‘Genuine’ refugees or illegitimate ‘boat people‘: Political constructions of asylum seekers and refugees in the Malaysia Deal debate

Immigration to Australia has long been the focus of negative political interest. In recent times, the proposal of exclusionary policies such as the Malaysia Deal in 2011 has fuelled further debate. In these debates, Federal politicians often describe asylum seekers and refugees as ‘illegal’, ‘queue jumpers’, and ‘boat people’. This article examines the political construction of asylum seekers and refugees during debates surrounding the Malaysia Deal in the Federal Parliament of Australia. Hansard parliamentary debates were analysed to identify the underlying themes and constructions that permeate political discourse about asylum seekers and refugees. We argue that asylum seekers arriving in Australia by boat were constructed as threatening to Australia's national identity and border security, and were labelled as ‘illegitimate’. A dichotomous characterisation of legitimacy pervades the discourse about asylum seekers, with this group constructed either as legitimate humanitarian refugees or as illegitimate ‘boat arrivals’. Parliamentarians apply the label of legitimacy based on implicit criteria concerning the mode of arrival of asylum seekers, their respect for the so‐called ‘queue’, and their ability to pay to travel to Australia. These constructions result in the misrepresentation of asylum seekers as illegitimate, undermining their right to protection under Australia's laws and international obligations.     

越南归难侨的本土关系建构历程——基于广东小岭华侨农场的个案分析

本文研究于20世纪70年代末回国定居的越南华侨难民与本土社会的互动。作者选择广东小岭华侨农场越南归侨为个案,运用田野调查和历史档案资料,梳理越南归难侨的本土关系建构历程。本研究个案表明：安置政策与文化差异是影响越南归难侨进行本土关系建立的两大重要因素：小岭华侨农场越南归难侨的本土关系建构历程,大体上经历了从隔阂到友好的两个阶段。这一转变反映了越南归难侨逐渐适应并融入当地社会,并在一定程度折射出他们从寄居者向定居者转变的趋势。     

The Settlement Experiences Of Refugees From The Former Yugoslavia

In the 1990s many mixed marriage refugees from what was Yugoslavia settled in Perth, Australia. A mixed marriage is one where the parties have different ethnicities. Using multiple‐case, conversational interviews, the experiences of 12 of these refugees were explored. The processes of acculturation and adaptation, the development of social support networks and community, and their ethnic identity and ethnicity, were discussed and analysed within both the sociopolitical context of the conflict in what was Yugoslavia, and their subsequent migration. The initial settlement programmes and supports to the refugees and provided by Australia's government and community groups were also analysed. The results illustrated the diversity of experiences of the participants as well as shared experiences resulting from their being in a mixed marriage. In summary, the results suggest that settlement is stressful for the refugees, that community‐based settlement programmes provide more positive settlement experiences than government programmes, and that people in mixed marriages experience particular stresses related to the political context in the former Yugoslavia, including a history of alienation and persecution. Theoretically the results indicate that the participants are moving towards an acculturation outcome of biculturalism. The complex nature of their ethnic identity and ethnicity is also discussed.     

‘I Want to Bring Him from the Aeroplane to Here’: The Meaning of Animals to Children of Refugee or Migrant Backgrounds Resettled in Australia

Separation from animals with whom children have caring relationships can lead to considerable loss and grief, perhaps especially in the case of migration. This article reports on a thematic analysis of interviews undertaken with children of migrant or refugee backgrounds who had resettled in Australia. Findings suggest that children who spoke about animals framed their experiences in ways that either evoked a sense of loss with regard to animals or referred to animals as engendering a safe haven following resettlement. The article concludes by exploring potential service responses and encourages a focus on animals' needs in the context of migration.     

Bengaliness,Hindu nationalism and Bangladeshi migrants in West Bengal,India

Hindu nationalists made migration from Bangladesh an election campaign in West Bengal during the 1990s. Although there were various allegations against Bangladeshi migration, it never became a mainstream political issue in the state, like in neighbouring Assam. West Bengal shares the longest border with Bangladesh, compared to any other Indian state, and hosts a large number of Bangladeshi migrants, according to the Census reports in India. West Bengal and Bangladesh share a common ethnicity, both are predominantly Bengali. Can this shared Bengaliness explain why Bangladeshi migration did not become a divisive political issue in the state? If this sameness is a bonding factor, what about the Ghoti-Bangal differences? Drawn from in-depth interviews with the representatives of West Bengal’s key civil society organisations and political parties, I argue that a particular historical and cultural process, unique to West Bengal and Bangladesh, has shaped the current attitude towards Bangladeshi migrants in the state.     

