Fertility and adaptation: Indochinese refugees in the United States

"Levels of fertility among Indochinese refugees in the United States are explored in the context of a highly compressed demographic transition implicit in the move from high-fertility Southeast Asian societies to a low-fertility resettlement region. A theoretical model is developed to explain the effect on refugee fertility of social background characteristics, migration history and patterns of adaptation to a different economic and cultural environment controlling for marital history and length of residence in the U.S." The chief source for the data and analyses is the Indochinese Health and Adaptation Research Project (IHARP), San Diego State University. "Multiple regression techniques are used to test the model which was found to account for nearly half of the variation in refugee fertility levels in the United States. Fertility is much higher for all Indochinese ethnic groups than it is for American women; the number of children in refugee families is in turn a major determinant of welfare dependency. Adjustments for rates of natural increase indicate a total 1985 Indochinese population of over one million, making it one of the largest Asian-origin populations in the United States."     

ETHNIC DIFFERENCES IN ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT BETWEEN VIETNAMESE AND CAMBODIAN CHILDREN: Cultural and Structural Explanations

Many Vietnamese and Cambodians fied war and communist takeover and entered the United States as part of the largest refugee resettlement program in the country's history. Both of the refugee groups traveled a great cultural distance and face similar barriers in adjusting to the United States. Despite these similarities in settlement, the two groups are adapting differently; this is made evident in their children's academic achievement. While the children of Vietnamese refugees seem to be successfully catching up to the children of other more established Asian immigrants, Cambodian children are trailing. Using the 1992 and 1996 data from the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Study, I combine cultural and structural explanations of educational achievement and immigrant adaptation to explain differences in academic achievement between Vietnamese and Cambodian children.     

Employment predictors among Indochinese refugees

"The influx of Indochinese refugees into the United States since 1975 has forced policy development in various resettlement areas. Considerable emphasis has been placed on employment and employment barriers. This article investigates the refugee employment process. A multivariate model is used to distinguish employed from unemployed refugees. Early arrivals, recent arrivals, and each of the four major ethnic groups are investigated separately."     

"Active" and "Passive" Resettlement: The Influence of Support Services and Refugees' own Resources on Resettlement Style

This paper explores the process of resettlement among recent refugees in Perth, Western Australia. We propose four refugee resettlement styles created through the interaction of a number of factors. These factors can be clustered as: (1) the social features of refugees (their human, social, and cultural capital), and (2) the host society's responses to refugee settlers (Australia's resettlement policy and services and the broader influence of the host society's responses to refugees). We propose that refugees approach their resettlement in predominantly active (“achievers” and “consumers”) or passive (“endurers” and “victims”) ways and that these are differentially successful strategies. Medicalization of the refugee experience in Australia is a factor that may influence refugees to adopt a passive “victim role”, so we propose that a greater emphasis during early resettlement should be placed on refugees' own culturally defined priorities such as employment and stable housing. The argument developed in this paper is supported by data from two qualitative research projects conducted in Western Australia. The fieldwork consisted of interviews, focus groups, and participant observation, and targeted refugees from the former Yugoslavia and the Horn of Africa who arrived in Australia during the 1990s and 2000s, as well as resettlement service providers.     

Cultural integration through shared learning among resettled Bhutanese women

ABSTRACT

The multidimensional needs of recently resettled refugees have been well documented and range from elevated rates of mental illness and health care challenges to difficulties accessing resources due to language and literacy barriers. These factors are largely responsible for the challenges resettled refugees face in acquiring and maintaining stable employment. It is possible that achieving financial stability through steady employment and purposeful money management may alleviate some stressors associated with the resettlement process, though research in this area that is specific to refugees is in its infancy. What is clear, however, is that a traditional approach to mental health treatment (i.e., therapy in a traditional office setting) may lack effectiveness because of the lack of attention to extraneous stressors such as poverty, transportation, and language and literacy challenges that impact resettled refugees. The purpose of this study was to qualitatively assess the impact of a group-based financial education course and social enterprise on the self-reported mental health (i.e., post-traumatic stress symptoms, depression, anxiety, and somatization) of Bhutanese refugee women resettled in the United States. The study also sought to evaluate the acceptability and overall satisfaction with various components of the intervention. This qualitative study was a follow-up to a larger quantitative study that included 65 Bhutanese women who were resettled to the southwestern United States by a large resettlement agency. The results of this study offer insights into the lived experiences of Bhutanese refugees in the United States, particularly related to cultural integration bolstered by group-based education and shared learning opportunities.     

