The purpose of this study was to highlight LGBT asylum-seekers experiences of expressing their sexual identity or gender identity in the country of origin and in the asylum process in Sweden. By interviewing people who got permanent residence in Sweden because of gender or sexual orientation in Utlänningslagen (2005:716) we have been able to explore their own experiences from expressing themselves. This study analyse these experiences from a social psychological perspective, from this analysis we aimed to obtain a deeper understanding of how the experiences from the country of origin affects on the experiences in the asylum process. This study shows that LGBT asylum-seekers often is facing negative reactions from the environment in the country of origin, these reactions can limit their possibilities to express their sexual identity or gender identity in the asylum process in Sweden. The negative reactions they experience in the country of origin have contributed to that many LGBT people internalize feelings of fear to express themselves, feelings that often stays when they come to Sweden to seek asylum. We hope that this study will contribute to a better treatment and reception from social workers and other professionals who meet these people in their work, by increased knowledge of the conditions under which LGBT people are coming to seek asylum in Sweden.

The purpose of this thesis is to describe the asylum seekers that reside in Turkey temporarily, from their own standpoint and from the viewpoint of workers and representatives working in the agencies and institutes involved in the field. This work focuses on the inconveniences experienced by asylum seekers and refugees during their stay in Turkey and the reasons of these inconveniences, in the context of social exclusion. The research for this thesis is based on the analysis of the in-depth interviews that were done with the asylum seekers, representatives and workers in UNHCR, government and in several NGOs. Relevant report by the UNHCR, and the scholarly literatures on migration and asylum and on transit migration and asylum seeking through Turkey was examined. The results of the study can be sorted as follows: Firstly, there is an increasing and visible reluctance to accept refugees in the world. Secondly, it is seen that Turkey does not have an effective asylum policy and legal arrangements on this issue. Thirdly, not only the asylum seekers but also the officers who are dealing with them face some problems. Lastly, it had been observed during the interviews asylum seekers are being excluded different ways during the period of living in Turkey.

The aim of this thesis is to explore the asylum process from an experiential perspective, starting in the country of origin, fleeing, claiming asylum and being granted refugee status. The theoretical interest is to contribute with an understanding of how this asylum process impacts on personal meaning-making, focusing on identification and positioning work of the person forced to flee and make an asylum claim. With this purpose in mind, I have remained close to the experiences of the participants talk made visible through interpretative analysis.   Drawing on a discursive-psychological approach, 19 interview-cases (10 in England and 9 in Sweden) have been analysed consisting of stories of the migration process: life in the country of origin, fleeing, claiming asylum and being granted refugee status. This talk includes rich description of what this has involved for these participants, in terms of the more existential aspects of this kind of migration, identification and positioning, as well as their attempts to give this process some sort of meaning. This I name refugeeship.   The results show that refugeeship is characterised by a multitude of implicit and explicit questionings concerning the refugee’s rights and duties. Implicit questions concerning the refugee’s flight, starting in the country of origin are followed by explicit questions when encountering the official legal system of asylum in the new country, which involves an erosion of sense of self. The refugee stories express what I call the moral career of refugeeship, illustrating the events in refugeeship which are ongoing, though changeable over time and space and incorporate a moral dimension. The refugee finds him or herself continuously justifying the migration, struggling for recognition and convincing ‘Others’ that one can in fact become a contributing member of  the new society.

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

Research with refugees tends to be dominated by mainstream medical and trauma models. However, development of resilience theories and research on coping increasingly find that such constructs can open up currently limited understandings of the refugee experience. This research took a culturally relativist approach to explore experiences of coping in young unaccompanied refugees in the UK. Following extensive consultation, five young refugees were recruited, who were living independently or semi-independently having arrived in the UK without their family, at the age of 15 or 16. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was used to explore experiences and understanding of 'coping', whilst acknowledging the relative contributions of their own and my own cultural frameworks and the limitations of language; three participants made use of having an interpreter present. The accounts are presented idiographically, under three major themes that were apparent on multiple levels of the refugees' lives, from the individual to the cultural: 'Adaptation in the context of hardship and loss', 'Beliefs and worldview in shaping a new life', and 'Building strength and self-reliance'. These findings contribute to research finding resilience in refugee lives, whilst not to the detriment of incredible loss and pain. The research attests to the significance of cultural frameworks in refugee coping, with religion playing a key role. The themes are discussed in relation to existing literature and relevant texts, with implications for further research and clinical practice. The role of professionals as allies of refugees is suggested, in promoting socially inclusive practices that involves work both in the clinic and on community and social levels.

