Institutions and Organizations of Refugee Integration: Bosnian-Herzegovinian and Syrian Refugees in Sweden [1st ed. 2020] 978-3-030-27248-7, 978-3-030-27249-4

Table of contents :
Front Matter ....Pages i-ix
Introduction: Conceptualizing Migrant and Refugee Integration (Gregg Bucken-Knapp, Vedran Omanović, Andrea Spehar)....Pages 1-23
Two Waves of Refugee Reception: Bosnian and Herzegovinians in the 1990s, Syrians in the 2010s, and the Swedish Institutional Context (Gregg Bucken-Knapp, Vedran Omanović, Andrea Spehar)....Pages 25-41
The Voices of Refugees as a Method (Gregg Bucken-Knapp, Vedran Omanović, Andrea Spehar)....Pages 43-62
The First Years of Bosnian and Herzegovinian Refugees in Sweden in the 1990s (Gregg Bucken-Knapp, Vedran Omanović, Andrea Spehar)....Pages 63-88
The First Years of Syrian Refugees in Sweden in the 2010s (Gregg Bucken-Knapp, Vedran Omanović, Andrea Spehar)....Pages 89-111
Refugee Integration in Sweden: Some Key Lessons and a Way Forward (Gregg Bucken-Knapp, Vedran Omanović, Andrea Spehar)....Pages 113-126
Back Matter ....Pages 127-130

Citation preview

GLOBAL DIVERSITIES

Institutions and Organizations of Refugee Integration Bosnian-Herzegovinian and Syrian Refugees in Sweden Gregg Bucken-Knapp · Vedran Omanović Andrea Spehar mpimmg

Global Diversities

Series Editors Steven Vertovec Department of Socio-Cultural Diversity Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity Göttingen, Germany Peter van der Veer Department of Religious Diversity Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity Göttingen, Germany Ayelet Shachar Department of Ethics, Law, and Politics Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity Göttingen, Germany

Over the past decade, the concept of ‘diversity’ has gained a leading place in academic thought, business practice, politics and public policy across the world. However, local conditions and meanings of ‘diversity’ are highly dissimilar and changing. For these reasons, deeper and more comparative understandings of pertinent concepts, processes and phenomena are in great demand. This series will examine multiple forms and configurations of diversity, how these have been conceived, imagined, and represented, how they have been or could be regulated or governed, how different processes of inter-ethnic or inter-religious encounter unfold, how conflicts arise and how political solutions are negotiated and practiced, and what truly convivial societies might actually look like. By comparatively examining a range of conditions, processes and cases revealing the contemporary meanings and dynamics of ‘diversity’, this series will be a key resource for students and professional social scientists. It will represent a landmark within a field that has become, and will continue to be, one of the foremost topics of global concern throughout the twenty-­first century. Reflecting this multi-disciplinary field, the series will include works from Anthropology, Political Science, Sociology, Law, Geography and Religious Studies. While drawing on an international field of scholarship, the series will include works by current and former staff members, by visiting fellows and from events of the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity. Relevant manuscripts submitted from outside the Max Planck Institute network will also be considered. More information about this series at http://www.palgrave.com/gp/series/15009

Gregg Bucken-­Knapp • Vedran Omanović Andrea Spehar

Institutions and Organizations of Refugee Integration Bosnian-Herzegovinian and Syrian Refugees in Sweden

Gregg Bucken-Knapp School of Public Administration University of Gothenburg Gothenburg, Sweden

Vedran Omanović Department of Business Administration University of Gothenburg Gothenburg, Sweden

Andrea Spehar Department of Political Science and Centre on Global Migration (CGM) University of Gothenburg Gothenburg, Sweden

ISSN 2662-2580     ISSN 2662-2599 (electronic) Global Diversities ISBN 978-3-030-27248-7    ISBN 978-3-030-27249-4 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-27249-4 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Cover image (c) Melisa Hasan This Palgrave Pivot imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG. The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland

Acknowledgments

First and foremost, the authors wish to thank all the respondents who took the time to share their stories with us for this project. Without their willingness to lend their voices to our research, there would clearly have been no book. And more importantly, there would not have been the opportunity for others to learn about the crucial insights into the integration process that refugees to Sweden can contribute. We also wish to thank Zainab Fakih and Kristin Franke Björkman for conducting and transcribing interviews for the chapter on Syrian refugees, FORTE (Swedish Research Council for Health, Working, Life and Welfare) for their financing to the programs The Challenges of Polarization on Swedish Labour Market and Organising Labour Market Integration of Immigrants, which provided Vedran Omanović with the necessary time to conduct this research. Students in the University of Gothenburg School of Public Administration MA course Managing Migration from Entry to Integration also deserve thanks. Seminars and discussions with them provided much of the inspiration for chapter three, “The Voices of Refugees as a Method”. We also thank colleagues at the Department of Business Administration and the Department of Sociology, University of Gothenburg, for their comments and suggestions at the seminars where draft portions of the book were presented and discussed.

v

Contents

1 Introduction: Conceptualizing Migrant and Refugee Integration  1 2 Two Waves of Refugee Reception: Bosnian and Herzegovinians in the 1990s, Syrians in the 2010s, and the Swedish Institutional Context 25 3 The Voices of Refugees as a Method 43 4 The First Years of Bosnian and Herzegovinian Refugees in Sweden in the 1990s 63 5 The First Years of Syrian Refugees in Sweden in the 2010s 89 6 Refugee Integration in Sweden: Some Key Lessons and a Way Forward113 Index127

vii

List of Tables

Table 2.1 Asylum decisions by Swedish Migration Board for BiH asylum seekers (1992–1999) Table 2.2 Syrian asylum applications to Sweden, 2012–2017

29 37

ix

1 Introduction: Conceptualizing Migrant and Refugee Integration

Abstract  The chapter provides an overview of current and recent research on the integration of migrants and refugees in general, and in Sweden in particular. Research on immigrant and refugee integration is based on a set of assumptions, concepts, and definitions that are often tacit rather than explicit. Such assumptions and concepts are multilayered and complex and may lack coherence or even contradict each other. We therefore discuss the varying meanings of ‘integration’ and the conceptual frameworks that underlie these. We argue that mainstream research on migrant integration can be criticized for failing to acknowledge the subjective nature of the integration process and for being insensitive to the views and opinions of refugees. Keywords  Migrant and refugee integration • Migrant voices • Sweden • Integration policy and politics

Introduction The focus of this book is on how refugees to Sweden from Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) (1992–1995), and more recently from Syria (2014–2018), make sense of their experiences that arise when taking part © The Author(s) 2020 G. Bucken-Knapp et al., Institutions and Organizations of Refugee Integration, Global Diversities, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-27249-4_1

1

2 

G. Bucken-Knapp et al.

in programs and initiatives intended to foster refugee integration. These include the experiences that result from participation in formal programs, such as those focusing on language education, civic orientation, validation of education qualifications, and a broad range of labor market initiatives. But it also includes how refugees make sense of the less formal aspects of their journeys toward integration: the presence (or lack of ) professional and personal networks, senses of inclusion or exclusion in Swedish society, and more general reflections on the overall process of refugee integration as carried out by the key institutions and organizations tasked with doing so. While much of the most recent scholarship on refugee integration has examined the immediate impact of the arrival of large numbers of people to various European states in conjunction with the Syrian refugee crisis, little research exists that considers the similarities and differences between this most recent wave of refugee resettlement and previous large-scale experiences with the integration of refugees from conflict zones. Second, the bulk of the existing scholarship that addresses the effects of refugee integration considers the development and reform of relevant institutions and policies, as well as identifying concrete integration outcomes. Far less prominent in this research are the voices of refugees themselves. While not arguing that refugees’ perspectives on the integration process are the sole form of data to be considered, we emphasize that they are an especially overlooked source of data—particularly when it comes to gaining increased analytical leverage on how the institutions of integration such as employment offices, language schools, and companies and organizations providing internships and employment can be successful, or can replicate the mistakes of the past. Recent public policy and public administration literature addressing refugee integration has chiefly explored the modes of governance that emerge in different national settings, with a particular emphasis on ­making use of official documents and elite interviews. Similarly for the organizational literature, there is only a small number of studies (e.g., Bergström and Omanović 2017; Malik and Manroop 2017) that focus explicitly on the organizational socialization of migrants and which make analytical use of migrant perspectives. This book is therefore unique by putting the primary focusing on the voices of refugees themselves, which

1  Introduction: Conceptualizing Migrant and Refugee Integration 

3

allows for a more nuanced understanding of how the institutions of integration (including organizations and their practices of organizing) operate on a daily basis, are interconnected with one other, and the effects they have on the lives of those who take part in them. In doing so, we also show how refugees in both these cases see themselves as having significant agency in achieving their integration goals, even when they confront institutions that are perceived as barriers and when they encounter street-level bureaucrats who are seen as being obstacles to rapid and meaningful integration. While refugees in both these cases have faced significant challenges, it is clear that many of them are ambitiously pursuing their societal and labor market integration by actively identifying opportunities—both inside and outside of formal programs—in order to become established members of their new host societies. We achieve this by making use of over ninety interviews conducted with refugees to Sweden from BiH and Syria. These two cases of refugee arrival and integration represent two of the largest-scale refugee resettlement experiences faced by European countries in the past thirty years. Focusing on the voices of these refugees in the Swedish context is especially valuable, given that Sweden is widely perceived as having not only generous refugee reception policies, but also those that are exceptionally comprehensive in their societal scope. As such, this book makes a more general contribution to the integration literature by highlighting how the institutions of integration, produced by states with good intentions, are evaluated by those who must navigate their complexity, uncertainty, and limited resources. In addition, we contribute to the organizational literature by making more visible the mutual relationships between the refugee and migrant agency to become established and integrated, and the ongoing practices of organizing that both open and close doors for refugees. Moreover, these relationships cannot be understood without taking place within a broader societal context, especially the discourses related to migration and integration. The structure of this book is as follows: the remainder of this chapter casts the spotlight on the processes of integration, detailing how the associated policies and programs are often problematized in the literature and calling attention to the omission of refugee voices from much previous

4 

G. Bucken-Knapp et al.

research. The remainder of this chapter provides the reader with the necessary context—in terms of key Swedish policies targeting the admission and integration or refugees, as well as information regarding the scope of arrivals and migrant numbers—to make sense of the two case study chapters. Chapter 2 provides a detailed background introduction to each of our two cases, that of BiH refugees and that of Syrian refugees. The chapter emphasizes the key events that led to the large-scale arrivals, but puts the bulk of the emphasis on the policies, institutions, and organizational practices of relevance for bringing about refugee integration in all spheres. We also situate these against the backdrop of prevailing societal logics for the shifting contract between the Swedish state and the individual over time when it comes to expectation for employment assistance and the role of individual initiative. Chapter 3 details the methodological guidelines that inform this study. We use this chapter as an opportunity to position ourselves methodologically in the broadest sense of the term— by detailing our stance on issues of generalizability—and also more narrowly in terms of arguing for the utility of migrant voices in this context. The chapter also presents the concrete methodological guidelines that govern the data collection, coding, and subsequent analysis. Chapters 4 and 5 present unique data from our two cases—that of BiH refugees and that of Syrian refugees. Each chapter presents a chronologically (in the case of Chap. 4) or thematically (in the case of Chap. 5) structured presentation of refugee perceptions of the experiences of having taken part in both the formal and informal institutions and practices of refugee integration into Swedish society. Finally, Chap. 6 considers the implications of the reflections offered by refugees when considering their encounters with the institutions and organizations charged with enduring effective refugee integration into Swedish society. We address the relationship— both in terms of similarities and differences—between the two cases, and what the combined assessment from refugees has to suggest for both the current public administration/policy and organizational literature addressing refugee integration. Lastly, we consider the societal implications of our findings—and suggest how these migrant voices represent a unique and important contribution to the debate about refugee integration in Sweden and beyond.

