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From Refugee to Citizen: ‘Standing on My Own Two Feet’ a Research Report on Integration, ‘Britishness’ and Citizenship

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From Refugee to Citizen: ‘Standing on My Own Two Feet’ a Research Report on Integration, ‘Britishness’ and Citizenship From Refugee to Citizen: ‘Standing On My Own Two Feet’ A research report on integration, ‘Britishness’ and citizenship. Jill Rutter with Laurence Cooley, October 2007 From Refugee to Citzen:Sile Standing Reynolds on my own two and feet. Ruth Sheldon © Metropolitan Support Trust and the Institute of Public Policy Research 2007 From Refugee to Citzen: Standing on my own two feet. From Refugee to Citizen: ‘Standing On My Own Two Feet’ A research report on integration, ‘Britishness’ and citizenship. Contents Foreword i ippr iii Refugee Support iv About the authors v Acknowledgements vi Glossary and acronyms vii 1. Introduction 1 2. The last 50 years of refugee migration to the UK 11 3. Research methodology 29 4. Pre-arrival factors 41 5. Arrival 57 6. Institutional integration 81 7. Social interactions 99 8. Active citizens: political and community participation 119 9. Acculturation, identity and belonging 131 10. The Britishness debate 163 11. Conclusions and recommendations 179 Bibliography 188 Appendices From Refugee to Citzen: Standing on my own two feet. From Refugee to Citzen: Standing on my own two feet. Foreword Barbara Roche, Chair of Metropolitan Support Trust It is a great pleasure to introduce the first piece of research commissioned by our new Research and Consultancy Unit. It explores the experiences of refugees who have arrived over the last 50 years and their sense of Britishness. Fifty years ago, Refugee Support (at that time known as BCAR Homes) was established, and we wanted to tell the story of our service users and other refugees over that time. From Refugee to Citizen: Standing on my own two feet allows refugees to speak for themselves. It highlights the high level of political participation and volunteer activity among refugees here in the UK and shows how integration works at the household and individual levels. Britishness is seen as an identity that many refugees come to embrace, not particularly at a cultural level but as a set of values which symbolise freedom of speech and security. We see, through the refugees’ own stories, how integration happens over time, not in a linear way but in reaction to everyday experiences, successes and set backs. I am grateful to those that took part in the research and know that their stories will contribute a great deal to our understanding of these issues. This is the first of many research projects that Metropolitan Support Trust/ Refugee Support will undertake as it develops its research role, and I hope that this book, in particular, will provide a valuable contribution to the current debate on refugee integration. From Refugee to Citzen: Standing on my own two feet. i From Refugee to Citzen: Standing on my own two feet. ippr The Institute for Public Policy Research (ippr) is the UK’s leading progressive think tank and was established in 1988. Its role is to bridge the political divide between the social democratic and liberal traditions, the intellectual divide between academia and the policymaking establishment and the cultural divide between government and civil society. It is first and foremost a research institute, aiming to provide innovative and credible policy solutions. Its work, the questions its research poses and the methods it uses are driven by the belief that the journey to a good society is one that places social justice, democratic participation and economic and environmental sustainability at its core. For more than a decade ippr’s Migration, Equalities and Citizenship Team has been leading the way in promoting a rational, balanced and fair debate on issues of asylum, migration, integration, race equality and citizenship. Our strong publications, links in government, and considerable media attention allow us not only to influence, but also to figure largely in domestic and international policy debates on the issues. Today, the Migration, Equalities and Citizenship team is a key centre of research on migration policy. Our research has covered key themes, including: • the economic impact of migration • migration and development • emigration and secondary migration • integration and diversity in the UK. This report has been written for Refugee Support by Jill Rutter, Laurence Cooley, Sile Reynolds and Ruth Sheldon. The views expressed in it do not necessarily represent the views of ippr or Refugee Support. Material from the Census is Crown Copyright, has been made available by National Statistics through the UK Data Archive and has been used by permission. Neither National Statistics nor the Data Archive bears any responsibility for the analysis or interpretation of the data reported here. Institute for Public Policy Research 30–32 Southampton Street London WC2E 7RA Tel: 020 7470 6100 Fax: 020 7470 6111 www.ippr.org Registered Charity No. 800065 From Refugee to Citzen: Standing on my own two feet. iii Refugee