Integration of Refugees: Systemic Policies and Personal Responses

UNHCR Poster

Our speaker at Caritas Rome

Posters made by refugees who are studying Italian at Caritas Rome

Fr Thomas Smolich, SJ, International Director of Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) speaks about the importance of “accompanying” the refugees.

Integration of Refugees: Systemic Policies and Personal Responses

by Soo Kim, MNA

Quoting that 41.4% of refugees and migrants have lived in an informal and hostile settlement situation in Italy since 2011, one NGO worker stated passionately about the lack of systemic integration measures for the refugees: “Current refugee crisis is not an emergency situation, it is an endemic situation!” This is probably the most impactful statement I heard during the incredible week I spent at AGI-Rome, learning about the European/Italian responses to integrating and managing the influx of refugee population. By hearing from speakers representing the Italian government (i.e. Ministry of Interior), UNHCR, as well as various NGOs, we now have a multi-angled view of how the refugees are being received and integrated into Italy. The picture for a large number of refugees is a bleak one. The process of documenting and legalizing these incoming individuals is not as streamlined as it should be. There is a shortage of adequate housing for this large number of people. There is a lack of coherent policies for including the refugees into the national education system. Job opportunities for these displaced people are scant. Public health care system is not easily accessible, and cultural mediators who can help with the acclimation process are insufficient in number. Many of the refugees’ living conditions in the new country are such that they suffer from secondary trauma and psychological stress derived from life expectation mismatch and social marginalization.

Despite the glum reality for the refugees and the displaced, we also saw hope and light when we learned of the wonderful work various organizations are doing to provide necessary and personal help. The Ministry of Interior started a program called SPRAR (The Protection System for Asylum Seekers and Refugees) in 2002 where the national government funds and oversees the refugee integration programs that are organized and managed at the local municipality levels. Since 2015 this initiative has grown to incorporate over 700 programs in Italy. By cooperating with the network of local institutions, they are able to implement better reception projects that are meeting the specific needs of the refugees and forced migrants in each municipality. The speaker from SPRAR program said, “we provide tools for integration but integration is a personal process.” This appeared to me as an honest and humane response. We can’t just lump all refugee experience and integration process into one homogenous practice. Government policies and responses have to take into consideration that each refugee experience is particular and distinct, and the help for the integration process has to happen at the ground level for individuals.

Another speaker from Caritas Rome has expressed a similar sentiment. Caritas is an international organization that is inspired by the Catholic faith. With the goal of helping the poor and the vulnerable regardless of race or religion, Caritas Rome is working hard to provide housing, meals, counseling, and legal services to over 30,000 users every year. Our host talked emotionally about many unexpressed and complicated needs each refugee has when adjusting to a completely new culture and language, embedded in unfamiliar legal and social systems. She spoke of one of the happiest endings that she witnessed in her many years of working at Caritas. The story was of a young man from Ivory Coast who was matched with an Italian family that “adopted” him. This family walked closely with this young man through his integration process. This young man, with the immediate and kind help of this family, became entirely independent within a year and is now working as a chef. This story emphasizes the importance of deep human connection in any human development and success. It also echoes what Father Thomas Smolich, the International Director of Jesuit Refugee Service shared with us. JRS, whose mission is to “Accompany, Serve, and Advocate,” stresses the importance of providing close and direct contact with the forcibly displaced persons. Father Tom said, “when you feel alone your personal demons are stronger whether you are a refugee or not.” He emphasized the need to be companions to those who are lacking social network in the new world in which these refugees find themselves. This is probably why Pope Francis called on European parishes and religious communities to offer true welcome and shelter to migrant families in 2015. This is also the reason why he launched Share the Journey campaign in 2017. When human connections are formed, refugees transform from being “those others” to “one of us.” The success of a true integrative process for the refugees depends on the receptiveness of the host communities as much as it does on the efforts of the refugee and displaced people.

This week spent at AGI-Rome made me realize that a comprehensive and holistic response for the refugee crisis must incorporate both systemic public policy and personal receptiveness at multiple levels of host communities. If current refugee crisis is not an emergency situation but an endemic situation as the NGO worker claimed, it is even more critical that the integration responses are infused with fundamental human kindness and empathy.

For additional helpful thoughts on the integration process for Europe’s refugees, you can read:

· McKinsey Global Institute’s November 2016 report

· World Economic Forum’s research

· UNHCR’s 2013 report

When Media Affects Aid

Photo of AGI:Rome 2018 participants at the office of Médecins Sans Frontières, 1/11/18. 

Photo taken by AGI:Rome 2018 participant during our visit to Médecins Sans Frontières, 1/11/18.

When Media Affects Aid 

by Nadia N. B. Hajjar, MIMS

Being able to experience the AGI: Rome immersion has allowed me to have a more profound understanding of humanitarian organizations and their efforts to better serve the migrant and refugee population in Rome, Italy. As a Migration Studies scholar, my educational background has been heavily focused on theory, policies, and history. What I believed was missing from my classroom education was the understanding of real life workings and issues service organizations have, which is what I believe to have gained through this program. The opportunity to meet with different organization, and more importantly, the ability to ask questions to service providers taught me what I could not learn from in the classroom. After returning to San Francisco, I have had the time to deeply reflect on the experiences and knowledge gained from the program.

Throughout the immersion, our group met with several representatives from organizations like the Jesuit Refugee Service and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. However, for me, the most informative and impactful meeting was with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). Our presenters from MSF gave an overview of the different services and projects being done within Italy, focusing on medical and psychological aid. Our candid conversation explored the realities of what is happening with migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea with special focus on refugee reception and life lived outside of reception centers. One theme covered in our discussion turned to the search and rescue operations MSF led in the Mediterranean Sea, and the resulting negative press about them in Italy. More recently, the Italian media and public have been very critical of the search and rescue operation MSF led in order to rescue migrant boats in distress. Our MSF representative mentioned how the Italian media criminalized their humanitarian aid activity, and image by calling them “taxi drivers of traffickers.” This kind of narrative and publicity is harmful in many ways to the work of organizations like MSF. MSF recently went under investigation by the Italian government for fraudulent activity, which was supported by this narrative of criminality of humanitarian efforts.

Narratives of immigration, migration and refugee issues have a tendency of being negative, false, harmful, and most of the time xenophobic. Some examples of scholarly work relating to a discourse analysis of the media’s unfavorable rhetoric on migration and refugees can be found here and here. The media’s treatment and general opinion of migrants and refugees are similar in Italy and the United States. Immigrants in the US are subjected to a constant rhetoric of criminality, which has been exacerbated more recently during the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election by the then-candidate Donald Trump. Likewise, the Italian media also criminalizes and dehumanizes this extremely vulnerable population, and examples of this can be seen here with African migrants and here with Muslim migrants.

Throughout our time in Italy, our conversations constantly reflected how many of the issues that service organizations are experiencing in Italy, are similarly happening in the United States. Perhaps this also means that our two countries can learn from each other in the pursuit of better treatment of these populations.

Recommended Further Reading:

Bednarek, Monika, & Caple, Helen. 2014. “Why do news values matter? Towards a new methodological framework for analyzing news discourse in Critical Discourse Analysis and beyond”. Discourse & Society, 25 (2), 135-158.

Cisneros, J. David. "Contaminated Communities: The Metaphor of "Immigrant as Pollutant" in Media Representations of Immigration." Rhetoric and Public Affairs 11, no. 4 (2008): 569-601. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41940396.

Lamb, Christopher. 2017. “‘Religion-blindness’ of politicians preventing Church groups from doing more to help migrants.” La Stampa, November 8, 2017. http://www.lastampa.it/2017/11/08/vaticaninsider/eng/news/religionblindness-of-politicians-preventing-church-groups-from-doing-more-to-help-migrants-2NHOxQYa2sih81ycDMbT5I/pagina.htm

Leudar, Ivan, Jacqueline Hayes, Jiří Nekvapil, and Johanna Turner Baker. "Hostility Themes in Media, Community and Refugee Narratives." Discourse & Society 19, no. 2 (2008): 187-221. http://www.jstor.org/stable/42889189.

Montali, Lorenzo, Paolo Riva, Alessandra Frigerio, and Silvia Mele. 2013. "The representation of migrants in the Italian press: A study on the Corriere della Sera (1992-2009)." Journal Of Language And Politics 12, no. 2: 226-250.

