Refugee Resettlement

New Beginnings: Insights of Government-Assisted Refugees in British Columbia into their settlement outcomes

by Dug Cubie

Published by the Immigrant Services Society of British Columbia, December 2006

This paper presents the findings of in-depth interviews with 152 refugees who arrived in British Columbia with the... more This paper presents the findings of in-depth interviews with 152 refugees who arrived in British Columbia with the support of the Canadian Government's Resettlement Assistance Program (RAP). The aim of the research was to interview 25% of all Government - Assisted Refugees from the top eight countries of origin who arrived in BC during the calendar years of 2003 and 2005, to obtain their views on their arrival and subsequent settlement outcomes, challenges and successes. The report provides feedback for service enhancements during a refugee's first six weeks in Canada, as well as identifying other issues of RAP policy and program consideration.The qualitative and quantitative data provides a snap-shot of refugees' own perceptions of their arrival and settlement in BC, by covering such areas as: pre-arrival orientation, arrival in Vancouver, initial RAP orientation, and subsequent housing, education, health, employment, English as a Second Language and social outcomes.

The Past if Past: The Use of Memories and Self-Healing Narratives in Refugees from the Former Yugoslavia

by Marco Gemignani

The Contemporary International Law Status of the Right to Receive Asylum

by William Worster

Clearly a state has a right to expel aliens generally, and a state has a right to grant asylum to aliens, but the... more Clearly a state has a right to expel aliens generally, and a state has a right to grant asylum to aliens, but the question is whether an individual has a right to asylum opposable to the state’s right to expel. In the literature, it is commonly understood that no such right exists. Treaty obligations discussing a “right to asylum” are understood in various ways, generally not to provide for a right to receive asylum but apply for it. However, the past few decades have shown a growth in conventions addressing asylum, especially, but not limited to, the European context. With refugee flows being an inherently international concern with a need for durable solutions, increasingly refugees are being assimilated to refugee-seekers. States are reacting or anticipating these issues by adopting domestic rights to asylum, at least for individuals qualifying as refugees. These trends suggest an evolving international consensus on opinio juris and state practice that refugees must receive asylum. Thus, it appears that the right to asylum for refugees exists under
customary international law.

The paper will proceed broadly in two sections viewing the issue from different perspectives. In the first section, the paper will begin by examining the “right to asylum” from the perspective of
the states, the authors of the Refugee Convention and similar agreements. The paper will conclude that the “right to asylum” in those agreements is directed at states, not individuals. In essence, states have a right vis-à-vis other states to grant asylum to aliens and not have that act be viewed as hostile.

However, this right of the state does not necessarily exclude a right of individuals to receive asylum if convention or customary international law also demand it. Accordingly, the second section examines the right of the individual to receive asylum. In the first sub-section, the author looks at conventional law and in the following sub-sections he looks at customary international
law, specifically state practice and opinio juris. In the conclusion, the author argues that, although there is a state right to grant asylum, there is also an individual right to receive it in certain circumstances. This conclusion is based on widespread and consistent practice granting asylum as an obligatory consequence of refuge.

Refugees as People: The Portrayal of Refugees in American Human Interest Stories

by Sarah Steimel

Published in Journal of Refugee Studies (2010)

This study combines discourse analysis and narrative analysis (Yin 2007) to examine top US newspapers’ coverage... more
This study combines discourse analysis and narrative analysis (Yin 2007) to examine top US newspapers’ coverage of refugees in American human interest stories. I find that the refugees are presented (a) as prior victims; (b) as in search of the American Dream; and (c) as unable to achieve the American Dream. As
human-interest features, the stories provide a largely positive portrayal of individual refugees and their families. However, the human interest stories also depict refugees as current victims of the American economic crisis; deeply frustrated by their inability to achieve the American Dream. Together these discourses represent a narrative of escape, hope, and then harsh reality for refugees in America’s current economic climate

Dialectic Tensions Experienced by Resettled Sudanese Refugees in Mediating Organization

by Sarah Steimel

Published in the International Journal of Communication (2010)