1  Introduction: Conceptualizing Migrant and Refugee Integration 

5

Integration: What Does It Entail? There is no uniformly agreed upon understanding of the term ‘integration’. Meanings vary from country to country, change over time, and depend on the interests, values, and perspectives of the actors involved. When simplified to its very essence, integration could be described as a process intended to enable the migrant to achieve an equal footing with the ‘native’ population in terms of functioning in society. In other words, the aim is to make the immigrant autonomous in everyday life, particularly through meaningful socioeconomic inclusion (Jacobs and Rea 2007). Dominant political discourses often portray migrant accommodation (or resettlement) as a one-way process in which the immigrant is expected to integrate into the existing societal fabric without any reciprocal accommodation. The migrant’s accommodation process then has the connotation of assimilation, that is, the implication that newcomers should change their values and behaviors in order to ‘fit in’ with the norms (both explicit and implicit), values, behaviors, and ‘cultural codes’ in the host society. In contrast, much of the academic research offers a more complex concept of integration, portraying it as a multifaceted and multidimensional process, requiring efforts from both immigrants as well as those already living in the receiving country. Integration can thus be viewed as a two-way process: it requires adaptation on the part of the newcomer but also by the host society (Favell 2001). Scholars have also acknowledged the potential role that countries of origin might play in support of the integration process (Penninx and Garcés-Mascareñas 2014). While we will use the term integration in this book, it is important to underline the inherent difficulties in the concept, and the other related terms that may better convey certain aspects of the processes by which an immigrant settles into a host country. Yet, while integration is a ­problematic concept, abandoning it and replacing it with other options— such as inclusion, assimilation, incorporation, or settlement—is not something we choose to do. The shift from the use of integration to some other term does not alter the substantive focus of what is under the analytical microscope when exploring these processes. Moreover, the concept of integration continues to be central in the bulk of the relevant literature having to do with these processes, and notably, in the public debate as well.

6 

G. Bucken-Knapp et al.

Related to this, another important question in the migrant and refugee integration literature is that of ‘Integration into what?’ Since modern societies are highly complex, integration may take place differently in the different spheres of social, political, economic, and cultural lives. For instance, immigrants and refugees may perceive themselves to be integrated in the labor market, but to be excluded or disadvantaged in terms of political membership, cultural capital, and everyday forms of social interaction. In order to make better sense of the broad set of migrant integration processes, scholarship has distinguished between a range of potential types of integration, that include civic, cultural, economic, housing labor market, legal, linguistic, social, and subjective (Bauböck 1994; Diaz 1993; Valenta and Bunar 2010). By drawing on a dialectical theoretical lens (Benson 1977), we emphasize the mutual and varying relationship between the experiences of the refugees prior to their arrival in Sweden and their encounters, struggles, and agency following their migration. As will be repeatedly demonstrated, integration is a more complex process than portrayed in many macro accounts. As such, we show how integration is a longitudinal process with evolving relations between refugees/migrants, relevant contexts, specific practices of organizing, and the people involved. These relationships are characterized by mutuality and continuity, but also by struggles and the individual migrant’s own agency.

 haracterizing Integration Policies, Politics, C and Practices of Organizing How integration policies and politics ought to be characterized, as well as the sources underpinning the variation that exists across states, has been of great interest to scholars for the past several decades (e.g., Brubaker 2001; Carrera 2006; Jacobs and Rea 2007; Joppke 2007). Since the 1990s onward, there has been a recognizable convergence in the integration programs and policies of Western European states that have moved away from a celebration of difference (multiculturalism) to a revitalized concern with civic integration (assimilation). Multiple laws have been changed in order to put tougher requirements on migrants’ transition

1  Introduction: Conceptualizing Migrant and Refugee Integration 

7

into society, including stricter requirements for obtaining a residence permit and/or citizenship, the introduction of more stringent rules for family reunification, bans on veils and hijabs in schools, bans on whole body veils in public spaces (Goodman 2012). Furthermore, the majority of EU member states have introduced obligatory integration programs for immigrants and citizenship tests’ or other integration-related requirements for the acquisition of citizenship. There has been an increasing trend toward this more mandatory style of integration programs, where non-compliance is often sanctioned, for example, in terms of the immigrant’s right to housing assistance or other state-provided economic benefits. This trend in integration policy has come to be termed as civic integration (Joppke 2017). The trend reflects a renewed interest within states to actively strengthen and defend national identity through measures aimed at newly arrived immigrants. These measures require that migrants acquire the knowledge, abilities, and attitudes that are somehow considered ‘good’ for society. In addition, this development implies a significant shift from rights-based to obligation-based ideas of how integration is best promoted and practiced through policy measures (Borevi 2010). Whereas rights were previously seen as a means toward achieving integration, they have now come to be viewed as an end goal for those who have been lucky enough to become integrated (Joppke 2004, 2007; Goodman 2012). Policy trends build upon the idea that rights function as an i­ncentive to motivate newly arrived migrants to achieve expected integration results. This trend is part of a larger welfare policy development with an emphasis on counter performance and the individual’s own responsibility (Joppke 2017). Furthermore, an increasingly prevalent feature of this policy trend is that integration is connected to migration control. Integration requirements can serve as a control mechanism in order to shut out potential migrants who are viewed as difficult to integrate. Measures to promote integration can function both as a regulator of migration, as well as a method of facilitating integration (Bonjour 2014). The development of typologies that allow for broad patterns to be discerned cross-nationally when it comes to immigrant integration is certainly of great use in helping scholars understand how policy options can be constrained or facilitated by existing institutional configurations. Yet,

8 

G. Bucken-Knapp et al.

as other scholars have shown (Scholten 2013) national models of immigrant integration are increasingly, over-stylized ideal types at best and do not reflect the regional variation that may exist at the local level when municipalities seek to grapple with developing viable strategies for the integration of immigrants. Moreover, they obscure the effects of these processes on the lives of migrants and refugees, given their focus on ideal types for purposes of characterization and comparison.

 easuring Migrant Integration Success M and Failure In addition to describing and categorizing the development of integration policies in various countries, previous integration research has also focused on examining which type of integration policies lead to a quicker and ‘better’ integration of migrants within different spheres of social life (e.g., Koopmans 2010). There is a high degree of international consensus on the key elements necessary for a successful integration of migrants into host societies (e.g., OECD 2016; Huddleston et al. 2015). Recommended policies include an early offer of language education and skills assessment for asylum seekers with good prospects for being granted residency, developing an individualized integration plan, easy access to citizenship, and recognition of foreign credentials, including alternative methods of assessing informal learning and work experiences. However, the relation between policies, practices of organizing, and outcomes is highly difficult to evaluate. The assessment of different aspects of refugee and migrant integration includes objective indicators that are relatively easy to quantify as well as subjective or qualitative indicators. The former includes indicators such as employment rates among refugees, or statistics showing rates for entering and completing further education courses, while the latter includes indicators such as cultural integration or possessing ‘voice’ and ‘influence’. Among both the general public and within policy circles in Sweden, the integration of immigrants is chiefly evaluated and discussed in terms of concrete, measurable successes and failures, such as labor market participation rates, migrant access to housing, problems related to segregation, language acquisition, or use of social benefits.

1  Introduction: Conceptualizing Migrant and Refugee Integration 

9

Several analytical challenges arise as a result of the attempts to measure migrants’ successes and failures when it comes to integration. The problem of defining integration success and failure is closely related to the conceptual problems of defining integration, as discussed in the previous section ‘Characterizing Integration Policies, Politics, and Practices of Organizing’. What it means to be ‘integrated’ influences the ways in which indicators are defined. When can one establish that a migrant has become integrated into the new country? Is there a time limit on integration, or is it a lifelong process? Do the same integration processes apply to youth as well as to older individuals who have migrated to a new host society? Are integration processes the same for both refugees and labor migrants? Measures of integration occur almost entirely on an aggregate level. Immigrants or ‘the foreign born’, are placed in special categories whose average values are compared with the rest of the population in a variety of ways including occupation, income, education, voter turnout, sick days, and reported crimes. These sorts of measurements give rise to several complex questions. To begin with, a recurring methodological problem is that there is not a clear distinction between what one means by the word ‘integration’ and what one believes causes integration. For example, is labor market participation something that contributes to integration, or should a person who has a job be considered as having become integrated? Are language abilities one of the criteria for integration or simply a factor that facilitates integration? If we do not make these distinctions, scholars, policymakers, employers, and the general public will inevitably find themselves going in circles in which a range of integration issues come to be explained as a lack of integration. A third problem is that the integration debate includes a preconceived notion that ethnicity, religion, and culture should not coincide with social, economic, or political factors. For example, if an ethnic group is concentrated in a specific residential area or is chiefly employed in specific sectors of the labor market, this group is automatically considered to be less integrated. Moreover, issues of evaluation are related to the previously discussed question about who defines successful integration and against what societal objectives expectations for integration are to be compared. Integration is often assumed to be a singular, universal, stage-sequential and paced process to which all individual immigrants or refugees are exposed equally. It is with reference to such presumed universal stages and pace that migrants

10 

G. Bucken-Knapp et al.

and refugees are often judged in the public discourse as having ‘successfully’ or ‘unsuccessfully’ integrated. Both in research and politics, the experience of immigrants in the labor market is very often used as a proxy for integration ‘success’ and ‘failure’. For example, in the Swedish case, refugees from BiH are often used in political rhetoric as an example of successful integration by comparing their high labor market participation rates with the low labor market participation rates of other refugee groups (Svenska Dagbladet 2016). Since integration concerns complex phenomena and refers to a very widespread field, one cannot restrict the evaluation of progress (or non-progress) in integration to one single unit of measurement (Penninx and Garcés-Mascareñas 2014). Ager and Strang (2008) argue that social belonging, reciprocal cultural and linguistic knowledge, as well as security and safety are crucial for successful integration. They regard these factors as important components that bind basic rights with various markers of integration such as occupation, housing, education, and health.