“Saving Lives, Not Border Patrol”

Photo credit: Save the Children

“Saving Lives, Not Border Patrol”

By: Mercedes Reed, MNA

As a youth developer in programming, my career has been focused on creating spaces for youth to be heard and feel safe. My work has been solely in the United States and previous to attending the AGI-Rome trip, my knowledge on the refugee crisis was extremely low.

While moving through and learning about the organizations and all the amazing work they are doing in refugee resettlement, I was continuously impacted by the high rising statistics and human stories that we were shared with us. But the presentation that impacted me the most was with attorney Guisy D’Alconzo from Save the Children. Much of the storytelling and information we had learned about up until this presentation was from the perspective of an adult. Adults, who have experienced trauma, but are semi-equipped with skills and knowledge on how to navigate and advocate for themselves in this horrendous process. But when learning that over 4,500 children crossed the Mediterranean in 2017, with 4000 of them unaccompanied, these statistics and stories hit even closer to my heart. To be on this earth for such a short period of time and to have much of your life experience be fleeing from your country of origin to some place new, on your own, without the maturity and understanding of what is happening around you is incomprehensible. “Children are children, first and foremost. Conflict, poverty, persecution and the impact of climate change are all driving children from their homes, only for them to drown in European waters,” said Rob MacGillivray, Director of Operations for the VOS HESTIA, Save the Children’s Search & Rescue Ship.

Upon reflection of our experience in Rome, the motivator that I will bring back most into my everyday life is remembering that each of the statistics I read regarding the refugee crisis includes a human story that deserves attention and to be listened to. While going through the AGI program, we were continuously hit with statistics that were mind-blowing. One from NPR reports that that over 3,100 migrants died crossing the Mediterranean in 2017, surpassing the previous year’s number for the fourth year in the row. Truly trying to comprehend that number is unbearable but it is essential to take a moment to think about every story that was lost.

In my work, my driving force is to give youth the floor. To build them up and convince them that they are worthy and their voices matter. But when thinking about what many of these refugee children have been through, it is hard from them to even think about their thoughts when they are just aching to survive. Helle Thorning-Schmidt, Save the Children International CEO, captured my thoughts best, “On land, children need proper reception centers where they can regain their childhood –somewhere they’re safe, protected, fed, educated and given access to psychological support.” This is a world crisis and all hands have to come on deck to create the spaces for all refugees to be heard and feel safe.

No Longer Living in Fear: An Autonomous Story

Dr. Marco Tavanti and the University of San Francisco students in the Academic Global Immersion AGI-Rome of January 2018. Standing outside Centro Astalli, JRS-Italy after hearing the testimony of a refugee.  

No Longer Living in Fear: An Autonomous Story

By: Imelda Guzman, MIMS

As I reflect my experience from the immersion program in Rome, I realized the challenges refugees and organizations deal with. My immersion began a week early; I had no cell phone service, which meant no maps, no translations, and no online assistance unless I was in an area of WIFI (very limited). I started in Milan and worked my way down to Rome. The biggest hardship was the language barrier. Although I do speak Spanish and it facilitated my stay, I found it extremely difficult to communicate with a vast majority of people. I found myself lost in several instances, many of which required me to ask for help. Asking for help created a sensation of vulnerability that was created voluntarily.

Even though the feelings of vulnerability were short term, I felt more connected to the stories that were shared to us during this immersion. We had the honor to listen to a woman named Suzy whose story was not like the others, she fled Cameroon because of domestic violence. Her story was very touching, she was married involuntarily at a very young age, and she lived in a nightmare. She tried to avoid all confrontation, arguments and fights by obliging with her husbands orders. The marriage blessed her with a child, a child she would have to leave behind. She found refuge with the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) Italy Centro Astalli, a place she now calls home.

JRS is an international catholic organization, serving refugees in over 50 countries. Its mission is to accompany, serve, and advocate refugees and forcibly displaced populations. JRS focuses its work in “education, emergency assistance, healthcare, livelihood activities and social services.” As of 2016 had given refugee assistance to over 700,00 people. As part of JRS mission they ensure that refugees are given full rights during repatriation, as per the 1951 Geneva Convention.

Suzy’s story like others is remarkable to hear. She spoke with such hope, her life in Cameroon was part of her past and she was able to grow from it. She made it clear to us that she owned her story; she was no longer living in fear and had become an autonomous person. She is now planning to start her own organization to help people like her.

