Skip to main content

Iraqi Refugees and Asylum Seekers between Settlement and Return

Hopes, Frustrations, and Dreams

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Forschen und Arbeiten im Kontext von Flucht
  • 3137 Accesses

Zusammenfassung

The stories and lived experiences of Iraqi refugees residing in Germany remain broadly overlooked in academic and public debates. Finding themselves in various situations and personal desires between settlement and return, this chapter focuses on three stories told by Iraqi refugees on how they give meaning to their very personal experiences. The chapter brings together ethnographic material as well as insights from a social worker’s perspective in the context of forced migration. Drawing on an understanding of narratives as being both relational and contingent allows us to move beyond authorities’ expectations of refugees’ stories, thereby highlighting diverse experiences diverging from the officially accepted refugee narrative. The chapter is guided by questions of the (im-)possibilities of representation and seeks to promote greater reflexivity among both social workers and academics conducting ethnographically driven research.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 69.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

Literatur

  • Becker, G. (1997). Disrupted lives: How people create meaning in a chaotic world. Berkeley: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berg, E. & Fuchs, M. (1993). Kultur, soziale Praxis, Text – Die Krise der ethnographischen Repräsentation. Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blasim, H. (2009). The Reality and the Record. The Madman of Freedom Square. Manchester: Comma Press Print.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chase, E., Otto, L., Belloni, M., Lems, A. & Wernesjö, U. (2019). Methodological Innovations, Reflections and Dilemmas: the hidden Sides of Research with young People in Situations of Forced Migration. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2019.1584705

  • Clandinin, D. J. & Connelly, F. M. (2000). Narrative inquiry. Experience and story in qualitative research. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Curry, H. R. (2015). A Semiotic Phenomenology of Homelessness and the Precarious Community: A Matter of Boundary. University of South Florida. https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer= https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=6870&context=etd

  • Deutsche Welle (2016). Freiwillige Rückkehr. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9VtmU--8ZI

  • Kaufmann, M, Otto, L., Nimführ S. & Schütte D. (2019). Forschung und Praxis zwischen Handlungsdruck und Orientierungsunsicherheit im Kontext von Flucht_Migration. In M. Kaufmann, L. Otto, S. Nimführ & D. Schütte (Eds.), Forschen und Arbeiten im Kontext von Flucht. Reflexionslücken, Repräsentations- und Ethikfragen (pp. 1–17). Wiesbaden: Springer VS.

    Google Scholar 

  • Onega, S. & García Landa, J. A. (1996). Introduction. In S. Onega & J. A. García Landa (Eds.). Narratology: An Introduction. London: Longman, pp. 1–25.

    Google Scholar 

  • Otto, L. (2019). ‘Children, adults, or both? Negotiating adult minors and interests in a state care facility in Malta.’ Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2019.1584700.

  • Otto, L. & Nimführ, S. (2019). Ethnografisch forschen und die Wirkmächtigkeit der Kleinheit. Methodentheoretische Überlegungen und empirische Einblicke zur Produktion, Wahrnehmung und Repräsentation von räumlichen Zuschreibungsdiskursen. In M. Kaufmann, L. Otto, S. Nimführ & D. Schütte (Hrsg.), Forschen und Arbeiten im Kontext von Flucht. Reflexionslücken, Repräsentations- und Ethikfragen (pp. 69–93). Wiesbaden: Springer VS.

    Google Scholar 

  • Otto, L. & Kaufmann, M. E. (2018). „Minderjährig“, „männlich“ – „stark“? Bedeutungsaushandlungen der Selbst- und Fremdzuschreibung junger Geflüchteter in Malta. Eine intersektionelle Leseweise ethnografischer Forschungsausschnitte. Gender 2, pp. 63–78.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ricoeur, P. (1988). Time and narrative. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sarbin, T. R. (1986). Narrative psychology: The storied nature of human conduct. Westport: Praeger Publishers/Greenwood Publishing Group.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schütte, D. (2019). Die eigenen Verstrickungen reflektieren. Method(olog)ische Überlegungen zur Untersuchung der biographischen Narrationen von geflüchteten und flüchtenden Menschen. In M. Kaufmann, L. Otto, S. Nimführ & D. Schütte (Hrsg.), Forschen und Arbeiten im Kontext von Flucht. Reflexionslücken, Repräsentations- und Ethikfragen (S. 21–43). Wiesbaden: Springer VS.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schütze, F. (1983). Biographieforschung und narratives Interview. Neue Praxis 13(3), pp. 283–293.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spiegel Online (2016). “Lieber sterbe ich in meinem Land.” (24 January 2016): http://www.spiegel.de/video/fluechtlinge-kehren-freiwillig-zurueck-in-den-irak-video-1643969.html. Accessed: 28 August 2019.

  • Süddeutsche Zeitung (2018). Menschen, die keine Perspektive in ihrer Heimat haben (26 April 2018): https://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/irak-heimat-ohne-hoffnung-1.3957169-2. Accessed: 28 August 2019.

  • Süddeutsche Zeitung (2018a). Deutschland will Flüchtlinge zurück in den Irak locken (22 April 2018): https://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/rueckkehrprogramme-deutschland-will-fluechtlinge-zurueck-in-den-irak-locken-1.3954629. Accessed 17 September 2019.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sanaa Wajid Ali .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH, ein Teil von Springer Nature

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Ali, S.W., Otto, L. (2019). Iraqi Refugees and Asylum Seekers between Settlement and Return. In: Kaufmann, M., Otto, L., Nimführ, S., Schütte, D. (eds) Forschen und Arbeiten im Kontext von Flucht. Springer VS, Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-28380-3_6

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-28380-3_6

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer VS, Wiesbaden

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-658-28379-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-658-28380-3

  • eBook Packages: Social Science and Law (German Language)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics