Reasons for and against Accepting Refugees

No Refuge ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 76-98
Author(s):  
Serena Parekh
Keyword(s):  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Ethical Question ◽  
Moral Obligations ◽  
The West ◽  
Philosophical Debate ◽  
Opposing View ◽  
Moral Arguments ◽  
Refugees And Asylum Seekers ◽  
Asylum Seekers And Refugees

For most people in the West, whether or not we should accept refugees, either by offering them asylum or through resettlement, is the key ethical question. But precisely why states have obligations to take in refugees is often less clear. This chapter discusses the philosophical debate surrounding states’ moral obligations to asylum seekers and refugees. The chapter explores three moral arguments for allowing refugees and asylum seekers into our countries, in fairly high, though not unlimited, numbers. But it also engages with the opposing view and shows why some believe our obligations to refugees do not necessarily include resettlement or asylum. This chapter helps people on opposing sides of the debate understand each other’s perspectives.

Refugee and asylum seekers’ experiences

2021 ◽  
pp. 281-290
Author(s):  
Rachel Tribe ◽  
Angelina Jalonen
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Coping Strategies ◽  
Lived Experience ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Meaning Making ◽  
Service Users ◽  
And Coping ◽  
Refugees And Asylum Seekers ◽  
Asylum Seekers And Refugees

This chapter reviews the socio-political environment and legal factors that provide the context and influence the lived experience of many refugees and asylum seekers. These factors are considered in relation to flight, arrival, and settlement in a new country. How these contextual factors may impact upon refugees and asylum seekers, their sense of identity, and mental health will be reviewed. The chapter reflects upon the possible challenges faced by many refugees and asylum seekers, as well as arguing that the strengths, resilience, and coping strategies that many asylum seekers and refugees exhibit need to be adequately considered by clinicians, if a meaningful service is to be provided. The importance of clinicians being culturally curious and listening to service users’ meaning-making is vital. An overview of some other issues that clinicians may need to consider is provided. The chapter contains a number of case studies to illustrate the related issues.

Arranging and negotiating the use of informal interpreters in general practice consultations: Experiences of refugees and asylum seekers in the west of Ireland

2009 ◽  
Vol 69 (2) ◽  
pp. 210-214 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne MacFarlane ◽  
Zhanna Dzebisova ◽  
Dmitri Karapish ◽  
Bosiljka Kovacevic ◽  
Florence Ogbebor ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
General Practice ◽  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
The West ◽  
Refugees And Asylum Seekers ◽  
West Of Ireland

scholarly journals The expected well-being of urban refugees and asylum-seekers in Johannesburg

2016 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 232-248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Talita Greyling
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Refugee Status ◽  
Urban Refugees ◽  
Number Of Factors ◽  
Forced Migrants ◽  
Refugees And Asylum Seekers ◽  
Asylum Seekers And Refugees

The influx of asylum-seekers and refugees from across Africa into democratic South Africa has increased significantly. The aim of this paper is to determine the factors that influences the expect well-being of this unique group. Expected well-being is an important determinant of both the decision to migrate and the choice of a country of destination. Knowledge about this determinant therefore informs refugee policies. The results show that only a few of the factors found in the literature explaining the expected well-being of voluntary migrants also explain the expected well-being of forced migrants. However, a number of factors found in the literature that explain the subjective well-being and well-being in general of refugees and asylum-seekers also went towards explaining the expected well-being of this group. These factors include: government assistance, culture, the time spent in South Africa, economic factors, crime, refugee status, reasons for leaving the home countries and the number of people staying in a house in the receiving country. The findings of this study emphasise the differences between forced and voluntary migrants and highlight the factors that influence the expected well-being of forced migrants. These in turn shed light on migration decisions and the choice of destination countries.

scholarly journals Asylum seekers’ and Refugees’ Changing Health (ARCH) study protocol: an observational study in Lebanon and Denmark to assess health implications of long-distance migration on communicable and non-communicable diseases and mental health

BMJ Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. e034412 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Halgreen Eiset ◽  
Michaelangelo P Aoun ◽  
Ramzi S Haddad ◽  
Wadih J Naja ◽  
Kurt Fuursted ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Dried Blood Spots ◽  
Access To Healthcare ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Health Screenings ◽  
Refugees And Asylum Seekers ◽  
Asylum Seekers And Refugees

IntroductionBy end of 2018, the European Union countries hosted approximately 2.5 million refugees and Lebanon alone hosted more than 1 million. The majority of refugees worldwide came from Syria. The prevailing study design in published studies on asylum seekers’ and refugees’ health leaves a number of fundamental research questions unanswerable. In the Asylum seekers’ and Refugees’ Changing Health (ARCH) study, we examine the health of a homogeneous group of refugees and asylum seekers in two very different host countries with very different migration histories. We aim to study the health impact of the migration process, living conditions, access to healthcare, gene–environment interactions and the health transition.Methods and analysisARCH is an international multisite study of the health of adult (>18 years old) Syrian refugees and asylum seekers in Lebanon and Denmark. Using a standardised framework, we collect information on mental and physical health using validated scales and biological samples. We aim to include 220 participants in Danish asylum centres and 1100 participants in Lebanese refugee camps and settlements. We will use propensity score weights to control for confounding and multiple imputation to handle missing data.Ethics and disseminationEthical approval has been obtained in Lebanon and Denmark. In the short term, we will present the cross-sectional association between long-distance migration and the results of the throat and wound swab, blood and faeces samples and mental health screenings. In the longer term, we are planning to follow the refugees in Denmark with collection of dried blood spots, mental health screenings and semistructured qualitative interviews on the participant’s health and access to healthcare in the time lived in Denmark. Here, we present an overview of the background for the ARCH study as well as a thorough description of the methodology.