Integration from a Refugee Perspective In order to encourage understanding of the obstacles and potential of refugee’ integration, scholars must do more than simply analyze the statistical aspects of integration. In addition, we must also study subjective aspects of integration through examining immigrants’ individual expectations, strategies for handling new institutional landscapes, as well as interactions with the majority population in a given society (Korac 2001; Likić-Brborić and Bennich-Björkman 2016). In the field of migrant integration studies, a limited number of qualitative studies capture the subjective experiences of refugees and the challenges that they face in the process of integrating into their new societies (e.g., Korac 2003; Ghorashi 2010; Likić-Brborić and Bennich-Björkman 2016). Although refugees as a group share some characteristics with other migrant groups, their situation requires particular attention. Refugees are often forced to leave their countries because of varying sources of violence. This experience of violence inflicts physical and psychological wounds. In addition to these often-horrific experiences, refugees leave their countries and loved ones without knowing when or if they will ever see them again.

1  Introduction: Conceptualizing Migrant and Refugee Integration 

11

Previous studies have shown that refugees strive for a ‘normalization’ of daily life in the new country linked to hopes of a return to a stable and predictable economic and social life. Simultaneously, they desire to regain their earlier social identities such as, for example, their occupational identities (Likić-Brborić and Bennich-Björkman 2016). Indeed, as will be shown in our case study chapters, this desire of normalization was expressed in a variety of contexts, for example, the desire for meaningful employment, the quest for personal networks, and a general sense that the seemingly endless but necessary encounters with the integration bureaucracy was a short-term hurdle on the way to everyday normalcy in Sweden. Subjective integration is a dimension of the integration process that is comprised of the migrants’ own image of their integration, their feelings of identity and belonging within the new society, and ideas having to do with the barriers and opportunities to integration (Aytar 1999). Studying immigrants’ perceptions of how the processes of integration work, and gaining insight into how they regard their personal successes and challenges at achieving integration success is, we would argue, as relevant as objective indicators of the actual integration process. Our point of departure in this book is that subjective perceptions of integration are a meaningful additional way to gain an understanding of how integration works in the new host society. By analyzing subjective integration, we achieve a measure from the individual’s subjective perspective of how far one has come in his or her endeavor to reach a satisfactory level of inclusion in the new society. We do this through a range of qualitative data collection methods that are described in greater detail in Chap. 3, including life narratives, individual semi-structured interviews, and group interviews in which participants were able to comment on one another’s reflections.

 wedish Politics, Policies, and Practices S of Organizing for Migrant and Refugee Integration Previous research generally claims that Sweden is an outlier when it comes to integration policy, emphasizing how relevant policies and practices of organizing are characteristic of a uniquely strong support for migrant

12 

G. Bucken-Knapp et al.

labor market integration, as well as a multicultural integration line, which places comparatively few demands on migrants to become full members of the demos (Borevi 2014; Brochmann and Hagelund 2011; Wiesbrock 2012). According to the MIPEX international comparison, Swedish integration policies tend to rank as the most responsive, evidence-based and financially well-supported (Huddleston et al. 2015). While Sweden has chiefly been portrayed as a bastion of open immigration politics and policies (Brochmann and Hagelund 2012), the generosity of Swedish integration policy does not imply that regulation and control are absent. On the contrary, there has been notable fluidity in Swedish migration and integration policies in recent decades (Bougslaw 2012; Spehar and Berg 2013). Just as in other democracies, a certain tension exists in Sweden between openness and generosity on the one hand, and control and restrictions on the other. This can be exemplified through briefly noting how Swedish policymakers handled immigration from BiH and Syria. In both cases, there have been conflicts between political parties over whether to grant temporary or permanent residence permits to refugees. These political disagreements have yielded similar results. A generous policy that allowed permanent residency to the majority of BiH and Syrian refugees was followed by demands for visas and temporary residence permits. These stricter rules have affected a considerable number of asylum seekers from not only BiH and Syria, but from other countries as well. In June of 1993, the Swedish government decided to issue permanent residency (PUT) to approximately 50,000 refugees from BiH. These refugees were given PUT for humanitarian reasons. At the same time as this large group of B-H refugees were given PUT, visa requirements were introduced for other citizens from B-H and the other nations of the former Yugoslavia (Appelqvist 2000; Hinnfors et al. 2012). Similar to the B-H case, in September 2013, the Swedish government ruled that all Syrian asylum seekers would be granted permanent residence in light of the worsening conflict in Syria (Parusel 2016). In proportion to their own populations, Sweden and Germany have taken in the most immigrants from BiH and Syria compared with other European countries (Beyer 2015; Valenta and Strabac 2013). However, amid the refugee crisis in 2015–2016, the Swedish government declared that the country

1  Introduction: Conceptualizing Migrant and Refugee Integration 

13

urgently needed a ‘respite’ from refugee admission in order to cope with the many challenges arising from the arrival of asylum seekers. In October 2016, the government introduced substantially stricter refugee policies, which included temporary residence permits and ID check at borders. Looking further back, we can find similar shifts in Swedish migration politics. The period spanning from the end of WWII to the beginning of the 1970s was characterized by a surge in labor migration to Sweden. At that time, Sweden was experiencing powerful economic growth and was in need of a larger workforce. In addition to labor migration from other Nordic countries, large numbers of labor migrants from Southern Europe and the Balkans arrived in Sweden. From 1954 until the latter part of the 1960s, labor migrants were welcomed, as this was widely perceived to be a solution to Sweden’s labor shortage (Lundh and Ohlsson 1999). At the end of the 1960s, however, discussions began to emerge as to the need for migrants to ‘fit in’ with Swedish society (Bucken-Knapp 2009). The establishment of the State Migration Agency in 1969 changed the prevailing policy and introduced a more active approach aimed at strengthening the terms of immigration and encouraging integration into Swedish society (Borevi 2002). Immigrant integration into Swedish society increasingly reflected a presumption that immigrants came from areas where language, religion, and culture were drastically different from that of Sweden. New stricter rules applying to non-Nordic immigrants were supported by the Swedish Trade Union Confederation (LO) and introduced by the Social Democratic government in the late 1960s (Bucken-Knapp 2009). Foreign workers were only permitted to enter Sweden if they were in possession of an employment offer, a work permit, and proof of arranged housing. Leading union representatives argued that labor migration threatened industrial restructuring and that migrants would keep wages low, generating tensions between Swedish and immigrant workers. The period spanning the 1970s until today has been characterized by an increasing number of refugee arrivals and family reunification. War and political conflict outside Europe are among the primary factors driving non-European refugees to Sweden, including refugees from Latin America and the Middle East (Fryklund 2008). In 1975, Sweden established new guidelines for ‘immigrant and minority policy’ with a multicultural ideal as its basis. With directed measures, the state could support

14 

G. Bucken-Knapp et al.

the languages and cultures of migrant groups (Borevi 2002; Dahlström 2004). In addition, foreign-born citizens’ rights and liberties, including respect for their cultures, were written into the constitution. Citizens with foreign backgrounds received municipal voting rights and the right to 240  hours of paid training at their first place of employment. An important aspect of the multicultural approach was the 1976 native language reform, by which the children of immigrants could receive their educations in the native language of their parents (Boguslaw 2012). Municipalities were instructed to prepare teaching materials in the selected languages for all levels of education. Starting in 1985, this education was conducted outside of regular school hours; and since 1994, the municipalities’ obligation was limited to the first seven years of education (Boguslaw 2012). Housing policies relating to immigration and integration first began to be developed at the start of the 1970s (Andersson 1998). Labor migrants had, to a large degree, found housing in industrial areas because it was close to their places of employment. Labor migrants also sought housing in large cities and the housing areas where others who had previously arrived from their native countries had settled. As a result, housing segregation in a number of municipalities became pronounced. In 1975, the term ‘ethnic segregation’ was used for the first time in a state document. In response to increasing housing segregation, the Swedish government launched ‘The All of Sweden Strategy’, in which the country’s municipalities would share in the responsibility for refugee reception. Of the 288 municipalities in Sweden, 280 participated in the refugee reception program (Andersson 1998: 399). The long-term consequences turned out to be limited, because in the end, refugees continued to opt for housing in the larger cities and surrounding urban areas. Starting in 1994, refugees were given the right to seek their own housing (Södergran 2000). The increasing geographical concentration of many immigrants in Sweden has triggered the contention that ‘ethnic integration failure is linked to residential segregation’ (Andersson 2007: 62). The Million Homes Project, which was initially created in the 1960s, was a Swedish government initiative to ensure that there was sufficient housing at an affordable price in Sweden. Despite these progressive intentions, this project has been blamed by many for exacerbating residential segrega-

1  Introduction: Conceptualizing Migrant and Refugee Integration 

15

tion, as it resulted in a high concentration of migrants in specific urban areas rather than evenly distributing migrants among municipalities (Andersson 2007: 62). At the end of the 1980s, the immigrant debate became more politicized and polarized in both the media and between political parties. The 1989 ‘St. Lucia’ (a Swedish Christmas festival) decision represented a drastic tightening of the rules, declaring that only strict applications of the Geneva Convention would be utilized as the basis for granting residency. Then Social Democratic Minister for Immigration, Maj-Lis Lööw, stated that limitations on the number of refugees admitted were necessary in order to safeguard a dignified reception, claiming the following: We have reached the limits of how much we can cope with. If, in the future, we are to keep our ability to offer a haven for those most in need, then we have to restrict the possibilities for others to gain residence permits in Sweden. (Lundh and Ohlsson 1999: 91)

Rather, refugees were to be assisted in returning to their home countries as quickly as possible. Underlying this proposal was an argument that repatriation constituted a more humanitarian and ‘holistic’ policy than granting refugees Swedish citizenship, which had the potential to result in burdens on the Swedish welfare state (Appelqvist and Tollefsen-­ Altamirano 1998). The ‘St. Lucia’ decision was part of an increasingly prevalent view that immigration was problematic and became partially mirrored in a discourse dominated by concepts like ‘us’ and ‘them’. The public debate from the 1990s onward came to revolve mainly around integration policy failures. However, migration rates, primarily family reunification, and refugee migration continued to be high and grew rapidly from approximately about 2000 onward (see Fig.  1.1 for refugee numbers). This rise in the migration rates is reflected in the increase in foreign-­ born people living in Sweden, which went from 11.3% in 2000 to 14.7% in 2010, and to 17.8% in 2016 (Statistic Sweden 2018). Since 2000, migrant integration has assumed particular political significance in Sweden, and is a key policy issue on the agenda of all Swedish political parties. One reason for its political importance is increasing prevalence of

