World women, 54 par- a number of self-imposed barriers (i.e., these women’s per- ticipants’ stories reveal that refugee women are not uniform sonal perceptions of their capacity to learn and teach in and inferior citizens but rather polyglots, university-edu- Canada) to their settlement such as perceptions of lack- cated professionals, lifelong learners, and caring mothers, ing language competencies and perceptions of being ”too as well as capable and passionate teachers whose learning old” to continue their education in Canada. Th ey also dis- and teaching “can expand the potential of human life and cussed their choice of prioritizing motherhood and family- democratic possibilities”55 in Canada. hood over their teacher careers. Zlata’s narrative, however, proved that a lack of profi ciency in the offi cial language Coda is not necessarily a key barrier to refugee women’s settle- Inclusion of Yugoslavian refugee women teachers’ voices in ment as is oft en suggested in the Western literature.52 Zlata narrating settlement experiences in Ontario and Quebec learned English upon her arrival in Canada. She states, illuminates the ways in which settlement processes, poli- however, that one of the main barriers to refugee women’s cies, and practices shape refugee women teachers’ lives in settlement in this country is a lack of cross-cultural know- these two provinces. It is important to note that the above- ledge among government offi cials serving refugees, which is mentioned immigration, settlement, and education practi- oft en and unjustly attributed to refugee women teachers.53 ces have not delivered their objectives of excellence, equity, In addition to self-imposed barriers to teaching, the and full professional integration for refugee women teach- women also identifi ed a lack of information about the ers from Yugoslavia. Canadian society fails to recognize teacher recertifi cation process, a lack of coordination these women as key players in the Canadian classroom and between immigration and settlement services, and systemic as capable and contributing citizens. Such an exclusion of ignorance towards international teaching credentials and refugee women teachers from Canadian schools and society experiences, as well as discrimination, as systemic bar- might result not only in a lack of representation and divers- riers to their integration in the Canadian education system. ity in the Canadian classroom, but also in a lack of equity For example, non-recognition of teaching credentials and and social justice in Canada. experiences was characteristic of each woman’s story. All Bringing to light the Ontario and Quebec settlement con- the women also reported discrimination on the basis of ori- texts and the dynamics of each Yugoslavian woman’s story gin and/or ethnicity. might help educators, government offi cials, and educational A number of similarities emerged from women’s nar- authorities in Canada understand the multi-layered social, ratives. For example, Jagoda and Nada both felt too old to cultural, and political space within which these women’s continue their education in Quebec while Zlata and Nina stories and experiences are contextualized. Immigration Bloom highlighted incidents of discrimination and emo- and settlement services as well as teacher education author- tions of not belonging to Canadian society. Participants ities in Canada have failed Jagoda, Nada, Zlata, and Nina also reported some unique aspects of refugeehood. For Bloom. However, these women prevail despite of systemic example, Jagoda gave up her teaching career to invest her ignorance and discrimination and continue to share their time, energy, and money in her children’s education rather wisdom with other refugee women teachers: than her own, while Nada argued that she was not only too Izbeglim nastvnicama To refugee women teachers old to learn the language and pursue teacher recertifi cation

112 “Not Just a Refugee Woman!”

Ostanite u struci, Stay in your profession, 11. JoAnn Phillion, “Obstacles to Accessing the Teaching Pro- fession for Immigrant Women,” Multicultural Education radite ono što volite, do what you love to do, 1, no. 1 (2003): 41; Hanna Ragnarsdóttir, “Internationally učite jezik i struku paralelno, learn the language and Educated Teachers and Student Teachers in Iceland: Two profession, Qualitative Studies,” Canadian Journal of Educational jezika se ne boj’te. it’s up to you. Administration and Policy 100 (2010): 1. Vase znanje i iskustvo su Don’t fear any language, 12. Dragana Medic, “Foreign Trained Teachers: Th e Emer- veliki, gence of the Right to Practise Th eir Profession in Ontario” ne gubite vreme, your knowledge will do, (master’s thesis, Brock University, St. Catharines, ON, nikada nije kasno your heart will grow, 2007). za kanadske fakultete. it’s up to you. 13. Angela Rhone, “Caribbean-Immigrant Educators: More Don’t waste your time, Th an an Ocean of Diff erence,” Childhood Education 84, don’t wait for the state, no. 1 (2007): 44. continue your education, 14. Susan George, “A Short History of Neoliberalism: Twenty Years of Elite Economics and Emerging Opportunities for it’s never too late. Structural Change” (paper presented at the conference (Focus Group Conversation, June 13, 2010) on economic sovereignty in a globalizing world, Bang- kok, Th ailand), accessed January 10, 2009, http://www .globalexchange.org/campaigns/econ101/neoliberalism .html. Notes 15. Wendy Brown, “American Nightmare: Neoliberalism, Neo- 1. Douglas Watt, Tim Krywulak, and Kurtis Kitagawa, conservatism, and Dedemocratization,” Political Th eory 34, “Renewing Immigration: Towards a Convergance and Con- no. 6 (2006): 695. solidation of Canada’s Immigration Policies and Systems,” 16. Guida Man, “Gender, Work and Migration: Deskilling Conference Board of Canada, accessed September 3, 2011, Chinese Immigrant Women in Canada,” Women’s Studies http://www.conferenceboard.ca/Libraries/NETWORK_ International Forum 27, no. 2 (2004): 135; Shahrzad Mojab, PUBLIC/lri2008_research_renewingimmigration.sfl b. “De-skilling immigrant women,” Canadian Woman Studies 2. UNHCR, “Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees” 19, no. 3 (1999): 123. (Geneva: UNHCR, 1951). 17. Nikolić-Ristanović, Women, Violence and War: 152. 3. Didi Khayatt, “Th e Boundaries of Identity and the Intersec- 18. Audrey Macklin, “Women as Migrant: Members in tion of Race, Class and Gender,” Canadian Woman Studies National and Global Communities,” Canadian Woman 14, no. 2 (1994): 6. Studies 19, no. 2 (1999): 24. 4. Uma Narayan, Dislocating Cultures: Identities, Traditions, 19. Marika Morris and Jennifer Sinnott, “Immigrant and Refu- and Th ird‐World Feminism (New York: Routledge, 1997), 4. gee Women,” Canadian Research Institute for the Advan- 5. Ibid., 4–5. cement of Women, accessed April 7, 2012, http://www 6. Chandra Talpade Mohanty, “Feminist Encounters: Locat- .criaw-icref.ca/ImmigrantandRefugeeWomen. ing the Politics of Diff erence,” in Destabilizing Th eory: Con- 20. Ibid. temporary Feminist Debates, ed. M. Barrett and A. Phillips 21. Ibid. (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press 1992), 87. 22. Macklin, “Women as Migrant.” 7. Chandra Talpade Mohanty, Feminism without Borders: 23. Morris and Sinnott, “Immigrant and Refugee Women.” Decolonizing Th eory, Practicing Solidarity (Durham, NC: 24. Roxana Ng and H. Hongxia Shan, “Lifelong Learning as Duke University Press, 2003), 7. Ideological Practice: An Analysis from the Perspective of 8. Chandra Talpade Mohanty, “US Empire and the Project of Immigrant Women in Canada,” International Journal of Women’s Studies: Stories of Citizenship, Complicity and Lifelong Learning 29, no. 2 (2010): 169–184. Dissent,” Gender, Place and Culture: A Journal of Feminist 25. George J. Sefa Dei, Sonia James-Wilson, and Jasmine Zine, Geography 13, no. 1 (2006): 17. Inclusive Schooling: A Teacher’s Companion to Removing the 9. Vesna Nikolić-Ristanović, Women, Violence and War: War- Margins (Toronto: Canadian Scholars’ Press, 2002); S. Nom- time Victimizations of Refugees in the Balkans, (Budapest: buso Dlamini, “From the Other Side of the Desk: Notes on Central European University Press, 2000), 152. Teaching about Race When Racialised,” Race, Ethnicity 10. Susan Walsh, Susie Brigham, and Yina Wang, “Internation- and Education 5, no. 1 (2002): 51; S. Nombuso Dlamini ally Educated Female Teachers in the Neoliberal Context: and Dragana Martinovic, “In Pursuit of Being Canadian: Th eir Labour Market and Teacher Certifi cation Experien- Examining the Challenges of Culturally Relevant Educa- ces in Canada,” Teaching and Teacher Education 27 (2011): tion in Teacher Education Programs,” Race, Ethnicity and 657. Education 10, no. 2 (2007): 155.

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26. Benedicta Egbo, Teaching for Diversity in Canadian Schools Sage, 1992); Laurel Richardson, “Nine Poems,” Journal of (Don Mills: Pearson Education, 2009); Denise E. Arm- Contemporary Ethnography 23, no. 1 (1994): 3–13; Cor- strong and Brenda J. McMahon, eds., Inclusion in Urban rine Glesne, “Th at Rare Feeling: Re-presenting Research Educational Environments: Addressing Issues of Diversity, through Poetic Transcription,” Qualitative Inquiry 3 Equity, and Social Justice (Greenwich, CT: Information Age (1997): 202–221, accessed July 20, 2011, http://dx.doi Publishing, 2006). .org/10.1177/107780049700300204. 27. Armstrong and McMahon, eds., Inclusion in Urban Educa- 44. Coralie McCormack, “From Interview Transcript to tional Environments; Dlamini and Martinovic, “In Pursuit Interpretive Story: Part 1—Viewing the Transcript of Being Canadian”. through Multiple Lenses,” Field Methods 12, no. 4 (2000): 28. Dlamini and Martinovic, “In Pursuit of Being Canadian”. 282–297, accessed November 11, 2009, http://dx.doi 29. Dlamini, “From the Other Side of the Desk,” 52. .org/10.1177/1525822X0001200402; Coralie McCormack, 30. Henry A. Giroux, “Resisting Diff erence: Cultural Studies “From Interview Transcript to Interpretive Story: Part 2— and the Discourse of Critical Pedagogy, in Cultural Studies, Developing an Interpretive Story,” Field Methods 12, no. 4 ed. L. Grossberg, C. Nelson, and P. Treichler (New York: (2000): 288–315. Routledge, 1992): 209. 45. Anne Elliott and Susan Drake, “Concentric Storying: A 31. Henry A. Giroux, Border Crossings: Cultural Workers and Vehicle for Professional Development in Teacher Educa- the Politics of Education (New York & London: Routledge, tion” (paper presented at the Ontario Educational Research 2005): 24. Council, December 1999). 32. Ibid., 24. 46. Glesne, “Th at Rare Feeling.” 33. Ibid., 26. 47. Rich Furman, Cynthia Lietz, and Carol L. Langer, “Th e 34. Dlamini, “From the Other Side of the Desk,” 64. Research Poem in International Social Work: Innova- 35. Ibid. tions in Qualitative Methodology,” International Journal of 36. Dei, James-Wilson, and Zine, Inclusive Schooling, 176. Qualitative Methods 5, no. 3 (2006): 25. 37. Paul R. Carr and Th omas R. Klassen, “Diff erent Percep- 48. McCormack, “From Interview Transcript to Interpretive tions of Race in Education: Racial Minority and White Story: Part 1”; McCormack, “From Interview Transcript to Teachers,” Canadian Journal of Education 22, no. 1 (1997): Interpretive Story: Part 2.” 70. 49. Ibid. 38. Interpal Grewal and Caren Kaplan, eds., Scattered Hegem- 50. Elliott and Drake, “Concentric Storying.” onies: Postmodernity and Transnational Feminist Practices 51. Patterson and Ledwidge, Now You See Her. (Minneapolis: Minnesota Press, 1994); Chandra Talpade 52. Phillion, “Obstacles to Accessing the Teaching Profession Mohanty, “Under Western Eyes: Feminist Scholarship and for Immigrant Women”; Ragnarsdóttir, “Internationally Colonial Discourses,” Boundary 12, no. 2 (1992): 333–358; Educated Teachers and Student Teachers in Iceland.” Chandra Talpade Mohanty, “Under Western Eyes Revisited: 53. Medic, “Foreign trained teachers”; Rhone, “Caribbean- Feminist Solidarity through Anticapitalist Struggles,” Signs: Immigrant Educators.”. Journal of Women in Culture and Society 28, no. 2 (2002): 54. Khayatt, “Th e Boundaries of Identity”; Narayan, Dislocat- 499–535. ing Cultures; Mohanty, “Feminist Encounters.” 39. Tanya Bahkru, “Negotiating and Navigating the Rough 55. Giroux, “Border Crossings.” Terrain of Transnational Feminist Research,” Journal of International Women’s Studies 10, no. 2 (2008): 209. 40. Donna Haraway, “Situated Knowledges: Th e Science Ques- Snežana Ratković is a science teacher from the former tion in Feminism and the Privilege of Partial Perspective,” Yugoslavia who immigrated to Canada in 1998, aft er the Feminist Studies 14, no. 3 (1991): 575–599. civil war in the country. She works as research offi cer in the 41. Chaterine Kohler Riessman, “When Gender Is Not Enough: Faculty of Education at Brock University, St. Catharines, Women Interviewing Women,” Gender and Society 1 Ontario, Canada. Her research focuses on forced migration (1987): 172–207; Josephine Beoku-Betts, “When Black Is and settlement, teacher identity, teacher education, research Not Enough: Doing Field Research among Gullah Women,” NWSA Journal 6 (1994): 413–433. ethics, and social justice studies. She has published in Th e 42. James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge, Now You See Her Reading Professor, Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung / (New York: Little, Brown, 2011). Forum: Qualitative Social Research, South African Journal 43. Laurel Richardson, “Th e Consequences of Poetic Rep- of Higher Education, Power and Education, Educational resentation,” in Investigating Subjectivity: Research on Lived Action Research Journal, Studies in Higher Education, and Experience, ed. C. Ellis and M. G. Flaherty (Newbury Park: Brock Education.