An increasing number of global migrants are refugees who have fled religious, racial, ethnic, or other political... more An increasing number of global migrants are refugees who have fled religious, racial, ethnic, or other political persecution. As these refugee populations have grown, governmental and nonprofit organizations have emerged to help mediate the resettlement experience. The current study explores the dialectical tensions Sudanese refugees face in communicating with the organizations designed to make their resettlement successful. Five Sudanese refugees participated in semistructured interviews about their experiences communicating with mediating organizations. Four dialectical tensions emerged from participants’ stories about their communication in and with mediating organizations: (a) dissemination and dialogue, (b) emancipation and control,
(c) empowerment and oppression, and (d) integration and separation. Taken as a totality, these challenges both replicate and extend existing organizational empowerment research.

Convenient labels, inaccurate representations: Turning Southern Sudanese Refugees into 'African-Australians'

by Melissa Phillips

The Australasian Review of African Studies, 32(2), 2011

The Evolving Definition of the Refugee in Contemporary International Law

by William Worster

Many scholars of international refugee law assert that there is no definition of refugee under international law... more Many scholars of international refugee law assert that there is no definition of refugee under international law except that given in the Refugee Convention. This assertion, however, overlooks the dynamic way that the Refugee Convention is interpreted and is usually made without a detailed analysis of customary international law. This article attempts to address this shortcoming in the literature by examining conventional and customary international law contributing to the contemporary definition of refugee. Furthermore, it will attempt to do this is an even-handed manner, concluding that the definition has expanded in favor of claimants in some aspects, but, actually, contracted against the favor of claimants in others.

First, the article will examine the definition of refugee under the Refugee Convention, especially the evolving technique for interpreting the Convention, to determine whether the definition has outgrown its conventional shell.

Second, the article will undertake a comprehensive analysis of state practice and opinio juris on this question, examining the most up-to-date sources. In particular, it will reflect on the role of specially interested or specially affected states in the formation of customary international law and the growth of “subsidiary” protection. Also the article will consider the contribution of the practice and opinio juris of international organizations in the frame of the contemporary international law’s understanding of the contribution international organizations can make.

Lastly, the article will look at the opposite side of the coin: the ways in which customary international law may have narrowed the definition beyond the terms of the Refugee Convention.
It will conclude by proposing the new definition of a refugee under conventional and customary international law based on the findings.

The Making of a Modern Diaspora: The Resettlement Process of the Somali Bantu in the United States

by Mohamed Eno

Co-authored with Omar A. Eno; In Toyin Falola & Niyi Afolabi (Eds.) African Minorities in the New World. Madison, New York, NY: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group (2008)

Assessing the impact of the withdrawal of Refugee Study Grants on refugee background students at tertiary institutions in Aotearoa New Zealand

by Nick Wilson

Report for TESOLANZ, October 2011.
Co-authored with Angela Joe, Sara Kindon and GEOG 404 Students, Victoria University of Wellington.

This report details the way in which the withdrawal of Refugee Study Grants (RSGs) has impacted upon the ability of... more This report details the way in which the withdrawal of Refugee Study Grants (RSGs) has impacted upon the ability of Refugee Background Students (RBS) to access tertiary education. This study has been undertaken to examine the funding obstacles for students who have the skills and motivation to engage with tertiary education.
Context of the report

There are a number of phases to this study, only the first two of which are covered in our report:

    National survey of students about the impact of the withdrawal of study grants.
    Follow up interview with a sample of students to compare what they said they would study and what they actually did in 2011.
    Audit of TEI websites (subject of separate report) (refer to preliminary findings from Kindon et al)
    Interviews with ESOL professionals in TEIs (subject of separate report: forthcoming).
    Participatory workshops with RBS about their study experiences in TEIs (subject of separate report: forthcoming)

There is an additional discussion document published by ChangeMakers et al this year which launched an equity campaign for refugee background students in TEIs. This was aimed at policy makers, institutions, advocates and community groups interested in promoting the interest of RBS to access tertiary education and participate on an equal footing with other NZers. A key aim was to raise awareness of the current difficulties faced by RBS in TEIs such as their background, barriers to education, academic achievement and institutional systems. To fulfil their potential & settle into NZ we argue for a government mandate to recognize RBS as an equity group.