16 

G. Bucken-Knapp et al.

100,000 90,000 80,000 70,000 60,000 50,000 40,000 30,000 20,000 10,000 0 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 Fig. 1.1  Granted applications for asylum 1990–2018 (Source: Swedish Migration Board)

the issue in the Swedish mass media. Events such as riots in immigrant suburbs have been hotly covered in the media, and have led to segregation and integration being a central issue across the entire political spectrum. It has also spurred a debate about underlying causes, with some casting blaming the perpetrators of these riots for failing to integrate, while other residents of these suburbs complain they have been forgotten by mainstream society (Malmberg et al. 2013). Another reason for the prevalence of integration concerns is the growing political role and media presence of the far-right anti-immigrant Sweden Democrats, who have become an important force in the Swedish parliament, owing to the inability of either of the two main parliamentary party blocs to secure majorities. As in many other states throughout Europe, the Sweden Democrats tap into xenophobic currents by calling for a halt to ‘mass immigration’. Since their entry into parliament in 2010, the media has given more space to migration, with increasingly negative results in terms of the public’s perception of refugee reception (Bolin et al. 2016). In a historical perspective, Sweden’s integration policies have, to a great degree, come to focus on the individual’s entry into the labor market. The Swedish government stresses that participation in working life is key to integration and to eliminating any sense among migrants that they are not full-fledged members of Swedish society. Accordingly, every step of the reception process targeted at newly arrived immigrants focuses on

1  Introduction: Conceptualizing Migrant and Refugee Integration 

17

assisting them in finding employment (Government Offices of Sweden 2014). Since the 1990s, Sweden has faced multiple challenges when it comes to securing the establishment of newly arrived refugees onto the labor market. Differences in employment rates among various categories of migrants (especially refugees) and those who are native-born are larger than in many other European Union countries, including other Scandinavian countries (Aldén and Hammarstedt 2014; Åslund et  al. 2017). For example, compared with the native-born population of the same age and gender, refugees who arrived in Sweden in 1997–1999 still had a roughly 25% lower rate of employment twelve years after their arrival (Statistics Sweden 2017). In the last three decades, the Swedish government has adopted different policy measures in order to facilitate faster integration of refugees onto the labor market (OECD 2016). Probably the most comprehensive reform took place in 2010, when the center-right Swedish government enacted the Establishment Reform, which transferred responsibility for the integration of newly arrived refugees from the municipalities to Public Employment Office (PES). All immigrants covered by the law were registered at the PES and provided individualized introduction plans, usually lasting for a maximum of 24  months and involving Swedish for immigrants (SFI), civic orientation, and various employment preparation activities (e.g., validation of educational and professional experience, internships, training etc.). Generally, the activities associated with this introduction plan were the equivalent to full-time employment, with an individualized introduction benefit that was granted upon attendance (OECD 2016). This system remained largely unchanged until January 2018, when a new regulatory framework for the introduction of newly arrived immigrants was implemented, with the purpose of strengthening the demands placed on the individual in terms of her/his responsibility and to better harmonize the introduction program with the broader employment policies of the Swedish state. In this new framework, the formal right to an individualized introduction plan has been removed, and been replaced by an obligation to participate in employment preparation activities (Government Bill 2016/17:175). In practice, however, the main structure and content of the introduction program has not changed significantly. The PES is still responsible for designing individualized introduction plans lasting

18 

G. Bucken-Knapp et al.

for a maximum of 24 months, and remuneration is conditioned upon full-time attendance in the assigned activities.

A Restrictive Turn in Sweden? Since the beginning of 2000, there have been broad discussions in Sweden as to whether a converging restrictive ‘civic turn’ has taken place, or whether a national multicultural model remains resilient. The scholarly consensus is that the formal policy instruments associated with integration within Sweden still chiefly reflect a ‘rights-based’ policy, one more or less free from tough demands being placed on migrants (Brochmann and Hagelund 2012; Breidahl 2017), with a voluntary approach to individual involvement in integration programs remaining the hallmark of Swedish policies (Wiesbrock 2011). The dominant tendency among scholars continues to be one of stressing the more inclusive and less restrictive nature of integration policies. On example of this is Wiesbrock (2011), who highlights the ‘societal principle of diversity’ as shaping a Swedish policy that is essentially ‘voluntary’ and ‘employment oriented’, and which provides migrants with a comparatively easy path to becoming a Swedish national as the formal conclusion of the integration process. Along these lines, there has been a substantial effort on the part of the Swedish government in recent years to better integrate organizations and firms into active labor market policy as part of the effort to assist migrants in labor market establishment (Diedrich and Hellgren 2018). In other recent work exploring whether a single national model of integration can still be said to exist, Borevi (2014) stresses the legacy of both universal egalitarianism and radical multicultural policies that have historically shaped current Swedish integration policies. However, she also suggests that there has been a certain degree of ‘downscaling’. This leads her to characterize contemporary Swedish integration policy as one where it can be argued that ‘neither demands nor sanctions’ might be the most fitting way to capture the outlines of Swedish policy. For example, thus far, civic orientation requirements have not been expanded to include citizenship and language tests, even if such discussions occur quite regularly (Milani 2008; SOU 2010:16). In this sense, Sweden differs from many other

1  Introduction: Conceptualizing Migrant and Refugee Integration 

19

countries. However, since 2010, a smaller set of minimal requirements has been introduced in the name of spurring immigrant labor market integration, even as rights-based reasoning has continued to dominate. The Swedish government has tightened its requirements regarding participation in a civic orientation course, and since introduced a ‘course participation requirement’ (Utbildningsplikt) in January 2018, implying that the introduction benefits paid to refugees (etableringsbidraget) would be reduced if she or he is absent from civic orientation courses. Thus, in the process of settling in Sweden, migrants must now consistently demonstrate that they are active citizens, who are in the process of becoming ‘productive’ citizens. This is reflected in public documents that repeatedly stress that civic orientation is associated to the highest degree with ‘civic spirit’, ‘citizen assets’, and a ‘citizen perspective’ (SOU 2010:16).

References Ager, Alastair, and Alison Strang. 2008. Understanding Integration: A Conceptual Framework. Journal of Refugee Studies 21 (2): 166–191. Aldén, Lina och Mats Hammarstedt. 2014. Utrikes födda på den svenska arbetsmarknaden  – en översikt och en internationell jämförelse. Växjö, Sweden: Linnaeus University Centre for Labour Market and Discrimination Studies vid Linnéuniversitetet i Växjö. Andersson, Roger. 1998. Socio-Spatial Dynamics: Ethnic Divisions of Mobility and Housing in Post-Palme Sweden. Urban Studies 35 (3): 397–428. ———. 2007. Ethnic Residential Segregation and Integration Processes in Sweden. In Residential Segregation and the Integration of Immigrants: Britain, the Netherlands and Sweden, ed. Karen Schönwälder, 61–90. Berlin: Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung. Appelqvist, Maria. 2000. Flyktingmottagandet och den svenska välfärdsstaten under1990-talet. In Välfärdens förutsättningar, SOU 2000:37, ed. Johan Frizell, 181–222. Stockholm: Fritzes. Appelqvist, Maria, and Aina Tollefsen-Altamirano. 1998. Svensk flyktingpolitisk utveckling under 1990-talet. In En ny flyktningpolitikk i Norden? Utviklingen av midlertidig beskyttelse pa° 1990-talet, ed. Aina Tollefsen-­ Altamirano, Maria Appelqvist, Jan-Paul Brekke, and Jens Vedsted-Hansen, 89–146. Köpenhamn: Nordiska ministerra°det.

20 

G. Bucken-Knapp et al.

Åslund, Olof, Anders Forslund, and Linus Liljeberg. 2017. Labour Market Entry of Non-Labour Migrants–Swedish Evidence. Nordic Economy Policy Review, TemaNord 520: 115. Aytar, Osman. 1999. Integration i mångfald. En studie av sex invandrargruppers upplevda Integration i Sverige. Stockholm: Jina Nu förlag. Bauböck, Rainer. 1994. Transnational Citizenship: Membership and Rights in International Migration. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing. Benson, J.K. 1977. Organizations: A Dialectical View. Administrative Science Quarterly 22: 1–21. Bergström, O., and V. Omanović. 2017. Integrationsstrategier för utlandsfödda i detaljhandeln. Forskningsrapport 2017:9, Handelsrådet. Beyer, Brittany S., 2015. A Refugee Paradox? Processes of Inclusion and Exclusion of Bosnian Refugees in Germany and Sweden. Syracuse University Honors Program Capstone Projects. Boguslaw, Julia. 2012. Svensk invandringspolitik under 500 år: 1512–2012. Lund: Studentlitteratur. Bolin, Niklas, Jonas Hinnfors, and Jesper Strömbäck. 2016. Invandring på ledarsidorna i svensk nationell dagspress 2015–2015. In Migrationen i medierna: men det får en väl inte prata om? ed. Lars Truedsson, 192–211. Stockholm: Institutet för mediestudier. Bonjour, Saskia. 2014. The Transfer of Pre-departure Integration Requirements for Family Migrants Among Member States of the European Union. Comparative Migration Studies 2 (2): 203–226. Borevi, Karin. 2002. Välfärdsstaten i det mångkulturella samhället. Uppsala: Doktorsavhandling, Statsvetenskapliga institutionen, Uppsala universitet. ———. 2010. Dimensions of Citizenship: European Integration Policies from a Scandinavian Perspective. In Diversity, Inclusion and Citizenship in Scandinavia, ed. Bo Bengtsson, Per Strömblad, and Ann-Helén Bay, 19–46. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars. ———. 2014. Multiculturalism and Welfare State Integration: Swedish Model Path Dependency. Identities 21 (6): 708–723. https://doi.org/10.1080/1070 289X.2013.868351. Bougslaw, Julia. 2012. Svensk Invandringspolitik. Lund, Sweden: Studentlitteratur. Breidahl, Karen N. 2017. Scandinavian Exceptionalism? Civic Integration and Labour Market Activation for Newly Arrived Immigrants. Comparative Migration Studies 5: 2. Brochmann, Grete, and Anniken Hagelund. 2011. Migrants in the Scandinavian Welfare State: The Emergence of a Social Policy Problem. Nordic Journal of Migration Research 1 (1): 13–24.

