Refugee Protection in Brazil and Latin America - Selected Essays


Book Description

Refugees and their protection have started to be a part of daily conversation in recent years. New flows from Africa to Europe, new crisis in Asia and in the Americas, and record numbers since the Second World War, for instance, have paved the way for news reports in the media, political discourses on the topic and debates on how to actually protect these persons. In a world scenario of increasingly (i) closed borders, (ii) association of migration to security issues, (iii) lack of political will to ascertain human rights and (iv) disregard for migration as a right in se, the challenges on and for refugees’ protection have been progressing; as have the need for international protection of persons fleeing well-founded fear of persecution due to their race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership to a social group, i.e. refugees. Regional approaches and national practices gain relevance, especially if they can be seen as good practices, even if not without flaws. “What are the main challenges and opportunities regarding Refugee Protection in Latin America and in Brazil? The book offers a very convincing response. The essays by Liliana Jubilut reflect rigorous academic research and years of practical experience on supporting asylum seekers and refugees. The author is certainly one of the most influential scholars in Brazil working in the Forced Migration field, and the essays provide a comprehensive view of Refugee Protection in Brazil and Latin America”. – Gabriel Gualano de Godoy, PhD, UNHCR Chief of Mission in the Dominican Republic and former Head of UNHCR Protection Unit in Brazil. “This book shed clear lights on the development of refugee protection in Latin America for the years to come. Liliana Jubilut is already a leading scholar on refugee protection in Latin America and her articles reflect a long myriad of issues related to refugee protection, since status determination, resettlement, local integration and the remarkable humanitarian visas for the Syrian refugees. She shows the developments and setbacks and recover the most important developments since the Cartagena Declaration with a sharp eye and historical perspective. This book will soon become an essential bibliography for anyone trying to understand the particular and innovative refugee protection initiatives in this troubled but generous region”. – Wellington Pereira Carneiro, PhD, UNHCR Senior Official (having worked in Brazil and Colombia for UNHCR and in Panama prior to joining the UN)




Psychosocial Wellness of Refugees


Book Description

In recent years, scholars in the fields of refugee studies and forced migration have extended their areas of interest and research into the phenomenon of displacement, human response to it, and ways to intervene to assist those affected, increasingly focusing on the emotional and social impact of displacement on refugees and their adjustment to the traumatic experiences. In the process, the positive concept of "psychosocial wellness" was developed as discussed in this volume. In it noted scholars address the strengths and limitations of their investigations, citing examples from their work with refugees from Afghanistan, Cambodia, Vietnam, Palestine, Cuba, Nicaragua, Haiti, Eastern Europe, Bosnia, and Chile. The authors discuss how they define "psychosocial wellness," as well as the issues of sample selection, measurement, reliability and validity, refugee narratives and "voices," and the ability to generalize findings and apply these to other populations. The key question that has guided many of these investigations and underlies the premise of this book is "what happens to an ordinary person who has experienced an extraordinary event?" This volume also highlights the fact that those involved in such research must also deal with their own emotional responses as they hear victims tell of killing, torture, humiliation, and dispossesion. The volume will therefore appeal to practitioners of psychology, psychiatry, social work, nursing, and anthropology. However, its breadth and the evaluation of the strengths and disadvantages of both qualitative and quantitative methods also make it an excellent text for students.




Crossing


Book Description

The first in-depth exploration of the persistence and pervasiveness of a dangerous legal fiction about people who cross borders: the binary distinction between migrant and refugee. Today, the concept of "the refugee" as distinct from other migrants looms large. Immigration laws have developed to reinforce a conceptual dichotomy between those viewed as voluntary, often economically motivated, migrants who can be legitimately excluded by potential host states, and those viewed as forced, often politically motivated, refugees who should be let in. In Crossing, Rebecca Hamlin argues against advocacy positions that cling to this distinction. Everything we know about people who decide to move suggests that border crossing is far more complicated than any binary, or even a continuum, can encompass. The decision to leave home is almost always multi-causal and often involves many stops and hazards along the way--a reality not captured by a system that categorizes a majority of border-crossers as undeserving, and the rare few as vulnerable and needy. Drawing on cases of various "border crises" across Europe, North America, South America, and the Middle East, Hamlin outlines major inconsistencies and faulty assumptions upon which the binary relies, and explains its endurance and appeal by tracing its origins to the birth of the modern state and the rise of colonial empire. The migrant/refugee binary is not just an innocuous shorthand, indeed its power stems from the way in which is it painted as objective, neutral, and apolitical. In truth, the binary is a dangerous legal fiction, politically constructed with the ultimate goal of making harsh border control measures more ethically palatable to the public. This book is a challenge to all those invested in the rights and study of migrants, to interrogate their own assumptions and move towards more equitable advocacy for all border crossers.