114 Volume 29 Refuge Number 1

Ancient Laws and New Canadian Refugee Legislation: Evaluating Bill C-31 in Light of the Book of Deuteronomy

Mark Glanville

Abstract l’étranger. Les établissements et les familles en Israël ont la Some important innovations within Bill C-31, Protecting responsabilité d’intégrer l’étranger dans leur vie agricole, Canada’s Immigration System Act, run contrary to the bib- rituelle et culturelle. L’éthique du Deutéronome à l’égard lical ethics espoused in the book of Deuteronomy, from the de l’étranger est ancrée dans l’histoire même d’Israël en Judeo-Christian scriptures. Components of Bill C-31—such tant qu’étranger et réfugié. as mandatory detention, no right of appeal, and a fi ve-year delay for application for permanent residence (all these Introduction apply to only certain groups of claimants)—are challenged Th ere has been widespread questioning of Bill C-31, Protecting Canada’s Immigration System Act (adopted in by the ethics, system of justice, and polity of Deuteronomy. 2012), for its alleged violation of human rights protected In Deuteronomy, the Hebrew word “ger” (“stranger”) by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and, occurs twenty-one times, indicating the importance of eth- as Catherine Dauvergne put it, for its failure to maintain ics concerning the stranger for this book. Townships and Canada’s humanitarian tradition.1 But there is also a basis families in Israel have the responsibility to include the for critique arising from ethical principles grounded in stranger in their agricultural, ritual, and cultural lives. scriptures that are fundamental to many religious com- Deuteronomy’s ethic towards the stranger is embedded in munities who have consistently been at the forefront of Israel’s own history of being a “stranger” or “refugee.” advocacy on behalf of refugees as well as the sponsorship of refugees. Th is paper focuses on ethical principles articu- Résumé lated in the Bible, specifi cally in the book of Deuteronomy: Certaines innovations importantes dans le projet de loi some important innovations within Bill C-31 run contrary C-31 — la Loi visant à protéger le système d’immigration to the biblical ethics espoused in this book. Components of du Canada — va à l’encontre de principes éthiques bib- Bill C-31—such as mandatory detention, no right of appeal, and a fi ve-year delay for application for permanent resi- liques préconisés dans le livre du Deutéronome des dence (all these apply to only certain groups of claimants)— Écritures judéo-chrétiennes. Des composantes du projet are challenged by the ethics, system of justice, and polity of de loi C-31 — telles que la détention obligatoire, l’absence Deuteronomy. de droit d’appel, et le délais de cinq ans pour demander Deuteronomy deals extensively with social practice con- la résidence permanente (composantes s’appliquant seule- cerning the “stranger.” More will be said below, but for now ment à certains groupes de demandeurs d’asile) — sont I note that the term “stranger” in Deuteronomy refers to the contredites par l’éthique, le système de justice et la poli- vulnerable ethnic other who lives among the Israelites, with tique du Deutéronome. Dans ce livre biblique, le mot some correspondence to our contemporary category “refu- hébreu pour « étranger » apparaît 21 fois, soulignant gee.”2 As I will demonstrate, Israel was to off er hospitality l’importance de l’éthique du Deutéronome à l’égard de to the stranger, taking responsibility for their economic and social inclusion.

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Summary: Five Aspects of Bill C-31 Which Run thanksgiving and generosity. Th ese three dimensions—gift , Counter to Deuteronomy thanksgiving, and generosity/inclusion—are all joyfully Before we get into a detailed discussion, here is a summary displayed at the seasonal harvest festivals that Israel shares of fi ve aspects of Bill C-31 and the ways in which they run at the sanctuary. Israel is commanded: counter to Deuteronomy. And you shall rejoice before the Lord your God, you and 1. Claimants from “designated countries of origin” your son and your daughter, your male servant and your will have their claim process seriously restricted. female servant, the Levite who is within your towns, the Deuteronomy’s political vision prohibits those who stranger, the fatherless, and the widow who are among you... “make the decisions” from engaging in shrewd and eco- (16:11; see also 16:14; 26:11) nomically effi cient practices that disadvantage vulner- Th us Deuteronomy’s social program can be summarized able populations (e.g., Deut.17:14–20).3 well with the words of Craig Blomberg: “God owns it all, 2. Hearings for claimants from “designated countries of and wants everybody to be able to enjoy some of it.”4 origin” will be held within either thirty or forty-fi ve Th e second “story” undergirding Deuteronomy’s ethic days, which does not give adequate time for prepara- towards the stranger is Israel’s own history of being a “stran- tion. Deuteronomy insists upon a system of “rigorous ger” or “refugee.”5 Th is story begins with the displacement justice” that goes to great lengths to ensure that justice of Israel’s fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (26:5). It is is done for vulnerable people (e.g., 16:20). exemplifi ed with Israel as a “stranger” in Egypt in the time 3. Access to the Refugee Appeal Division (RAD) is denied of Jacob and Joseph (e.g., 26:5). When Israel was residing as to “irregular arrivals” and to refugees from “desig- a stranger in Egypt, Egypt did not off er Israel the hospitality nated countries of origin.” Deuteronomy insists upon she would have desired, but oppressed her with slavery (e.g., equality in the law courts, especially, and explicitly, for 26:6–7). Th e Lord her God delivered Israel from Egypt’s the “stranger” (e.g., 1:16). slavery and gave her laws that would shape a new society in 4. Th ose considered to be “irregular arrivals” may not which every person could thrive, as a deliberate response to apply for permanent residence for fi ve years and Egypt’s oppression (e.g., 26:8–11). Th at history is the back- are not able to sponsor family members to come to ground for this famous passage, along with many others: Canada for over fi ve years. Deuteronomy insists that Israel go to lengths to provide a “home” for strangers in [Th e Lord your God] executes justice for the fatherless and the her midst (e.g., 16:11, 14). widow, and loves the stranger, giving him food and clothing. Love 5. “Irregular arrivals” will face mandatory detention. the stranger, therefore, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. Th is runs afoul of the command to “love the stranger (10:18–19) (10:18–19) and laws protecting families (e.g., 5:14, 18; 16:14) and, in Deuteronomy’s own terms, amounts to In light of these two powerful stories of the Lord’s deliver- “kidnapping” (24:7). ance and provision, it is no surprise that Deuteronomy’s ethic concerning the “stranger” is an ethic of radical welcome. Worldview and Ethics in Deuteronomy: Radical An examination of all the details of Israel’s responsibil- Hospitality ity toward the “stranger” would require a substantial book, Th e Hebrew word behind the Old Testament word “stran- so for now I briefl y note two aspects of their responsibil- ger,” “alien,” and “sojourner” is (usually) “ger.” Th e noun ity: First, as Deuteronomy’s laws unfold it becomes apparent “ger,” in Deuteronomy, describes someone who is both eth- that the implications of the command to “love the stranger” nically displaced and economically vulnerable. Th e circum- include welcoming the stranger into whatever town they stances of the “ger” in Deuteronomy may be further clari- might wish to live in (23:15–16). Second, individual families fi ed as being in a dependant relationship with the Israelites in Israel have the responsibility to include the stranger in with whom she lives. In Deuteronomy “ger” (“stranger”) their agricultural and cultural lives, including the most joy- occurs twenty-one times, indicating the importance of ethics ful events on their calendar: annual journeys to the sanc- concerning the stranger for this book. tuary in order to celebrate with feasting and joy (16:11, 14; Th ere are two main narrative trajectories, so to speak, 26:11). that undergird Deuteronomy’s ethic toward the stranger. I note at this early point that it may be objected that Th e fi rst is that God has generously given land and its pro- the modern concept of nationhood is foreign to the Old duce to Israel and this gift is to be shared. Ancient Israel’s Testament, and so applying its inclusivist ethics to a mod- worldview begins with a gift : at the heart of reality is a God ern state such as Canada is invalid. Certainly, in Israel there of limitless generosity. In turn Israel is to respond with was not a conception of sovereignty as we have today, and