scholarly journals Offshore Processing of Asylum Seekers – Is Australia Complying With Its International Legal Obligations

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Jane Archbold
Keyword(s):  
Papua New Guinea ◽  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
New Guinea ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Legal Obligations ◽  
The People ◽  
Strong Deterrent ◽  
Refugees And Asylum Seekers ◽  
Asylum Seekers And Refugees

<em>Australia has a number of international legal obligations in relation to asylum seekers and refugees. In the scheme of things, the number of asylum seekers and refugees who attempt to reach Australia by sea without a valid visa is relatively small. Since 2012, Australia has restored its legal framework of processing asylum seekers and refugees who arrive by sea offshore in Papua New Guinea and Nauru. There are a number of concerns with the treatment of asylum seekers and refugees at these offshore processing centres, highlighting concerns Australia is not complying with its international legal obligations. The primary justification of the current policies has been that a strong deterrent is required to deter the people-smuggling trade. However, the deterrent justification lacks evidence to support it, and is unable to justify breaches of some of the most fundamental obligations owed to refugees and asylum seekers.</em>

scholarly journals The experiences of an African woman seeking refuge in Canada

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Holita
Keyword(s):  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Legal Status ◽  
Favorable Outcome ◽  
African Woman ◽  
The West ◽  
Refugee Convention ◽  
The Us ◽  
Free Movement Of Goods ◽  
Refugees And Asylum Seekers ◽  
Insight Into

This research paper provides insight into the experiences and challenges that asylum seekers go through in their quest to obtain legal status in countries in the West. Even though countries like Canada, the US, UK and Australia are signatories to the 1951 Refugee Convention, this paper attempts to show that these countries are not adhering to the principles of the Convention when it comes to the issues of those labelled as asylum seekers or refugees. My paper focuses specifically on the challenges and the experiences that those with these labels go through, from the ways employed into the attempts to negotiate borders to ways that will provide a favorable outcome from the Immigration and Refugee Board. Further, the study strives to highlight that governments of the West are violating the mobility rights of refugees and asylum seekers in favor of corporations and the free movement of goods.

scholarly journals Negara Maritim Indonesia, Migrasi Tidak Teratur, dan Hak Pengungsi Lintas Batas

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (02) ◽  
pp. 48
Author(s):  
Nurul Azizah Zayzda ◽  
Sri Wijayanti
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
International System ◽  
Nation State ◽  
Irregular Migration ◽  
Main Route ◽  
Transit Country ◽  
Humanitarian Crises ◽  
Refugees And Asylum Seekers ◽  
Asylum Seekers And Refugees

AbstrakMakalah ini membahas kebijakan Indonesia sebagai sebuah negara maritim dalam menghadapi persoalan migrasi tidak teratur, khususnya disini yang berdampak pada pencari suaka dan pengungsi lintas batas. Isu migrasi tidak teratur masih merupakan persoalan yang dihadapi oleh negara maritim yang memiliki akses terbuka berupa laut yang menjadi jalur utama perjalanan migran menuju negara tujuan. Sebagai negara yang terletak di jalur pelayaran utama dunia, di tengah tengah benua Australia dan Asia, Indonesia seringkali dihadapkan pada persoalan ini dimana Indonesia menjadi jalur atau negara transit pengungsi dan pencari suaka yang kebanyakan datang dari wilayah Timur Tengah dan Asia Selatan. Menurut data UNHCR, saat ini terdapat sekitar 13 ribu pengungsi dan pencari suaka di Indonesia, dan jumlah ini meningkat dari tahun-tahun sebelumnya. Indonesia sebagai negara maritim memiliki prinsip bahwa kepulauan dan kelautan Indonesia merupakan satuan pertahanan dan keamanan Indonesia (Zen, 2000, dikutip dari Geomagz, 2016). Namun penting untuk lebih jauh melihat bagaimana prinsip ini memandang hak asasi manusia dalam isu krisis kemanusiaan seperti pengungsi lintas batas dan pencari suaka. Makalah ini bertujuan untuk menjelaskan bagaimana karakter kemaritiman yang diambil Indonesia berpengaruh terhadap cara Indonesia menyikapi pengungsi lintas batas yang melakukan perjalanan dengan penyelundupan manusia. Makalah ini dibatasi lebih lanjut kepada bentuk kerjasama internasional untuk menangani penyelundupalajan manusia yang diinisiasi oleh atau melibatkan Indonesia. Dari sini kemudian ditarik kesimpulan mengenai hambatan pemenuhan hak pengungsi lintas batas dalam sistem internasional yang berdasarkan kedaulatan negara-bangsa.Kata-kata kunci: negara maritim, penyelundupan manusia, hak-hak pengungsi lintas batas, pencari suaka. AbstractThis paper discusses the policy of Indonesia as a maritime country in addressing the issue of irregular migration, especially that impact on asylum seekers and refugees. The issue of irregular migration is still faced by maritime nations that have open access in the form of sea which became the main route of migrant journey to the destination country. As a country located in the world's major shipping lanes, in the middle of the continent of Australia and Asia, Indonesia is often faced with this problem given that Indonesia is a transit country of refugees and asylum seekers mostly from the Middle East and South Asia. According to data from UNHCR, there are currently about 13 thousand refugees and asylum seekers in Indonesia, and this number increased from previous years. Indonesia as a maritime country has a principle that Indonesia is an archipelago while maritime is part of its defense and security unit (Zen, 2000, cited from Geomagz, 2016). However it is important to further see how this principle oversees the issue of human rights in humanitarian crises such as refugees and asylum seekers.This paper aims to explain how the maritime character of Indonesia affects its ways to address refugee travel with people smuggling. This paper is further limited to the forms of international cooperation to tackle human smuggling initiated by or involving Indonesia. The obstacles to meet the refugee rights in the international system that is based on the sovereignty of the nation-state is then concluded.

