The Lack of Integration Policy and Experiences of Settlement: A Case Study of Refugees in Rome

Abstract

This article examines the question of an absence of an integration policy, and specifically how this lack of state intervention is perceived by refugees themselves, and how it shapes their attitudes towards and strategies for integration. The emphasis in examining integration of refugees in this paper is on the importance of human agency in the process of structuring and re-structuring social relations across space and time. The article is based upon research among a group of refugees from former Yugoslavia settled in Rome. Their experiences presented in this paper document a case of integration in which the refugees, for the most part, have not encountered any kind of assistance programme. This situation caused considerable difficulty in the process of their settlement, particularly during its early stages, yet it permitted spontaneous and personalized encounters between the refugees' native culture(s) and that of the receiving society. It is suggested that the nature of these encounters contributed to strengthening the adaptability of the refugees. It also affected their subjective wellbeing and tended to compensate for the numerous problems associated with other aspects of their integration.

Ethnic-Group Strength Among Bosnian Refugees in St. Louis, Missouri, and Host Receptivity and Conformity Pressure

“…In other words, the experience of discrimination at different levels (personal vs. group) will always have negative effects and result in different adaptation outcomes, depending on the level at which discrimination is experienced. Previous literature has also shown that direct personal experience with discrimination usually results in higher acculturative stress (Korac, 2003;Lueck & Wilson, 2010), and perceived group discrimination usually results in the rejection of national identity (Ruggiero et al, 1996).…”

“…Korac (2003) suggests that citizenship allows formal entry into a host community, and guarantees the newcomers basic civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights provided by the host country. These immigration policies were developed to ensure the success of immigrants (Esses et al, 2001).…”

Who Is Welcoming the Stranger? Exploring Faith‐Based Service Provision to Refugees in Philadelphia

“…This process is necessary both for initial survival as well as the longer-term process of integration into a host country (e.g., Berry, 1992;Breslow et al, 1997;Korac, 2003). On the individual and programmatic levels, social support has been found to be a key element in ensuring refugees' well-being in resettlement (e.g., Beiser & Johnson, 2003;Breslow et al, 1997;Ives, 2007;Rousseau, Drapeau, & Corin, 1998).…”

“…In the United States, Breslow and colleagues (1997) and Ives (2005Ives ( , 2007 found sponsorship vital to refugee resettlement outcomes: refugees who had congregation-affiliated sponsors had greater opportunities for upward mobility, higher-than-minimum-wage income, and employment benefits such as adequate health care coverage and retirement plans. Resettlement research examining refugee employment in Canada (e.g., Krahn, Derwing, Mulder & Wilkinson, 2000), Italy (Korac, 2003), the UK (Duke, 1996), and the United States (Ives, 2005(Ives, , 2007Takeda, 2000) indicates that unless there is some mediation, most refugees who arrive with little to no English proficiency will end up in no-or low-skill, low-wage labor from which there is little upward mobility.…”

“…Congregation members, acting on a volunteer basis, have the potential to shape refugees' integration, defined as participation in the host country's economic, social, cultural, and political domains (Korac, 2003;Krahn, et al, 2000;Valtonen, 1999), by facilitating refugees' entrée into these networks. Providing social services to refugees or sponsoring refugees creates interactions and relationships between host country community members and refugees that facilitate multidomain participation.…”