The issue of integration of children of asylum seekers and immigrants living in the Czech Republic is the theme of the thesis. I have chosen the topic because I find it very interesting and an up-to-day subject which is in the way of all citizens of the Czech Republic. I have focused the theoretical part on clarifying some concepts, such as: asylum seeker, immigrant, foreigner, refugee, unaccompanied minors, integration and other ones. The aim of the thesis is to find out obstacles for the integration of children of asylum seekers and immigrants living in the Czech Republic. For the implementation of the research part of the thesis, I have chosen the qualitative type of research - the method of interview - the technique of interview. A sociometric test has been chosen as a complementary method. The research was conducted in Permon, a facility for foreign children, from January 2011 to March 2011. The Research Group No 1 consisted of ten immigrant children from 7 to18 years old (in case of students their age could be 21 years at the utmost). The research of asylum seeking children was not enabled. The facility is obliged to protect the children and does not provide any information about them. I have processed the results through the form of case studies. For the purpose of the research implementation, I have divided the integration into five areas (language, culture, housing, social relations and needs). A questionnaire designed by PhDr. Kovařík and Prof. Dunovský was another independent part of my research. In the area of language, it came in sight that most immigrant children communicate in Czech language which they learned from their parents or, and it is very rare, in detention facilities for foreigners. The most frequent problem in this area is writing (spelling). In the area of culture, it came in sight that despite the possibility to observe customs of their original countries, very few respondents cherish them here in the Czech Republic. Customs and traditions differ from country to country, but it does not hinder the integration of children of immigrants. As for the area of housing, all respondents are living in the facility for children ? immigrants. They travel home, if there is the home, only at weekends or according to capability of their parents. All but two respondents are happy at home. In the area of social relations, it came in sight that if respondents need any help, they mostly approach teachers and educators but also friends and parents. In the last area, the area of needs, it came in sight that the most frequent need is to be with their families and then the need for greater freedom. The additional questionnaire for children revealed that what respondents are the most worried about is that they will not see their families any more. On the other hand, weekends spent with their families and leaving the facility are the two things that they are looking forward to the most. It is possible to say that respondents feel that the facility is a barrier which prevents them from integration into mainstream society and deprives them from their freedom. The sociometric test was performed in one secondary school and in one primary school in the town of Písek in February and March 2011. The Research Group No 2 consisted of students of different grades and age (7-17 years old) including foreigners. The test was performed in five classes. The test results showed that foreign children have no problem with their integration. Based on the results of the sociometric test, it is possible to take the assumption that the origin of children is not an obstacle in communication with other children. This assumption can be a basis for more extensive research. It is possible to use the thesis as a basis for any quantitative research. What is more, the thesis can serve the general public to increase their awareness of this issue.

Submitted by Fabio Sobreira Campos da Costa (fabio.sobreira@ufpe.br) on 2016-04-04T12:42:29Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 1232 bytes, checksum: 66e71c371cc565284e70f40736c94386 (MD5) VERSÃO DIGITAL_DISSERTAÇÃO DE DAIANNE RAFAEL VIEIRA_PPGA.pdf: 1937158 bytes, checksum: b484d5a9e66f5cdaa940d13be0e01655 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-04T12:42:29Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 1232 bytes, checksum: 66e71c371cc565284e70f40736c94386 (MD5) VERSÃO DIGITAL_DISSERTAÇÃO DE DAIANNE RAFAEL VIEIRA_PPGA.pdf: 1937158 bytes, checksum: b484d5a9e66f5cdaa940d13be0e01655 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-06-30 / CAPEs / Esta pesquisa aborda a inserção crescente do Brasil no acolhimento aos refugiados e solicitantes de refúgio dentro de um contexto internacional, bem como as razões que levam à migração congolesa pelo mundo. Discute também a vivência do refugiado e solicitante de refúgio congolês na cidade do Rio de Janeiro, no que implica revelar como estes indivíduos estão sendo recebidos, a formação de redes entre eles e a importância da busca por trabalho. Por meio da oferta de programas de assistência ligados ao Alto Comissariado nas Nações Unidas para Refugiados (ACNUR) e à Cáritas Arquidiocesana do Rio de Janeiro, este grupo de refugiados e solicitantes de refúgio tem revelado mecanismos de sobrevivência para se adaptar à sociedade brasileira, às falhas de acolhimento e às ofertas de trabalho, na tentativa de possibilitar um novo espaço de aceitação e morada. Assim, revela-se aqui como a concessão do refúgio aos congoleses localizados no Rio de Janeiro tem permitido a construção de novas perspectivas de vida, diferentes da vivência da fome, violência e miséria constantes na República Democrática do Congo. / This research addresses the growing insertion of Brazil within an international context as it welcomes refugees and asylum seekers as well as the reasons leading to Congolese migration around the world. It seeks to survey the day-to-day experience of Congolese refugees and asylum seekers in the city of Rio de Janeiro. Its goal is to reveal how these individuals are being accepted as well as the intricate formation of networks amongst them highlighting their job-seeking journey. It explores the topic of how, with the assistance of High Commissioner related assistance programs in the United Nations for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Archdiocesan Caritas of Rio de Janeiro, this group has developed coping mechanisms to adapt to Brazilian society. This paper also discusses the flaws encountered as Brazilian Society grants asylum to Congolese refugees, such as to provide these individuals with job opportunities as a vehicle for acceptance and residence. Thus, it is revealed here how the granting of refuge to the Congolese in Rio de Janeiro has allowed for the possibility of new perspectives of life compared to their previous experience of hunger, violence and constant misery in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

