Storytelling and Refugee Resettlement
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NARRATORS, NAVIGATORS AND NEGOTIATORS: FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICER LIFE STORIES FROM CANADA’S AFRICA REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT PROGRAM, 1970 TO 1990 by Andriata Chironda A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History Carleton University Ottawa, Ontario © 2019 Abstract This dissertation critically examines the life stories of three Canadian Foreign Service officers, in order to tell a history about how officers “heard” and decided on the claims of refugee applicants who sought admission and resettlement to Canada through its Africa Refugee Program from the early 1970s to 1990. This period and area of focus allow the study to explore the relationship between officers’ individual agency and structure in the implementation of Canadian refugee policy, and to present a hitherto under-represented part of Canada’s immigration history. The research argues that the context and conditions of refugee selection can be more fully understood by explaining: the material and ideational structures within which the officers (hearers) navigated; the many types of relationships they negotiated; and the narratives they created, both about themselves and about their role in refugee selection. The history contained in this thesis does not claim to present the truth of officers’ accounts or present theirs as the sole perspective, but instead makes an argument rooted in the literature that could be generalized beyond the context of the dissertation through further research. For this purpose, this work conceptualizes the officers as “narrators” (past and present), “navigators” and “negotiators.” The dissertation is situated within the Historical literature on oral history, immigration to Canada, and the interdisciplinary study of the management of migration and refugee movements. It draws on substantive oral history interviews the author conducted with the three officers who were active in East-Africa between 1970 and 1990. In order to situate these life stories within the prevailing state structures of ii the time, the research draws on primary sources, including Government of Canada policy documents, the 1976 Immigration Act, Annual Reports to Parliament on Immigration Levels Plans and Ministry of Employment and Immigration Statistics. This work argues that, notwithstanding limitations on their autonomy, the degree and nature of discretion and agency that officers could exercise varied depending on the local context of implementation and particularities of the refugee applicant or situation. Together, the life stories reflect a collective narrative about the settings, conditions, constraints and interests that shaped how the officers “heard” refugee applicant stories while they implemented Canada’s humanitarian and resettlement policy through the Africa Refugee Program in its earliest and formative years. The life stories put a human face on complex bureaucratic processes, and demonstrate that individual agency matters and affects outcomes in policy implementation and, occasionally, subsequent policy development. iii Acknowledgements First and foremost, my deepest gratitude to my supervisors, Dr. James Milner and Dr. Dominique Marshall. Your guidance, diligence, attention to detail, enthusiasm and ‘humanity’ were invaluable. Indebted to Michael Molloy, Susan Burrows and Scott Mullin, whose life stories, perspectives and kindest indulgence enlivened this project. A very special thank you to Joan White and Joanne Bree, from Carleton University’s History Department and Graduate Studies, respectively. For always taking the time to engage, help and facilitate. Thankful to my colleagues within the federal public service and the Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) especially, who were encouraging and generous with their time and perspectives. My sincerest appreciation to Dr. Nimo Bokore, Dr. Marilyn Barber, Dr. Stephanie Bangarth and Dr. Michael Brklacich for the thoughtful engagement, questions and feedback on my dissertation. I would also like to acknowledge and thank the following for their contributions, in various ways, along this journey—Dr. Audra Diptee, Dr. Blair Rutherford, Dr. Sean Hawkins, Dr. Franca Iacovetta, Dr. Ato Quayson, Dr. Mohamed Ali and the late David Taundi. Finally, to my husband Delan, my daughter Dylan and my family, who supported, sacrificed and endured. I am humbled, fortunate and very grateful for your love. iv Table of Contents Abstract ..................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements ......................................................................... iv Table of Contents............................................................................ v List of Tables................................................................................ ix List of Figures ................................................................................x List of Appendices .......................................................................... xi Map of the 18 Countries Covered by the Nairobi visa office, from 1981 to 2000 ...... xii Introduction .................................................................................1 Why this Historical Period? ...............................................................6 The Puzzle .................................................................................9 Existing Scholarship ..................................................................... 11 Political-Sociological Approaches .................................................... 12 History and narrative ................................................................. 22 Canadian Immigration and Refugee Selection....................................... 25 Research Questions...................................................................... 31 Central Argument ....................................................................... 33 Analytical Concepts: Narrator, Navigator and Negotiator ............................ 36 Narrator ............................................................................... 37 Navigator .............................................................................. 38 Negotiator ............................................................................. 38 Thesis Structure ......................................................................... 39 Chapter One: Theory and Method....................................................... 46 Research Ethics and Interview Framework .......................................... 46 Oral History as Theory and Method..................................................... 50 Why Oral History? ..................................................................... 55 Subjectivity and Individual Agency .................................................. 64 The Many Dimensions of an Interview ............................................... 65 A note on the uses and interpretation of interviews across disciplines ........... 69 Standpoint Theory and the Intersubjectivity of Oral History....................... 70 v Oral History and the Question of the Narrative in History ............................ 74 “Fictive” Aspects of Oral Testimonies ............................................... 78 Officers as Narrators, Then and Now................................................... 82 Chapter Two: Historical and Structural Context of the African Refugee Resettlement Program ................................................................... 86 Canadian Refugee Policy, Law and Bureaucratic Processes .......................... 91 1970 Memorandum to Cabinet: Selection of Refugees for Resettlement to Canada ......................................................................................... 91 1976 Immigration Act ................................................................. 98 Refugee and Humanitarian Legal Provisions........................................ 104 Designated classes ................................................................... 106 Annual Report to Parliament on Immigration Levels Plans ........................ 110 Government of Canada Resettlement Statistics from 1980 to 1990 .............. 113 Canadian Interests and the Genesis of the Africa Refugee Program .............. 120 Local Structures: Political and Economic ............................................. 128 Africa and the International System ................................................ 131 Burden-Sharing and African Refugees............................................... 132 Conclusion on Canada and African Resettlement .................................. 139 Chapter Three: Michael Molloy’s Life Story ........................................... 142 Who is Michael Molloy? ................................................................. 146 Molloy’s Story Form .................................................................... 151 Meeting Molloy ....................................................................... 151 The interviews ....................................................................... 156 Molloy’s Story Content ................................................................. 160 People business ...................................................................... 160 Molloy in Africa....................................................................... 167 Importance of partnerships, relationships and stakeholders ...................... 169 Molloy as Narrator,