Flyktingmottagande är en viktig och högst aktuell fråga idag. Flyktingströmmarna till Sverige ökar då oron i andra länder ökar. Detta leder till att frågor uppstår kring mottagandet och de effekter detta skapar.   I Sverige förhandlar Länsstyrelserna på uppdrag av staten med kommunerna om hur många flyktingar respektive kommun ska ta emot. I dessa förhandlingar uppstår frågor kring effekterna av mottagandet och vissa frågor är svåra, om inte omöjliga att besvara. Frågan kring vilka ekonomiska nettoeffekter flyktingmottagandet skapar kunde inte länsstyrelserna besvara. Detta visade sig svårt att reda ut då forskning på området var svår att hitta.   Denna uppsats försöker undersöka den ekonomiska nettoeffekten av flyktingmottagandet men undersöker också några särskilt intressanta faktorer som påverkar antalet flyktingar en kommun väljer att ta emot. Författarna har utgått från forskning som undersöker nationella nettoeffekter av flyktingmottagandet och försökt anpassa denna forskning till kommunala förhållanden. Den nationella forskningen har sedan använts för att försöka besvara frågan om kommuner kan förvänta sig positiva eller negativa ekonomiska nettoeffekter av mottagandet.   Statistik förs på vissa nivåer men inte i en tillfredsställande omfattning vilket ger en skev, om inte direkt missvisande bild av hur det faktiskt ser ut i kommunerna. Därför har författarna valt att inte uppskatta en totalsiffra på de nettoeffekter som uppstår. Uppsatsen tar dock hänsyn till de ersättningar kommunerna får från staten för mottagandet men också de effekter som uppstår i kommunala utjämningssystemet. För att kunna förklara effekterna som uppstår till följd av utjämningssystemet har systemet förklarats utförligt.   Uppsatsen försöker således bena ut de direkta ersättningar kommunerna erhåller från staten för mottagandet, de största utgiftsposterna en kommun väntas ha samt vilka effekter som uppstår i det kommunala utjämningssystemet till följd av mottagandet. / The reception of refugees is an important and highly current topic today. Refugee flows to Sweden increases as unrest in other countries increases. This leads to that issues arise around the refugee reception and the effects it create.   In Sweden, the county administrative boards (länsstyrelser) are negotiating on behalf of the state with municipalities on how many refugees each municipality are prepared to welcome. In these negotiations, questions arise regarding the impact of the reception and some issues are difficult, if not impossible to answer. The county administrative boards were unable to answer the question about what net economic impact arises, as an effect of the refugee reception. And, because of lack of research it proved difficult to answer the question even when doing research for this thesis.   This thesis tries to explore the net economic effects, but also some particularly interesting factors that affect the number of refugees a municipality chooses to welcome. The authors have based this thesis on research that investigates the national net impact of refugee reception, and tried to adapt the research to local conditions. National research has been used to try to answer the question whether municipalities can expect positive or negative net economic impact of the reception   Statistics are kept on some levels but not to a satisfactory extent resulting in a skewed, if not outright misleading picture, of how it actually looks in the municipalities. Therefore, the authors have chosen not to estimate a total figure on the net effects that arise. The thesis does, however, discuss the benefits municipalities receive from the state for the reception. Furthermore the thesis discusses the effects that arise in the municipal equalization system. In order to explain the effect caused by the municipal equalization system, this system has been explained fairly detailed.   This thesis thus tries to sort out the direct payments the municipalities receive from the state for the reception, as well as the largest expenditures the municipalities is expected to have. Also the effects in the municipal equalization system is sorted out.