Binding the Generations: Household Formation Patterns among Vietnamese Refugees1

Much of the analysis of refugee and immigrant adaptation has stressed the interaction of prior experience with the requirements of life in a new country. For refugees, that interaction has often been jarring because of the after‐effects of their flight and their relative inability to prepare for a new life in a new country. Yet refugees have often done rather well in economic terms in that new country. The reasons for that relative success have been phrased in cultural terms (e.g., the predisposition toward education) and in general socioeconomic terms (e.g., refugees as educated and skilled). This article examines a set of factors that lie between these customary cultural and socioeconomic categories. Specifically, the paper examines key features of household formation among Vietnamese refugees. An examination of historical data from southern Vietnam indicates patterns in household formation that appear durable over time yet are not shared across the breadth of Vietnam and cannot thus be viewed as “cultural” in the usual sense. A comparison of the historical data with recent national survey data on refugees in the United States indicates that these patterns continue among Vietnamese refugees and are ‐ as compared to other refugees ‐ distinctive to them. These patterns of household formation provide Vietnamese refugees with important options in adaptation to a new country.     

Assessment of issues facing immigrant and refugee families

This article identifies the different problems immigrants and refugees face in the United States, especially socioeconomic and psychosocial concerns that often relate to the experience of migration. Traditional familial roles and responsibilities are frequently challenged, exacerbated by sociocultural differences and inadequate understandings between the new arrivals and the host country. Essential in assessments of immigrant and refugee families is evaluating resources for social, economic, and cultural integration; discriminating between realistic and unrealistic expectations; evaluating families' problem-solving abilities; exploring family functioning within the context of heritage; identifying the transferability of work skills; and gauging families' learning capabilities and motivation for adaptation.     

Social work with Bosnian Muslim refugee children and families: a review of the literature

More than two million Bosnian Muslims were ethnically cleansed in the Balkan region; of these, 200,000 were killed while the others were forced to flee their homes and become refugees. This article focuses on the influence of societal and cultural values coupled with wartime experiences on the transition of Bosnian refugee families to their new countries. Consideration is given to culturally competent theoretical frameworks and practice principles social workers can use to assist Bosnian Muslim children and families in their adaptation process within their resettlement communities.     

Ethnicity's Shadows: Race,Religion, and Nationality as Alternative Identities among Recent United States Arrivals

This article reviews the creation of Somali Bantu ethnicity as an object of humanitarian intervention during Somalia's civil war. A variety of local, regional and international actors combined to create the ethnonym Somali Bantu for a group of refugees identified as a persecuted minority by the UNHCR and the US government and selected for resettlement in the United States. I track the emergence of the name and its affective dimensions for those who embrace Somali Bantu identity and assess criticisms of its authenticity and legitimacy. The creation of Somali Bantu identity reveals critical dimensions of how race is translated across time and space. Since a fundamental dimension of Somali Bantu identity is based on presumptions of racial difference, the article traces the salience of constructed difference for social hierarchies within Somalia, colonial projects in Somalia, refugee camp life in Kenya, US resettlement policy and diaspora politics in the United States.     

