Technology, Control, and Surveillance in Australia's Immigration
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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 1 • Spring 29 • No. Vol. 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-