1  Introduction: Conceptualizing Migrant and Refugee Integration 

21

Brochmann, Grete, and Anniken Hagelund, eds. 2012. Immigration Policy and the Scandinavian Welfare State 1945–2010. London: Palgrave Macmillan. Brubaker, Rogers. 2001. The Return of Assimilation? Changing Perspectives on Immigration and Its Sequels in France, Germany, and the United States. Ethnic and Racial Studies 24 (4): 531–548. Bucken-Knapp, Gregg. 2009. Defending the Swedish Model: Social Democrats, Trade Unions and Labor Migration Policy Reform. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books. Carrera, Sergio. 2006. A Comparison of Integration Programmes in the EU. Trends and Weaknesses. Brussel: CEPS. Dahlström, Carl. 2004. Nästan välkomna. Invandrarpolitikens retorik och praktik. Göteborg: Statsvetenskapliga institutionen, Göteborgs universitet. Diaz, Jose Alberto. 1993. Choosing Integration: A Theoretical and Empirical Study of the Immigrant Integration in Sweden. Uppsala: Uppsala University. Diedrich, A., and H. Hellgren. 2018. Organizing Labour Market Integration of Foreign-Born Persons in the Gothenburg Metropolitain Area. GRI-Report 2018:3. Gothenburg: Gothenburg Research Institute. https://doi. org/10.13140/RG.2.2.10968.75523. Favell, Adrian. 2001. Philosophies of Integration – Immigration and the Idea of Citizenship in France and Britain. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Fryklund, Björn. 2008. Ett förändrat Sverige: Migrationen och dess konsekvenser. In Mellan folkhem och Europa – svensk politik i brytningstid, ed. Li Bennich-Björkman and Paula Blomqvist, 284–311. Malmö: Liber AB. Ghorashi, Halleh. 2010. From Absolute Invisibility to Extreme Visibility: Emancipation Trajectory of Migrant Women in the Netherlands. Feminist Review 94 (1): 75–92. Goodman, Sara Wallace. 2012. Fortifying Citizenship: Policy Strategies for Civic Integration in Western Europe. World Politics 64: 659–698. Government Bill. 2016/17:175. Ett nytt regelverk för nyanlända invandrares etablering i arbets- och samhällslivet. Government Offices of Sweden. 2014. Goals and Visions of Introduction of New Arrivals. http://www.government.se/government-policy/introductionof-new-arrivals/goals-and-visions-of-introduction-of-new-arrivals/. Hinnfors, Jonas, Andrea Spehar, and Gregg Bucken-Knapp. 2012. The Missing Factor: Why Social Democracy Can Lead to Restrictive Immigration Policy. Journal of European Public Policy 19 (4): 585–603. Huddleston, Thomas, et  al. 2015. Migrant Integration Policy Index 2015. Barcelona: Centre for International Affairs.

22 

G. Bucken-Knapp et al.

Jacobs, Dirk, and Andrea Rea. 2007. The End of National Models? Integration Courses and Citizenship Trajectories in Europe. International Journal on Multicultural Societies 9 (2): 264–283. Joppke, Christian. 2004. The Retreat of Multiculturalism in the Liberal State: Theory and Policy. The British Journal of Sociology 55 (2): 237–257. ———. 2007. Beyond National Models: Civic Integration Policies for Immigrants in Western Europe. Western European Politics. 30 (1): 1–22. ———. 2017. Civic Integration in Western Europe: Three Debates. West European Politics 40 (6): 1153–1176. https://doi.org/10.1080/01402382.2 017.1303252. Koopmans, Ruud. 2010. Trade-offs Between Equality and Difference: Immigrant Integration, Multiculturalism and the Welfare State in Cross-National Perspective. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 36 (1): 1–26. Korac, Maja. 2001. Cross-Ethnic Networks, Self-Reception System, and Functional Integration of Refugees from Former Yugoslavia in Rome, Italy. Journal of International Migration and Integration 2 (1): 1–26. ———. 2003. Integration and How We Facilitate It: A Comparative Study of the Settlement Experiences of Refugees in Italy and the Netherlands. Sociology 37 (1): 51–68. Likić-Brborić, Branka, and Li Bennich-Björkman. 2016. Swedish “Exceptionalism” and the Integration of Refugees from Bosnia-Herzegovina in the 1990s: Acceptance and Strategies of Citizenship. In Citizens at Heart? Perspectives in Integration of Refugees in the EU After the Yugoslav Wars of Succession, ed. Li Bennich-Björkman, Roland Kostić, and Branka Likić-Brbić, 87–117. Uppsala: Uppsala Multiethnic Papers. Lundh, Christer, and Rolf Ohlsson. 1999. Från arbetskraftsimport till flyktinginvandring. 2: a rev. uppl. Stockholm: SNS Förlag. Malik, A., and L. Manroop. 2017. Recent Immigrant Newcomers’ Socialization in the Workplace. Roles of Organizational Socialization Tactics and Newcomer Strategies. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal 36 (5): 382–400. Malmberg, Bo, Eva Andersson, and John Östh. 2013. Segregation and Urban Unrest in Sweden. Urban Geography 34 (7): 1031–1046. https://doi.org/10. 1080/02723638.2013.799370. Milani, Tommaso M. 2008. Language Testing and Citizenship: A Language Ideological Debate in Sweden. Language in Society 37 (1): 27–59. OECD. 2016. Working Together: Skills and Labour Market Integration of Immigrants and Their Children in Sweden. Paris: OECD Publishing.

1  Introduction: Conceptualizing Migrant and Refugee Integration 

23

Parusel, Bernd. 2016. Sweden’s U-Turn on Asylum. Forced Migration, Review 52: 89–90. Penninx, Rinus, and Blanca Garcés-Mascareñas. 2014. The Concept of Integration as an Analytical and as a Policy Concept. In Integration of Migrants into What? Integration Processes and Policies in Europe, ed. B.  Garcés-­ Mascareñas and R. Penninx. Amsterdam: IMISCOE/Amsterdam University. Scholten, Peter P.W.A. 2013. Agenda Dynamics and the Multi-Level Governance of Intractable Policy Controversies: The Case of Migrant Integration Policies in the Netherlands. Policy Sciences 46 (3): 217–236. Södergran, Lena. 2000. Svensk invandrar- och integrationspolitik. En fråga om jämlikhet, demokrati och mänskliga rättigheter. Umeå: Doktorsavhandling, Sociologiska institutionen, Umeå universitet. SOU. 2010:16. Sverige för nyanlända: Värden, välfärdsstat, vardagsliv. Spehar, Andrea, and Linda Berg. 2013. Swimming Against the Tide: Why Sweden Supports Free Labour Mobility Within and From Outside the EU. Policy Studies 34 (2): 142–161. Statistics Sweden. 2017. Labour Force Surveys: 2016. AM12. ———. 2018. Utrikes födda efter födelseland, ålder och år. SCB: Befolkningsstatistik. Svenska dagbladet. 2016. https://www.svd.se/forskare-soker-svar-i-bosniersintegration. Valenta, Marko, and Nihad Bunar. 2010. State Assisted Integration: Refugee Integration Policies in Scandinavian Welfare States: The Swedish and Norwegian Experience. Journal of Refugee Studies 23 (4): 463–483. https:// doi.org/10.1093/jrs/feq028. Valenta, Marko, and Strabac Zan. 2013. The Dynamics of Bosnian Refugee Migrations in the 1990s, Current Migration Trends and Future Prospects. Refugee Survey Quarterly 32 (3): 1–22. Wiesbrock, Anja. 2011. The Integration of Immigrants in Sweden: A Model for the European Union? International Migration 49 (4): 48–66. ———. 2012. Granting Citizenship-Related Rights to Third-Country Nationals: An Alternative to the Full Extension of European Union Citizenship? European Journal of Migration and Law 14 (1): 63–94.

2 Two Waves of Refugee Reception: Bosnian and Herzegovinians in the 1990s, Syrians in the 2010s, and the Swedish Institutional Context

Abstract  In this chapter, we familiarize the reader with the background associated with the two cases: refugees from Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) in the 1990s, and those from Syria in the 2010s. The chapter provides overviews of the social and political contexts of these two countries at the time of the respective refugee crises. The emphasis will also be on relevant institutions and structural conditions in Sweden at the time. The chapter also introduces some of the key research in the field having to do with the respective cases, detailing the more thoroughly developed coverage of the BiH case and how this has evolved. By contrast, the research having to do with Syrian refugees to Sweden is quite sparse, given the real-time nature of events. Keywords  Syria • Bosnia and Herzegovina • Country of origin • Institutions for integration • Structural conditions

© The Author(s) 2020 G. Bucken-Knapp et al., Institutions and Organizations of Refugee Integration, Global Diversities, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-27249-4_2

25

26 

G. Bucken-Knapp et al.

 ountry of Origin and Integration: Bosnia C and Herzegovina and Syria Politics and policy-making having to do with integration is commonly regarded as primarily a matter of concern for host countries. However, migrants belong to at least two places: where they originally come from, and where they now live. When studying immigrants’ integration, both more general background and narrower immigrant-specific factors are important to take into account. The integration processes and outcomes are partially determined by the refugees’ personal characteristics, in particular their human capital. This includes their skills, competencies, employment profiles, qualifications, previous labor market experiences, and health. Previous studies have persuasively shown that refugees’ educational and professional backgrounds are important determinants for successful participation in the host country’s labor market (Aldén and Hammarstedt 2014). For instance, host country-specific education, work experience, language proficiency, and contact with natives positively correlate with chances of employment and occupational status (De Vroome and Van Tubergen 2010). Previous studies have also demonstrated how cultural values are transmitted from the source country to affect gender gaps in labor market outcomes in the host country (e.g., Blau et al. 2011; Fleischmann and Höhne 2013). When considering gender, the poor labor market integration of female immigrants has become a particularly salient issue. This is especially the case, given that immigration to different European countries, including Sweden, has been increasingly characterized by large-scale asylum and family migration from the Middle East and Africa. Refugees and their family members from these countries constitute the group that generally finds it most difficult to get a foothold in the labor market (Aldén and Hammarstedt 2014; OECD 2016). From the perspective of labor market integration, the cultural values in countries of origin that primarily ascribe women the role of homemakers are found to negatively affect the prospects for immigrant women’s labor market participation in the host country, given that domestic roles may still be a preferred and legitimate option for some of these women (Salway 2007). There is a positive correlation between country of origin and host country levels of labor force participation for women in both the United States and Europe (e.g., Blau et al. 2011; Fleischmann and Höhne 2013).

2  Two Waves of Refugee Reception: Bosnian… 

27

Turning our attention to the broader political and social context for each of the two countries of origin, the Syrian Arab Republic and Bosnia and Herzegovina (one of the republic in former Yugoslavia, hereafter referred to as BiH) have similarities and differences with regard to political and social systems. Both countries were based on one-party ruling systems prior to their respective wars and periods of emigration. The Syrian Arab Republic was a semi-presidential republic, where the alAssad family and the Ba’ath Party have dominated the political sphere since the 1970s. BiH was a part of the Former Yugoslavia (from 1943 until 1992, when BiH became independent state). Yugoslavia was a federal socialist republic ruled, as stated by one political party (communist one) that tolerated limited dissent. In Syria, religion occupied a central role in society and politics (Perthes 2014). Islam was a pillar of political Ba’athism, as it was seen as a testament of Arab culture, values, and thought, which inspired pan Arabism. As we will see in Chap. 5, questions of religious and cultural identity have played an important part in the experiences of Syrian women who wear a headscarf in Sweden’s highly secularized society. There are tangible differences between BiH and Syrian refugees in terms of social and human capital that these groups carry with them from their countries of origin. Because BiH lies in Eastern Europe, a common assumption is that individuals from BiH generally share social and cultural similarities with Sweden to a higher degree than do Syrians. For example, the level of educational attainment among BiH refugees was roughly the same as for those born in Sweden. Indeed, the number of BiH refugees with a completed secondary education was somewhat higher than the Swedish born population (Arbetsmarknadsdepartementet 2013). In contrast, Syrian refugees generally have a much lower educational level than both BiHs and native-born Swedes. Only 22% of Syrian migrants have completed their upper secondary education, while among BiH refugees, the percentage of immigrants who have completed an upper secondary education (or higher) was 50% (SCB 2016). Moreover, the closer approximation between the BiH and Swedish educational system (making it therefore easier to validate educational qualifications), as well as the smaller number of low-skilled jobs in Sweden may be expected to benefit the labor market integration prospects of BiH refugees more than that of their Syrian counterparts.