Although not all stories are as remarkable as hers, the organizations we were informed about seek to provide all services necessary to facilitate their arrival.

Our last day in Rome we had the honor to visit Caritas Roma, as an non-profit organization who is focused on the peoples need, their goal is promote social empowerment, influence political, economic, and social institutions and promote solidarity. Some of the services they provide include but are not limited to listening, job counseling, legal assistance, accommodation services, social assistance and Italian school. As we may all know language is one of the largest issue persons arriving to Italy are faced with. Their efforts to assist refugees with Italian school are remarkable. Each person’s case is different and his or her Italian language program length varies. The most remarkable portion of the presentation was the location, we sat in the very classroom hundreds of refugees have sat, a place of filled with opportunities.

I am grateful for the people we met the experiences we had and an unforgettable immersion.

To learn more about the importance of education please visit the following webpage. UNHCR

The Jesuit Way: For Human Dignity

Pope Francis greets refugees and others outside Centro Astalli, the Jesuit Refugee Service center for refugees in Rome in 2013. Photo Credit: Centro Astalli

The Jesuit Way

by Karla Diaz, MNA

Growing up culturally Catholic, my childhood was filled with a significant amount of fear-based do’s and don’ts. Because of my stepfather’s natural distrust of religious institutions, I also grew up being very much aware of the Catholic church’s role in religious persecution and colonization. As an adult, attending a Jesuit University, I find myself reflecting on my role within the Catholic institution. I had the opportunity to partake in the AGI: Rome program this past intersession where I studied Refugee Crisis Management, along with colleagues from various schools within the School of Management.

While in Rome, the presence of Jesuit organizations was clear and significant. I could not help but think of the irony that many refugees are forced to migrate due to religious persecution, bigotry, xenophobia, nationalism and ethnocentrism yet the majority of the organizations that we had the opportunity to meet with were Jesuit, such as Jesuit Refugee Services and Centro Astalli. These organizations are providing vital services on the ground for refugees, despite their religious affiliation. In historical and present settings, religion has been at the root of many of global dilemmas. Religion has been used as a strategy for alternative motives for centuries. Within this irony, there is also evidence that religious institutions are providing much needed aid and are setting in where governments cannot or have failed. A 2015 study by the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) took a look at religious organizations and their role in refugee services. The UNHCR found that, in the case of refugee management and support, religion is being used at the basis of social solidarity. 

The Catholic Church has been vocal on its stance on migration and refugees. Domestically, the Catholic Church is lobbying through its Justice for Immigrants Initiative and is educating communities to create positive will for positive immigration reform through the Catholic Campaign for Immigrant Reform. Globally, with its first Jesuit Pope, the Catholic church has positioned itself as a key player in influencing public sentiment regarding refugees. As pointed out by Father Lydio F. Tomasi, C.S., Pope Francis is working to “…make the Catholic vision of morality more inclusive, credible, and responsive to conditions on the ground…” Through not only his vocal stance but his actions as well Pope Francis has directed his message towards the focus on human dignity and rights. He constantly reminds his congregation that Jesus Christ, himself was a refugee. 

Although Pope Francis has received significant pushback from conservative Catholics, he continues to challenge them to step out of their comfort zones and practice true mercy. While in Rome, I had the opportunity hear Pope Francis speak. On Wednesday, January 10th, 2018, my colleagues and I attended his audience. It was a far more transformative experience than I had anticipated. It was inspiring to see so many people gather in peace and solidarity. I left his audience feeling hopeful that Pope Francis is leading the Catholic Church towards a more tolerant and socially active space. The AGI- Rome experience left me filled with gratitude and respect for the Jesuit organizations working tirelessly to reform policies and provide vital services despite facing challenges of their own. It even made realize how much of an honor it is to be a part of a Jesuit institution.

We are all One: Identity & Integration of Refugees

Wall graffiti in Rome saying: We are all one. Photo Credit: Karina Castro

We are all One: Identity & Integration of Refugees 

By Karina V. Castro, MIMS

The greatest wealth is to be given a second chance to live without fear and have stability. The greatest lesson in hearing the story of another in this case was hearing how this person found wealth not in material things but in being happy and at peace. In telling their story and having ownership of it has given this person the power not only to be resilient but to now create their own non-profit to help the people of their country of origin. Each person’s story is unique and it is their own to share, to tell and decide in which platform to do so. Part of sharing a story is to create a humanity to the migration refugee crisis across the world. As human beings we all deserve to have the same opportunities to live a life with dignity. From the migration studies scholarly perspective there are times in which the focus is the journey of the immigrant or refugee but what is crucial is what happens post arrival in the destination country. Integration is composed of many factors and it is interesting to see how it intersects with identity. There is a duality that immerses in living in the destination country adapting to a new culture but holding onto the roots of the country of origin which is ingrained in an individual's identity. It is being here and there at the same time.