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Israel’s borders were more porous than Canada’s are now. forbidden and is furthermore characterized, chillingly, “as Yet there was an understanding that Israel was distinct from sending the people ‘back to Egypt’.”7 (In the context of the other nations (just as Canada is) and there was some con- whole of Deuteronomy, the “brothers,” to whom the King is cept akin to citizenship for Israelites. Indeed this is implied responsible, includes the “stranger.”) Th us, restricted refu- by the very notion of an outsider or stranger. Furthermore gee claim processes for the sake of effi ciency runs counter the threat of religious contamination, from people of other to Deuteronomy. nations, is a relentless concern of Deuteronomy, making Deuteronomy’s ethics of inclusion for vulnerable people of Preparation Time for Hearings on Claims Is as other ethnicities all the more remarkable. Short as Th irty Days I stress too at this early point that I do not seek to argue For claimants from “designated countries of origin,” hear- from Deuteronomy that Israel’s social and religious borders ings on claims are expected to occur within forty-fi ve days were utterly porous and that anybody and everybody was for those who lodge their claim upon entry and within thirty welcome—Deuteronomy’s concerns are more complex than days for those who do not, according to background brief- this. I will demonstrate more narrowly that Deuteronomy ing notes issued by Citizenship and Immigration Canada. has an ethic of inclusion concerned with the vulnerable Th ose who support foreign nationals in their claims for stranger; for all such people, Israel was to off er a radical refugee status explain that this is inadequate time to gather welcome. evidence and meet with legal counsel and will hinder a refu- Let’s now examine in more detail the fi ve aspects of Bill gee’s ability to present their case in the best light possible. C-31 mentioned earlier. Th e protective wall around Deuteronomy’s security for vulnerable people is fair and reliable recourse to the legal “Designated Country of Origin” system. Deuteronomy 16 describes the appointment of At the discretion of Canada’s Minister for Citizenship judges and offi cers and then exhorts: “You must rigorously and Immigration, certain countries will be categorized as pursue justice, that you may live and inherit the land that the “designated countries of origin.” Th is categorization applies Lord your God is giving you” (16:20). Th e phrase “rigorously to countries deemed to be safe by the minister or else to pursue justice” may also be translated: “Justice, only justice countries from which claims have oft en failed or ended pre- shall you pursue...” In Deuteronomy, a justice system that maturely. Claimants from these countries have their claim rigorously pursues a fair process, especially for vulnerable process seriously restricted: namely, through reduced claim people, is a crucial safety net that ensures that all people can preparation time for hearings and no right of appeal to the thrive. It is important to add that the character of “justice” RAD. in Deuteronomy is shaped by the two formative narrative On one hand this legislation is certainly effi cient: claims trajectories I have detailed above: fi rst, it is a response to deemed less likely to succeed on the basis of country are the Lord’s generous gift of land and its bounty, and second, expedited. A news release from the government of Prime it is a response to the Lord’s delivering Israel from Egypt. Minister Stephen Harper predicts it will save about $1.65 Th us, “justice” is especially concerned with protecting the billion over fi ve years: “Too many tax dollars are spent on lives and well-being of vulnerable people (rather than pro- bogus refugees.”6 On the other hand, this legislation may tecting the privilege of the King or the wealthy; see 10:17–18; endanger vulnerable people within these countries who are 24:17–18). rightly seeking refuge. Th e danger this legislation poses for In the case of Bill C-31, inadequate time to prepare claims such people has been expressed succinctly in the Montreal compromises the justice of the refugee claim process and so Gazette: “Safe countries are not necessarily safe for every- falls short of the rigor required by Deuteronomy. one in them.” Th is law then disadvantages certain refugee groups Denial of an Eff ective Appeal for Some Claimants for the sake of effi ciency. As such, it runs counter to Th e Refugee Appeal Division (RAD) provides an important Deuteronomy’s political vision, which prohibits those who security net for failed claims. Bill C-31 denies this system of “make the decisions” from prioritizing shrewd and econom- appeal to “irregular arrivals” and to refugees from “desig- ically effi cient practices that disadvantage vulnerable popu- nated countries of origin.” Denial of appeal to the RAD lations. Th e “law of the King” for example (17:14–20) is a for certain claimant groups is at odds with Deuteronomy’s tenaciously egalitarian description of political responsibil- insistence upon legal equity for all people, including and ity that insists the King treat all his fellow Israelites as his especially the “stranger.” I reiterate here that the term “ger” “brothers.” Any accumulation of wealth that the king might or “stranger” in Deuteronomy is to be defi ned as the vulner- engage in at the expense of “his brothers and sisters” is able and displaced ethnic other, who is in need of ongoing

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hospitality; legal equity is to apply, especially, to such people. counter to this radical hospitality, disrupting Canada’s See for example how Moses exhorts Israel’s judges: accessibility as a “home” for homeless people.

And I charged your judges at that time, “Hear the cases between Mandatory Detention your brothers, and judge righteously between a man and his “Irregular Arrivals” face mandatory detention under Bill brother or the stranger who is with him. (1:16) C-31. While detention is not mandatory for children under the age of sixteen, detained families are faced with the deci- It is striking that the stranger is mentioned in this passage. sion to send their children into foster care in a foreign coun- Th e stranger gets an explicit mention here, I would think, try and culture or else to have their children with them in as this is the category of people most likely to be excluded detention. Dr. Meb Rashid of the Christie Refugee Health from just legal process (yes, the stranger was vulnerable in Clinic in Toronto writes: ancient times as well!) Th e stranger is mentioned in order to ensure equality in the law courts. However Bill C-31 denies As a physician who has had the privilege of working with refu- access to the RAD for “irregular arrivals” and to refugees gee populations for over ten years, I am deeply concerned about from “designated countries of origin,” off ering these claim- the impact of mandatory detention on the health status of an ants a legal process that no Canadian citizen would think oft en already traumatized population... I urge the government to fair should it be applied to them. reconsider Bill C31—it will cause tremendous hardship on refu- gee populations and will be a major impediment to successful A Five-Year Ban on Permanent Residence integration.8 Applications for “Irregular Arrivals,” with Implications for Family Reunifi cation I myself, an Australian citizen, know too well of the Bill C-31 designates certain refugee groups as “irregu- well-documented mental illness and high suicide rates lar arrivals.” Th is designation may be applied to a newly among refugees resulting from mandatory detention laws arrived group whose identity is diffi cult to confi rm or to in Australia. a group whose arrival has involved so-called smuggling. Such an arrangement is simply unthinkable within the Th ese groups have no right of appeal and are subject to short ethics of Deuteronomy. First, it runs counter to the right of hearing preparation times, as described above. In addition, all people to an equitable social order (4:8). Second, it is an should they be accepted as refugees, they may not apply for abrogation of the command to “love the sojourner” (which is permanent residence for fi ve years. Th is means that these in turn grounded in the reality that God “loves the sojourner,” refugees are not able to sponsor family members to come to 10:18–19). Th ird, it runs counter to Deuteronomy’s vision for Canada for over fi ve years. the shared life of families: families work and rest together Th ese last two restrictions run against Deuteronomy’s (5:15), worship together (12:18), feast together (12:18), insistence that Israel go to lengths to provide a “home” for remember the saving acts of the Lord together (16:11–12), strangers in her midst. Th e provision of a home is perhaps hear the law together (31:12–13), etc. Fourth, from the range exemplifi ed in the seasonal sojourners to the sanctuary of social practices in Deuteronomy, the practice closest to described in Deuteronomy. Seasonal sojourns to “the place mandatory detention is, I would think, the forbidden act of the Lord will choose” punctuate Israel’s calendar with a kidnapping (24:7, cf. Exodus 21:16). rhythm of worship and celebration. Yet these celebrations are radically inclusive: Israelite households include the Concluding Refl ections “stranger,” orphan, widow, and Levite in their journey and In light of these refl ections one may reply: yet is it not celebration—four groups who are economically vulner- valid for a nation to pursue national interest? And does able and oft en without land themselves. Together with the not nationhood entail such goals? And might not national “stranger” and other vulnerable people, an Israelite house- interest entail the exclusion of refugees, perhaps for the sake hold journeys to the sanctuary, worships, and then feasts of Canada’s wealth or internal stability? I reply that nation- together with great joy (16:11, 14, 26:1–11). Th ese inclusive hood today, as back then, implies principles about ensur- harvest festivals are a striking example of the radical hos- ing the security of co-nationals and defending the interests pitality and “home making” for displaced people that Israel of the nation, but it need not entail the unjust exclusion of is called to. others, and Deuteronomy shows that it should not entail A fi ve-year delay on application for permanent residence such unjust exclusion. Certainly, Canada should protect and subsequent delays in sponsoring family members runs itself from violence, both internal and external, but it is only an unjustifi ably selfi sh nation-statism that thinks Canada

118 Ancient Laws and New Canadian Refugee Legislation

has a right to do this in ways that excludes the vulnerable Forth: Essays in Honor of David Noel Freedman in Cele- on its doorstep. And it is only a deeply problematic polit- bration of His Sixtieth Birthday, ed. C. L. Meyers and M. ical theory or political theology that seeks to defend such O’Connor (Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1983), 322. an approach. 3. All biblical citations are from the book of Deuteronomy How may we appropriate Deuteronomy’s ethics of radical unless otherwise stated and are taken from the English welcome? For Jews, Christians, and Muslims, Deuteronomy Standard Version (Wheaton: Crossway Bibles, 2001). 4. Craig Blomberg, Neither Poverty nor Riches: A Biblical makes a normative claim upon individuals and upon soci- Th eology of Possessions (Illinois: Apollos, 1999), 241. ety, calling for a radical welcome and just process for all 5. Nathan MacDonald, Not Bread Alone: Th e Uses of Food in strangers who fi nd their way to our gates, for refugees who the Old Testament (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008), arrive in any of a variety of ways to Canada. Th is ancient 93f. Near Eastern law code has called society and church to just 6. “News Release: Harper Government Introduces the Pro- practices for around three thousand years and it roundly tecting Canada’s Immigration System Act,” Citizenship condemns these fi ve aspects of Bill C-31 as unjust. and Immigration Canada, http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/ department/media/releases/2012/2012-02-16.asp. 7. S. D. McBride, “Polity of the Covenant People: Th e Book of Notes Deuteronomy,” Interpretation 41(1987): 41. 1. “Refugee Rules the End of Canada’s Humanitarian Trad- 8. “Collected Comments on Bill C-31,” Canadian Council for ition,” Toronto Globe and Mail, January 29, 2013, http:// Refugees, http://ccrweb.ca/fr/node/14505. www.theglobeandmail.com/commentary/refugee -rules-the-end-of-canadas-humanitarian-tradition/ article7937115/. Mark Glanville is a PhD candidate with Trinity College, 2. So F. A. Spina, “Israelites as Gerim: Sojourners in Social Bristol, UK, residing in Vancouver, British Columbia, and Historical Context,” in Th e Word of the Lord Shall Go Canada.

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Volume 29 Refuge Number 1

Reimagining Asylum: Religious Narratives and the Moral Obligation to the Asylum Seeker

Silas W. Allard

Abstract et dans le récit coranique de l’Hégire. Dans ces récits, la Th e narrative that grounds the asylum policy of the United fuite de l’oppression est représentée comme l’exercice d’une States portrays asylum seekers as passive objects of external capacité morale, et émerge alors la capacité du demand- forces. Th is narrative emerges from the complex interplay eur d’asile dans son altérité de faire une demande morale of exceptionality and victimization that characterizes the en tant que soi-même. En conséquence, on soutient qu’une legal status and popular perception of the refugee. It is then politique d’asile basée sur ces alternatives doit remettre en read back onto the asylum seeker through a supereroga- question les présomptions surérogatoires. tory asylum policy that is unable to recognize the moral demand made by the asylum seeker. Th e project this essay Th e world found nothing sacred in the abstract nakedness of is drawn from seeks to challenge the policy of asylum as being human. charity by interrogating alternative narratives grounded —Hannah Arendt, Th e Origins of Totalitarianism1 in the Hebrew Bible story of the Exodus and the Qu’ranic story of the Hijra. In these narratives, fl ight from oppres- sion is portrayed as an act of moral agency, and the asylum rendt’s critique of the international community’s seeker’s capacity as Other to make a moral demand on the response to the statelessness crisis of the Second Self emerges. Th us, I argue that an asylum policy informed AWorld War is well-known and well-worn in the fi eld of refugee studies, but it remains a pointed and poignant by these alternative narratives needs must question its critique of the limits imposed on refugee subjectivity. Solely supererogatory assumptions. human—without political affi liation—the refugee subject is an exception to the logic of state-centric legal systems, Résumé which, in turn, recognize no obligation to the refugee. Th is Le discours à la base de la politique d’asile des États-Unis exceptional subjectivity is further entrenched through nar- représente les demandeurs d’asile comme des objets pas- ratives about refugees that locate refugee identity in por- sifs subissant des forces extérieures. Cette représentation trayals of passive victims upon whom the larger force of émerge de l’interaction complexe entre l’exception et la persecution works. Refugee identity as passive objectivity is victimisation qui caractérise le statut légal et la perception then reifi ed through supererogatory policies of protection; populaire du réfugié. Ce discours est renvoyé au demandeur the refugee is again the object of an outside force. d’asile à travers une politique d’asile surérogatoire qui ne Th e central question of this essay is whether and how it reconnaît pas les exigences morales du demandeur d’asile. is possible to reimagine asylum-seeker subjectivity in a way Cet article vise à remettre en question la politique de l’asile that recognizes the moral demand asylum seekers make on receiving states. What follows is an adumbration of and en tant que charité en faisant appel à des discours dif- introduction to a larger project that aims to challenge the férents prenant leur source dans le récit biblique de l’Exode