28 

G. Bucken-Knapp et al.

Gender-related issues and more specifically the participation of economically disadvantaged women on the labor market has become a prioritized issue on the political agenda throughout European Union member states (European Commission and OECD 2016). As mentioned above, a number of studies have shown a positive correlation between the country of origin and host country levels of labor force participation among refugee women. In that regard, BiH and Syria have demonstrated very different trends in female labor force participation. BiH women were significantly more active in the labor force than Syrian women, with percentages varying slightly between 44% and 46% in the period 1990–2010 (ILO 2018). In terms of Syrian women’s labor force participation rates, there was a drop in participation rate from 21% in 2001 to 12.9% in 2010 (Alsaba and Kapilashrami 2016). It should be noted, however, that the data might not reflect informal work on the labor market that falls outside official statistics. For the past fifteen years, the employment rate for BiH women living in Sweden was on par with the rate for women as a whole in the population. Quite simply, no other group of women refuges in Sweden has been that integrated on the labor market. Statistics that focus specifically on the labor force participation rates of Syrian refugee women are not yet available, but all anecdotal information suggests that it would be much lower than the case of BiH refugee women.

 iH Migration to Sweden: Structural B Conditions and Institutions for Integration The 1990s were characterized by significant increases in immigration to Sweden. During this decade, the total number of the foreign-born who migrated to Sweden, according to SCB, was 263,833. These came chiefly from Iran, Iraq, Somalia, and the former Yugoslavia. In early 1990s, nearly 100,000 people from the former Yugoslavia alone sought asylum in Sweden, and the majority of them was born in BiH (42,366).1 At the time, this was the largest number of asylum seekers that Sweden had  According to Statistics Sweden, 58,880 people born in Bosnia and Herzegovina were living in Sweden in the late 2017. The primary reason for this significant increase of the number is probably because of family ties (familjeanknytning). 1

2  Two Waves of Refugee Reception: Bosnian… 

29

­ itnessed.2 In June 1993, the Swedish government opted to issue permaw nent residency (PUT) for humanitarian reasons to the majority of asylum seekers from BiH. Approximately 70% of the total number of BiH refugees who came to Sweden during 1991–1998 were of working age, between 25 and 64. BiH refugees differed in terms of age and gender from many other refugee groups in Sweden, where it has primarily been common for young, single men to act as the vanguard. However, many BiH arrived as families, which led to their population composition mirroring that of the Swedish population. There was, however, a relatively larger percentage of older individuals, and there was no substantial overrepresentation of children and adolescents among BiH. The gender distribution was also roughly the same in all age categories. Subsequent immigration of family members from BiH has been negligible (Table 2.1). The period of BiH refugee migration to Sweden was characterized by a sharp economic downturn and a related financial crisis, which negatively affected the employment situation for both native-born Swedes and migrant communities. However, the rate of labor market participation and income for most immigrant groups declined, in some cases seriously, compared with native-born Swedes (SOU 1995:76, 1996:55; Broomé et  al. 1996; Bevelander et al. 1997). In the mid-1990s, the foreign-born population had an employment rate that was approximately 20% lower than that of nativeborn population (Ekberg 2016). However, not all structural factors that had an impact on BiH refugee establishment were negative. When BiH Table 2.1  Asylum decisions by Swedish Migration Board for BiH asylum seekers (1992–1999) Year

1992 1993

Number of people from Bosnia and Herzegovina granted Asylum

598

1994

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 Total

28.703 18.495 1.547 392

1.522 940

601

Source: Swedish Migration Board

 The next largest migrant group in that period of time was the Polish group (7019).

2

52.798

30 

G. Bucken-Knapp et al.

refugees arrived in the 1990s, there was a surplus of available housing in many municipalities. This allowed for many Bosnian and Herzegovinians to find housing where close to both educational and employment opportunities (Ekberg 2016). To assist with meeting everyday expenses, during their first year of residence in Sweden, BiH refugees were given daily allowances from the Swedish government. These were linked to compulsory participation in programs aimed at assimilation and integrating into society—including compulsory participation in Swedish for immigrants (SFI). While language courses were provided, it is important to note that SFI courses only featured one track, regardless of the educational level of the participant. In terms of the political landscape, the 1990s witnessed a profound change in the stable Swedish political party family. In 1991, the New Democracy Party (Ny Demokrati) achieved parliamentary representation (for one election cycle), bringing a more populist and xenophobic rhetoric into the established political arena (Boréus 2006). New Democracy has generally been classified as a right-of-center populist party in the same vein as a number of new anti-immigrant parties that have emerged in European countries over recent decades. As one example, the part argued that there should be an increased focus on aid being provided to refugees near the war and disaster areas that affected then rather than granting these refugees asylum in Sweden. The party wanted ‘economic migrants’ to be barred from Sweden and emphasizes an alleged relationship between migration, on the one hand, and crime and the abuse of welfare state benefits, on the other (Boréus 2006). Taking into account these substantial changes in Sweden: the sharp increase in immigration, an increased rate of unemployment among immigrants, as well as discrimination on the labor market, policymakers sought to address and reverse the negative trends. One of the most notable examples of this were the efforts of the Swedish Migration Board to initiate a broad debate about these negative trends. The aim was to aid in the social integration of immigrants into the Swedish society, and in particular their economic integration on the Swedish labor market—by mobilizing and supporting various actors in the society—to be active parts in these processes (Omanović 2006). Along with these processes and initiatives, there were certain changes in terms of immigrant policy and its goals. In the Government Bill 1997/98:16 (Sweden, the future and diversity—from immigration politics to integration

2  Two Waves of Refugee Reception: Bosnian… 

31

politics), which was later adopted, the central goals of a new policy were laid out. These goals emphasized equal rights and opportunities regardless of ethnic and cultural background, as well as a belief that societal development should be characterized by mutual respect and tolerance, in which everyone, regardless of background, should be included and take responsibility. Furthermore, it was stated that the integration process should create an opportunity for the individual to support herself/himself and to become a full-fledged member of society, and that discrimination, hostility to foreigners, and racism should be counteracted and eliminated. Unlike earlier periods in Swedish history, most issues related to immigration were subsumed in a more general social policy framework. The reason for this was chiefly found in the proclamation of Swedish society as a multicultural one, characterized by social diversity (samhällets mångfald), which includes cultural, ethnic, religious, and linguistic diversity (Omanović 2006, 2009). Treating ‘immigrant issues’ as a part of general social policy also implied that immigrants gained access to the Swedish labor market, ‘regular’ education, as well as education targeted at immigrants (such as language education and professional skills development courses). Moreover, permanent residency allowed BiH refugees to access social assistance in manner similar to that of the non-migrant population within Sweden (see more in Barslund et al. 2016). One of the goals of these policy changes was to influence and mobilize the wider spectrum of actors in society—primarily employers—in terms of bringing about a change in their attitudes toward job seekers with a migrant background. This was intended to be achieved by emphasizing the equality of all human beings, but also by promoting ‘diverse workforces’ as one of the potential competitive advantages for Swedish organizations and companies in a global economic marketplace. One of the initiatives, in line with the goals of the new integration policy and partly financed by the Swedish government, was the e­ stablishment of an institute called Sweden 2000. This institute chiefly brought together senior managers from both private and public organizations, with the aim of promoting ‘diversity’ and utilizing multicultural competencies available on the Swedish labor market (see more in Omanović 2013). In addition to this initiative, other government measures focused on adult education opportunities for unemployed people, as well as internship programs aimed

32 

G. Bucken-Knapp et al.

at supporting the entry of migrants onto the Swedish labor market. As such, this period was characterized by a significant political mobilization aimed at sharply reducing unemployment in Sweden, with a particular emphasis on reducing the growing unemployment among the immigrant population. This mobilization also led to changes in immigration/integration policies where, among other things, the idea of ‘diversity’ was actively promoted and affirmed.

 revious Research about BiH Refugees P and Their Integration in Sweden: What We Know Unsurprisingly, there is a rich amount of research focusing on the integration of BiH refugees into Swedish society. In this literature, refugees from BiH have very often been depicted as one of the most successful immigrant groups in Sweden in terms of labor market integration, a portrayal which has been mirrored in the Swedish mass media (e.g., Valenta and Ramet 2011; Ekberg 2016; Barslund et al. 2016; Bennich-Björkman et al. 2016; Bennich-Björkman and Likic-Brboric 2018). In studies published during the 1990s, one predominant focus was on the experiences of BiH refugees when it came to the migration process, acquiring refugee status, receiving permanent residency, as well as preliminary encounters with the Swedish labor market (e.g., Ålund 1998; Bunar 1998; Moe 1998; Slavnić 1998). By studying the different paths of BiH refugees when it came to migration and integration, previous studies have called attention to issues of identity, work, gender, parenting, and inter-­generational relationships as fruitful sites for exploring integration dynamics. For instance, Bunar (1998) in a highly readable and detailed biographic account, both reflects and interprets the experiences associated with his first years as a refugee and immigrant in Sweden, as well as on his previous life in BiH. Through this contextualization of his earlier life in BiH, Bunar is able to situate his subsequent encounters with and in Sweden, as well as that of receiving a new identity—that of an immigrant. Among other things, the author reflects on some of most common dilemmas of people who migrate: ‘Who am I in this, what is to me a new context? Do