Maria Beltran-Fioguroa & Rey Ty. (2011). Two papers on refugee service in MWR2P Proceedings.

by Rey Ty 鄭文華 (郑 文华)

The Waves of War: Immigrants, Refugees, and New Americans from Southeast Asia

by Carl L Bankston

co-authored with Danielle Hidalgo

Maria Beltran-Figueroa & Rey Ty. (2011). Critical HRD and Culturally Appropriate Human Rights-Based Projects for Refugees. Proceedings of the Academy of Human Resource Development. Schaumburg, IL: Academy of Human Resource Development. pp. 3147-3182.

by Rey Ty 鄭文華 (郑 文华)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jec8P7czWrs

Maria Beltran-Figueroa & Rey Ty. (2011). Critical HRD and Culturally Appropriate Human Rights-Based Projects for Refugees. Proceedings of the Academy of Human Resource Development. Schaumburg, IL: Academy of Human Resource Development. pp. 3147-3182.

Critical HRD, along with its specific variants of culturally appropriate and human rights-based approaches, promotes... more Critical HRD, along with its specific variants of culturally appropriate and human rights-based approaches, promotes research and action that benefit refugees. The cultural approach stresses sensitivity to historical, social, and ethnic backgrounds and changes. The human rights-based approach focuses on non-discrimination, justice and empowerment. Using a culturally appropriate and human-rights based approach to development work, this study investigates the role of human resource development that benefits refugees.

Keywords: Critical Human Resource Development, Culture, Human Rights, Refugees

Religious participation, ethnic identification, and adaptation of Vietnamese adolescents in an immigrant community

by Carl L Bankston

Refuge: Experiences in a Southeast Asian Refugee Camp

by Carl L Bankston

The Black Tai: Refugees from Vietnam and Laos

by Carl L Bankston

A Conversation with Two Lao Monks (Refugee Camp, Nov 1986)

by Carl L Bankston

Community Work and Exile Politics: Kurdish Refugee Associations in London.

by Östen Wahlbeck

Published 1998 in Journal of Refugee Studies 11, 3, 215-230.

Ethnic associations play an important role for refugees in their new country of settlement. However, refugee... more Ethnic associations play an important role for refugees in their new country of settlement. However, refugee communities are often politically divided and find it hard to create viable ethnic organizations. This dilemma is highlighted by results obtained from an ethnographic field study of Kurdish refugees in London. The British case is of special interest, since the refugee resettlement policy is characterized by a tendency to emphasize the role of the ‘local community’. The article discusses whether the politicization of the Kurdish associations in London has been a help or a hindrance for the creation of refugee assistance organizations. It is argued that, although there is no cohesive Kurdish community, the refugees have been able to establish well-functioning organizations of a more limited nature. In this process the political activism of the Kurdish refugees has been a resource rather than an obstacle.

Land reform, land scarcity and post-conflict reconstruction: A case study of Rwanda

by Chris Huggins

Land in return, reintegration and recovery processes: some lessons from the Great Lakes Region of Africa

by Chris Huggins

The Lost Boys of Sudan: Ambiguous Loss,

by Deborah J. Johnson

The Lost Boys of Sudan were separated from their families by civil war and subsequently lived in 3 other more The Lost Boys of Sudan were separated from their families by civil war and subsequently lived in 3 other
countries—Ethiopia, Kenya, and the United States. In-depth interviews were conducted with 10 refugees who
located surviving family members in Sudan after an average separation of 13.7 years. The interviews probed their
experiences of ambiguous loss, relationships in the refugee camps, the search for family, and reestablishing relationships
with family members living on another continent. With guidance from elders, peer groups functioned as surrogate
families until the youth reestablished relationships with surviving members of their biological families.