scholarly journals Young refugees’ and asylum seekers’ career choices: a qualitative investigation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurence Fedrigo ◽  
Shagini Udayar ◽  
Cecilia Toscanelli ◽  
Eva Clot-Siegrist ◽  
Federico Durante ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Career Choices ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Professional Integration ◽  
Career Plans ◽  
Life Trajectories ◽  
Integration Program ◽  
French Speaking ◽  
Refugees And Asylum Seekers ◽  
Social And Professional Integration

AbstractA major challenge for refugees and asylum seekers is social and professional integration. Using constructivist and capability approaches, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 14 young refugees and asylum seekers enrolled in an integration program in French-speaking Switzerland about their career choices. Following consensual qualitative and phenomenological approaches, we focused on their life trajectories (the situation in their home country, triggers behind their flight, arrival in Switzerland) and their current situation (resources and barriers). From their career plans, interests, and values, we formed three profiles (the vocation seekers, the altruists, and the work lovers) to characterize how they constructed their careers.

scholarly journals Between City and Nation of Sanctuary: Examining the Political Geographies of Asylum and Hospitality in Wales

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Franz Bernhardt
Keyword(s):  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Nation State ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Archival Material ◽  
Territorial Unit ◽  
State Administration ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Refugees And Asylum Seekers ◽  
First Time ◽  
Critical Literature

In response to what has been called the European ‘refugee crisis’ in 2015, the Welsh Government committed that Wales should become the world’s first Nation of Sanctuary through building a culture of welcome and hospitality. This was an interesting moment given that Wales does not have direct responsibility for British borders. Considering the urban origins of the sanctuary movement, this was also the first-time a (devolved) state administration adopted this vocabulary to frame their relation to refugees and asylum seekers. What might it mean, in practice and in theory, for Wales to declare itself a ‘Nation of Sanctuary’? What are the theoretical and political imaginaries of sanctuary, national identity and hospitality at work in this context? What are their historical precedents? And how do they relate to political responses to the crisis across the UK and Europe? This thesis examines what the idea of a Welsh Nation of Sanctuary means, what it does, and how the discourses and narratives of a ‘Nation of Sanctuary’ provide new ways of revisiting the metaphor of hospitality, and its role in sovereign framings of migration. While the critical literature on migration and the sanctuary movement explored the limits of hospitality as a framing response to the exclusionary politics of asylum, this thesis argues that this national sanctuary discourse is also used to challenge a sovereign nation-state on the expectations of what it entails to ‘be a host’ to refugees and asylum seekers. Drawing on semi-structured interviews, archival material and documents from the Welsh and British government, this thesis argues that this new national sanctuary framing creates a second othering. Here, a subnational or devolved territorial unit creates national self-imaginaries through a politics of differentiation against the sovereign nation-state, with regards to the exclusionary politics of asylum.

scholarly journals Impact of sexual violence on disclosure during Home Office interviews

2007 ◽  
Vol 191 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-81 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diana Bögner ◽  
Jane Herlihy ◽  
Chris R. Brewin
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Violence ◽  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Personal Information ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Home Office ◽  
Stress Symptoms ◽  
History Of ◽  
Refugees And Asylum Seekers

BackgroundLate disclosure or nondisclosure during Home Office interviews is commonly cited as a reason to doubt an asylum seeker's credibility, but disclosure may be affected by other factors.AimsTo determine whether and how sexual violence affects asylum seekers' disclosure of personal information during Home Office interviews.MethodTwenty-seven refugees and asylum seekers were interviewed using semi-structured interviews and self-report measures.ResultsThe majority of participants reported difficulties in disclosing. Those with a history of sexual violence reported more difficulties in disclosing personal information during Home Office interviews, were more likely to dissociate during these interviews and scored significantly higher on measures of posttraumatic stress symptoms and shame than those with a history of non-sexual violence.ConclusionsThe results indicate the importance of shame, dissociation and psychopathology in disclosure and support the need for immigration procedures sensitive to these issues. Judgments that late disclosure is indicative of a fabricated asylum claim must take into account the possibility of factors related to sexual violence and the circumstances of the interview process itself.

Infectious-disease Screening and Vaccination for Refugees and Asylum Seekers Entering Europe in 2015–16: A Scoping Study of Six European Union Countries

2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (Special_Issue_1) ◽  
pp. i92-i104
Author(s):  
Pierluca Piselli ◽  
Mariya Samuilova ◽  
Kayvan Bozorgmehr ◽  
Giuseppe Ippolito ◽  
Roumyana Petrova-Benedict ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Intestinal Parasites ◽  
Virus Infections ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Health Service Provision ◽  
Adult Vaccination ◽  
Provision Of Services ◽  
Refugees And Asylum Seekers ◽  
And Control

Abstract In 2015, more than 1 million asylum seekers and refugees arrived in Europe. Information on how European countries addressed the prevention and control of infectious diseases among these populations during and after this period is limited. This study is based on 27 semi-structured interviews conducted with first-line staff and health officials in May–June 2016 in first-entry countries (Greece/Italy), transit countries (Croatia/Slovenia) and destination countries (Austria/Sweden). Characteristics of health-service provision for infectious diseases at each stage of reception, with a focus on tuberculosis, viral hepatitis, intestinal parasites and human immunodeficiency virus infections, were investigated. No major differences in the provision of services in accordance with migration status (asylum seekers vs refugees) were reported. At arrival, interventions were focused on addressing emerging health needs and no major barriers to accessing acute hospital care for infectious diseases were reported. There were shortcomings in interventions to tackle medium- to long-term needs with respect to infectious diseases, including screening for chronic treatable infections and adult vaccination. European evidence-based guidance highlighting the most relevant interventions for infectious diseases during the reception process is needed.

scholarly journals Eritrean Refugees’ and Asylum-Seekers’ Attitude towards and Access to Oral Healthcare in Heidelberg, Germany: A Qualitative Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (21) ◽  
pp. 11559
Author(s):  
Yonas Kidane ◽  
Sandra Ziegler ◽  
Verena Keck ◽  
Janine Benson-Martin ◽  
Albrecht Jahn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Oral Health ◽  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Dental Care ◽  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Dental Treatment ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
Oral Health Care ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Refugees And Asylum Seekers

Oral health concerns in Eritrean refugees have been an overlooked subject. This qualitative study explored the access of Eritrean refugees and asylum-seekers (ERNRAS) to oral health care services in Heidelberg, Germany, as well as their perceptions and attitudes towards oral health care. It involved 25 participants. We employed online semi-structured interviews (n = 15) and focus group discussions (n = 2). The data was recorded, transcribed, and analysed, using thematic analysis. The study found out that most of the participants have a relatively realistic perception and understanding of oral health. However, they have poor dental care practices, whilst a few have certain misconceptions of the conventional oral hygiene tools. Along with the majority’s concerns regarding psychosocial attributes of poor oral health, some participants are routinely consuming Berbere (a traditional spice-blended pepper) to prevent bad breath. Structural or supply-side barriers to oral healthcare services included: communication hurdles; difficulty in identifying and navigating the German health system; gaps in transculturally, professionally, and communicationally competent oral health professionals; cost of dental treatment; entitlement issues (asylum-seekers); and appointment mechanisms. Individual or demand-side barriers comprised: lack of self-sufficiency; issue related to dental care beliefs, trust, and expectation from dentists; negligence and lack of adherence to dental treatment follow-up; and fear or apprehension of dental treatment. To address the oral health burdens of ERNRAS, it is advised to consider oral health education, language-specific, inclusive, and culturally and professionally appropriate healthcare services.