This dissertation examines the adaptation of Christian refugees from Southern Sudan—primarily Dinkas and mostly educated—to living in Ottawa, Canada, not historically a gateway immigrant city. The discussion is based on sustained observation, documentation and analysis of South Sudanese refugees between 2005 and 2009, including 32 recorded interviews of adults, as well as a focus group held with young adults. It examines the findings through the lenses of social capital, with its focus on trust and reciprocity, and segmented assimilation to study the South Sudanese refugees’ integration through their most important groupings: ethnic, gendered, racial and religious. The study also focuses on the cultural, gender and language dynamics of a nascent South Sudanese-focused congregation and a related East African congregation. The experiences of Anglican and Catholic congregations with Christian Sudanese refugees were also examined. The research suggests that inter-culturally competent ethnic and religious leadership is central to the ability of migrant groups in the Global North to have enough bonding social capital to mediate the adaptation process and to bridge or link to other groups. First-wave, mostly male, educated refugees often have the inter-cultural skills and agency to set up effective organizations, but a continued focus on their region of origin, facilitated by the Internet and cell phones, makes a sustained emphasis on organizational-supported living in Canada difficult. While the values of many Sudanese-born women and their children converge with those of mainstream Canadian society, men living within patriarchal value systems, supported by literal interpretations of Holy Scriptures, face challenges, and the resulting conflicts threaten family cohesion. Both the denominational and the ethnic churches, in supporting new migrants spiritually and socially, are caught between denominational parameters and goals of ethnic identity, culture and values maintenance, made more difficult by the Sudanese not having a common language. The dissertation also begins to analyze the impact for recent African Christian immigrants of a culture that emphasizes individual rights, including the effects of the increasing presence of openly gay leaders in the Canadian but not in the African Church. / Cette dissertation se penche sur l’adaptation des réfugiés chrétiens originaires du Sud du Soudan, en majorité d’ethnie Dinka et scolarisés, vivant à Ottawa, Canada. Les résultats de la recherche sur 5 ans suggèrent qu’une gestion adéquate des dynamiques ethniques et religieuses au niveau interculturel est capitale dans la capacité des groupes de migrants dans les pays développés pour générer suffisamment de capital social et faciliter le processus d’adaptation pour se lier à d’autres groupes. Les églises confessionnelles et les églises ethniques, en aidant les immigrants spirituellement et socialement, sont coincées entre des paramètres confessionnels et des objectifs d’identification ethnique, de maintien de valeurs et de culture, compliqués par l’absence d’une langue commune parmi les Soudanais. Cette dissertation tente aussi d’analyser l’impact pour les immigrants africains de fraîche date, d’une culture qui valorise les droits individuels, y compris l’émergence de chefs de file ouvertement homosexuels dans les églises canadiennes mais non dans les églises africaines. / University of Ottawa

This thesis investigated the literacy practices of a group of Somali refugee women participating in Canada’s federally‐funded ESL program LINC (Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada). Assuming that many Somali women arrive in Canada with limited experience with print literacy, and so encounter novel challenges in their settlement and learning experiences, I interviewed 4 Somali women about their uses and perceptions of the value of literacy in their lives and their experiences of learning to read and write in Canada. A cross‐case analysis revealed how social forces constrain and enable the women’s literacy practices, shaping both how they access and use literacy, as well as the ways in which they understand and value literacy. Implications are outlined for ESL educators, researchers and policy makers.

This thesis investigated the literacy practices of a group of Somali refugee women participating in Canada’s federally‐funded ESL program LINC (Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada). Assuming that many Somali women arrive in Canada with limited experience with print literacy, and so encounter novel challenges in their settlement and learning experiences, I interviewed 4 Somali women about their uses and perceptions of the value of literacy in their lives and their experiences of learning to read and write in Canada. A cross‐case analysis revealed how social forces constrain and enable the women’s literacy practices, shaping both how they access and use literacy, as well as the ways in which they understand and value literacy. Implications are outlined for ESL educators, researchers and policy makers.