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idea of asylum as charity and disrupt the cycle of narrative of the Other—shouldn’t the refugee’s bare humanity be the and policy that perpetuates the fi gurative, and consequen- very occasion of that impingement? tially literal, exclusion of asylum seekers.2 In particular, I Th at the Lévinasian moral demand of the Other is pre- want to examine the ways in which current conceptions conscious, preliteral, and, in the end, preontological—even of asylum-seeker subjectivity obscure the asylum seeker’s before being there is relation—is the great promise of moral demand and to suggest that alternative narratives Lévinas’s work, but it also points to the diffi culty of real- exist—I draw on the Hebrew Bible story of the Exodus izing such a vision. In the conscious, concrete world, social and the Qur’anic story of the Hijra—in which fl ight from norms function to obscure the demand of the face.7 As oppression is conceived as an act of moral agency. Judith Butler writes regarding Lévinas: “Th e ‘inaugura- Th is article is inspired and informed by the possibility tion’ of the subject takes place through the impingement by inherent in the work of Emmanuel Lévinas and by thinkers, which an infi nite ethical demand is communicated. But this in particular Judith Butler, who have taken up the possibil- scene cannot be narrated in time; it recurs throughout time ities inherent in Lévinas while struggling with the philo- and belongs to an order other than that of time.”8 As soon sophical abstraction that distances the Lévinasian ethic as the “infi nite ethical demand” is confi ned to the genre of from personal and social experience. It is Lévinas who pro- narrative, it is inscribed in a context conditioned by norma- vides the theoretical substructure that points to the critique tivity and power. Th us, Butler, for whom the constricting of current US asylum policy and suggests the route to a real nature of normativity and power is central, poses the prob- ethics of asylum. For this reason, I start with a brief discus- lem of the encounter with the Other this way: sion of Lévinas and the ethical demand of the asylum seeker as Other. In asking the ethical question “How ought I to treat another?” I am immediately caught up in a realm of social normativity, since Lévinas and the Demand of the Other the other only appears to me, only functions as an other for me, if From Arendt on, authors discussing refugee subjectivity there is a frame within which I can see and apprehend the other have oft en made recourse to concepts of bare humanity to in her separateness and exteriority. So, though I might think of capture the social and political dislocation that occurs in the the ethical relation as dyadic or, indeed, as presocial, I am caught fl ight from persecution, as well as the consequences of such up not only in the sphere of normativity but in the problematic 3 dislocation. To be a refugee is to have lost the vestiges of of power when I pose the ethical question in its directness and social belonging, group affi liation, and associative identity, simplicity: “How ought I to treat you?”9 resulting in a profound vulnerability and dependence. Th is bare humanity would, seemingly, beget the central moment Counter-intuitively, the actual state of bare humanity envisioned by Lévinas’s ethics of the face.4 Exposed in her frustrates the Lévinasian ethic by obscuring or obfuscating bare humanity, the refugee would seem to epitomize the the Other’s face. In Butler’s terms, the frame for understand- conditions of the Lévinasian face: ing the asylum seeker as Other is conditioned by the narra- tive of the passive victim. Th e Lévinasian face disrupts the Stripped of its form, the face is chilled to the bone in its naked- Self with its demand, but the asylum seeker’s subjectivity is ness. It is a desolation. Th e nakedness of the face is destitution understood as passive, without demand. As Arendt wrote, and already supplication in the rectitude that sights me. But this “It seems that a man who is nothing but a man has lost the supplication is an obligation… . [T]he face imposes on me and I very qualities which make it possible for other people to cannot stay deaf to its appeal, or forget it, what I mean is I cannot treat him as a fellow-man.”10 Or, as Peter Nyers has written stop being responsible for its desolation.5 in a more contemporary context:

What animates Lévinasian ethics is the moral obligation Refugee identity is a limit-concept of modern accounts of the that the Other makes upon the Self; the Other, in the form of political and is constituted through an exceptional logic: what- the face and by reason of its nakedness and desolation, inter- ever qualities are present for the citizen are notably absent for the rupts the formation of the Self with a precondition of moral refugee. Th e visibility, agency, and rational speech of the citizen 6 obligation. Lévinas’s argument is a powerful assertion of is lacking in the prevailing representations of the refugee. Instead, relationality as the fundamental aspect of human experience. qualities of invisibility, voicelessness, and victimage are allocated Even before there is a Self, that Self is already in a relation of with the eff ect of eff acing the political subjectivity of the refugee.11 obligation to the Other. If the moment of impingement, by which the Other makes its demand on the Self, occurs through Instead of treating asylum seekers as complex, multi- the naked visage of the face—the nothing-but-humanness faceted fellow humans, their subjectivity is fl attened,

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reduced to a singular dimension. Th e consequence of this accordance with the requirements and procedures established reduction is that receiving states recognize no moral obliga- by the Secretary of Homeland Security or the Attorney General tion, but conceive of asylum as a form of charity. It is off ered under this section if the Secretary of Homeland Security or the unilaterally and at the discretion of the state. As Carol Attorney General determines that such alien is a refugee within Bohmer and Amy Shuman write: the meaning of section 1101(a)(42)(A) of this title.13

[W]e have a category [of asylum], but we are frightened to use it It is important to note two aspects of the text quoted except in the most obvious and sympathetic cases. We fear that if above. First, the grant of asylum is entirely discretion- we use it too enthusiastically, we will open the fl oodgates to all the ary. Th e Secretary of Homeland Security or the Attorney miserable, needy, people fl eeing war or crisis, so common in our General may grant asylum, but there is no positive obliga- current world… . Th e whole process is riddled with fallout from tion upon them to do so. Second, eligibility is determined by this fear… . Asylum seekers are guilty until proven innocent.12 either the Secretary or the Attorney General, which means that an asylum seeker must narrate an identity consistent Th is response is not driven simply by the fear of a fl ood of with what these offi cials (or their proxies) consider a refu- human misery washing upon our shores; rather, the charac- gee’s story. terization of asylum seekers as miserable, needy victims and Skepticism permeates this process. Th e manifest concern asylum as charitable relief makes rejecting refugees a cog- is that only the “truly needy” should be assisted; therefore, nizable option. Th e asylum seeker’s extreme vulnerability is the asylum process must be vigilantly policed for fraud and an opportunity for state action; because asylum seekers are merit.14 As Bohmer and Shuman note, “[W]e quiz asylum vulnerable and in a position of dependence they are seen by applicants endlessly, to convince ourselves that they are the receiving state as objects carried on the tides of greater really fl eeing persecution and not lying to us so they can forces, namely persecution and protection. slip into a safer country in search of a better life.”15 Th is At fi rst glance, the vulnerability and dependence of concern results in a presumption against the asylum seeker; the asylum seeker would seem to be the conditions for a the asylum seeker is presumed not to be a refugee. Th e pre- Lévinasian encounter. Confronted with actual asylum sumption against refugee status is evident when looking seekers, however, the question of how we, as receiving at who is allocated the burden of proof during an asylum states, ought to treat them is framed by the passive victim determination: the asylum seeker must bear the burden of narrative. Contextualized in this way, the asylum seeker’s proving that she meets the defi nition of a refugee.16 In other vulnerability and dependence—the bare humanity that words, the asylum seeker is presumed not to be a refugee should be a demand—serve to obscure the face and quiet unless and until she can prove otherwise. Th e asylum seek- the demand. er’s testimony alone may be suffi cient if “the applicant satis- It is not the case, of course, that no one who requests asy- fi es the trier of fact that the applicant’s testimony is credible, lum receives it; moreover, the analysis to this point would is persuasive, and refers to specifi c facts suffi cient to dem- seem to beg the question: Isn’t asylum—an application- onstrate that the applicant is a refugee.”17 Th us, the asylum based procedure—a demand at its heart? Th is next section seeker’s burden of proof has three components: a burden of briefl y examines asylum law, in this case US asylum law, in credibility, a burden of persuasion, and a burden of fact.18 order to discuss how the asylum law and procedure reifi es Unless the asylum seeker can meet the burdens of credibil- the construction of refugee subjects as passive victims and ity, persuasion, and fact her asylum claim will be denied. nullifi es any moral demand present in the act of seeking Most problematically for the asylum seeker, she does not asylum by requiring that the asylum seeker perform that receive a presumption of credibility; rather, the trier of fact preconceived identity. is free to determine that an asylum seeker is not credible based on any indication of inconsistency.19 Any lapse in an Th e Interplay of Asylum Narratives and Asylum asylum seeker’s narrative, “without regard to whether an Law inconsistency, inaccuracy, or falsehood goes to the heart of Whether and how a person meets the defi nition of a refu- the applicant’s claim,” can be the basis for an adverse cred- gee, and is therefore eligible for asylum and admitted to the ibility determination.20 Th e trier of fact may also demand United States, is the focus of Section 208 of the Immigration any evidence that the trier of fact determines is necessary to and Nationality Act (INA): corroborate otherwise credible testimony, which evidence must be provided “unless the applicant does not have the Th e Secretary of Homeland Security or the Attorney General evidence and cannot reasonably obtain the evidence.”21 In may grant asylum to an alien who has applied for asylum in an asylum determination, so much turns on the asylum

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seeker’s ability to maker her case (both fi guratively and the oasis of Medina. An ethic of fl ight holds that persecution literally given that she bears the burden of proof), that the is an aff ront to our anthropology, and the fl ight from per- statutorily inscribed fragility of her credibility is particu- secution is a righteous act to preserve the integrity of what larly damning. It both refl ects and reinforces the idea that Christians might refer to as the imago dei, the image of God, the asylum seeker has no power in the relationship. or what one scholar of Islamic Studies, Muddathir ‘Abd al- It is the most clear-cut, sympathetic cases of unambigu- Rahim, has called, “human dignity . . . graciously conferred ous persecution that will be both the most persuasive, most by God … .”25 Because humanity is tasked to protect its dig- credible, and easiest to prove.22 In other words, the story nity, fl ight from persecution is an act of moral agency. As one expects to hear is the most compelling. Th e asylum pro- ‘Abd al-Rahim notes, “One of the greatest blessings that God cess becomes a series of stages for the performance of a pre- has graciously conferred on humanity in addition, and one scripted refugee identity. In this context, the Self overdeter- that is certainly more germaine [sic] to the dignity which He mines the Other that is narrating. Th e Other must meet a conferred on the children of Adam entire, is that of moral set of a priori expectations as to form, content, consistency, autonomy or freedom of choice and conscience.”26 and veracity. Th e result for asylum seekers is that the asy- lum seeker’s personal story is oft en and increasingly likely Th e Exodus to narrate an insuffi cient account.23 Th e Exodus story is usually read as an account of God’s In this way, the asylum application falls short of a delivery of Israel from slavery in Egypt. Accepting that lib- Lévinasian demand because it compels or obliges nothing eration motif, it is worth examining the fl ight aspect and in terms of response from the receiving state. Instead, a what it reveals about the moral agency of the Israelites.27 demand runs from the receiving state to the asylum seeker Th e second chapter of Exodus closes with God taking notice for the asylum seeker to narrate a prefabricated identity. of the suff ering of the Israelites in Egypt. By setting the defi nition of their identity, the conditions of their performance, and placing upon them the burden of Th e Israelites groaned under their slavery, and cried out. Out of proof, the receiving state takes no risks in the encounter and the slavery their cry for help rose up to God. God heard their is unchanged by the asylum seeker. Th e refugee as “mere, groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, bare, naked, or minimal humanity”24 is a subject to whom Isaac, and Jacob. God looked upon the Israelites, and God took no duty is owed, but whose plight may warrant a gratuitous notice of them. (Exod. 2:23–25)28 favour if the story of persecution meets expectations. Th is is not the face that interrupts, and it fails to interrupt because Chapter 3 then narrates God’s fi rst intercession with Moses. the face of asylum is a construction created by the receiving It is here that God announces God’s plan for the Israelites: state. justice for Israel and freedom from persecution will come What would it mean to reconceive asylum seekers as by way of a migration. God commands Moses: “[C]ome, I agents fulfi lling a moral responsibility? What if, instead will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, of simply victims subject to the powers of persecution and out of Egypt” (Exod. 3:10). God’s delivery from Egypt is protection, asylum seekers were understood as engaged fulfi llment of the covenant as was already foretold to in a deliberate act of safeguarding their own dignity and Abraham many generations before29 (Gen. 15:12–21), but it humanity? In what follows I argue that asylum seekers are, is a fulfi llment of the covenant that comes in response to in fact, more than bare humanity and when recognized as Israel’s cries under the persecution of Pharaoh and relies such the cycle of passive victim and charitable state is dis- upon the Israelites’ action in concert with God. God cre- rupted. First, I turn to what I believe are compelling alterna- ates the conditions that allow the Israelites to fl ee, but it is tive narratives of what it means to fl ee persecution drawn up to the Israelites to make that moral choice. Th e Israelites’ from two religious narrative traditions: the Exodus and the capacity for moral agency is refl ected in their initial rejec- Hijra. tion of Moses: “Moses told [what God had said] to the Israelites; but they would not listen to Moses, because of A Th eological Ethics of Flight their broken sprit and their cruel slavery” (Exod. 6:9).30 What if, instead of faceless bare humanity and passive God does not usurp the Israelites’ agency; rather, God cre- object of sympathy, the asylum seeker was understood as a ates a possibility, which the Israelites must realize through moral agent fulfi lling an ethical imperative to fl ee persecu- their own action. tion? Th is is the nature of the moral subjects who fl ed Egypt Th e moral agency of the Israelites’ fl ight is exemplifi ed under Moses’ guidance and those early Muslims who, with in Moses and Aaron, who are God’s agents before Pharaoh. the Prophet Muhammad, fl ed the persecution of Mecca for As leaders of the community and moral exemplars, Moses

