Note: Venue has changed: Anthropology, not Rokkansenteret.
OUT-reach! â Kommunikasjon av «frivillig retur» til irregulĂŠre migranter i Norge.
Hvordan kan en stat pĂ„ best mulig mĂ„te gi informasjon om âfrivillig returâ til irregulĂŠre migranter? BĂžr ikke-statlige organisasjoner delta i denne oppgaven, eller vil det Ă„ pĂ„ta seg slike oppgaver undergrave andre funksjoner disse organisasjonene har? Hvordan kommuniseres frivillig retur i dag, og finnes det alternative bedre mĂ„ter Ă„ gjĂžre dette pĂ„?
âFrivillig returâ har fĂ„tt sterk kritikk av forskere, migranter og organisasjoner for at deltagelse i slike program ofte mangler nettopp det frivillige elementet. Innen forskningen har âfrivillig returâ blitt sett som tett knyttet opp til tvangsretur, deportasjon og institusjoner som opprettholder statens grenser. I et slikt perspektiv blir tilbud om «frivillig returâ gjerne sett pĂ„ som ikke mer enn en mildere variant av tvangsretur og i beste fall en form for obligatorisk retur. «Frivillig retur» er altsĂ„ tett knyttet opp mot mye av elementer som ikke-statlige organisasjoner ofte har stilt seg kritiske til. Hva er da rasjonale som ligger bak at ulike ikke-statlige hjelpe- og advocacyorganisasjoner eller ulike diaspora- og migrantorganisasjoner tar pĂ„ seg ansvaret for Ă„ formidle âfrivillig returâ? Og pĂ„ den annen side, er overnevnte Ă„rsaker den eneste grunnen til at enkelte organisasjoner ikke velger Ă„ gi slik informasjon?
Basert pĂ„ forskning tilknyttet en kommende UDI rapport i regi av Uni Rokkansenteret vedrĂžrende informasjon om âfrivillig returâ til irregulĂŠre migranter utenfor mottak i Norge utforsker Bendixen og KjĂŠrre det etiske og moralske grenselandet som er konteksten for informasjon om frivillig retur, hvordan ulike aktĂžrer stiller seg til slikt informasjonsarbeid, og til slutt hvordan de irregulĂŠre migrantene selv ser pĂ„ denne informasjonen i lys av deres livssituasjon i Norge.
SynnÞve Kristine Nepstad Bendixsen er postdoktor ved sosial antropologisk institutt i Bergen, og forsker pÄ Uni Rokkansenteret hvor hun er tilknyttet prosjektet Provision of Welfare to Irregular Migrants (PROVIR). Hun har tidligere studert pÄ London Scool of Economics og har en PhD fra Humboldt universitetet (Berlin) og Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (Paris). Hennes forskningsfelt er religiÞsitetsutforming blant unge Muslimer i Berlin, samt flere forskningsprosjekter innen tema returmigrasjon og irregulÊr migrasjon, og hun har flere publikasjoner innen disse feltene.
Halvar Andreassen KjÊrre er PhD stipendiat ved IMER/Sosialantropologisk institutt i Bergen og har publisert artikler og deltatt pÄ flere forskningsprosjekter innen temaet irregulÊr/illegalisert migrasjon. Han er ogsÄ tilknyttet prosjektet PROVIR og jobber for tiden med sin PhD om mobilitet blant irregulÊre migranter i Schengen/Europa. Tidligere prosjekter har vÊrt ved NTNU samfunnsforskning i Trondheim, Sosiologisk institutt i Oslo, og han jobber nÄ sammen med SynnÞve pÄ overnevnt prosjekt ved Uni Rokkansenteret.
IMER Abroad: PROVIR Seminar – Precarious migrants and access to welfare: Between policy, law and practice
This workshop will discuss the legal and experienced dilemmas found in the encounter between migrants living in a legally precarious situation and the welfare state in which they reside. Participants will present ongoing empirically based research on migrantsâ access to welfare in policy, law and practice in various European countries. They will also discuss the particular position of youth and children in vulnerable situations. The program is available here.
COMMUNICATING MIGRATION SEMINARS: ESPEN HELGESEN – “Your dad is looking for youâ – Children’s perspectives on state intervention in immigrant families in Norway
Several recent international news stories have described state-initiated forced separation of children and parents in Norway, illustrating how local decisions in the Child Welfare Service can have widespread ramifications outside the families involved. In this paper I draw on ethnographic fieldwork among immigrant families in Kristiansand, Norway, to show how a group of children responded when one of their friends suddenly disappeared. The secrecy surrounding the inner workings of the Child Welfare Service led the children to frame the incident as a âkidnappingâ, and several children expressed fear that they, too, would be separated from their families. Frustrated with the lack of an explanation of what had happened to their friend, the children turned to online worlds, where they could express their fears and concerns by sharing artwork with friends outside the adult gaze.
Espen Helgesen is a PhD candidate at the Department of Social Anthropology, University of Bergen, currently finishing his thesis on technology-mediated sociality and self-formation among children of immigrants in Norway.
