Neville Bolt. The Violent Image: Insurgent Propaganda and the New Revolutionaries.

This article examines key setting events and personal factors that are associated with support for either non-violent activism or violent activism among Somali refugee young adults in the United States. Specifically, this article examines the associations of trauma, stress, symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), posttraumatic growth (PTG), strength of social bonds, and attitudes towards legal and non-violent vs. illegal and violent activism. Structured interviews were conducted with a sample of Somali refugee males ages 18–25 living in the northeastern United States (N = 79). Data were analyzed using multiple linear regressions and path analysis. Greater exposure to personal trauma was associated with greater openness to illegal and violent activism. PTSD symptoms mediated this association. Strong social bonds to both community and society moderated this association, with trauma being more strongly associated with openness to illegal and violent activism among those who reported weaker social bonds. Greater exposure to trauma, PTG, and stronger social bonds were all associated with greater openness to legal non-violent activism.     

Chapter 10. Central American Survivors of Political Violence

Abstract

Despite compelling, well-documented findings on the levels of stress and trauma among Central American refugees, this group continues to be underserved. A host of issues contributes to this underservice, ranging from macro-level imposed obstacles, such as citizenship and health insurance as determining factors for accessing social and health services, to institutional factors that impede service utilization, such as an insufficient number of translators or a cumbersome and confusing bureaucracy. This chapter adopts a human rights framework as a strategy for working with groups of Central Americans who have experienced political violence. The ongoing effects of political violence on Central Americans, as they relate to mental and physical health problems, are reviewed and a case vignette is used to illustrate how political violence affects individuals and how macro-level forces and institutions create barriers to access and use of health care and social services. Treatment approaches for helping survivors of political violence in the context of a human rights framework are suggested.     

Cambodians in Long Beach,California

Abstract

Long Beach, California is home to the largest population of Cambodians outside Cambodia and is the symbolic and actual center of the worldwide Cambodian diaspora. Despite the significance of this community for both Cambodians and Long Beach, little is known about the social, historical, political, and economic processes leading to its formation. This paper situates the growth of the community within particular historical moments at both national and local levels through a chronological presentation of key events from the 1950s through the 1990s. The paper provides insights into the experiences of a largely refugee population and the new Asian immigration to the United States.     

Human trafficking: the case of Burmese refugees in Thailand

With an estimated 30 protracted refugee situations around the globe, the number of refugees finding themselves in prolonged displacement is alarming. While demarcated refugee camps are a visible component of this phenomenon, the link between protracted displacement and increased risks of human trafficking is much less evident. Within refugee camps, the lack of law and order or police protection along with the presence of large numbers of helpless people create a pool of readily available supply for those who want to exploit them. This account will discuss the conditions of displacement that contribute to human trafficking risks, particularly as they relate to the protracted refugee situation of Burmese in Thailand. The case study will be followed by a number of policy and practice recommendations for the reduction of these risks.     

简论日本越南人社群的形成与社会地位

日本越南人社群是随着印支难民潮产生之后而在日本逐渐形成的新社群。对印支难民的接收开创了战后日本较大规模接收外国难民的先例。为了让越南难民更好地适应在新环境的定居生活,日本方面采取了诸多的措施。如今在日本已经基本形成了较为稳定的越南人社群,但日本越南人在总体上的社会地位还不高。这既与难民本身的特殊性有关,也是由于日本自身对外来人士的封闭性和消极性造成了难民政策措施上的一些缺陷。伴随着对日本社会的不断磨合与适应,日本越南人社群与日本主流社会的距离有望进一步拉近。     

‘I have so many successful stories’: framing social citizenship for refugees

The current US refugee resettlement system reflects the US government's agenda of having refugees acquire quick employment with low state welfare dependence and minimal fiscal and cultural disruption to the receiving communities. The non-governmental organizations (NGOs) assisting refugees hold broader goals for refugees, including feeling a sense of belonging in the USA. These goals represent a framing of social citizenship rights for refugees, and how NGOs frame social citizenship varies depending upon the NGOs contractual relationship with the US welfare state. Using data from 57 in-depth interviews, I describe how resettlement and assistance NGOs currently frame social citizenship for refugees in relation to market citizenship, and how their relationship with the federal government shapes this framing. Findings illustrate the role of NGOs in creating a discursive space for expanding the social citizenship rights of refugees and the ways such framing is highly constrained by the definitions of belonging that emerge from market citizenship.