Transcript Heterodox GIS - Settlement At Work

Community-based Refugee
Research
Jennifer Hyndman
National RAP Conference
February 21, 2007
[email protected]
Collaborative Research
on refugee settlement in YVR
• 1. Burmese refugees to Greater Vancouver,
1996-97
• 2. Kosovar refugees to locations outside YVR,
BC, an experiment in regionalization, 2002-04
• 3. Acehnese refugees, ‘new and few’, all
destined to Greater Vancouver, 2005-06.
• 4. Community-University Research Principles
(CURPs) developed in 2003, applicable to
projects in and beyond refugee research.
– These collaborations also attempt to maximize
research capacity in the settlement sector.
CURPs promote
•
•
•
•
•
Equitable partnerships that 1) identify research
questions together; 2) design research and
methods/approaches to be used (including
stipends/salaries for community partners as well as
grad students;
Informed consent and confidentiality assurances
including appropriate recognition and compensation
to research participants for time spent; transportation
and child care costs covered.
Dissemination of findings to all research
participants in a linguistically and culturally
appropriate manner;
Community-university research principles serve as
guidelines (even incentives!) for collaborative research
between academics and NGOs/SPOs/refugee serving
sector;
See CURPs @ www.gis.sfu.ca/CURA
1. Research issues with Burmese
refugees: ISS and UBC
• Trust – given that the state is the perpetrator of
much of the violence experienced by both
groups (in Burma and Indonesia), trust becomes
a prerequisite to doing meaningful research.
• Translation – trusting translators is not a given;
concerns about disclosure were expressed.
– This is a current issue in BC where Karen
refugees from Burma are landing; available
local translators speak Burmese but not
Karen, affecting trust but also comprehension
and program effectiveness.
2. Regionalization policy & Kosovar
refugees in British Columbia: ISS & SFU
• Kosovar refugees settled in BC in 1999; the sector
identified a need for research of this practice;
• We compared settlement outcomes in Kelowna, Vernon,
Abbotsford, Chilliwack, and Greater Vancouver;
• Regionalization: these government-assisted refugees
were largely settled outside Lower Mainland which is
unique in the BC context;
• Family groupings: extended family members were
settled together
• Spatial mismatch of employment and skills: refugees had
manufacturing background, but sent to cities where
services in tourism and health prevailed.
3. New and Few: Acehnese
refugees to Vancouver (ISS & SFU)
• Initiated by ISS but also backed by by federal and
provincial policymakers, this research explored the
efficacy of settling all 109 Acehnese to Canada, a new
refugee group, to one metropolitan area;
• University role: to write a grant with consultation from
the settlement sector on design, methods, questions,
and then coordinate the research process:
• Approach: 1) household surveys (70/109); 2) focus
groups (15 sessions with 5 groups); 3) a feedback and
dissemination event (policymakers, NGOs, academics
and refugees in attendance), and 4) publication of results
– Total timeline: one year
Implications of IRPA: GAR profiles
• More than 7.9 million
refugees worldwide have
been in protracted
situations, often camp
settings, for five years or
more;
• Long term time in camps
shapes refugees’ health
and literacy profiles,
and conditions settlement
needs (Burmese,
Acehnese).
• Since the changes
introduced by the
Immigration and Refugee
Protection Act (IRPA, ISS
states that 75% of the
GARs it receives are
‘high needs’;
• As well as health and
literacy, certain
household formations
(single parent; large
families); and higher
exposure to violence
define ‘high needs’
clients.
Of 75 Acehnese refugees who arrived in
Vancouver in June 2004,
– One client immediately hospitalized for TB; staff, other
clients and interpreters all tested
– 5 others carried tuberculosis;
– Several clients required dental treatment and
eyeglasses not covered by Interim Federal Health;
– Two clients were cardiac patients, requiring ongoing
attention;
– One client diabetic;
– One client has cysts/boils over all of body, requiring
dermatological treatment; client suffers psych effects
as well;
– Several clients have old wounds that need attention;
one is missing four fingers on one hand.
– Many have PTSD and are getting pysch assessments
and treatments;
– In 2004, more than 300 appointments were booked
by ISS with Bridge Community Health Clinic, each
Housing Conditions
• Housing conditions in BC:
‘good’ or ‘acceptable’, but
– 81% of those
surveyed are living
with 4 or more people;
– 26% with 6 or more
– Doubling to quintupling
up is apparent
– Crowding is an issue
from the researchers’
standpoint, but not
from that of the
refugees
• These findings cannot be
divorced from provincial
social assistance
standards
($510/month/single) and
very high rents/low
vacancy here in
Vancouver;
• A fifth study I have not
mentioned addresses
immigrants ‘at risk’ of
homelessness
Their main issues: ESL & work
• Our mind is focused on two things:
language and earning money. But we
cannot get jobs without English, they go
hand in hand. And we can’t focus on our
studies because we are worried about
money. (male focus group participant)
• We are not yet part of [the Canadian]
community because we do not speak the
language. (male focus group participant)
Acehnese women and work
• Very little English was spoken among the 7 female focus
group participants (initially 4 arrived in 2004; three more
came through family reunification);
• none was in paid work; when asked what jobs they
envisage themselves doing, they said,
• We would like office work, or work in a supermarket—not
like in Indonesia where we go to the fields/farms;
• I like showing dresses, bridal dresses, the same job I
had in Aceh;
• I want to be a babysitter—it is practical [she has a young
child already];
• I want to be a nurse because I was a nurse;
• Cashier is good for me. I have three kids and am
pregnant now, so maybe it will be good to stay home as
the childcare costs will exceed the wages as a cashier.
• Cleaning, but if I can, find a better job and … speak
better English.
• Supermarket worker.
Men at Work
• We are ready to work. If you ask me if I am
ready to look for a job, I’m not ready to look for a
job because I don’t know how. But I am ready to
work.
• I have been living here for one year and they
just put me in language school last month so
how can I learn the language.
• Herein lies one policy conundrum: if it takes
up to one year for GARs to access ELSA, then
how can they meet the provincial requirements
that they be ‘actively looking for work’ after their
year of income assistance ends?
– BC-Canada Agreement does not prioritize GAR ELSA
classes, even though federal income support for them
is limited to one year (GARs remain federally funded).
RAP and IRPA changes: 2 solitudes
• Despite the major changes in refugee selection
and priorities ushered in by IRPA (i.e. more high
needs GARs to Canada), RAP has changed
very little to accommodate this clientele;
– From a 1-2 year policy window for settlement to a
3-5 year window post-IRPA;
• GARs promise to be one of the most difficult to
settle groups in the next ten years because of
their ‘high needs’ designation, including health
status, literacy abilities, protracted refugee
status, and less conventional household
formations.
Responses to CIC’s policy of
centralizing settlement in YVR
• When asked about the decision to relocate
everyone to Vancouver, focus group
participants were unanimous:
– Well done, good idea, we are very happy. We
have become united in one community. We
can share, we can have our community. And
we prefer it this way.
– This was the best idea, best situation,
because we are totally new.