Communicating Migration Seminar Series IMER Bergen spring and autumn 2014
The IMER seminar series for 2014 will cover how migration and ethnic relations are communicated in every-day encounters, in mass and social media, in politics and in teaching at the universities.  Has the way people talk about migration and migrants in different social contexts changed over time, and in which ways has it changed? How does migration theory and research fit in with other topics and theories in the social sciences, and how do results from migration research inform public debate and policy development? Communicating migration will be discussed from various angles in our seminar series on international migration and ethnic relations during spring and autumn 2014. We welcome papers that touch upon this broad theme from different angles. Historical analyses of change over time in regard to politics and public debate, research foci and disciplinary concerns are specifically welcomed. The seminar series will end with a two-day conference in October/November 2014.
IMER Seminar:
Elaine Chase and Jenny Allsopp: The âtacticsâ of time and status: Young people subject to immigration control making the transition to âadulthoodâ in the UK
Young people who arrive in the UK from outside Europe without a parent or legal guardian are institutionally categorised according to a range of possible legal statuses and usually afforded time-limited Leave to Remain in the UK. These categorisations are associated with specific welfare entitlements which tend to diminish over time and become particularly uncertain as young people transition into âadulthoodâ. Situated within a broader research programme examining the link between migration, âwellbeingâ and âfuturesâ, this paper examines the multiple transitions imposed on young people subject to immigration control as they approach the age of 18 and beyond, (from child to âadultâ, from being accorded a temporary residence permit to more permanent leave to remain or from legality to âillegalityâ) and the implications for their access to various dimensions of welfare provision. The paper shows how different components of the âstateâ have time limitations at their disposal to control access to welfare and state support according to chronological age. From young peopleâs perspectives, such âtacticsâ fundamentally control their trajectories and future prospects unless they can formulate strategies of their own to counter such tactics.
Read more about Elaine Chase here
Read more about Jenny Allsopp here
Mistillitens migrasjon: Europeisk sĂžr-nord mobilitet i kjĂžlvannet av krisa
Tema for innlegget er den nye Europeiske sÞr-nord migrasjonen. Den empiriske analysen er basert pÄ dybdeintervjuer med noen av dem som har reist fra Spania til Norge etter kriseÄret 2008. Innlegget vil belyse hvordan sÞr-nord migrasjonen i kjÞlvannet av krisa er mer enn en desperat flukt fra arbeidsledighet i hjemlandet. Den vidtrekkende mistilliten til det politiske systemet og fÞlelsen av en dyptgripende hÄplÞshet i hjemlandet er viktige migrasjonsfaktorer i tillegg til jobbmuligheter for dem som kommer til Norge.
Susanne Bygnes (phd) er postdoktor ved universitetet i Bergen. Hun leder det fireÄrige prosjektet Labour Migration in Uncertain Times: Migration from Spain to Norway after 2008, finansiert av forskningsrÄdets VAM-program. Hun har publisert en rekke internasjonale artikler pÄ tema som mangfold og likestilling, blant annet Ambivalent Multiculturalism (2012) i tidsskriftet Sociology.
IMER Lunch: Astrid Ouahyb SundsbĂž – Social mixing policies: What You Want and What You Get
In the public debate and contemporary social policies in Norway as well as in other countries, concentrations of âimmigrantsâ in certain areas of a city are considered to be unfortunate and something which needs to be fought against (see i.e. Gakkestad 2003; Akerhaug 2012). It is anticipated that spatial concentrations of âimmigrantsâ enforces the social isolation of âimmigrantsâ and triggers criminal activities, among other aspects. This becomes very obvious when a âhigh percentage of immigrantsâ in an area serves as basis for referring to that area as a âghettoâ or âinsecureâ (see i.e. SĂŠter 2005; Vassenden: 2007; cf. Akerhaug 2012).
In this lunch seminar, the idea of social mixing, which is not just common in the general public debate but also a manifested major urban policy and planning goal (SĂŠter &Â Ruud 2005; Huse, SĂŠter &Â Aniksdal 2010; cf. Musterd 2005) will be discussed. By using some illustrations both from the academic debate as well as own empirical work, it is shown that it is necessary to be critical about this concept.
It is referred to literature arguing that there is a lack of empirical evidence showing that the residential segregation of âimmigrantsâ has any effect at all, for instance on âintegrationâ and crime (for instance Musterd 2005; Galster 2007; Lees 2008). Furthermore, it is discussed that the imagination of social mixing as an ideal way to tackle the âmulticultural challengeâ might be founded on a highly problematic understanding of âimmigrantsâ and their norms and values as inherently âbadâ (cf. Eriksen 1996: 51). This is shown by drawing on statements from interviews with members from the majority population residing in Oslo.