2  Two Waves of Refugee Reception: Bosnian… 

33

they want me here at all? Do I want to stay here, and is it worth the effort?’ Similarly, Gustafson (1998) reflects on the status of migrants who are excluded, but in this case, with a focus on gender issues. More specifically, he describes how the situation of three BiH families undergoes profound changes after their migration to Sweden. Gustafson details how their experienced social and economic exclusion in this new society has an impact on familial relationships and produces changes in gender roles. More specifically, this perceived sense of exclusion had a notable impact on traditionally gendered roles, such as the division of labor between men and women. Relationships are also the focus of Moe’s (1998) study that is based on a four-day participant observation of a camp where twelve BiH refugee youth, with different nationalities, learn about conflict resolution. Unlike Gustafson, this study puts the spotlight on how exile to Sweden has had an impact on the lives of young people. Moe calls attention to how youth create new identities in a new context, as well as the nature of their relationships with other refugees, friends, and adults. As a final example of this early literature that provided detailed accounts of BiH refugee experiences, Slavnić (1998) describes the fate of one BiH refugee who arrived in Sweden with a Croatian passport, the dramatic experience of leaving BiH, and the lengthy process of getting a residence permit in Sweden. The detailed case study of this one refugee is intended to call attention to the relevance of a wider social–historical context. To that end, Slavnić emphasizes the link between, on the one hand, the collapse of the Yugoslavian political system that was based on multiculturalism and, and on other hand, the restrictive changes in migration policy at the national and international levels that had an impact on this ­individual’s process of resettling to Sweden, as well as many other BiH refugees like her. More recent scholarship on BiH refugees has not necessarily abandoned the micro-perspective prevalent in the earliest literature, as well as the (auto)biographical focus, but has now broadened it to include a more macro-oriented perspective emphasizing labor market outcomes, and the varying fortunes of different BiH refugee groups in Sweden and beyond (e.g., Povrzanović Frykman 2011; Valenta and Ramet 2011; Barslund et al. 2016; Bennich-Björkman et al. 2016). In terms of this latter cluster of more current BiH refugee research, Barslund et al. (2016), focus on the labor market integration of BiH refu-

34 

G. Bucken-Knapp et al.

gees in five countries: Austria, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden. The results of their study show that the integration of BiH immigrants has in general been successful. Nevertheless, they note that there were some important differences in the speed of integration of BiH refugees onto the labor market, which depended on labor market conditions in these countries, such as variation in national unemployment rates. For example, the Swedish unemployment rate of 10% in 1993 while the Austrian rate of 4% is identified by the authors as an important reason for why the establishment and integration of BiH refugees was slower in Sweden than in Austria. Slavnić (2011) explores the relationships among three groups of immigrants from former Yugoslavia: migrants who came to Sweden as guest workers in the late 1960s and early 1970s, BiH refugees who came in the very beginning of the 1990s, and BiH refugees who came to Sweden after 1993 to Sweden with Croatian passports. Slavnić shows that there are differences between these groups, partly because of their formal statuses in Sweden, but also because of their different experiences of the war, as well as their class belongingness. In spite of these differences, a key finding is that the ‘public discourses’ within Swedish society largely perceive these groups in an undifferentiated manner and in mostly positive terms. That is, they are generalized to be ‘easier’ to fit into Swedish society, with higher skills sets and competencies. In terms of intergroup relationships, Slavnić shows that these three groups display notably high levels of mutual tolerance and solidarity, particularly when seen in relation to other ethnic groups living in Sweden. BiH migrants with Croatian nationality are the focus of Povrzanović Frykman (2011). However, in this case the emphasis is on the t­ ransnational micro-practices of four migrants, focusing in particular on how they connect their daily life in the host country (Sweden) with locations in two other countries to which they have attachments: BiH and Croatia. Although all four migrated from the same country, the stories illustrate differences in their views about the country of origin, but also about (re) integration into these three transnational communities. Povrzanović Frykman (2012) continues the comparative focus on BiH immigrants, albeit this time the groups under the microscope are asylum claimants and resettled refugees. More narrowly, the emphasis is on individuals who have completed a higher education and details how they perceive their

2  Two Waves of Refugee Reception: Bosnian… 

35

own employment paths in Sweden. The empirical illustrations indicate the importance of having contacts, and of being involved in different networks in order to get a job, but also of ‘finding yourself in the right place at the right time’. However, Povrzanović Frykman’s characterization of successful integration does not focus exclusively on labor market integration. On the contrary, she goes substantially beyond that standard understanding of the term, and demonstrates that the respondents’ perception of well-being stems from a feeling of meaningfulness and purposefulness. Emphatically, such a sense of having succeeded at integration did not depend only (or chiefly) on labor market outcomes, but also on how their children perceived prosperity in Sweden, as well as on the quality of their relationships with friends, grandchildren, or family in BiH. Other more recent publications (e.g., Ekberg 2016; Bennich-Björkman and Likic-Brboric 2018) feature scholars opting for a more longitudinal approach by exploring short-term, medium-term, and long-term labor market outcomes for BiH migrants. In particular, the emphasis has been on identifying the various factors that can hasten or hinder the social and economic integration of BiH migrants. For example, Ekberg’s (2016) macro study shows that BiH migrants had a very low employment rate during their first years in Sweden. Indeed, only 24% of the BiH population (age 20–59 years) had some form of employment in Sweden during this initial period. Similar to Barslund et al. (2016), Ekberg points out that labor market conditions were potential contributing factors to the prospects of BiH migrants on the Swedish labor market. However, he also details how, since 2000, there has been a gradual improvement, and how by 2013, BiH migrants had reached almost the same employment rate as those who are born in Sweden. Ekberg also shows that BiH migrants as a group differ greatly from other immigrant groups when it comes to employment rates among women and youth. While female and youth refugees in general have a lower employment than men or youth born in Sweden, the employment rate among the BiH women was almost the same as for BiH men. In the age group of 20–24 years, the BiH youth employment rate was almost the same as the employment rate for native-­ born Swedes, while the age group of 25–29 years had a slightly higher unemployment rate than did native-born Swedes in the year 2013. Bennich-Björkman and Likic-Brboric’s (2018) qualitative approach allows for a more nuanced explanation of why BiH migrants as a group

36 

G. Bucken-Knapp et al.

have become comparatively so successful in Sweden. The authors highlight a series of factors as being especially important, noting how respondents made the decision at the outset to learn Swedish, and how they emphasized the importance of both education and work in helping them achieve desired integration outcomes. Moreover, they did not necessarily accept the decisions of street-level bureaucrats when it came to specific integration initiatives to which they were assigned, and asserted their rights actively in relation to the state. Social networks also played an important role in terms of orienting one’s self within Swedish society and gaining access to critical information. According to Bennich-Björkman and Likic-Brboric, the combined advantages of education, linguistic competence and social networks allowed these respondents to opt for other paths toward integration than those proposed by the authorities. At the same time, the authors note the importance of resources that are afforded by the state to migrants, particularly that of a university education as a well as the subsequently introduced more targeted educational initiatives. Along the lines of one of the first wave autobiographical studies (Bunar 1998), Omanović (2019) also employs an auto-ethnographic approach. The author investigates the mutual relationships between his life experiences, encounters, and personal learning, and the process of designing and writing research publications, along with their dialectic influence on the emergence and evolution of researcher identities. The study draws on the author’s personal experience and learning by giving illustrations of how (some of ) his earlier experiences (e.g., migrating from BiH, and becoming and being an immigrant in Sweden, a jobseeker, a student, and an employee in Sweden) are mutually related to our encounters connected to our profession and/or employment, as well as their dialectical influences on the emergence and evolution of professional identity/ies.

 yrian Migration to Sweden: Structural S Conditions and Institutions for Integration According to Statistics Sweden (SCB), there were 172,300 people born in Syria living in Sweden in 2017, making Syrians the largest group of foreign-­born residents in Sweden. Prior to the onset of the Syrian civil

2  Two Waves of Refugee Reception: Bosnian… 

37

war, few Syrians sought asylum in Sweden. However, this began to change in 2012, when the number of first-time applicants from Syria seeking asylum in Sweden reached 7814. The number of these applications steadily increased each year (see Table 2.2). One of the major reasons for Sweden’s popularity among Syrian asylum seekers—it is the second-most common European destination for Syrians, trailing only Germany— could be due to Sweden’s notably high acceptance rates. The average percentage of overall applicants granted asylum in Sweden between 2012 and 2015 for Syrians was 90%. However, in 2106, as a reaction to the large inflow of Syrian refugees, the Swedish Social Democratic government (with the support of the Green Party) opted for a drastically reformed asylum policy that sought to make Sweden an unattractive destination for refugees by implementing strict policies that limited access. These included temporary residence permits and ID check at the borders. This change in policy provides a partial explanation for the sharp decline in the number of Syrian asylum applications and the number of asylum applications in 2016 and 2017. In the past three decades, the Swedish government has adopted different policy measures in order to facilitate the speedier integration of refugees onto the labor market (OECD 2014). One could argue that Swedish integration policies have been developed in both breadth and depth when comparing the respective periods associated with BiH and Syrian migration to Sweden. Several reforms aimed at increasing the number of refugees who complete programs such as SFI, have been pushed by authorities in an effort to facilitate integration. One of the most notable of these Table 2.2  Syrian asylum applications to Sweden, 2012–2017

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

Number of Syrian asylum applicants

Of which male

Of which female

Of which children (unaccompanied minors included)

7814 16,317 30,583 51,338 5457 4718

4714 10,285 21,394 32,994 2802 2461

3100 6032 9189 18,344 2655 2257

2512 4725 8025 17,596 2723 1952

Source: Elaborated from data from Swedish Migration Authority

38 

G. Bucken-Knapp et al.

reforms was the introduction of new course plans in 2003 and 2007, which made it possible for participants of SFI to complete the course at a lower level while still receiving a certificate of course completion. These reforms also made it possible for SFI courses to be combined with another type of occupation; for example, with some other form of education or even employment. The SFI course plans were redesigned, abandoning the previous one-size-fits-all approach to language education for migrants. Rather, the new approach emphasized three distinct tracks. The first path targeted immigrants who are illiterate or uneducated, while paths two and three are more fast-paced and have a more advanced level of language acquisition as their objective. Since 2010, responsibility for the integration of refugees in Sweden has been located at the national level of government, within the Public Employment Service (PES). Under a new law, refugees are to be provided with a tailored two-year introduction plan that includes language training, courses on Swedish society and participation in labor market initiatives. While the right to an individual plan was formally scrapped in 2018, and while refugees are now obliged to take part in more general activities associated with labor market integration, individual plans still figure prominently in the steering of refugee integration activities. Organizing housing for new arrivals became a highly salient issue following the large inward flow of refugees to Sweden during 2015 and 2016. When BiH refugees arrived in the 1990s, there was a surplus of available housing in many municipalities. As noted previously, this allowed for many Bosnian and Herzegovinians to find convenient housing options in relation to work and school. However, when the Syrian refugees came to Sweden, the country was in the midst of a housing shortage (Boverket 2015). In 2016, the Swedish government adopted Swedish Reception for Settlement Act (SFS 2016:38) which obliges Swedish municipalities to accept new arrivals for settlement in the municipality (SFS 2016:38, §5). The aim of the act is to improve the establishment of new arrivals onto the labor market and in society through a more even distribution of new arrivals between municipalities (Government Bill 2015/16:54). However, in many of the country’s municipalities there has not been sufficient housing to accommodate every newly arriving refugee. Other reports (e.g., Franke Björkman and Spehar 2018) along with the material to be presented in

2  Two Waves of Refugee Reception: Bosnian… 

39

Chap. 5 highlight problems with overcrowding, uncertain living situations, segregation, and a prevalence of unsustainable, temporary solutions. Given that BiH migrants arrived in Sweden much earlier than Syrian refugees, it is not surprising that publications, in the form of scientific studies and different kinds of reports about social and economic integration of this group in Sweden are substantially more comprehensive than those regarding the Syrian group. Indeed, rather than a well-established body of research literature on the Syrian case, there are primarily the reports and the few research articles that have been used to provide the background in this chapter on the Syrian case. Similarly, there is a lack of current data that addresses the employment situation of Syrian refugees in Sweden. However, as with every wave of migration, the related literature lags only so far behind. And indeed, the comparative case study approach employed within this book represents one unique contribution to the development of this literature.