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and Aaron’s charge to Pharaoh is refl ective of the narrative’s measures were imposed to eff ect a complete marginalization moral commitment. When God sends Moses and Aaron of the entire Muslim community. Th e prohibition of trade in before Pharaoh, their edict is clear: Let the Israelites go essential goods and provisions was particularly oppressive, and from the land of Egypt (Exod. 7:1–7). God enjoins Pharaoh resulted in a 3-year period of starvation, acute depravation [sic] through his agents, Moses and Aaron, to allow the Israelites and certain death.32 to do their moral duty and fl ee the slavery and persecution of Egypt. In the face of such persecution, the Prophet Muhammad Th e Exodus narrative is profoundly infl uential in both initially sent seventy Muslims to seek asylum in the ter- the Jewish and Christian traditions. Th ough there are num- ritory of King Negus, an Abyssinian Christian, who wel- erous examples of the importance of this narrative, perhaps comed the band of Muslims and off ered them protection one of the simplest and yet most explicit can be see in the in the face of diplomatic and political pressure from the Jewish ritual calendar; the fl ight from persecution inaugur- Meccans.33 However, the persecution of Muslims in Mecca ates a new era. “Th e Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the continued. In the interim, the oasis of Medina to the north land of Egypt: Th is month shall mark for you the beginning had grown increasingly sympathetic to Islam and had begun of months; it shall be the fi rst month of the year for you” to accept Muslim refugees from Mecca. Finally, in 622 CE, (Exod. 12:1–2). Th e instruction for the new priestly calen- the Prophet Muhammad embarked on what ‘Abd al-Rahim dar is given as part of the instructions for the Passover, and describes as the epoch-making migration to Medina that is so it is that the Passover celebration marks the new year in known as the Hijra.34 the ritual calendar of Judaism. Th e purpose, the teleology, Th is new era is inaugurated through the early Muslim of the Passover is the Exodus: “At the end of four hundred community’s decision to fl ee persecution. Agha puts it thirty years, on that very day [Passover], all the companies well when she says: “Th e hijrah event is extraordinary for of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt” (Exod. 12:41). Muslims as it marks the birth of the Islamic age, the onset By fl eeing the persecution in Egypt, the Israelites safeguard of which was made possible only by decisive action of the their dignity, but they also inaugurate a new history; the muhajirun to mobilize and seek refuge in foreign terri- power of this act is not minimal, it is expansive. tory.”35 Th e muhajirun, meaning “emigrants” in Arabic and used to describe those early Muslims who undertook Th e Hijra the Hijra to Medina,36 are moral agents both in their fl ight An act of fl ight also marks the beginning of the Islamic cal- from persecution and in their action to create the condi- endar. As ‘Abd al-Rahim notes, tions to preserve their new religion. It is also worth noting the importance of the Prophet Muhammad’s identity as a the day of the Prophet’s hijrah to Medina—neither his birthday, muhajirun and participation in the Hijra. Th e teachings and nor the commencement of the revelation of the Quran, nor his example of the Prophet (sunnah) emerged early in Islamic entry in due course into Mecca as the magnanimous conqueror— history as second only to the Qur’an in terms of authority.37 was adopted, only a few years aft er his departure from this world Th us, the Prophet’s decision to fl ee the persecution of Mecca in 632 C.E., as the beginning of the Muslim calendar and the and to establish his new religious community through asy- Islamic way of reckoning of time across the ages.31 lum lends further credence to the moral agency of fl eeing persecution. Th us, as in Judaism, a foundational event that comes to ori- Th e Islamic tradition of recognizing moral agency in ent the tradition temporally and theologically is an act of fl ight is also refl ected in the Qur’an. As Khadija Elmadmad fl ight from persecution. notes, “In a sense, seeking asylum is a duty. Muslims are Th e Islamic tradition fi rst emerged in the Arabian city of not obliged to live in places where there is injustice and per- Mecca as the Prophet Muhammad spread his message and secution and they are urged by Islam to leave these places recruited followers. However, perceiving the new religion as and seek protection elsewhere.”38 Th e directive to fl ee in the a threat to its power and infl uence, the Quraysh, the tribes face of persecution appears in the Qur’anic text both as an that controlled Mecca and, in particular the holy shrine injunction and as an act worthy of reward. Surah 4:97 con- known as the Kaabah, began to persecute the Muslim com- tains the genesis of the command to fl ee: munity. Sharifah Nazneen Agha describes the persecution that early Muslims faced in Mecca: When angels take the souls of those who die in sin against their souls, they say: “In what (plight) were ye?” Th ey reply: “Weak and Muslims of low social status were freely tortured by the Quraysh oppressed were we in the earth.” Th ey say: “Was not the earth to force a renunciation of the new faith, whilst other persecutory

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of God spacious enough for you to move yourselves away (from therefore, the act of fl eeing persecution is an act of moral evil)?” (Qur’an 4:97)39 consequence. In these narratives, fl ight is not a condition driven by the context of persecution; rather, it is a decision, ‘Abd al-Rahim, in his discussion of the duty to seek asy- an act, and a defi ning moment. It is not the persecution lum, notes that the Qur’an places a heavy importance on that defi nes the communities in these stories so much as the believer’s obligation to struggle against evil—includ- their liberation, and that liberation comes through fl ight. ing tyranny, oppression, and persecution.40 However, when I believe that, even outside their theological signifi cance, the struggle is futile, the believer should not submit to evil these stories can inform receiving state approaches to asy- and persecution. Th us, ‘Abd al-Rahim comments on Surah lum by helping to reframe the actions of asylum seekers as 4:100: the moral choice of an agent to fl ee persecution.

[T]he Quran then describes those who resign themselves to pas- Conclusion: Th e Demand of a Moral Agent sive acceptance of oppression and humiliation as people “who What can receiving states learn, or more aptly, how can have wronged themselves”. For, the argument continues, if they receiving states and the people of those states begin to happened to be too weak to put up eff ective resistance to tyranny reimagine asylum in light of these alternative narratives? and injustice, they should leave those lands (or homes) in which Asylum seekers are not thrown or washed upon the shores they would otherwise be deprived of the dignity and freedom of receiving states; asylum seekers are making a moral which defi ne their very existence as humans.41 demand in the very act of their fl ight. If it is every person’s duty to avoid persecution—even if it is only a person’s right Th e Qur’an makes the point rather strongly here that per- to be free from persecution—and the world is a place where sons are responsible for guarding their God-given dignity, the opportunity to escape persecution exists, then seizing and if fl ight is the way to do so, then one has a duty to seek that opportunity is a demand in the Lévinasian sense. By asylum. starting from this perspective, it may be possible to rethink Th e Qur’an also speaks of seeking asylum as an action receiving-state asylum policy, which is the broader goal of worthy of reward. In Surah IV, verse 100, the Qur’an says: this project. Th is is particularly true because asylum is intrinsic- He who forsakes his home in the cause of God, fi nds in the earth ally an interrelational process. Th e world that God made many a refuge, wide and spacious: Should he die as a refugee from so large, in the Qur’anic formulation, has been shrunk by home for God and His Apostle, his reward becomes due and sure humanity’s insistence on drawing political boundaries. It is with God: and God is Oft -giving, Most Merciful. (Qur’an 4:100) not enough to physically move away from persecution; in a world of states, eff ective protection requires being admitted Th ere is a notion of creation inherent in this verse that dove- or permitted to cross a border. Th us, in order for an asy- tails with the notion of human dignity given by God. Th e lum seeker to take advantage of the vast earth’s possibility creation is a place where the dignity of persons should be for freedom from persecution, borders must be able to give able to fl ourish. It is God’s intention, ‘Abd al-Rahim notes, way. Put diff erently, the asylum seeker commits a moral act that by fl eeing persecution, but the effi cacy of that act requires a relationship with the receiving state where she seeks asylum. all those who strive in conscious devotion to God and with intent Flight is a relationship, a priori, and the receiving state is not to abide by divine guidance will be able to fi nd other lands (or an independent self that can act towards the asylum seeker homes) in which they can then live in dignity and freedom—as outside of that relationship or overdetermine the asylum they were meant to do by their Creator and Sustainer from the seeker’s narrative. Receiving states should allow themselves, very beginning.42 as Butler says, “to be addressed, claimed, bound to what is not me, but also to be moved, to be prompted to act … .”43 It is good to fi nd in the creation a place where one’s dig- If the asylum seeker is the guardian of her own dignity, she nity can fl ourish; to do so is an action worthy of reward. disrupts the continuum of agency that runs from perse- Both the Exodus and the Hijra narratives tell stories cutor to protector. For the receiving state, this means that of persons becoming the guardians of their own dignity the state is not the lone actor when it comes to protection. through the act of fl ight. Th eologically speaking, the chil- Understanding the asylum seeker as the guardian of her dren of God, endowed by their creator with inherent dignity, own dignity, whose moral act of fl ight becomes complete in have an obligation to protect that dignity; God has provided the relationship of asylum, challenges the notion of asylum for a bountiful creation that enables the possibility of fl ight; as charity. Asylum is not simply something that receiving

