Thesis (M.A. (Psychology))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Humanities, School of Human & Community Development, 2016 / Children often serve daily as language brokers for migrant families in the foreign context of host countries (Morales & Hanson, 2005). Although this is a reality for migrant families around the world, the phenomenon and migrant children continue to be invisible in research (Orellana, 2009). Dehumanization and subtle, daily xenophobic attitudes in the complex linguistic landscape of multilingual South Africa have created the need for children to interpret for parents and other family members even where the common lingua franca of English is shared and is the recognised official medium of communication. The perceived superiority of English and the arrogant dominance of English speakers (Achebe, 2006) have been associated with the new elite of black South Africans who speak fluent English and by extension, black migrant English speakers are similarly perceived as asserting dominance through their dependence on English. Analysing narratives of migrant families, this research project yields that the continual resistance to the English language and other non-South African vernaculars is interlinked with and seems to perpetuate xenophobic attitudes and dehumanization. The anxiety for adult migrants who do not speak local languages is often dealt with by child language brokers who mediate for their parents and other migrants in multiple spaces including informal (e.g. taxis, streets, shops etc.) to more formal spaces such as hospitals and schools. Playing this role suggests adult responsibility for the child, with a possible impact on family dynamics and relations. Although negative feelings of embarrassment are often experienced by parents, these were outweighed by a sense of pride for children being able to help their families, and the sense of security the family feels because of the children’s linguistic capabilities. Traditional family dynamics and roles do not seem to be significantly altered or negatively impacted by children taking on unconventionally ‘adult roles’. Having acculturated faster, understanding the language rules, politics and consequences of not speaking local languages, this research suggests that brokers function for the benefit of the family and use their skills to reduce anxiety related to xenophobic attitudes and dehumanization against parents and peers particularly when moving between spaces, for example, between home and school or work. / GR2017

Ce travail a été réalisé en Hongrie entre 2014 et 2017, un pays souvent considéré comme« pays de transit » pour les demandeurs d’asile et les mineurs isolés étrangers. Ce pays dont les frontières étaient difficiles à franchir pendant les années du communisme doit faire face à une vague de demandeurs d’asile de plus en plus importante. Après le début des années 2000, le nombre de demandeurs d’asile a augmenté de manière considérable et la même tendance peut être constatée concernant les mineurs isolés étrangers, dont une nombre considérable sur la région d’Europe Centre-Est est accueilli en Hongrie. La présente recherche a pour but d’identifier les voies de résilience, que de jeunes réfugiés, le plus souvent arrivés comme mineurs non accompagnés, construisent dans un pays avec un contexte politique difficile. Ce travail propose également une aperçu historique et critique des approches théorico-cliniques du trauma et de la résilience. Cette dernière notion sera examinée par rapport à la situation de réfugié. En fonction de la quasi absence de recherches sur les jeunes réfugiés en Hongrie, nous considérons ce travail comme une étude exploratoire. Cette recherche s’appuie en particulier sur l’analyse qualitative des entretiens semi-structurés réalisés auprès de 13 jeunes réfugiés âgés de 18 à 24 ans ayant obtenu l’asile. Les catégories d’analyse qui émergent sont obtenues de manière inductive en fonction de la méthode de la Théorie Ancrée (Grounded Theory). Outre l’analyse approfondie des entretiens de recherche avec les jeunes réfugiés, ce travail inclut le compte-rendu de plusieurs séjours de terrain, des entretiens réalisés auprès des professionnels impliqués dans l’accompagnement des jeunes ainsi que l’analyse d’une observation participante du chercheur pendant la crise migratoire. En complément de l’analyse nous avons utilisé un codage des entretiens avec le logiciel NVivo 11 Pro. Nous avons identifié sept catégories : Différences entre « ici » et « là-bas », Caractéristiques individuelles, Avenir, Trouver sa place au pays d’accueil est important, Tout est difficile dans la vie si tu es réfugié, Souffrance psychologique, Relations Sociales. Certaines sous-catégories attirent l’attention comme facteurs de protection importants, encore peu étudiés tel que le rôle du sport ou celui des petites amies et de leurs familles issues du pays d’accueil. Dans la lignée de précédentes études, les résultats suggèrent que la plupart des facteurs associés à la résilience dépendent du contexte, et comportent des aspects négatifs aussi bien que positifs (religion, éducation, orientation vers l’avenir). En accord avec Ni2Raghallaigh et Gilligan (2010), on peut conclure que catégoriser les jeunes réfugiés de façon binaire, comme vulnérables où résilients apparaît trop simplificateur. En outre, certaines sous-catégories semblent indiquer la présence d’éléments spécifiques au contexte du pays d’accueil. Bien que ceux-ci nécessitent davantage de recherche, elles soulignent l’interaction entre les facteurs environnementaux et individuels. Les résultats de recherche complétés par une analyse détaillée du contexte socio-culturel et historique attirent l’attention sur les spécificités du pays d’accueil comme un contexte à multiples facettes ayant un impact sur la manière dont les voies de résilience se construisent. Sans être généralisable cette étude nous ouvre des perspectives pour de nouvelles recherches. / This study was completed in Hungary between 2014 and 2017. Hungary is considered a transit country for asylum seekers and unaccompanied minors. While the country's borders were strictly controlled during the communist era, asylum seekers began arriving in the country in the post-communist period and from the early 2000's, the number of asylum seekers has increased considerably. A parallel trend can be observed in the number of whom are hosted by Hungary. This research aims to identify how young refugees, most of whom arrived as accompanied minors, form their pathways of resilience in the difficult political context of Hungary. Trauma and resilience served as conceptual frameworks for this study, wich begins with a theoretical-clinical overview of aforementioned concepts. Thes are also challenged in the study. The author attempts to define the notion of resilience in the specific context of refuge. Given the fact that very little is known about the psychological wellbeing of young refugees in Hungary, this research qualifies as an exploratory study. For this reason, a Grounded Theory approach was use to gain data inductively from the analysis of 13 interviews, wich were completed with young refugees between the ages of 18 and 24. Furthermore, the study includes field studies and interviews completed with professionals working in the sector, as well as the summary of the participatory observation the autor took part in during the refugees crisis in Hungary [...].