Astrid Ouahyb SundsbĂž
Astrid Ouahyb SundsbĂž (PhD) is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Georg-Simmel Center for Metropolitan Studies in Berlin. She holds a doctoral degree in sociology from the Humboldt-University of Berlin (2012). From 2012-2014 she worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the Center for a Sustainable University at the University of Hamburg. Her main fields of research compromise: Social inequality, residential segregation in cities, migration and interethnic relations. Her most recent publication is Grenzziehungen in der Stadt. Ethnische Kategorien und die Wahrnehmung und Bewertung von Wohnorten (Springer VS, 2014) where it is discussed whether ethnic boundary making on the side of the majority population could be a possible explanation for the residential concentration of immigrants in Berlin and Oslo.
Redigert av Christine Jacobsen, SynnĂžve Bendixsen, Karl Harald SĂžvig
Med en unik kombinasjon av juridisk og antropologisk blikk, gÄr boken regelverket nÊrmere i sÞmmene, drÞfter gatebyrÄkraters utfordringer og hverdagslivet til irregulÊre migranter og deres barn.
Hvilke regelverk fÄr konsekvenser for irregulÊre migranters levevilkÄr? Hvordan blir dette regelverket forstÄtt og etterfulgt av gatebyrÄkrater? Og hvordan blir hverdagslivet til irregulÊre migranter og deres barn pÄvirket av regelverket og dets fortolkning?
Denne boken er aktuell for velferdsprofesjoner som mÞter irregulÊre migranter som en del av sin yrkesutÞvelse. BÄde leger, sykepleiere, helsesekretÊrer, lÊrere, helsesÞstre, skolerÄdgivere, sosialarbeidere, sosionomer og barnevernspedagoger vil ha god nytte av Eksepsjonell velferd? IrregulÊre migranter i det norske velferdssamfunnet. Boken retter seg ogsÄ mot frivillige organisasjoner som jobber med ulike aspekter ved migranters situasjon i Norge og andre som er engasjert i temaet.
Susanne Wessendorf: Pioneer migrants in a super-diverse context
Urban areas in Europe and beyond have seen significant changes in patterns of immigration, leading to profound diversification. This diversification is characterized by the multiplication of people of different national origins, but also differentiations regarding migration histories, religions, educational backgrounds, legal statuses and socio-economic backgrounds. This âdiversification of diversityâ is now commonly described as âsuper-diversityâ. Despite an increasing number of studies looking at how people live together in such super-diverse contexts, little is known about new patterns of immigration into such contexts. What are the newly emerging countries of origin which add to the diversification of already super-diverse areas? Where do recent migrants from unusual source countries, who cannot draw on already existing migrant or ethnic âcommunitiesâ, find support? And what kinds of social networks do they form? This paper discusses pathways of settlement among recently arrived migrants from non-traditional countries of origin in the London Borough of Hackney. Drawing on earlier migration literature and the notion of âpioneer migrationâ, the paper addresses the challenges of analysing increasingly fragmented migration stories and pathways of settlement in super-diverse contexts.
Thomas Hylland Eriksen: The tension between superdiversity and cultural reproduction
From a bird’s eye perspective, Alna borough in eastern Oslo definitely looks superdiverse. Scores of languages are spoken in its population of 40,000, and its inhabitants come from about as many countries. Yet at the local level, social and cultural reproduction takes place to a great extent at the ethnic or community level. As one of our informants says, ‘I sometimes feel as though I am in Pakistan’. Had it not been for the strong presence of the Norwegian state, the suburb would have resembled the plural societies described in the mid-20th century by Furnivall and Smith, where ethnic groups, like pearls on a necklace, lead parallel lives but meet in the marketplace. How comprehensive is the influence of the state; in what ways does diversity in public affect the private sphere, and what are the main elements in the cultural reproduction of minority groups?
Kicking off a new semester with IMER lunch seminars, our first seminar this year is building on exciting fieldwork from Bergen. Hilde Danielsen from Uni Research Rokkansenteret is giving a presentation about the symbolic value of birthday parties in contemporary Norway.
Danielsen argues that birthday celebrations have become more than a private family matter, and are increasingly seen as a socially charged question in Norwegian society. Many parents with and without migration background, as well as teachers and other actors, claim that birthday parties have the potential to create social inclusion. They are especially concerned that children with migrant background should celebrate and attend. Celebrating birthdays has seemingly become one of the litmus tests of whether an immigrant individual or an immigrant group is integrated into Norwegian society.
Note the place: Lauritz Meltzers hus (SV-bygget), room 212.
As usual, a light lunch will be served. All are welcome!
Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) work closely with refugees by providing services and assistance. However, refugees might also be subjected to misconduct by NGOs. In such a scenario, how can NGOs be held accountable for wrongful acts?
For this IMER lunch seminar, Marianne Nerland from the Faculty of Law at UiB will present preliminary findings from her PhD project which explores recourses available to refugees seeking justice against NGOs. By drawing on interviews conducted with refugees as well as aid workers in Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya, Marianne will argue that there are serious legal obstacles that refugees face when wanting to file complaints against NGOs. This case highlights the need for an enhanced structure for NGO accountability in refugee camps.
A light lunch will be served! All welcome!
 Marianne Nerland is a PhD candidate at the Faculty of Law, UiB