126 Reimagining Asylum

states grant at their pleasure but a moral response to the be, as this project argues, an account of the moral demand moral demand of the Other. of the Other. I am not arguing that only fl ight fulfi lls the duty of pro- tecting one’s dignity or that every instance of persecution necessitates fl ight. Nor am I arguing that those who do not Notes fl ee are not moral agents. Th ere are clearly other ways of 1. Hannah Arendt, Imperialism: Part Two of Th e Origins of vindicating ones dignity;44 if we take seriously the stories Totalitarianism (San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, of the martyrs, some vindications of dignity may appear 1968), 179. antonymous to fl ight. I must also note that acknowledging 2. I focus on asylum policy in the United States because, as the moral agency of fl ight neither excuses persecution nor a US resident and researcher, it is the context that I know best. I believe, however, that the critique I develop in this eff aces the need to end persecution. As Edward Said goes article has implications beyond the borders of the United to pains to point out, exile is devastating even when it is States, in many of the so-called “receiving” states. 45 necessary. 3. I borrow the particular term “bare humanity” from the Furthermore, to seek asylum requires the capacity to work of Liisa Malkki. Liisa H. Malkki, “Speechless Emis- negotiate a host of power dynamics (economic, political, saries: Refugees, Humanitarianism, and Dehistoricization,” and social) that I have not raised here. Particularly when Cultural Anthropology 11, no. 3 (1996): 388–90. See also we are discussing asylum in a place like the United States, Giorgio Agamben, “We Refugees,” trans. Michael Rocke, those who are able to reach US shores to apply for asylum Symposium 49, no. 2 (1995): 114–19. Th e version of Agam- oft en, though not always, have some social, economic, or ben’s article referenced for this essay is found on the website political capital in their country of origin. To suggest that of the European Graduate School, accessed July 12, 2013, the failure to seek asylum is a moral failing or lack of moral http://www.egs.edu/faculty/giorgio-agamben/articles/we agency when circumstances circumvent such an opportun- -refugees/. Bare humanity in the work of Arendt and Agam- ben refl ects the socio-political position of the refugee who ity would be uncritical.46 Persons who do not fl ee persecu- is marginalized in the global order of politics and power tion are also moral agents, and what it means to recognize oriented around states and citizens. For Malkki, bare them as such is the subject of another study. For my pur- humanity has a diff erent valence; the concept describes poses, I emphasize that among the ways an individual may the identity that is projected onto refugees rather than an protect her dignity, the decision to fl ee persecution should intrinsic element of the refugee’s positionality vis-à-vis the be seen as the choice of a moral agent—a choice that should larger political order. Th e two are not, however, mutually be recognized for the moral demand it is. exclusive, and Malkki may capture the vast scope of what By way of concluding, let me suggest how this project it means to be rendered as bare humanity best when she may intersect with other developments in the fi eld of refu- describes it as “a merely biological or demographic pres- gee studies. Several authors have argued for a critical turn ence.” Malkki, “Speechless Emissaries,” 390. to the refugee as a way of thinking through the modern pol- 4. Emmanuel Lévinas, Humanism of the Other, trans. Nidra itical landscape.47 It may be that only by reorienting away Poller (Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 2006). 5. Ibid., 32. from state-centredness to exile-centredness can we hope 6. Ibid., 32–33. to address the refugee reality, both in terms of the persons 7. Ibid., 32–33, 62; Richard A. Cohen, “Introduction: Human- who present themselves and the conditions that make refu- ism and Anti-humanism—Lévinas, Cassirer, and Heideg- 48 gees a permanent fi xture of the modern landscape. To the ger,” in Humanism of the Other, by Emmanuel Lévinas, latter Giorgio Agamben counsels, “inasmuch as the refu- trans. Nidra Poller (Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, gee unhinges the old trinity of state/nation/territory—this 2006), xxx–xxxi. Th is is the great promise of Lévinas and apparently marginal fi gure deserves rather to be considered the foundation for his claim of “ethics as fi rst philosophy.” the central fi gure of our political history.”49 Th is exile- Th e Lévinasian project is nothing less than reorienting centredness, however, is a process. It is a process that may philosophical discourse. Th e possibilities and barriers to challenge but cannot forego the current state-centric reality. such reorientation reaching out beyond the bounds of aca- It is a process, however, that may begin by recognizing the demic philosophy is an aspect of this project. moral agency of refugees and asylum seekers. Furthermore, 8. Judith Butler, Giving an Account of Oneself (New York: Fordham University Press, 2005), 96. if there is a turn to exile-centeredness, it is important to rec- 50 9. Ibid., 25. ognize that such a perspective has multiple valences. As 10. Arendt, Imperialism, 180. a critical category, the refugee or asylum seeker is a limit- 11. Peter Nyers, Rethinking Refugees: Beyond States of Emer- 51 account of the modern political subject, but, it also can gency (New York: Routledge, 2006), xiv–xv. See also

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Malkki’s work on the refugee image and agency, where she made, the applicant or witness shall have a rebuttable pre- describes the construction of refugee humanity as follows: sumption of credibility on appeal.”). Th e visual conventions for representing refugees and 20. Ibid. the language of raw human needs both have the eff ect 21. § 1158(b)(1)(B)(ii). of constructing refugees as a bare humanity—even as a 22. Bohmer and Shuman’s extensive treatment of which types merely biological or demographic presence. Th is mode of claims are recognized and which are excluded lead them of humanitarianism acts to trivialize and silence his- to conclude, “Part of the problem with the system for grant- tory and politics—a silencing that can legitimately be ing asylum is that we’re ambivalent about our moral obli- described as dehumanizing in most contexts. And yet … gation to the people who make claims. Increasingly we go one might argue that what these representational prac- to greater and greater lengths to strengthen the barriers to tices do is not strictly to dehumanize, but to humanize entry and to make sure that only a few people slip through in a particular mode. A mere, bare, naked, or minimal the net… . We let in people whose experiences are so hor- humanity is set up. Th is is a vision of humanity that rifying that we’re shocked; others don’t get in.” Bohmer and repels elements that fail to fi t into the logic of its frame- Shuman, Rejecting Refugees, 263. work.—Malkki, “Speechless Emissaries,” 390. 23. For a detailed account of the various diffi culties asylum 12. Carol Bohmer and Amy Shuman, Rejecting Refugees: Polit- seekers face in relating their stories to ajudicators see ibid., ical Asylum in the 21st Century (London: Routledge, 2008), chaps. 3 & 4. 11. 24. Malkki, “Speechless Emissaries,” 390. 13. Immigration and Nationality Act § 208(b)(1)(A), 8 U.S.C. 25. Muddathir ‘Abd al-Rahim, “Asylum: A Moral and Legal § 1158(b)(1)(A) (2006) (emphasis added). All subsequent Right in Islam,” Refugee Survey Quarterly 27, no. 2 (2008): references to Section 208 of the Immigration and National- 16, doi:10.1093/rsq/hdn029. ity Act will be to the US Code. 26. Ibid., 17. 14. Bohmer and Shuman, Rejecting Refugees, 264–65. 27. For another discussion of Exodus as asylum narrative see 15. Ibid., 11. Jonathan P. Burnside, “Exodus and Asylum: Uncovering 16. § 1158(b)(1)(B)(i). the Relationship Between Biblical Law and Narrative,” 17. § 1158(b)(1)(B)(ii). Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 34, no. 3 (2010): 18. In the US legal system, as a default position, the party that 243–66, doi:10.1177/0309089210363028. Burnside reads bears the burden of proof must establish these three ele- Exodus as a narrative of asylum but understands asylum to ments unless the burdens or presumptions are otherwise be sanctuary from retribution for persons wrongly accused allocated by law. Depending on the legal context, the of homicide, which is how the concept was understood in burden of proof may be more or less onerous. In a civil case, the ancient Near East. Ibid., 255 n.11. the plaintiff carries the burden and must generally meet the 28. All biblical citations are to the New Revised Standard Ver- burden with a preponderance of the evidence. In a crim- sion as published in Michael D. Coogan et al., eds., Th e New inal case, the state carries the burden and must establish Oxford Annotated Bible, 3rd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University its proofs beyond a reasonable doubt. Th ough the asylum Press, 2001). seeker, like the criminal defendant, is at the mercy of the 29. My thanks to Brian Green for pointing out that, if the fl ight state, she carries the burden of proof and what constitutes from Egypt is part of the covenant whereby the Israelites suffi ciency is highly discretionary. are promised a particular geographical area to reside in, 19. § 1158(b)(1)(B)(iii) (“Considering the totality of the cir- then the Israelite devastation of Canaan and its conse- cumstances, and all relevant factors, a trier of fact may quences for the Canaanites are implicated in the fl ight. I base a credibility determination on the demeanor, candor, do intend to excuse the devastation of Canaan as morally or responsiveness of the applicant or witness, the inher- acceptable because it is the consequence of an act of fl ight. ent plausibility of the applicant’s or witness’s account, the Although it is beyond my scope to treat the issue here, I consistency between the applicant’s or witness’s written note briefl y that persons are complex as moral subjects and and oral statements (whenever made and whether or not the commission of a moral act does not preclude subse- under oath, and considering the circumstances under quent or concurrent immoral acts. which the statements were made), the internal consistency 30. See also the following passage from Exodus 14:10–12: “As of each such statement, the consistency of such statements Pharaoh drew near, the Israelites looked back, and there with other evidence of record (including the reports of were the Egyptians advancing on them. In great fear the the Department of State on country conditions), and any Israelites cried out to the Lord. Th ey said to Moses, ‘Was it inaccuracies or falsehoods in such statements, without because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken regard to whether an inconsistency, inaccuracy, or false- us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us, hood goes to the heart of the applicant’s claim, or any other bringing us out of Egypt? Is this not the very thing we told relevant factor. Th ere is no presumption of credibility, how- you in Egypt, “Let us alone and let us serve the Egyptians”? ever, if no adverse credibility determination is explicitly

