The war in Afghanistan has been a core component of the so called ‘War on Terror’ for over twenty years. These decades of hostilities have caused many people to flee and seek refuge in other countries. This study aims to explore and thereby gain a better understanding of the various forms of violence experienced by Afghan refugees living in Germany. The overarching research question to achieve that aim, was: ‘What role did, and do, different forms of violence play in the experiences of the participants?’The study used the framework introduced by Johan Galtung of direct, structural and cultural violence to analyze the data of qualitative in-depth interviews that were conducted. The interviews showed that participants to varying degrees were subjected to a complex combination of all three types of violence in Afghanistan, on their journey to Europe and in Germany. Most direct violence occurred in Afghanistan, on the hands of the Taliban as well as on the journey. Structural violence was omnipresent, and varied from context to context. Whilst in Afghanistan, it was mainly in the realms of poverty, education and water and electricity infrastructure, in Germany it shifted to adequate housing, language courses, prolonged bureaucratic procedures and access to health care. The study found clear signs of cultural violence which normalized other forms of violence.This study indicated that whilst the types of violence are complex and transform continuously; direct, structural and cultural violence are always to a certain degree present in the lives of the Afghan refugees.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:mau-46468 |
| Date | January 2021 |
| Creators | Peters, Jakob |
| Publisher | Malmö universitet, Institutionen för globala politiska studier (GPS) |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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