Workshop explores integration of young refugees in Denmark and Middle East
International Alert, together with the University of Copenhagen and Roskilde University in Denmark, recently organised a two-day workshop on the challenges and opportunities for meaningfully including Syrian refugees in host societies in Denmark and the Middle East (in particular Egypt, Lebanon and Turkey).
The workshop, which took place at Roskilde University from 25–26 February, brought together academics, students and NGO and UN practitioners from a range of countries, including Syria, Egypt, Lebanon, Turkey, Norway and Denmark, as well as representatives from the local Roskilde municipality. A wide array of topics were discussed during the two days, including trauma, gender, and the legal obstacles and state policies for integrating Syrian refugees into the labour market and education.
The first day mostly centred on methodologies and ethics of research on refugees, including on the challenges of working with trauma. Lotte Buch Segal from the University of Copenhagen and Edith Montgomery from Dignity in Denmark spoke about the sensitivities of conducting research with individuals, and especially minors, who have experienced violence and conflict. Both warned about the risks of misinterpreting certain coping mechanisms as signs of resilience. They also shared insights into psycho-social programming in Jordan as well as in Palestinian refugee camps, emphasising the gaps in focusing on mental health needs in the Middle East.
Josepha Ivanka Wessels of the University of Copenhagen discussed the impact that living in exile has had on Syrian families and refugee minors. Wessels, who spent five years living with a Syrian family as an anthropologist, discussed how the conflict has changed many Syrian families’ circumstances, dividing family members within and outside Syria, providing opportunities for some but added challenges for others.
Bent Hansen from Roskilde municipality, who works closely with refugee minors, detailed the various pressures they are exposed to when travelling to, and settling in, Denmark. For example, refugee boys face great expectations to bring other family members to Europe and support them financially. Jan Khorto from the Syrian Cultural Institute in Denmark emphasised how closer interaction between host societies and Syrian refugees is vital, as it reduces mistrust and creates opportunities for social cohesion.
The second day of the workshop focused on refugees’ experiences in Syria’s neighbouring countries. Tamirace Fakhoury from the Lebanese American University emphasised the need to reassess the terms used to frame the debate, including ‘migration’ and ‘integration’, and better understanding their impact on perceptions of events.
Maysa Ayoub of the American University in Cairo, Dogus Simsek of Koҫ University in Turkey and Jennifer Skulte-Ouaiss from the Lebanese American University highlighted the historical ties between, and current lived experiences of, Syrian refugees in Egypt, Lebanon and Turkey. Some common obstacles to formal integration emerged for these three countries, including the difficulties facing refugees in acquiring work permits, accessing formal education and becoming citizens. The perception of refugees having a temporary status is also changing, as the conflict in Syria is protracted, making host societies less patient and demanding more long-term solutions.
Education was a particular focus of the discussions. Agatha Abiaad from UNHCR in Lebanon provided an overview of how the agency has dealt with Syrians’ increasing need for educational support over the past five years. She cited child labour and the high number of refugees as the main challenges for integrating Syrian children into schools in Lebanon. The differences in curricula and tensions between Lebanese host communities and Syrians presents an added issue that needs addressing. Shelley Deane of Brehon Advisory stressed that only 1.4% of global humanitarian funding goes to education, despite its importance in improving social stability in conflict settings. She emphasised the need to work at the local level, involving municipalities as well as host and refugee communities themselves in creating education opportunities.
Key conclusions of this two-day workshop included the need for more constructive dialogue and knowledge-sharing between academics, practitioners and policy-makers in Europe and the Middle East, especially on good practices for dealing with the repercussions of the conflict in Syria, including the need to focus on social cohesion. Linked to this, participants agreed that positive solutions require the de-securitisation of wider discourses on ‘integration’ and ‘refugee crises’. They stressed the importance of de-homogenising the idea of ‘refugees’ and understanding how their experiences can vary depending on factors such as social class, gender, ethnic identity and urban/rural location, among other things.
As the future generation, young Syrians will play an important role in bringing about positive change. Building upon their talents and potential will be critical to preventing a lost generation.
You can see the full workshop agenda here.