128 Reimagining Asylum

For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians command to seek asylum when persecuted in 4:97, the than to die in the wilderness.’” Qur’an says, “Except those who are (really) weak and 31. ‘Abd al-Rahim, “Asylum,” 19. oppressed—men, women, children—who have no means 32. Sharifah Nazneen Agha, “Th e Ethics of Asylum in Early in their power, nor (a guide-post) to direct their way. For Muslim Society,” Refugee Survey Quarterly 27, no. 2 (2008): these, there is hope that God will forgive: For God doth blot 33, doi:10.1093/rsq/hdn031. out (sins) and forgive again and again” (Qur’an 4:98–99). I 33. ‘Abd al-Rahim, “Asylum,” 19. also note that the conditions for fl ight in the Exodus narra- 34. Ibid. tive are the plagues that God visits upon the Egyptians. 35. Agha, “Th e Ethics of Asylum in Early Muslim Society,” 30 47. See, e.g., Agamben, “We Refugees,” para. 5; Nyers, Rethink- (emphasis added). ing Refugees, xiv–xv. 36. See ibid., 36–37. Khadija Elmadmad also uses the term 48. Such orientation must, however, take as a caution Said’s muhajirun as a translation for “forced migrants” in the reminder not to romanticize exile. “Exile is strangely com- contemporary sense. Khadija Elmadmad, “Asylum in Islam pelling to think about but terrible to experience.” Said, and in Modern Refugee Law,” Refugee Survey Quarterly 27, Refl ections on Exile, 173. no. 2 (2008): 57, doi:10.1093/rsq/hdn016. 49. Agamben, “We Refugees,” para. 5. 37. Wael B. Hallaq, Sharī‘a: Th eory, Practice, Transformations 50. See, for example, Malkki’s discussion of her work among (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009), 39–41. Burundian Hutu refugees from in Tanzania in the early to 38. Elmadmad, “Asylum in Islam and in Modern Refugee Law,” middle 1990s and the contested notions of refugee identity 54. that existed between the refugees and the international aid 39. All Qur’anic citations are to the translation of Abdullah workers. Malkki relates that the refugees saw their refugee Yusuf Ali as published in Abdullah Yusuf Ali, Th e Holy identity as a positive, powerful position located in a history Qur’an: Text, Translation and Commentary (Elmhurst, NY: of exile and return. To be a refugee was to be part of the Tahrike Tarsile Qur’an, Inc., 2001). Th e Ali translation is community whose story had a teleology of homecoming. printed as verse, with each line capitalized. Capitalization Th e aid workers, in contrast, oft en perceived the Burund- has been altered where appropriate to facilitate inclusion of ian population as no longer refugees, despite their docu- quoted material as prose. mented legal status, because they had, to a limited degree, 40. ‘Abd al-Rahim, “Asylum,” 17–18. prospered in Tanzania and no longer fi t an idealized notion 41. Ibid., 18. of the refugee as a person in a position of desperate need. 42. Ibid. ‘Abd al-Rahim also quotes two further Qur’anic verses For the aid workers, to be a refugee was to be a victim; to support this point: whereas, the refugees saw their identity in terms of seeking As for those who migrated in God’s cause aft er being protection in order to return home. Malkki, “Speechless wronged, we shall give them a good home in this world, Emissaries,” 379–85. but the reward of the hereaft er will be far greater, if they 51. Nyers, Rethinking Refugees, xiv. only knew it. Th ey are the ones who are steadfast and put their trust in their Lord. (Qur’an 16:40) As for those who migrate (and strive) in God’s sake, and Silas W. Allard is Harold J. Berman Senior Fellow in Law are then killed or die—God will most certainly provide and Religion and Associate Director of the Center for the for them a goodly sustenance [in the life to come] for, Study of Law and Religion at Emory University. Th is essay verily, God—He alone—is the Best Provider. He will is part of an ongoing project. Th e author is deeply grateful most certainly admit them to a state [of being] that will to Abdullahi An-Na’im, Elizabeth Bounds, Steve Kraft chick, please them well. (Qur’an 22:57–58) Rebecca Spurrier, and John Witte, Jr. for their valuable guid- Ibid., 18. For the translations consulted in the prepara- ance and feedback. Th e author would also like to thank the tion of these verses see ibid., 16 n.3. Centre for Refugee Studies at York University for the oppor- 43. Butler, Giving an Account of Oneself, 136. tunity to present a version of this essay at the conference 44. Th is includes a compelling critique by Saba Mahmood of “Power, Representation, and Identity: Narratives by, about, the scholarly emphasis on agency, and, in particular, forms and around refugees and forcibly displaced persons,” held at of universalized agency that may elide other ways of being York University on April 27–28, 2012. In the hope of bettering within power structures that cannot be plotted solely along this project and continuing these conversations, critique and the axes of oppression and resistance. Saba Mahmood, Pol- comment are encouraged. Th e author can be reached by itics of Piety (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2004). email at [email protected]. 45. Edward W. Said, Refl ections on Exile and Other Essays (Cam- bridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2000), 173–75. 46. Th e Qur’an makes note of this particular problem with the duty to seek asylum. In Surah 4:98–99, following the

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Volume 29 Refuge Number 1

Report

“Migration and Violence: Lessons from Colombia for the Americas” A workshop of the Transatlantic Forum on Migration and Integration and the Refugee Research Network (TFMI)

Jorge Salcedo

Introduction 1. Th rough a comparative lens: Th e relationship Th e conference, “Migration and Violence: Lessons from between migration and violence in Colombia, El Colombia to the Americas” was held in Bogotá D.C., Salvador, Guatemala, and Mexico Colombia at the Pontifi cia Universidad Javeriana on June 29, From the 1980s to present, Colombia and the region com- 2012. Th e main objective of the conference was to develop prised of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Mexico have experi- inter-disciplinary academic research in Central America enced periods of armed internal confl ict, gang-related and Mexico regarding the relationship between violence, aggression, and community violence which have produced particularly narco-violence, and migration. Th e setting in forced migrations.1 While each country has encountered Bogotá D.C. was deliberate as the participants discussed similar types of problems, each has experienced them at how lessons learned from Colombia’s experience with diff erent times or at diff erent levels of intensity. Th is has led narco-induced migration could be leveraged for the benefi t each country to consider diff erent forms of public policy to of Central America and Mexico. With the participation of resolve the problem.2 experts on international migration, government representa- tives, academics, and civil society, the conference high- Internal displacement generated by armed internal lighted research results and relevant intervention experi- confl icts ence concerning this problem in Colombia, El Salvador, Th e armed internal confl icts between the left ist guerillas, Guatemala, and Mexico. the government, and other paramilitary structures were Th is article presents an analysis of the presentations given marked by gross violations of human rights and breaches of and the discussions held at the conference. It consists of four international humanitarian law that generated large fl ows parts. Th e fi rst section compares the similarities and diff er- of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs). In El ences regarding migration and violence in Colombia and Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua during the 1980s and El Salvador, Guatemala, and Mexico. Th e second section mid-1990s about three million people were displaced and presents the major epistemological challenges emerging forced to fi nd refuge in another part of the region or fl ed from research and models of intervention. Th e third section to the United States.3 Colombia has reported that from presents the implications of the epistemological challenges the late 1980s to present, there have been 4–5.5 IDPs and and their impact on public policy. Th e fourth section con- 400,000 refugees4, the majority of whom have made their cludes with principal lessons from Colombia for research way to neighboring countries.5 In both cases, the humani- and intervention in the problem of violence and migration. tarian crises have had regional aspects characterized by

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restrictions pertaining to the protection of refugees in host in the last six years, with consequences for forced migra- countries. tion. On one hand, this has initiated an invisible refugee In the Central American region, a set of peace agreements process made up of middle and upper class people fl eeing in the mid-1990s outlined a solution that worked to aid the to the United States and Canada, seeking protection. On return of a large portion of refugees and IDPs. However, in the other hand, this has created internal displacement of Colombia, the peace agreements signed in the 1990s did not those belonging to lower socio-economic classes without obtain the commitment of all guerilla groups. As a result, the monetary means to leave the country. Th ese internally the country still experiences violence and the return of inter- displaced persons (IDPs), estimated at 270,000, have been nally displaced persons has been impeded, as the situation visible10, as they have taken advantage of the shelters that does not guarantee property restitution to the victims. Even have been erected by their municipalities. though the country had implemented measures to ensure Organized crime in Mexico has also victimized inter- restitution in 1997, it has not been met with much success national migrants trying to reach the United States. In addi- as guerilla groups continue to inhibit the implementation of tion to being victims of human traffi cking, migrants are these agreements. Likewise, extended eff orts made in 2005 vulnerable to attacks by Mexican cartels seeking to prevent and 2011 by transitional justice frameworks recognized the the use of corridors that they have deemed most vital to rights of the IDPs in their condition as victims to truth, to the transit of illegal drugs, illicit money, and weapons. Th e justice, reparation, and to the guarantee that said events network of corridors secures their transactions, allowing would not occur again. However, these measures have not them to gain more economic stability and to place them in a been fully implemented and do not seem to identify the root position to seize more political power. Aside from taunting of the problem. Unfortunately, sixty individuals6, who had migrants who are attempt to use the corridors, the cartels taken it upon themselves to lead other victims in hope of monitor corridor gateways and demand money from the exercising their rights, have been killed in recent years.7 migrants’ families who are waiting to help their relatives Mexico emerged as a scene of political violence in the on the other side. Although this has reduced the amount of 1990s with the surge of Zapatista guerillas and paramilitary illegal immigration, it has increased the number of kidnap- groups that were repressed by the government. Most of the pings of undocumented migrants. violence occurred in southern Mexico and generated high In Guatemala for example, there is evidence that drug levels of internal displacement of indigenous peoples in this traffi cking and money laundering have compromised the area. judicial system, which has contributed to the corruption of Th e political violence behind social and economic con- the banking system and entrepreneurship. Th e pharmaceut- fl icts in Colombia, Guatemala, and El Salvador persisted ical industry, especially, has been targeted for its develop- despite the peace agreements signed in the two regions. ment of new synthetic drugs. In Mexico, there is the per- Problems such as social exclusion, poverty, uneven distri- ception among a few sectors that the Federal government bution of land and wealth, and political corruption were should have pursued the Gulf Cartel and the Zetas more not addressed by the aforementioned agreements and con- than the Sinaloa cartel. tinued to neutralize any progress made. In relation to the visibility of these problems in public policy, the developments in Central America and Mexico Forced Migration and Organized Crime arise mainly because authorities refuse to recognize the In El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, and Colombia, violence gravity of the situation. Th ere are laws recognizing refugees and the frequent outbreak of organized crime have trig- from other countries but there are no laws that recognize gered forced migration and have victimized international the existence of internally displaced persons. However, the migrants. In the fi rst two countries mentioned, continuities process to create a law for these victims is being discussed in exist from confl ict to post-confl ict periods as both coun- Mexico. Th e repressive policy facing international migrants tries have felt the impact of transnational crime8 on forced traveling through Mexico trying to reach the United States migration. In the last fi ve years, following the peace accords, has been reduced, but it has been accompanied by a lack there has been a notable increase in migration. Organized of protection against threats from organized crime. In crime in these four countries is composed not only by pri- Colombia, the institutional response to forced migration vate armies engaged in illegal economic activity but also by violence has attracted a high level of expertise in the by the civil sector, military, police, businessmen, and polit- legal and institutional framework and has been able to pro- icians of diff erent parties. duce tangible achievements not seen before in the case of Meanwhile, violence in Mexico has been exacerbated victims’ rights. Although state-sponsored responses have to the extent that 60,000 causalities9 have been reported been low among the four countries, the Catholic Church

132 “Migration and Violence: Lessons from Colombia for the Americas”

and multiple NGOs have compensated for this by paying although they are victimizers as well. Lastly, IDPs fl eeing particular attention to the rights of migrants and displaced from political violence in the countryside to cities are fre- peoples. quently victims of community violence in the zones where In the case of Colombia, crime has intertwined with, and the heads of the gangs and dealers of hallucinogens are strengthened, the armed internal confl ict under the guise located. of paramilitary counterinsurgency, making it one of the In the case of Central America the large cartels have con- major drivers of forced displacement. In the background tributed to the scope and phenomena transnational crime of organized crime in Colombia, there exists the dispute of where “maras” like “Salvatrucha” and “18” stand out and over control of legal and illegal sources of economic resour- have established their presence in California in the United ces in the territories such as mining, drug traffi cking and States. Th e spread of these gangs across international bor- public budgets.11 ders—Mexico, and of the Central American Triangle, par- Th e fact that these groups have evolved by contracting ticularly El Salvador—is in itself a product of the dynam- integral control over territories through violent mediums ics of migration, refuge, and deportations. In Guatemala, refl ects their desire to gain political power that includes organized crime related to narcotics controls the gangs and control of everyday life while using methods that diff er uses repressive measures to legitimize itself among civil from guerrilla groups also present in Colombia. In these society, replacing the state’s function as protector and regu- situations, these zones are managed in an authoritarian lator of the populace. matter and have led to the displacement of people who do not follow the governance imposed within the violent 2. Epistemological challenges for understanding and hegemonic areas. As far as human traffi cking is con- the relationship between migration and violence. cerned, Colombia is a country of origin, transit, and des- Th e experience of violence and migration in these four tination where the main victims are women and children. countries presents various valuable, but complex, epistemo- Th e women tend to be the heads of households and are, on logical challenges to understanding the links between vio- average, between 18–24 years old. Th ose of African descent lence and migration. and the indigenous are among the most vulnerable. In Central America and Mexico, there are no fi gures Broadening the conceptual range of migration categories representing the magnitude and the characteristics of this and addressing current violence new cycle of forced migrations due to violence in recent Given the implications that conceptual categories for under- years. Meanwhile, Colombia has registered substantial standing migration have for the protection of migrants, improvements in systematizing information regarding overcoming the conceptual shortcomings of current cat- displacement from state, church, and non-governmental egories used to describe migration induced by violence was sources, however problems still exist with underreporting. one of the principal challenges identifi ed by conference participants. Forced Migration, Community Violence, and Young Although various adjectives, including political, eco- People nomic, social, and cultural, are used to generate understand- In both regions, the relationship between migration, organ- ings of migration on micro and macro levels, care should be ized crime, community violence and youth are closely taken not to lose sight of the instances where these categor- related. ies intersect or overlap. Th is points to the need to restructure In Colombia, the most powerful criminal organizations the traditional categories of migration beyond the classifi ca- control sectors of cities through its coordination with juven- tion of refugee, IDPs, human traffi cking, economic, natural ile neighborhood gangs and local or micro local outreach. disaster-related, and “mixed fl ows”. If there is a situation of Correspondingly, the forced recruitment of young boys, mixed fl ows wherein migrants do not fi t into any pre-deter- girls, and adolescents is one of the main eff ects of internal mined category, they face the possibility of being catalogued displacement within the country. as an illegal immigrant in the country of destination where Left ist guerillas recruit young people and minors, those they will be refused rights and where there is no framework who reside in rural and poor zones that have been neglected of protection made available to them. by the government, to their ranks. Similarly, new paramil- Several solutions were discussed in response to the above itary groups recruit and utilize the youth community to mentioned problems, including: extending the existing increase their range of criminal activity in both rural and categories, creating new categories that are more inclusive urban areas. Th e minors that have been linked to non-gov- that cannot have universal validation claims but are com- ernmental armed groups are legally recognized as victims mensurate to regional and local diff erences, and responsive