Strang and Alastair have a theory in which the components of integration in which rights and citizenship are a foundation of integration. Language and cultural knowledge are the facilitators and social capital is accessible by establishing connections. The factors and access to integration are employment, housing, education and health care (Strang&Ager, 2010). Although these factors are important to integration of refugees, it is a complex ideal which has deeper roots. Rights and citizenship are a fundamental part of integrating refugees but so is identity and acceptance by the host society. Although citizenship rights include the notions of nationhood and perhaps to some belonging, it is not always sufficient but it is a key element to understanding integration depending on the circumstance (Strang&Ager, 2010).

Awarding citizenship on the basis of successful integration may not be enough. It is also to be defined what is successful integration and if does ever truly happen. EU policies have not been the most welcoming to refugees nonetheless to manage the Mediterranean Refugee Crisis. Can policies really be geared to say welcome? The European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE) has argued that integration is multi-dimensional, and includes the conditions to participate in society, actual participation in society and a perception of acceptance in the host society. Although citizenship and fully participating in a society is part of integration it also is holding onto one’s identity and roots and being able to in an essence live in two countries at once. It is not always easy to integrate into a society which may or may not be welcoming, which makes each refugees’ story unique and individual.

Integration in Italian society: Is it possible?

Migrants rest outside 'Baobab' migration centre next to the Tiburtina train station in Rome on June 14, 2015. Credit: AFP

Integration in Italian society: Is it possible?

by Luis Canett, MIMS

It was 2 AM when I arrived at Fiumicino Airport from Los Angeles, California. Once I arrived in Rome, I decided to stay at the airport as I had a connecting flight in the next few hours. I remember being tired but I decided to stay awake because I was scared to lose my flight. My partner and I found a cozy spot near the departures section of the airport. There I saw a wide range of people from different countries, and ethnicities. I noticed that a group of African men holding green passports were questioned by local authorities. Their passports and other documents were quickly taken for inspection. I remember the faces of the men that were awaiting their flight, they looked terrified. I infer that there were no problems with their documents because after about 20 minutes, the officers came back and returned their passports.

With this in mind, I started the AGI Rome program run by the Masters in Management at USF. We had several sessions with local and governmental agencies to discuss a range of topics from integration to global policy. Based on the experience I had at the airport in Rome, I will focus on the conversation we had on integration. One organization/session that I found interesting was with CARITAS Rome. The room where we had the session was filled with images, maps, and words in Italian; this is where migrants learned Italian and Italian customs. Alicia Farina, the speaker, was very enthusiastic about her work. One aspect that I found interesting was the conversation around the Protection System for Asylum Seekers and Refugees (SPRAR). The purpose of SPRAR is to try to expose migrants to the Italian system. More specifically, as Farina expressed, SPRAR gives them (asylum seekers and refugees) the knowledge to get around Italian society through different programs such as: language, education, health care, and counseling.

Our discussions revolved around how these services can help immigrants integrate to Italian society. For instance, at Centro Astalli we listened to a story of a Cameroonian woman who moved to Italy several years ago. Her integration process seemed hard, but with enough support and encouragement she was successful and was able to open her own organization that helps other women in need. Her story was very moving, however, after my experience in the airport I concluded that integration is a two-way street. While immigrants are working hard to integrate, there are those in Italy that do not welcome refugees.

A couple of days ago, a man shouting “Italy for Italians” wounded six “people of color,” according to an article in the Washington Post. The news has shocked many in Italy, and Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni has condemned the attacks by urging all sides to “stop this cycle of violence.” This shooting has been used as a tool to promote anti-immigrant sentiment in Italy, where elections are taking place in March 2018. I think that integration will be part of the bigger discourse in the next few months to come in Italy as many organizations such as Caritas fight to help immigrants and other fight to expel 150,000 immigrants.