There is symbiosis between theatre and belonging. This thesis examines the ways in which a sense of belonging can be more effectively facilitated for adult refugees, asylum seekers, migrants and their families through drama practices rooted in a relational ethic of care. Findings engendered by practice-based research projects in the London Boroughs of Hackney, Barking and Dagenham and Redbridge are articulated by this thesis. These projects, carried out between 2008 and 2010, were framed as creative approaches to English language learning and were developed in partnership with the charities Lifeline Projects and the Open Doors Project. They modelled access for all regardless of age or English speaking ability, focusing on participant-centred play and improvisation. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, the impact of UK government policy on the lived experience of refugees, asylum seekers and migrants and their negative representation across different media has resulted in a need to develop alternative strategies for support that work in conjunction with agencies and voluntary sector organisations and fulfil a need for a sense of belonging from their clients. My methodologies have included practice-based research, interviews with participants and other practitioners and reading across the fields of performance studies, relational ethics, psychology and education. I identify ‘practice’ in practice-based research as professional practice consonant with the fields of health and social care. The theoretical frameworks I am working within include: Brown’s (2010) definition of genuine belonging; Pettersen’s (2008) mature, reciprocal care; Maslow’s (1954) hierarchy of need; Krashen’s (1983) theory of adult second language acquisition and Thompson’s (2009) argument for the radical potential of joy and beauty. The thesis addresses the need for a greater understanding of the practices which generate authentic belonging in drama and second language education outside a formal education context.

Focusing on humanitarian aid to refugees in the Nyarugusu Refugee Camp in Western Tanzania, this dissertation argues that humanitarianism has shifted from the care of the bodily and immediate material needs to a form of moral care inflected by contemporary human rights discourse. The camp, in operation for over 17 years, became the site of a pedagogical intervention aimed at teaching refugees human rights. Informed by essentialist understandings of Congolese culture, aid agencies enforce a version of human rights in which only women’s rights are human rights. Refugees respond to this in a variety of ways, by contesting, appropriating, or exiting the framework of rights entirely. In reading human rights discourse as a site for an anthropology of ethics, this dissertation argues against simply understanding humanitarian confinement in terms of biopolitics, and looks to black feminist theorizations of the “human” to gesture beyond human rights. It shows how Nyarugusu residents make claims based on bodily vulnerability to decolonize the “human” of “human rights,” and how, in doing so, they point us towards a politics of vulnerability grounded in an ethics of sincerity.

Not long ago, Venezuela was considered the wealthiest in Latin America. Today, Human Rights Watch estimates that 2.3 million Venezuelan refugees are scattered through the Americas. Imagine having to leave your home with just a few possessions. The world is currently witnessing a wave of mass migration, with nearly 65 million people being displaced because of war or persecution, and an even higher number migrating from poverty. This thesis uses design to visually articulate the personal narratives surrounding the struggles of flight and the significance of emotion to the debate on migrant identity, acculturation, and the perception of being the other, focusing on the current displacement crisis in Venezuela. The visual message making process of graphic design is used as a catalyst for social good with the intent to create a conversation and generate an experience and that promotes advocacy. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.F.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2019. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Prompted by international ramifications of Jewish migration from Nazi Germany, President Franklin D. Roosevelt called a world conference on refugees in March 1938. The conference, held at Evian, France, in July, established the Intergovernmental Committee on Political Refugees. The committee, led by American diplomats, sought relaxation of Germany's discriminatory practices against Jews and tried, without success, to resettle German Jews abroad. World War II ended the committee's efforts to achieve systematic immigration from Germany. The American, British, and German diplomatic papers contain the most thorough chronicle of American involvement in the refugee crisis. Memoirs and presidential public papers provide insight into Roosevelt's motivations for calling the conference. Although efforts to rescue German Jews failed, the refugee crisis introduced Americans to intervention in Europe.

