What is This Thing About Refugees’ Integration?

source: www.iamexpat.nl

People’s Assumptions on Integration

While achieving integration is commonly known as moving to a new place, learning a foreign language and having access to work and housing; from a refugee’s perspective, integration is a much deeper and a more subjective endeavor, which includes rights and responsibilities, but above all, the feeling of being at home. People’s views regarding refugee integration are influenced by the concerns and stereotypes regarding Muslims in the Western World. There is a widespread assumption – most prominent amongst older, less-educated people – that Muslims would like to be among the communities they live in, but also be distinctly different than the rest of the society. Those who are religiously affiliated, in addition to those on the right side of the ideological spectrum, tend to be the most skeptical about the possibility of integration, highlighted by their fears of the refugee crisis becoming a top security threat. (Stokes, Wike and Poushter, 2016) Here, it is important to examine the expectations of integration from the welcoming society itself while understanding past and present integration patterns on a circumstance-specific multi-faceted level.

The act of migration by definition does not simply constitute the replacement of one’s existing culture with strong connections and cultural ties to the receiving society. The ability to coexist through Understanding, tolerance and education is essentially the desired outcome of any international community. Although, many misconceptions have been formed based on interpretation of various E.U. governments’ alteration of the concept of rights to duties to the obligations of immigrants and self-responsibility. (UNHCR, 2013, p. 36) This change in attitude has shifted the responsibility for community-migrant integration off of the government in regards to policy on to the individual migrants and communities, which in turn has left integration efforts to become one-sided leaving many foundations and programs under-funded. (ibid. 37) This lack of integration efforts on behalf of the government has unfortunately stalled integration efforts in some societies further perpetuating stereotypes and fears about unfamiliar cultures.

On a larger scale, the European Union has not created any solid mandate to take on a particular integration approach, therefore relying solely on soft law. (Sunderland, 2016) However, the E.U. does provide allocated funding for integration measures. The motivation for E.U. support in the integration process is based in the E.U. Common Basic Principles, adopted in 2004, which defines integration as “a dynamic, two-way process of mutual accommodation by all immigrants and residents of Member States”, going on to also state the importance of employment, education and active participation in society to incorporate diversity. (UNHCR, 2013, p. 35) Norms set out by the E.U. lay the basis for all Member-States to abide by, yet, it is at the discretion of the Member-States and governing bodies to allocate support and funding to initiatives in addition to basic protections and aid given to newly received migrants and refugees.

The host society can essentially take on the characteristics of 5 different approaches of integration with occasional overlap based on the makeup of the society. (Montreuil and Bourhis, 2001, p. 700) These methods of integration can be defined below:

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