The Oxford Handbook of Refugee and Forced Migration Studies


Book Description

Refugee and Forced Migration Studies has grown from being a concern of a relatively small number of scholars and policy researchers in the 1980s to a global field of interest with thousands of students worldwide studying displacement either from traditional disciplinary perspectives or as a core component of newer programmes across the Humanities and Social and Political Sciences. Today the field encompasses both rigorous academic research which may or may not ultimately inform policy and practice, as well as action-research focused on advocating in favour of refugees' needs and rights. This authoritative Handbook critically evaluates the birth and development of Refugee and Forced Migration Studies, and analyses the key contemporary and future challenges faced by academics and practitioners working with and for forcibly displaced populations around the world. The 52 state-of-the-art chapters, written by leading academics, practitioners, and policymakers working in universities, research centres, think tanks, NGOs and international organizations, provide a comprehensive and cutting-edge overview of the key intellectual, political, social and institutional challenges arising from mass displacement in the world today. The chapters vividly illustrate the vibrant and engaging debates that characterize this rapidly expanding field of research and practice.




The Politics of Migration


Book Description

Facsimiles of 16 essays published from the 1970s to the 1990s offer a variety of scholarly views on migration since World War II. Among them are transnational migration as a small window on the diminished autonomy of the modern democratic state, the function of labor immigration in western European capitalism, non-white minority access to the political agenda in Britain, immigration and refugee policy in the US, immigration and changes in the French party system, and an aggregate data analysis of the National Front vote in the 1977 Greater London Council elections. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR




Global Migrants, Global Refugees


Book Description

In recent years, several influential commentators have stated or strongly implied that the advanced industrial democracies are today being overwhelmed by a host of problems - including rapid population growth, the breakup of multi-ethnic states, environmental degredation, and increasing economic differentials between the "developing" and "developed" worlds - for which no effective solutions are at hand. The migration-inducing potential of these post-Cold War developments has been a particular source of concern. This volume provides a counter-catastrophic view of developments and a more sober and balanced assessment of the challenges the United States and other industrial democracies face in the sphere of international migration than that offered in recent years. The first part is devoted to a diagnosis of the problem, revalution of the notion of a "migration crisis" by examining the likely consequences of population growth, environmental degredation, and political conflict in the developing and post-communist worlds. Special attention is also given to the manifestations of these forces in the western hemisphere where they may have direct consequences for immigration to the United States. In the second part the implications for U.S. policy are considered, ranging from promotion of democracy and development of strategies for minimizing international migrations and refugee flows to the intricacies of humanitarian relief and intervention when preventive measures prove ineffective.




Poverty, International Migration and Asylum


Book Description

This book examines the economic consequences of immigration and asylum migration, it focuses on the economic consequences of legal and illegal immigration as well as placing the study of immigration in a global context.




European Higher Education Area: The Impact of Past and Future Policies


Book Description

This volume presents the major outcomes of the third edition of the Future of Higher Education – Bologna Process Researchers Conference (FOHE-BPRC 3) which was held on 27-29 November 2017. It acknowledges the importance of a continued dialogue between researchers and decision-makers and benefits from the experience already acquired, this way enabling the higher education community to bring its input into the 2018-2020 European Higher Education Area (EHEA) priorities. The Future of Higher Education – Bologna Process Researchers Conference (FOHE-BPRC) has already established itself as a landmark in the European higher education environment. The two previous editions (17-19 October 2011, 24-26 November 2014), with approximately 200 European and international participants each, covering more than 50 countries each, were organized prior to the Ministerial Conferences, thus encouraging a consistent dialogue between researchers and policy makers. The main conclusions of the FOHE Conferences were presented at the EHEA Ministerial Conferences (2012 and 2015), in order to make the voice of researchers better heard by European policy and decision makers. This volume is dedicated to continuing the collection of evidence and research-based policymaking and further narrowing the gap between policy and research within the EHEA and broader global contexts. It aims to identify the research areas that require more attention prior to the anniversary 2020 EHEA Ministerial Conference, with an emphasis on the new issues on rise in the academic and educational community. This book gives a platform for discussion on key issues between researchers, various direct higher education actors, decision-makers, and the wider public. This book is published under an open access CC BY license.




Public Health Aspects of Mental Health Among Migrants and Refugees


Book Description

The increasing number of refugees, asylum seekers, and irregular migrants poses a challenge for mental health services in Europe. This review found that these groups are exposed to risk factors for mental disorders before, during, and after migration. The prevalence of psychotic, mood, and substance-use disorders in these groups varies but overall resembles that in the host populations. Refugees and asylum seekers, however, have higher rates of post-traumatic stress disorder. Poor socioeconomic conditions are associated with increased rates of depression five years after resettlement. Refugees, asylum seekers, and irregular migrants encounter barriers to accessing mental health care. Good practice for mental health care includes promoting social integration, developing outreach services, coordinating health care, providing information on entitlements and available services, and training professionals to work with these groups. These actions require resources and organizational flexibility.