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instances of varying nature within their countries and other Equally, it is important to improve the production and countries. systematization of quantitative and qualitative data that allows the systematic study of migration and also allows An interdisciplinary view of migration and information public policy to monitor and address these studies. Th is is systems a great endeavor due to the diff erent forms of forced migra- Th e second biggest challenge discussed was the develop- tion that take place, especially when considering that they ment of an interdisciplinary view on migration that takes are not readily seen and oft en occur in secret. In Colombia, into account diff erent focal points of research such as wars, considerable advancements have been made to track forced armed confl ict, the economy, state mafi as, transnational displacement; however, information about destination organized crime, drug traffi cking, gangs, maras, poverty, points do not exist as Colombia lacks the secondary sources inequality, and exclusion. In this sense, moving towards to keep a record of migrants once they have fl ed. Other a more complete identifi cation of the range and nature occurrences that are associated with migration such as ref- of novel research in this area, one that implements more uge, traffi cking, and victimization suff er from systematic robust methodologies, is important. Each country should methodologies and are not as well documented. Meanwhile, defi ne short, medium, and long-term research agendas that systematic fi gures representing forced migrations due to are key in the development of academic research groups and current violence have been recorded in Central America that strengthen the dialogue on the research and interven- and Mexico. tion, given that public policy does not always feed off of the developments made within research. 3. Implications for Public Policy Among what has been prioritized in research, there are In regards to the violent actors that generate migration, the a few that stand out signifi cantly: the return of migrants states should establish an area that is committed to the pro- is a major part of diff erent agendas concerning migration tection of rights and that manages the aff ects of such vio- policies, including, for example, landholding. Another top lence in the lives of the victims. Notwithstanding, the form priority is the research on the migration of women, chil- in which the phenomena related to migration is defi ned and dren, afro-ethnic groups, and indigenous people due to classifi ed also determines the scope of national and inter- the vulnerability that these groups face during migration national regimes in protecting the rights of the migrants. In and the lack of attention these cases receive. Collecting other words, conceptual and methodological discussion to the stories of those who have been abused and victimized, understand and classify forced migration is a political dis- especially stories from young gang members that have been cussion in order to construct laws, institutions and establish a part of induced migrations is also a priority as they are priorities and applicable areas for public policies. seen as victims of domestic violence and have been robbed It is recognized that the tools to prevent new actors from of economic opportunities, etc. Although there is a lack impacting migration are lacking from public policy. Human of academic work in the area, displacement that occurs rights laws provide the tools to violations within the state along the borders has been given much attention. Similarly, as international humanitarian law and transitional justice it is necessary to advance the study of human traffi cking are meant to control non-state actors that want to become focusing on public health, sexual and reproductive rights, offi cial state actors. However, tools are needed to control beyond criminal acts. It is necessary to understand how the actors today that have the dual ability of producing new violence can take many diff erent forms and how these orders without attempting to replace the state but can cap- forms intersect to generate migrations; for example, the ture the state from “within” and to face the companies that violence of powerful organized groups such as those who are linked to grand violations of rights that have been regu- traffi c drugs, their relations with offi cial forces, and the lated as of today. blurred instances of community violence domestically and Th e same issue arises with narco-traffi ckers, actors for among the youth. Th e study of crime strategy and how which there are few tools or methods of engagement other armed groups control territories and achieve their object- than the criminal justice system. However, we fi nd that the ives is also given high priority. Furthermore, the methods drug traffi cker has certain capacity of governance, of ter- in which they combine silent and invisible forms of con- ritorial ordinance, and the ability to restructure econom- trol using strategic information pertaining to the territor- ics, and so the question remains, how do you make peace ies and the use of extreme demonstrations of violence and with the drug traffi ckers aft er or beyond criminalization? In massacres. Additionally, it is of high priority to study the Colombia, there has been negotiation with the drug traffi ck- drug transportation routes within the United States that ing network disguised as political peace negotiations and, are normally conceived in Mexico.

134 “Migration and Violence: Lessons from Colombia for the Americas”

as a result, former narco-traffi ckers have become legitimate It is also necessary that public policy on migration political actors. advance to adopt a management and indicator system that Colombia is also illustrative of the consequences gen- produces results permitting interested parties to monitor erated by forced displacement such punishable crime in and control the situation through an interdisciplinary dia- regards to the attribution of penal and civil responsibilities. logue concerning rights and the economy. Th e traditional attribution of culpability to an individual that has generated forced displacement has been transcended by 4. Conclusions: Lessons from Colombia for the more systematic approaches to the consequences of crime. Americas Th e Colombian approach to dealing with the loss of land by By and large, Central America and Mexico can learn from victims of crime is the best example of this trend. Colombia the case in Colombia. Th e adoption of a special institution also faces the challenge of determining whether displace- tending to victims of complex situations of violence is linked ment took place due to political violence or other types of to the process of peace negotiations as a way to resolve situa- violence, diff erentiating the infractions of international tions of grave violence. humanitarian law within the framework of armed internal Th e complexity of the violence in Colombia coalesces confl ict, mass violations of human rights, generalized vio- ideological armed internal confl ict with armed disputes lence, and/or of internal strife and unrest. From the above, among apparatuses of power that combine illegal action the classical distinctions within political violence and vio- with legal action in all aspects of their functioning. With lence due to common organized crime do not appear to respect to organized crime, it is another area where Central function adequately in all cases in order to account for the America and Mexico should further characterize the actual political nature of local actors like narcotraffi ckers, to the situations of humanitarian crisis, overcoming the narrow- extent that it also groups diverse legal actors like offi cials ness of the categories defi ning migration and the analysis of and businessmen that seek to control political, economic, traditional violence. and social relations that are woven together in a territory. Considering that young people are frequently recruited In this sense, the Ley de Victimas y Restitución de Tierras by various armed organizations, they are their principal or “Th e Law of Victims and Land Restitution” issued in victims. Th e states should prioritize preventative policies 2011 in Colombia represents a setback in the recognition of beyond distinctly repressive policy. Likewise, they should rights of victims of displacement. Furthermore, the scope of provide specialized protection to women, children, and protection for those who have been displaced due to fumi- ethnic groups who are traditionally excluded, like those of gations, the victims of so-called emerging gangs, the vic- indigenous and afro descent. tims who sough refuge abroad, and collective victims such Similarly, the experience of multi-track analysis of as labor unions, as well as those who are a part of social migration and peace processes highlights the importance movements and opposing parties. Th e economic activities of considering diff erent levels of incidence and negotiation. in rural areas like mega-mining and the cultivation of agro- Th is involves not only states and international actors, but combustibles, among others, have raised questions as to also social groups of distinct classes including fl exible asso- how they can fi nance non-state armed groups that create ciations of social organizations, universities, churches and new cycles of displacement. other authority fi gures. Th e aforementioned is key to face It is important to advance a regional approach to migra- regional integration among the countries, their authorities, tion and violence while taking into account the links their social organizations, and citizens to agree on investi- between similar situations that exist within these countries gative agendas and intervention facilitating exchange and in fi elds such as the regulation of illicit activities, the validity joint lessons about the complicated relations among migra- of peace, the development of democracy and the defence of tion and violence in the Americas. human rights, regional integration and security, the state’s Th ey can also nourish themselves with the wealth of aca- presence through preventative policy, social and economic demic publications and research coming from Colombia development, regulated economies and social institutions. concerning migration, violence, forced displacement, infor- If there exists globalized crime, the states should face the mation tracking systems, and the adoption of public policy situation based on an integrated perspective through pre- indicators tracking the eff ectiveness of rights. ventative policy. Facing international migration, it is necessary to insist that states disassociate migration policy from national security because this convergence can aff ect the rights of the migrants that need protection.

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Notes have dealt to the guerillas, they are far from being defeated 1. El Salvador and Guatemala, together with Honduras, com- and the cost of the lives of offi cial forces is high. prise what is known as the “Northern Triangle” of Central 8. In both cases, organized crime has contributed to drug traf- America and share the same regional dynamic with Mexico fi cking, arms traffi cking, extortion, election fraud, manipu- 2. In this context, both regions at the same time or another, lation of institutions, human traffi cking, among others. have been considered the most violent places on earth: 9. Miguel Wilchez Hinojosa, “Migration and Violence: Les- Colombia in the 1980s and the 1990s; Mexico, in combina- sons from Colombia for the Americas,” Bogotá, 2012. tion with the Northern Triangle in the 2000s till now. 10. Ibid. 3. Casasfranco Roldan and Maria Virginia, Las Migraciones y 11. Between 1980 and the mid-90s there were sharp disputes los Desplazamientos Forzados: Análisis Comparativo e Inte- between large drug cartels that generated displacements, gral Desde un Enfoque de Derechos Humanos (San José de the scope of which is undeterminable due to the lack of Costa Rica, 2001). information. Th ese disputes surfaced again in the late-90s 4. CODHES, “Desplazamiento Creciente y Crisis Humani- and early 2000s when the paramilitary group, United Self- taria Invisibilizada,” en Codhes Informa (Bogotá: CODHES, Defense Forces of Colombia, had been formed. Th is con- 2012). tributed to another dispossession of a millions of hectares 5. At the forefront of forced displacement, women and chil- of productive land, the control of production and local dren continue to be the principal victims due to their institutions as well as another wave of forced migration. vulnerability and exposure to sexual violence within the Th ey reconfi gured themselves following the government community or familial. Th ey suff er not only because of the initiative to demobilize paramilitary groups in the fi rst armed internal confl ict but also due to do everyday life in decade of the 2000s. Although paramilitary groups have an unprotected state. been maintained to a certain extent, diff erent criminal 6. Caracol Radio, Junio 12 de 2012. http://www.caracol.com gangs have begun to emerge focusing on the consolidation .co/noticias/judicial/mas-de-60-lideres-de-restitucion-de of control over captured territories. -tierras-han-sido-asesinados-en-siete-anos-defensoria-del -pueblo/20120612/nota/1704578.aspx. 7. In 2011, the displacement that took place in Colombia con- Jorge Salcedo teaches at Universidad del Rosario, Bogotá D.C., tinued and increased to include 73 mass movements. Some Colombia were generated under counterinsurgency operations, for example, the operation commanded under Alfonso Cano TFMI is made possible through the generous sponsorship of and the FARC. Additionally, displacements occurred in the German Marshall Fund and Robert Bosch Stift ung. Th e the areas that had been given priority by the government Refugee Research Network is made possible through the gen- and where intervention had been coordinated by military erous support of York University, Canada. command. On the other hand, despite the major blows that

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