This thesis is concerned with the extent to which hostility towards asylum seekers/refugees frames advocacy talk. Using a dialogical approach, I analyse how the identities of asylum claimants are dealt with by refugee advocates, in order to counter this hostility. My analysis is based on the collection of publicity materials from four refugee organisations, and from Narrative Biographical Interviews conducted with their staff, volunteers and asylum-seeking clients. Using the notion of dialogical network, I demonstrate how hostility enters advocacy talk, how it frames contemporary advocacy representations of refugees, and how it is challenged. In particular, I use Membership Categorisation Analysis to analyse how members of these organisations, the staff, volunteers and campaigners, maintain or challenge the frames provided by the organizations in their publicity materials. I demonstrate how asylum seekers/refugees themselves deal with the hostility and to what extent they are complicit in maintaining or challenging both hostile and advocacy representations of themselves. Hostility routinely enters the publicity materials and is countered through formulations of refugee identities along the lines of biographical contrasts that work to make the hostility irrelevant. These contrasts are socially resourced, and are organised along a set of 'sympathy themes', whereby asylum seekers are represented as having little choice, as naïve, as victims of violence and as having poor mental health. However, advocates, in their interview talk, push the boundaries of these frames of representation. They present new challenges to established practices of refugee representation, and demonstrate that the moments of antagonism called for in the literature already exist within mainstream advocacy organisations. Similarly, the narratives shared by asylum seeker/refugee informants challenge established representations of refugee-hood, in both mainstream and advocacy practices, providing rich and diverse images of themselves which go beyond representations of 'mute victims'. These cracks, these moments of ethical antagonism, suggest new ways forward for refugee advocacy. Importantly, even within mainstream services, these are live issues for their members. The challenge is to make them visible.

Family reunification is a unique research field currently impacted by shifting policies andattitudes on integration. In Sweden, family connections constitute the largest immigrationcategory, yet the wait for family reunification has not yet been examined within academia.Thus, the aim of this thesis is to explore former asylum seekers’ experiences of waiting forfamily reunification in Sweden. Taking place at all stages of the migratory process, elementswithin waiting include time perception, power relations, expectations, future, hope,uncertainty and activity. Forming the theoretical framework of this thesis, six semi-structuredinterviews with former asylum seekers from Syria are analyzed in relation to waiting andmigration. The findings suggest that waiting stretches across legal statuses and entailsdifferent perceptions of time, differing from the linear bureaucratic model provided by theSwedish Migration Agency. Family reunification is the future goal of the informants’ wait,asylum being a temporal marker on the way there. The wait encompasses a power relation inwhich several actors in Sweden and abroad affect expectations, outcome and duration of thewait. Uncertainty in terms of duration and outcome affect informants’ well-being negatively.With distrust in the procedures of the Swedish Migration Agency, the process is experiencedas unjust, especially when others receive decisions ahead of time. While passivity constitutesparts of the wait, activity in terms of physical action such as going to work and mentalmonitoring of one’s case are present. Finally, waiting for family reunification is a highlyaffective form of waiting entailing emotions and care, influencing the relation to the family inwaiting abroad.

Globalisation has contributed to people migrating across national borders for different reasons, including economic hardships, political and social oppression, geographic and social factors (Triegaardt, 2009:1). Africans who seek refuge, asylum or an opportunity to improve their economic prospects and life within the borders of South Africa, face xenophobic attacks by black South African citizens, subjecting them to different forms and degrees of prejudice and discrimination (Adjai & Lazaridis, 2013:192). Rising inequality stifle economic growth, create poverty traps, wastes human potential and generate fertile ground for political and civil unrest, instability and heightened human insecurity (United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs [UN DESA], 2013:22). The goal of the study was to explore the contribution of social workers in promoting socio-economic equalities for asylum seekers and refugees in Pretoria Central. The study utilised the qualitative research approach; it was exploratory and applied and made use of the instrumental case study design. The study adopted the non-probability sampling method, namely, purposive sampling to select eight social work participants from four Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs) located in Pretoria Central. Data was collected by means of semi-structured one-on-one interviews. Findings show that the exclusion of asylum seekers and refugees starts with their struggle to secure documentation that give them access to jobs, education and other opportunities. Furthermore, in rendering services to asylum seekers and refugees, social workers mainly focus on material assistance, safe accommodation, statutory intervention and psycho-social support and lack a developmental approach with a focusing on integrated social and economic development. Findings also reveal that social workers collaborate with critical government departments and organisations, but not in a partnership that unites stakeholders to facilitate the promotion of socio-economic equalities for asylum seekers and refugees’ socio-economic rights. The study concludes that the focus on traditional remedial practice, poor networking, inadequate coordination of interventions between government and NGOs and lack of representation at the level of policy advocacy and policy making, contribute negatively to social workers’ efforts to promote socio-economic equalities for asylum seekers and refugees. The study recommends that social workers integrate a developmental approach in the provision of services, strengthen partnerships between governmental departments and NGOs and advocate for the socio-economic rights of asylum seekers and refugees. / Dissertation (MSW (Social Development and Policy))--University of Pretoria, 2019. / Social Work and Criminology / MSW (Social Development and Policy) / Unrestricted