Agents of Change or Passive Victims: The Impact of Welfare States (the Case of the Netherlands) on Refugees

This paper explores the impact of a regulated society such asthe Netherlands on the lives of refugees in general and on thoseof Iranian women refugees in particular. Two periods are distinguishedin regard to Dutch asylum policies: the 1980s and post-1990.For the 1980s when refugee reception was less restricted, Iuse empirical material collected between 1995 and 2000. Thewomen I interviewed during this period were leftist activistsinvolved in the Iranian revolution of 1979 and had to leaveIran because of their political backgrounds. The material usedfor the post-1990 or more restricted period, is mainly fromsecondary sources, supplemented by occasional, informal visitsto asylum seeker centres. The paper argues that a strict refugeepolicy—especially the policy that was put in place duringthe 1990s—has a direct effect on the affected refugeesby making them dependents of the state. These restricted policiesreinforce the image of refugees as problems in society and havean effect, albeit less direct, on the lives of the refugeeswho arrived prior to the 1990s and who are now Dutch citizens.