Economic adaptation of refugees in Canada: experience of a quarter century

This paper examines the economic adaptation, in terms of employment and income, for 400,000 refugees, mainly displaced persons, Hungarians, Czechoslovaks, Ugandan Asians, Chileans, and Indochinese, in Canada during the last 25 years. The author looks at 1) east in obtaining a first job, 2) unemployment, 3) wives' employment, 4) job search techniques, and 5) occupation. Economic climate largely determines the time needed to find a first job. 55% of Hungarian refugees in 1957-58 found a job within a month; only 30% of Czechoslovak refugees in 1968-69 found a job within a month. Refugees and regular immigrants have higher unemployment than native Canadians; but the rate drops dramatically within a few years. Employment and unemployment for refugees is influenced by 1) prevailing labor market conditions, 2) English and/or French language proficiency, 3) sympathy by the population for the refugees, 4) support by people of the same ethnic group, and 5) the refugees' own adaptability. Survey results show that more refugee wives are employed than Canadian born wives; over 69% of Chilean refugee women worked in 1975-76. Most refugees use the Canada Employment Center, and informal channels such as "word of mouth" and friends and relatives to find jobs. Lack of qualifications and experience, and lack of language proficiency hinder many refugees in finding jobs for which they have trained. Income is an indicator of the success of refugee economic adaptation. Refugees, like regular immigrants, have lower than average income levels in their first years in Canada; however, they often earn more than the Canadian born after the difficult first years. Family incomes, because of female labor force participation, may widen the differences even more. Although many refugees are not working in their intended professions, most refugee groups have adjusted well economically in Canada.     

Negotiating Boundaries of Refugee Resettlement: A Study of Settlement Patterns and Social Support*

This article analyses aspects of the bureaucratie process of negotiating placement and social support by and for resettled refugees in Canada. Theoretical issues addressed include refugee resilience and effects of power structures on migrant networks. The article describes a qualitative study of underlying reasons for government‐assisted refugee secondary migration to Ontario. The study demonstrates that refugees seek social support by moving from initial settlement sites to join extended family and analyses how the resettlement bureaucracy, driven by political as well as humanitarian interests, attempts to control the process, in contradiction to refugees' preferences. The negotiation of placement and definitions of relevant social supports by bureaucrats and refugees are discussed. In conclusion, greater attention to refugee self‐determination is suggested to improve settlement outcomes.     

“I feel like her daughter not her mother”: Ethnographic trans-cultural perspective of the experiences of aging for a group of Southeast Asian refugees in the United States

ObjectiveThis study seeks to understand trans-cultural aging and stressors for aging refugees. It describes the experiences of Cambodian refugee women as they age in the United States.MethodExperiences of 16 Cambodian refugee women (ages 44–60), participants of a Cambodian community health center support group, were examined over a year.ResultsAnalysis revealed complex experiences of aging in the U.S. including these: (a) loss of role as respected elder, (b) fear of living separate from children, (c) feeling devalued by children, and (d) feeling self-blame for intergenerational cultural gap. The women described years of employment interrupted by the exacerbation of post-traumatic symptoms later in life preventing further employment.DiscussionAn ethnographic trans-cultural perspective of the experiences of aging for Southeast Asian refugees. Aging refugees face stressors even 20–30 years after resettlement. Findings show decrease in functioning as survivors of torture age. Recommendations for social service programs and providers are made.     

A Needs and Readiness Assessment of the United States Refugee Resettlement Program: Focus on Syrian Asylum‐Seekers and Refugees

People fleeing from violence and persecution around the world view the United States (US) as a safe haven. But recent socio political instability and growing anti‐refugee sentiment, in light of an unprecedented global humanitarian crisis, challenge this longstanding view. To better understand the current socio political climate, this study evaluated the US Refugee Resettlement Program (USRP) by focusing on Syrian asylum‐seekers and refugees. Participants consisted of 71 resettlement organization leaders (e.g., chief operating officer and director of refugee services) who, between 2013 and 2016, collectively resettled 76 per cent of all refugees and 44 per cent of Syrians to the US. Reasons for current challenges are explored while strengths are emphasized and future directions offered, along with relevant policy and clinical implications.     

Generation,Displacement, and Deservedness among Karen Refugees in California

In this article, we draw on ethnographic interviews with sixteen Karen refugees living in San Diego, California to explore how experiences of exile, displacement, and resettlement differ along generational lines and complicate straightforward dichotomies between “involuntary refugees” and “economic migrants”. While older‐generation Karen experienced political violence and displacement first‐hand, younger‐generation Karen were born in refugee camps in Thailand and usually experienced violence and displacement through its impacts on extended families. Across both generations, Karen exerted agency in exile, displacement, and diaspora. The older generation used stays in refugee camps strategically as a means of economically supporting family members in Burma, while the younger generation view resettlement in the US as a way of achieving educational aspirations. This research points to the importance of generation as a dimension of refugee experience and to the problem of reinforcing victimhood within refugee communities rather than acknowledging refugee agency and resilience.     

Exploring the role of faith in resettlement among Muslim Syrian refugees

ABSTRACT

Over 95% of the refugees from Syria who have resettled in the United States are Muslim. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the role of the Islamic faith in contributing to resiliency among recently resettled refugees from Syria. Ten in-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with Syrian adults who had arrived in the United States between 3 months and 2 years prior to the study. Findings emphasized the primary role of the Islamic faith in the lives of participants. For participants in this study, identifying as Muslim was an essential part of their identity and served as a source of comfort, strength, pride, and humility. Parents in the study expressed fears that their children would lose their connection to their culture and would grow up to devalue the Islamic faith and traditional religious practices due to their exposure to American values which they viewed less strict regarding dress, alcohol consumption, and faith practices. Understanding the important role that the Islamic faith can have in providing a source of comfort, strength, and empowerment for Syrian refugees, and working to build infrastructure to support and sustain these faith traditions is an essential component of refugee resettlement in the United States.     

Penalties and payoffs: The short-term economic consequences of human capital acquisition for resettled refugees in the United States

The relationship between refugee investments in human capital and short-run economic outcomes may influence the extent to which refugees invest in human capital that is associated with positive future economic mobility. Using data from the Annual Survey of Refugees from 2016 and 2017 we assess the relationship between recent investments in human capital and hourly wages for employed refugees in the United States. Results suggest that recent job training has a positive effect on hourly wages. In contrast, enrollment in English classes and educational programmes have no short-term positive effects on hourly wages. When combined with the pressure resettled refugees experience to find employment quickly, these results suggest that the lack of short-term wage benefits from English language or educational courses may dissuade refugees from sufficiently investing in the amount of English language or education necessary to promote positive long-term economic mobility.     

Transatlantic Opinion on Immigration: Greater Worries and Outlier Optimism

This article outlines some of the key findings of the 2008 and 2009 Transatlantic Trends: Immigration ¹ public opinion study. The countries surveyed include the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and, for 2009 only, Spain and Canada. ² Some of the findings are highlighted in this article, including the limited effect of the economic crisis on attitudes; approval ratings of governments’ migration management; political support for U.S. immigration reform components; Canada’s outlier optimism; increasing Dutch skepticism; and support for the resettlement of migrants displaced by the effects of worldwide climate change.     

Limits of Social Capital for Refugee Integration: The Case of Gay Iranian Male Refugees' Integration in Canada

Each year thousands of refugees, including racialized LGBT refugees, are resettled in Canada. Currently, economic independence is the foremost policy goal in integrating Canada's refugees. This policy often relies on social capital as a non-economic solution to integration. I draw on 35 multi-sequential interviews with 19 gay Iranian men to connect the empirical and theoretical debates around refugee integration and argue that over-reliance on refugees' deployment of social capital for integration has grave shortcomings for their senses of belonging. I suggest that examining racialized LGBT refugees' integration strategies best reveals communitarian social capital's flaws at the conjunction of sexuality, gender, race, and class. I draw on Bourdieu's writings on social capital to highlight internal group differences, social inequalities, and the vital convertibility between financial, social, and cultural capital in building transferrable resources for refugee integration. I conclude by urging policy-oriented studies of social capital.     

The refugee factor in Botswana

Refugees to Botswana have included mass influxes of rural peoples from South West Africa/Namibia, Rhodesia/Zimbabwe and South Africa as well as smaller numbers of political activists from each of these territories and Lesotho. The government of Botswana, with the benefit of substantial external assistance, has evolved a legal, organizational and policy response to enable it to cope with the economic, social, political and security strains which result from refugee movements. The policies applied by the government have included moving refugees on to third countries, resettlement, voluntary repatriation, encampment, and measures designed to discourage all save genuine refugees. Although there have been notable successes with each of these techniques, neither singly nor collectively have they proved a panacea for the problems resulting from refugee movements