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El Salvador, the smallest and the most densely populated state in the region of Central America, was gripped by a civil war in the 1980s that resulted in the exodus of more than a million people. This thesis explores the causes that led to the exodus. The thesis is divided into two parts. The first part contains a historical and theoretical analysis of El Salvador from the time of conquest until the 1980s. An examination of the historical background of the socio-economic and political conflict in El Salvador during this period sets the scene for an account of the mass exodus of Salvadorans in the 1980s. The second part of the thesis involves a qualitative study of Salvadoran refugees, which concentrates on their experiences before and after arriving in Australia. The study explores both the reasons for the Salvadorans’ becoming refugees and their resettlement in Melbourne. In an effort to explain some of the reasons for the socio-economic and political conflict in El Salvador in the 1980s, some concepts and ideas from different theoretical perspectives are utilized: modernisation theory, world-systems theory, dependency theory, elite theory, Foco theory of revolution and economic rationalism. The historical account covers the period from the expansion of the European world economy in the 16th century up to the political conflict of the 1980s. When the Salvadorans began to arrive in Melbourne, the micro-economic agenda in Australia was based on economic rationalism. This shifted the focus away from the state and onto a market-based approach that emphasised vigorous competition and fore grounded a non-collective social framework. The changes to policies in the welfare and immigration areas resulting from this shift are examined for their impact on the resettlement experiences of Salvadoran refugees. The United States foreign policy is also delineated because of the impact it had on the political, economic and social situation in El Salvador. The thesis focused on the time-period from the 1823 Monroe Doctrine to the era of the Cold War of ‘containment of communism’. The Catholic Church has also played a major influence in the political, social and religious life of Salvadorans. The changes that occurred in the post-1965 renewal of the Catholic Church were influential in the political struggles in El Salvador. The second part of the thesis involves a qualitative research study of a small group of 14 Salvadoran refugees. Participants were selected from different professional, educational and socioeconomic backgrounds. The study examines their flight from El Salvador, their arrival in Australia and their long-term experiences of resettlement. Tracking the experiences of refugees over a considerable period of time has seldom been the focus of a research study in Australia. The Salvadorans have been under-researched and no longitudinal studies have been conducted. The Salvadorans who took part in the study became refugees for diverse reasons ranging from political/religious reasons to random repression but certainly not for economic reasons. Their past experiences have influenced their resettlement in Australia and their attempts to build their lives anew have been fraught with difficulties. The difficulties in acquiring a working knowledge of the English language have often led to a downgrading in their professional and employment qualifications, isolation from the mainstream community and the experience of loneliness for the older generation. In addition, many of the participants still experience fear both in Australia and in their home country when they return for a visit. The findings indicate that the provision of extra services, such as counselling, could facilitate their resettlement and integration into Australian society.

The Iraqi women in this study have made Australia their ‘home’ in the years following the Gulf War in 1991, and are the first generation to move to a small rural town in Australia. The experiences documented in this thesis are based on 15 months of ethnographic research, between March 2003 and June 2004, with twenty-six Iraqi women, sixteen service providers and members of the communities of which they are a part. The focus of the study is on Iraqi women’s experiences of resettlement, their sense of emotional wellbeing and belonging. By and large, studies of refugee mental health attribute ‘refugee suffering’ to pre-migration experiences, rooted to the cultures of peoples’ home countries, principally through war, persecution and trauma, and how this legacy impacts upon women’s emotional wellbeing and ability to belong in resettlement. In many ways, it is convenient for host countries to ascribe refugee mental health problems to pre-migration experiences because the power dynamics of integration, the complex micro politics and the consequences of encounters with the Australian system are made indiscernible. The emergent discourse not only obscures the economic, historical and social conditions that lie at the heart of processes of displacement, but also ignores, silences and speaks on behalf of refugees. / This thesis demonstrates that Iraqi women’s articulations of their experiences of displacement and resettlement are anchored in and deeply affected by the material, legal and cultural circumstances of the local and national places they inhabit. Accordingly, their accounts of emotional suffering are in part framed within the experiences of war and persecution, both past and present, but they are also entangled and embedded in their contemporary realities resulting from multiple social barriers in resettlement, including cultural and religious racism, social invisibility, exclusion and being ‘othered’ in their daily lives, which impacts upon their wellbeing and sense of belonging in Australia. The experiences documented in this thesis not only privileges Iraqi women’s own understandings of displacement and resettlement and the ways in which they frame the reality of their lives, but also implicates the Australian system and structural axes of inequality in their resettlement experiences, in an attempt to move beyond western epistemological explanations that define the form and content of refugee lives as well as their illness and wellbeing.