Support Refugee Support is one of the country’s leading providers of housing and support for refugees and asylum seekers, and is the name of Metropolitan Support Trust’s (MST) refugee services. MST is part of Metropolitan Housing Partnership, a family of social businesses that support and complement each other’s work. Refugee Support was established in 1957, as the British Council for Aid to Refugees (BCAR) Housing Society. Its first challenge was to house some of the Hungarian refugees who came to the UK after the 1956 uprising. In 1994 BCAR Housing merged with the Refugee Council’s Housing Division, to become Refugee Housing Association. In 1997, Refugee Housing Association – the previous name of Refugee Support – became an independent subsidiary of Metropolitan Housing Partnership. Metropolitan Housing Partnership, the parent organisation of MST, also works with many refugees, who form part of the diverse communities it serves. Metropolitan Housing Partnership is one of the fastest growing registered social landlords in the UK, responsible for over 34,000 homes in London and the Midlands. It also builds shared ownership properties and is involved in housing regeneration projects and community development. MST was created in April 2007 from four organisations (Refugee Housing Association, StepForward, Threshold Support and Walbrook Support) coming together to provide a wide range of specialist services to vulnerable people. It is a registered social landlord and a registered charity. The purpose of joining forces was to share the skills and experiences of the four organisations to offer greater choice to service users through the provision of a wider range of specialist support services. MST operates across London, the East and West Midlands, and Yorkshire and Humberside, and works with refugees, people with mental health needs, older people and women fleeing domestic violence. It plans new services, such as in migrant support, education and training, and community investment. MST also advocates for progressive social policy. One of the exciting new developments within Refugee Support is the new Ashmore Fund and Research Unit. The Ashmore Fund is a restricted fund within MST which was created from the free reserves of the former Refugee Housing Association. It is named after the former Chair, Gillian Ashmore. The purpose of the fund is to support innovative initiatives for the benefit of refugees and migrants, and the Research Unit has received funding for set up costs from it. The Research Unit will commission a programme of research of which this 50th anniversary research study is the first. It is staffed by a Research and Consultancy Manager, Charlotte Keeble and a part-time Research Assistant, Nura Veret. Housing continues to be the anchor of all MST’s work, as it remains a priority element of refugees’ integration, but MST organises its services around the individual and aims to assist every service user to make a positive contribution to the UK. iv From Refugee to Citzen: Standing on my own two feet. About the authors Jill Rutter is a Senior Research Fellow at ippr and leads the Migration, Equalities, and Citizenship Team’s research on refugee and asylum issues. She has published extensively on all aspects of the refugee experience in the UK and abroad with well over 40 books, chapters, and papers on the issue. Prior to joining ippr Jill was Senior Lecturer and Course Director in Citizenship Education at London Metropolitan University. From 1988–2001 she was a Policy Adviser at the Refugee Council, London. Jill’s doctoral thesis was on ‘Refugee Education in British Secondary Schools, 1989–1999’ and she holds a BA and MSc from the University of Oxford. Laurence Cooley was formerly a Research Assistant in the Migration, Equalities and Citizenship Team at ippr and is now a postgraduate research student at the University of Birmingham. He holds a first class honours degree in Economics and Politics from the University of Bath and an MA in Politics with distinction from Queen’s University Belfast. His research interests include the political economy of migration, particularly in a European context, and ethnic conflict. He has previously worked at HM Treasury and for a human rights organisation in Osijek, Croatia. Sile Reynolds is a researcher at the Refugee Council and is working on a project examining the apprehension of forced migrants in transit in Europe. Before joining the Refugee Council she was a Policy Officer at the Commission for Racial Equality and had responsibility for policy issues relating to immigration and asylum. Sile has extensive experience providing advice and advocacy to asylum seekers, refugees and immigration detainees. She has also worked as a Campaigns Officer at Student Action for Refugees, managing a campaign on age–disputed asylum seeking children. Ruth Sheldon is a Research Assistant in the People and Policy Team at ippr, working on public attitudes and involvement. Before joining ippr, Ruth worked as a Research and Development Officer at Neil Stewart Associates. Since May 2006, Ruth has been doing freelance research for the HISTORYtalk project.
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