This dissertation examines the adaptation of Christian refugees from Southern Sudan—primarily Dinkas and mostly educated—to living in Ottawa, Canada, not historically a gateway immigrant city. The discussion is based on sustained observation, documentation and analysis of South Sudanese refugees between 2005 and 2009, including 32 recorded interviews of adults, as well as a focus group held with young adults. It examines the findings through the lenses of social capital, with its focus on trust and reciprocity, and segmented assimilation to study the South Sudanese refugees’ integration through their most important groupings: ethnic, gendered, racial and religious. The study also focuses on the cultural, gender and language dynamics of a nascent South Sudanese-focused congregation and a related East African congregation. The experiences of Anglican and Catholic congregations with Christian Sudanese refugees were also examined. The research suggests that inter-culturally competent ethnic and religious leadership is central to the ability of migrant groups in the Global North to have enough bonding social capital to mediate the adaptation process and to bridge or link to other groups. First-wave, mostly male, educated refugees often have the inter-cultural skills and agency to set up effective organizations, but a continued focus on their region of origin, facilitated by the Internet and cell phones, makes a sustained emphasis on organizational-supported living in Canada difficult. While the values of many Sudanese-born women and their children converge with those of mainstream Canadian society, men living within patriarchal value systems, supported by literal interpretations of Holy Scriptures, face challenges, and the resulting conflicts threaten family cohesion. Both the denominational and the ethnic churches, in supporting new migrants spiritually and socially, are caught between denominational parameters and goals of ethnic identity, culture and values maintenance, made more difficult by the Sudanese not having a common language. The dissertation also begins to analyze the impact for recent African Christian immigrants of a culture that emphasizes individual rights, including the effects of the increasing presence of openly gay leaders in the Canadian but not in the African Church. / Cette dissertation se penche sur l’adaptation des réfugiés chrétiens originaires du Sud du Soudan, en majorité d’ethnie Dinka et scolarisés, vivant à Ottawa, Canada. Les résultats de la recherche sur 5 ans suggèrent qu’une gestion adéquate des dynamiques ethniques et religieuses au niveau interculturel est capitale dans la capacité des groupes de migrants dans les pays développés pour générer suffisamment de capital social et faciliter le processus d’adaptation pour se lier à d’autres groupes. Les églises confessionnelles et les églises ethniques, en aidant les immigrants spirituellement et socialement, sont coincées entre des paramètres confessionnels et des objectifs d’identification ethnique, de maintien de valeurs et de culture, compliqués par l’absence d’une langue commune parmi les Soudanais. Cette dissertation tente aussi d’analyser l’impact pour les immigrants africains de fraîche date, d’une culture qui valorise les droits individuels, y compris l’émergence de chefs de file ouvertement homosexuels dans les églises canadiennes mais non dans les églises africaines. / University of Ottawa

Between 1938 and 1940 approximately 18,000 Jews from Central Europe went to the Chinese city of Shanghai to escape Nazi persecution. While almost every nation in the world refused to accept these desperate refugees, thousands found refuge in Japanese occupied Shanghai, which was an open port and one could immigrate there with no visa or passport. In an incredibly short period of time the refugees were able to develop a vibrant Jewish community. Relying primarily on the testimony of former refugees, this thesis seeks to address three main questions: What did exile in Shanghai feel like for the refugees? How did they handle and react to the circumstances of their new surroundings? In what ways did their common exile unite the group and bring about changes in personal identity?

In Lowell, Massachusetts, a city with a long history of serving as a magnet for immigrants, the Cambodian community is both the most recent and most populous immigrant group that has helped transformed this postindustrial city into one of the most ethnically diverse in New England. This research seeks to explore the ways in which the development and growth of an ethnic community can influence the place-making process and built environment of cities. Specifically, this thesis conducts a case study of the Cambodian community in Lowell, Massachusetts, and examines the ways in which the development of this specific urban ethnic community has helped to shape the post-industrial city in which it is found, and how Lowell has influenced Cambodian-American ethnic identity.

