<
https://theconversation.com/friends-for-life-how-living-with-locals-helped-refugees-feel-at-home-in-a-new-country-172561>
"The large-scale evacuations from Afghanistan mean Afghan refugees are expected
to settle in Europe, the UK and the US in the coming years. Many European
countries have struggled with welcoming and integrating refugees, and are in
need of new ideas and systems to ease the process.
Resettlement creates challenging situations for both the refugees seeking a new
life, and for the communities in which they are placed. While many in these
communities will feel sympathy towards refugees, others are afraid of what
foreign migrants moving into their towns and villages might mean for their
local socioeconomic environment.
While Europe is no stranger to mass migration, recent years have shown signs of
social and political struggle in trying to integrate vulnerable people from a
different continent, culture, religion and language in host communities. For
example, Essex county has offered support for Afghan refugees through temporary
accomodation and other support, but far-right groups have started anti-migrant
campaigns in protest.
In 2017, following the resettlement of tens of thousands of Syrian refugees in
the Netherlands, we conducted a qualitative study of the resettlement and
integration process to better understand the experiences of both refugees and
host communities. Our findings provide a model for how communities can support
the resettlement and integration of Afghan refugees, and ease host communities’
anxieties and perceptions."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