Being (co-)present: Reflecting the personal and public spheres of asylum seeking in relation to connectivity

Ethnography ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 146613812090734
Author(s):  
Claudia Lintner
Keyword(s):  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Public Spaces ◽  
Information And Communications Technology ◽  
Structural Level ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Public Spheres ◽  
Personal Use ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Refugees And Asylum Seekers ◽  
Action Spaces

This article links the personal use/meaning of information and communications technology for refugees and asylum seekers with their visibility/invisibility in public spaces. More precisely, it gives insights into how the personal and public spheres of asylum seeking interrelate when discussing connectivity. In doing so, I discuss the following research questions: How is connectivity embedded in refugees and asylum seekers’ everyday practices? And in addition, in which ways does this personal dimension interact with the public (structural level), given their increased presence in public spaces? In order to respond to the research questions, a qualitative-ethnographic approach was chosen for this study by adopting different research methods: Participatory observations, semi-structured interviews, expert interviews, and document analysis. Such an approach is fundamental to avoid a media-centric analysis without accounting for offline contextual lives, power relations, and experiences. As the results show the meaning of connectivity within the asylum experience raises a public as well as a personal dimension. As such the meaning of the Internet is based on the agency of asylum seekers given restricted access to public spaces and social support offline. Thus, the results reveal that both Internet access and experiences of transnationalism/displacement constitute and configure connectivity. Following this line of argument, connectivity widely compensates for the spaces of action, spaces of learning, spaces of interaction, and spaces for information that are missing offline, in the process of emplacing themselves in a new environment.

scholarly journals The value and meaning of a community drop-in service for asylum seekers and refugees

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-45
Author(s):  
Hannah Catherine Spring ◽  
Fiona Katherine Howlett ◽  
Claire Connor ◽  
Ashton Alderson ◽  
Joe Antcliff ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Service Development ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Health And Social Care ◽  
Refugees And Asylum Seekers ◽  
Asylum Seekers And Refugees

Purpose Asylum seekers and refugees experience substantial barriers to successful transition to a new society. The purpose of this paper is to explore the value and meaning of a community drop-in service offering social support for refugees and asylum seekers in the northeast of England and to identify the occupational preferences of the service users. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative approach using semi-structured interviews was conducted with refugees and asylum seekers using a community drop-in service. In total, 18 people participated from ten countries. Data were analysed using interpretive phenomenological analysis. Findings The value and meaning of the service was expressed through four key areas: the need to experience a sense of community; being able to make an altruistic contribution within the community; the need for societal integration; and having the opportunity to engage in meaningful and productive occupations. Practical implications Community and altruism have profound cultural meaning for asylum seekers and refugees and the need to integrate, belong and contribute is paramount to successful resettlement. Community-based drop-in services can aid this at deep, culturally relevant levels. This study may inform policy and practice development, future service development and highlight potential opportunities for health and social care services provision amongst this growing population. Originality/value To date there are no studies that provide empirical evidence on how community-based drop-in services for refugees and asylum seekers are received. This study provides a cultural insight into the deeper value and meaning of such services, and is particularly relevant for professionals in all sectors who are working with asylum seekers and refugees.

Overcoming the deficiency of refugee mental health research

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristina Kalfic ◽  
Glenn Mitchell ◽  
Lezanne Ooi ◽  
Sibylle Schwab ◽  
Natalie Matosin
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Health Research ◽  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Scientific Discovery ◽  
Mental Health Research ◽  
Psychiatric Research ◽  
Risk And Resilience ◽  
Refugee Mental Health ◽  
Refugees And Asylum Seekers

The growing number of refugees and asylum seekers are one of the most significant global challenges of this generation. We are currently witnessing the highest level of displacement in history, with over 65 million displaced people in the world. Refugees and asylum seekers are at higher risk to develop mental illness due to their trauma and chronic stress exposures, and particularly post-migration stressors. Yet global and Australian psychiatric research in this area is greatly lacking, particularly with respect to our understanding of the molecular underpinnings of risk and resilience to mental illness in traumatised populations. In this Viewpoint, we explore the reasons behind the lack of refugee mental health research and use this context to propose new ways forward. We believe that scientific discovery performed with a multidisciplinary approach will provide the broad evidence-base required to improve refugee mental health. This will also allow us to work towards the removal of damaging policies that prolong and potentiate mental health deterioration among refugees and asylum seekers, which impacts not only on the individuals but also host countries’ social, economic and healthcare systems.

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