This thesis consists of three empirical case studies, originally published as MERGE- papers ('Papers on transcultural studies' published at MERGE, Centre for Studies on Migration, Ethnic Relations and Globalisation at the Department of Sociology, University of Umeå), brought together and framed by a lengthier introduction. The empirical studies examine Swedish refugee reception activities, including the experiences of refugees themselves, with a focus on organisational and inter-organisational matters, and, in this context, the suitability as well as problems, mechanisms and issues, of implementation. According to Swedish policy aims since the mid-70s, immigrants are guaranteed equality, freedom of choice and partnership in relation to social, political and cultural rights. Based upon this background, an ambitious institutionalisation of refugee reception and integration policy was initiated in 1985, implicating the setting up of a new reception system involving almost every Swedish municipality. However, this political reform came to meet with fundamental problems, such as the absence of clear political goals and a remarkably low priority in the work of local political bodies. As a consequence, the ability and the ambitions of civil servants to apply an integrated approach to the reception process, and to foster growing co-operation among relevant local institutions to improve services and opportunities for integration, have not materialised as intended. These deficiencies of local integration policies appear to be connected with implementation problems, issues and obstacles, such as a lack of developed inter-organisational co-ordination mechanisms, lack of a clear division of labour and responsibility among concerned parties, economic obstruction etc. In addition to this, the resources that local refugee receptions have had at their disposal have been a high degree varying and unstable, with the consequence that the reception's organisation, e.g. as immigrant bureaus, has been subjected to constant remoulding. Continuous initiatives for restructuring the reception procedures seem seldom have been well suited, and in addition to this, there has been a lack of opportunities for influence by the refugees themselves concerning conditions of reception and inroads into integration. The conclusion is, somewhat paradoxical, that many of the refugee reception's political-administrative problems are fabricated by and within the refugee reception system and immigrant policy itself. In the thesis, a general background for necessary improvements of the service for refugees is outlined, making possible a lot of reformistic suggestions. While the thesis lays bare the problems with refugee reception, its policy and implementation, it also acknowledges important positive achievements of Swedish refugee reception and its political-administrative ambitions and framework. The reason that the effects of these positive efforts and achievements haven't materialised in successful integration to a higher degree, is also due to 'external' factors, like exclusion from the labour market, social exclusion through segregation, marginalisation and discrimination, processes of racialisation etc. These kinds of ramifying 'external' factors can only to a limited extent be influenced by local actors alone. The conclusion is that a successful integration cannot be achieved solely through measures within the practical institutional setting of the local refugee reception system itself, but must be underpinned and enforced by a more generalised inclusionary or anti-exclusionary politics, a generally more decided political will and over-all more purposeful measures securing a higher degree of suited implementation. / digitalisering@umu

The UNHCR reports an anticipated growing number of migration movements in Africa that will increase the amount of prolonged refugee situations, with the international debate regarding refugee policies discussing local integration as a durable solution. Local integration policy is dependent on the acceptance and willingness of the host population and can engender tensions between refugees and hosts, which could be a result of their uneven power distribution, with one group possessing more social power, leading to more opportunities in the community. The objective of this study is to examine the relationship between refugees and host community in a settlement and seeks to expose any tensions that could arise between the groups from an uneven power distribution by using an analytical framework based on Norbert Elias’ book The Established and the Outsiders, which focuses on community problems between two groups. This thesis draws on a field study of the Nakivale Refugee Settlement in southern Uganda that has a refugee policy partially aimed towards local integration. The data has been collected through semi-structured interviews and observations as part of an ethnographic approach. The interviewed key stakeholders have been refugees and host populations living within the settlement as well as government officials and representatives from international organisations, IGOs and NGOs. Using Elias’ theory as a universal analytical tool showed us that there are established-outsider constellations creating tensions in a community, however these tensions do not fully rely on the qualities of the relationship. Moreover, results from the study indicate that the relationship between nationals and refugees in the settlement and the tensions it fostered are to a very large degree influenced by external factors, more specifically by the Ugandan government and international organisations as well as the complexity of group dimensions and situations, which contributed to a weakened host population.

The aim of Sweden’s refugee settlement policy is that refugees should be offered an             initial place of dwelling in a municipality with available accommodation and a good             labour market within commuting distance. Refugees risk long-run unemployment, if             initially placed in a municipality with bad labour market opportunities (see Edin et             al., 2004 and Åslund et al., 2006). It is therefore important to know to what extent             the state of a municipality’s labour market (and not only availability of apartments)             drives the willingness to receive refugees. No such study has previously been con-             ducted. This paper thus aims to bridge this gap in the research by analyzing data             between 2006-2010 for all 290 Swedish municipalities and their contracts with the             Swedish central government regarding refugee reception. The main findings are,             when accounting for municipality-fixed effects, that neither unemployment nor             available apartments affect the probability of signing a contract. Additional govern-             ment grants, on the other hand, has a positive effect on the likelihood of signing a             contract. Among municipalities which do sign contracts, the agreed number of refu-             gees is negatively affected by higher municipality unemployment and positively             affected by additional available apartments.