scholarly journals Refugees and Asylum Seekers Dispersed in Non-Metropolitan French Cities: Do Housing Opportunities Mean Housing Access?

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 138-149
Author(s):  
Camille Gardesse ◽  
Christine Lelevrier
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Diversity ◽  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Small Towns ◽  
State Agencies ◽  
Social Mix ◽  
Local Practices ◽  
Refugees And Asylum Seekers ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
Asylum Seekers And Refugees ◽  
Temporary Accommodation

Since 2015, policies for resettling asylum seekers and refugees in European cities have renewed the debate over the governance of migration, while not only metropolises but also small towns and mid-sized cities emerge as, although not new, at least specific arrival spaces. National dispersion policies are assigning these asylum seekers and refugees to small and mid-sized cities that are presumed to provide housing opportunities. However, little is known about access to housing and residential trajectories in these specific urban and socio-economic contexts. This article analyses how the housing providers—either state agencies, managers of temporary accommodation centres or social housing organisations—are adjusting to the arrival and needs of asylum seekers and refugees in cities where there is usually less ethnic diversity. We demonstrate that access to housing and residential trajectories tends to be determined by dispersion and mainstream social mix policies, from national to local arrangements. However, we argue that some pragmatic local practices have reframed this pattern to provide housing solutions that may be contrary to national policies. Our article will be based on 84 in-depth interviews conducted with housing providers, NGOs and with asylum seekers and refugees in three small and mid-sized French cities.

scholarly journals The experiences of an African woman seeking refuge in Canada

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Holita
Keyword(s):  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Legal Status ◽  
Favorable Outcome ◽  
African Woman ◽  
The West ◽  
Refugee Convention ◽  
The Us ◽  
Free Movement Of Goods ◽  
Refugees And Asylum Seekers ◽  
Insight Into

This research paper provides insight into the experiences and challenges that asylum seekers go through in their quest to obtain legal status in countries in the West. Even though countries like Canada, the US, UK and Australia are signatories to the 1951 Refugee Convention, this paper attempts to show that these countries are not adhering to the principles of the Convention when it comes to the issues of those labelled as asylum seekers or refugees. My paper focuses specifically on the challenges and the experiences that those with these labels go through, from the ways employed into the attempts to negotiate borders to ways that will provide a favorable outcome from the Immigration and Refugee Board. Further, the study strives to highlight that governments of the West are violating the mobility rights of refugees and asylum seekers in favor of corporations and the free movement of goods.

scholarly journals Refugees and asylum seekers in Portugal: an assessment and the case of LGBTI individuals

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nuno Ferreira
Keyword(s):  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Legal Scholarship ◽  
Academic Literature ◽  
Refugee Law ◽  
Migration History ◽  
Short Piece ◽  
Refugees And Asylum Seekers ◽  
Asylum Seekers And Refugees

Portugal’s migration history has been extensively explored in academic literature, including in legal scholarship. Yet, very little attention has so far been directed towards Portuguese refugee law. This may be due to the relatively low number of asylum seekers that Portugal receives, but that does not justify neglecting the study of the Portuguese socio-legal framework applicable to asylum seekers and refugees. This short piece summarises the findings of an article that addresses this gap by analyzing the framework in a European context, enhancing the analysis with a case study of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual, and intersex (LGBTI) asylum seekers. The analysis explores the evolution of the current legal framework, the procedures and remedies available to asylum seekers, the substantive standards applied in decision-making, and the broader socio-legal resources offered to asylum seekers. Several shortcomings and possible avenues of improvement are also identified.

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