Refugee integration and social media: a local and experiential perspective

The refugee crisis has spurred the rapid development of creative technology and social media applications to tackle the problem of refugee integration in Europe. In this article, a qualitative study with 18 refugees from Syria, Eritrea and Afghanistan is presented in order to investigate the uses and purposes of social media associated to the different areas of refugee integration in the Netherlands. The results indicate that social media networking sites were particularly relevant for refugee participants to acquire language and cultural competences, as well as to build both bonding and bridging social capital. Another important finding concerns the role of government, host society and the agency of refugee actors in determining the way refugees experience social media. Building on these results, a theoretical model for analyzing refugee integration through social media is demonstrated.     

Shifting the refugee narrative? An automated frame analysis of Europe’s 2015 refugee crisis

In 2015, Europe faced the arrival of over 1.25 million refugees fleeing from war-affected countries. The public mainly learned about this issue through domestic media. Through the use of computer-assisted content analysis, this study identifies the most dominant frames employed in the coverage of refugee and asylum issues between January 2015 and January 2016 in six Austrian newspapers (N?=?10,606), particularly focusing on potential differences between quality and tabloid media, and on frame variations over time. The findings reveal that, apart from administrative aspects of coping with the arrivals, established narratives of security threat and economisation are most prominent. Humanitarianism frames and background information on the refugees’ situation are provided to a lesser extent. During the most intense phases of the crisis, the framing patterns of tabloid and quality media become highly similar. Media coverage broadens to multiple prominent frames as issue salience sharply increases, and then ‘crystallises’ into a more narrow set. In sum, the results confirm a predominance of stereotyped interpretations of refugee and asylum issues, and thus persisting journalistic routines in both, tabloid and quality media, even in times of a major political and humanitarian crisis.     

Inclusion,exclusion or indifference? Redefining migrant and refugee host state engagement options in Mediterranean ‘transit’ countries

What determines policies toward migrants and refugees in the transit-turned-host countries? Compared to the vast literature examining migration to Europe and North America, we know relatively little about why ‘newer’ host states pursue a liberal strategy with access to residency, employment and services on par with citizens, or what drives them to treat migrants and refugees with exclusion. This paper argues that there is a third choice: the idea of indifference-as-policy. Indifference refers to indirect action on the part of the host state, whereby a state defers to international organisations and civil society actors to provide basic services to migrants and refugees. The paper uses data collected over two years in Egypt, Morocco and Turkey to examine how this tripartite understanding of engagement maps onto empirical reality. Drawing on this analysis, the argument in this paper is two-fold. First, indifference is a strategic form of engagement utilised by host states, and that it creates a specific type of environment that allows for the de facto integration of migrants and refugees. Second, even when host states take steps toward a more liberal engagement strategy, examining policy outcomes, rather than outputs, demonstrates that indifference is still the dominant policy.     

Work and occupational profile of Eastern African immigrants in the United States: a historical overview

This paper discusses the trends and patterns of emigration from Eastern Africa, otherwise known as the Horn of Africa. In particular, the paper focuses on the countries that collectively account for most African immigrants to the United States (US), namely Eritrea, Ethiopia, Sudan, and Somalia. Using a review of literature, the paper provides some explanation of the history of immigration from East Africa to the US, and an examination and discussion of the root causes, the trends, and patterns resulting in refugees and immigration to the country. An explanation of the causes for this is offered by drawing connections to the work and occupational profiles of these immigrants, once they are in the US, within a historical context. This historical perspective analysis paves the way for more research on immigration and HRD.     

Dispersion to Oceania and developed Asia

Since most of South Asian Tibetan refugees have not secured formal immigration status in their host countries, their dispersion has expanded to other continents. Compared to those Tibetans living in South Asia, Europe and North America, Tibetans in Australia and New Zealand emigrated there on their own, married citizens, or went to study, work, or engage in religious or cultural activities. Tibetan diasporization in Oceania has proven successful. There are only around 60 Tibetans residing in Japan, some of them hold a Taiwanese (Republic of China) passport, which makes it easier to obtain a Japanese visa, and others are fulltime staff members of the liaison office of the Dalai Lama in Japan. Under Seoul's stringent immigration laws, less than 20 Tibetans reside in South Korea, mostly on work visas. Tibetan exiles and their supporters often protest to the Visiting Chinese Leaders or Embassy of China in Oceania and developed Asian countries.