References Aldén, Lina, and Mats Hammarstedt. 2014. Integration of Immigrants on the Swedish Labour Market  – Recent Trends and Explanations. Växjö, Sweden: Linnæus University Labour Market and Discrimination Studies Centre. Alsaba, K., and A. Kapilashrami. 2016. Understanding Women’s Experience of Violence and the Political Economy of Gender in Conflict: The Case of Syria. Reproductive Health Matters 24 (47): 5–17. Ålund, A. 1998. Mot ett normalt liv: Bosniska flyktingar i Norden. Nord, 1998:7. Arbetsmarknadsdepartementet. 2013. Sysselsättning och utbildningsnivå bland invandrare från f d Jugoslavien. arbetsmaterial. Stockholm: Arbetsmarknads­ departementet. Barslund, M., M. Busse, K. Lenaerts, L. Ludolph, and V. Renman. 2016. Labour Market Integration of Refugees: A Comparative Survey of Bosnians in Five EU Countries. MEDAM. Bennich-Björkman, L., and B. Likic-Brboric. 2018. Svensk integrationspolitik och integration i Sverige: Hur har det gått för 1990-talets högutbildade flyktingar från Bosnien och Herzegovina? In Högutbildade migranter, ed. Maja Povrzanović Frykman and Magnus Öhlander. Sverige: Arkiv förlag.

40 

G. Bucken-Knapp et al.

Bennich-Björkman, L., R. Kostić, and B. Likić-Brbić. 2016. Citizens a Heart? Perspectives in Integration of Refugees in the EU After the Yugoslav Wars of Succession. Uppsala: Uppsala universitet. Bevelander, P., B. Carlson, and M. Rojas. 1997. I krusbärslandets storstäder – Om invandrare i Stockholm, Göteborg och Malmö. Stockholm: SNS Förlag. Blau, F.D., L.M.  Kahn, and K.L.  Papps. 2011. Gender, Source Country Characteristics and Labor Market Assimilation Among Immigrants. The Review of Economics and Statistics 93 (1): 43–58. Boréus, Kristina. 2006. Diskrimineringens retorik. En studie av svenska valrörelser 1988–2002, 52. Stockholm: Fritzes, SOU. Boverket. 2015. Boendesituationen for nyanlanda. Report no. 2015:40. Broomé, P., A.-K.  Bäcklund, C.  Lundh, and R.  Ohlsson. 1996. Varför sitter “brassen” på bänken? eller Varför har invandrarna så svårt att få jobb? Stockholm: SNS Förlag. Bunar, N. 1998. Identitet, flyktingskap, vardagsliv. Självbiografi som en narrativ konstruktion. In Mot ett normalt liv: Bosniska flyktingar i Norden, ed. A. Ålund. Nord, 1998:7. De Vroome, Thomas, and Frank Van Tubergen. 2010. The Employment Experience of Refugees in the Netherlands. International Migration Review 44 (2): 376–403. Ekberg, J. 2016. Det finns framgångsrika flyktingar på arbetsmarknaden. Ekonomisk debatt, nr44. European Commission and OECD. 2016. How Are Refugees Faring on the Labor Market in Europe? Working Paper 1. Fleischmann, F., and J.  Höhne. 2013. Gender and Migration on the Labor Market: Additive or Interacting Disadvantages in Germany? Social Science Research 42 (5): 1325–1345. Franke Björkman, K., and A. Spehar. 2018. Ny i staden: Hur upplever nyanlända flyktingar mottagande och integration i Göteborgs Stad, 2015–2017. Centre for Global Migration: University of Gothenburg. Government Bill. 2015/16:54, Ett gemensamt ansvar för mottagande av nyanlända. Stockholm: Arbetsmarknadsdepartementet. Gustafson, Å. 1998. Familj i förändring? -könsmönster i tre bosniska flyktingfamiljer. In Mot ett normalt liv: Bosniska flyktingar i Norden, ed. Ålund Alexandra. Nord, 1998:7. ILO. 2018. International Labour Organization, ILOSTAT database. Moe, A.-M. 1998. Att berätta, bearbeta och överskrida gränser: Identitetsarbete bland bosniska ungdomar i Sverige. In Mot ett normalt liv: Bosniska flyktingar i Norden, ed. A. Ålund. Nord, 1998:7.

2  Two Waves of Refugee Reception: Bosnian… 

41

OECD. 2014. Finding the Way: A Discussion of the Swedish Migrant Integration System. Paris, July. ———. 2016. Working Together: Skills and Labor Market Integration of Immigrants and Their Children in Sweden. Paris: OECD Publishing. Omanović, V. 2006. A Production of Diversity: Appearances, Ideas, Interests, Actions, Contradictions and Praxis. Gothenburg: BAS Publishing. ———. 2009. Diversity and Its Management as a Dialectical Process: Encountering Sweden and the U.S. Scandinavian Journal of Management 25 (4): 352–362. ———. 2013. Opening and Closing the Door to Diversity: A Dialectical Analysis of the Social Production of Diversity. Scandinavian Journal of Management 29 (1): 87–103. ———. 2019. The Emergence and Evolution of Researcher Identities: Experiences, Encounters, Learning and Dialectics. Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management 14 (2): 119–138. Perthes, V. 2014. Syria under Bashar al-Asad. London: Routledge. Povrzanović Frykman, M. 2011. Connecting Three Homelands: Transnational Practices of Bosnian Croats Living in Sweden. In The Bosnian Diaspora: Integration in Transnational Communities, ed. M. Valenta and S.P. Ramet. ASHGATE. ———. 2012. Struggle for Recognition: Bosnian Refugees’ Employment Experiences in Sweden. Refugee Survey Quarterly 31 (1): 54–79. Salway, S.M. 2007. Economic Activity Among UK Bangladeshi and Pakistani Women in the 1990s: Evidence for Continuity or Change in the Family Resources Survey. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 33 (5): 825–847. SCB. 2016. Population by Country of Origin, Sex and Education Level. SFS. 2016. 38. Lag om mottagande av vissa nyanlända invandrare för bosättning. Stockholm: Arbetsmarknadsdepartementet. Slavnić, Z. 1998. Spektrumet av icke-tillhörande. Temporärt skydd, kortsiktig pragmatism och problemen med sammansatta “etniska” identiteter. In Mot ett normalt liv: Bosniska flyktingar i Norden, ed. A. Ålund. Nord, 1998:7. ———. 2011. Conflict and Intern-Ethnic Solidarity: Bosnian Refugees in Malmö. In The Bosnian Diaspora: Integration in Transnational Communities, ed. Marko. Valenta and Sabrina P. Ramet. ASHGATE. SOU. 1995:76. Arbete till Invandrare. Delbetänkande från Invandrarpolitiska kommittén. Stockholm. ———. 1996:55. Sverige, framtiden och mångfald. Slutbetänkande från Invandrarpolitiska kommittén. Stockholm: Norstedts tryckeri AB. Valenta, M., and S.P. Ramet. 2011. Bosnian Migrants: An Introduction. In The Bosnian Diaspora: Integration in Transnational Communities, ed. M. Valenta and S.P. Ramet. ashgate.

3 The Voices of Refugees as a Method

Abstract  This chapter details the methodological approach that guides our study. We begin by characterizing our underlying approach as inherently pluralist and not excessively driven by concerns over generalizability. Next, we provide an argument for the added value of including refugee voices when considering the integration process, stressing that we see their inclusion as providing important missing data to be factored in alongside that which can be obtained from more standard accounts. Following this, we detail the choices made when collecting and analyzing refugee voices through the use of life narratives, individual semi-­structured interviews, and group interviews. Finally, we call attention to how our data results from multiple smaller projects, highlighting potential concerns, yet emphasizing how this data is still fit for purpose. Keywords  Qualitative methods • Semi-structured interviews • Life narratives • Migrant and refugee integration • Migrant voices • Sweden • Integration policy • Politics and practices of organizing

© The Author(s) 2020 G. Bucken-Knapp et al., Institutions and Organizations of Refugee Integration, Global Diversities, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-27249-4_3

43

44 

G. Bucken-Knapp et al.

Introduction The aim of this chapter is fourfold. First, it begins by staking out our methodological position most broadly. We openly identify ourselves as pluralist and pragmatic when it comes to selection of methods, opting for those methods that fit the analytical task at hand. We also address our position when it comes to the question of generalizability and suggest that there are valuable contributions that can be made, both to the research community and to broader public debates, without making generalizability a key research objective. Second, we provide an argument for the added value of including refugee voices when exploring how the institutions of labor market integration can either foster or hinder the ability of refugees to develop meaningful working lives. We do this by emphasizing the value, but also the limitations of more traditional methodological approaches in the policy and organizational literatures examining refugee labor market integration. We then turn our attention to the concrete added value of including refugee voices, detailing how we see their inclusion as providing important missing data to be factored in alongside that which can be obtained from more standard accounts. Third, we shift our attention to detailing the choices made when collecting and analyzing refugee voices. We do so in a rather elaborated form, which allows us to meaningfully develop the logic associated with the multiple choices associated with securing the necessary data, and ensuring that it could subsequently be analyzed both for overarching themes, but also for more intriguing detailed individual comments. Finally, we call attention to what many may regard as a challenge for working with our data—the fact that it has been obtained in multiple smaller projects, each with slightly different research objectives, and each with slightly differing collection methods. We acknowledge the presumed limitations facing us when working with this data, but emphasize that our research aims, as well as our data analysis strategy, are not hindered by these diverse data sources.

3  The Voices of Refugees as a Method 

45

 he Big Picture: Pluralism and a Healthy T Skepticism to Generalizability as Our Points of Departure We begin by noting that, emphatically, our methodological point of departure is pluralist. We do not subscribe to notions that one data collection and analysis strategy is inherently superior to another. We do not consider quantitative or qualitative methods to be, a priori, superior in allowing for researchers to make claims of possessing authoritative insights into the workings of pressing social issues. Further, as will become apparent, we also do not argue that specific methodological approaches within either quantitative or qualitative methods provide greater or lesser leverage when conducting research. While this point may seem uncontroversial to some, it will undoubtedly raise eyebrows among others: our choice of methodology is not driven by long-term adherence to specific methods, but rather by identifying and making use of the data collection and analysis tools that are fit for purpose given the analytical task at hand. Second, we address the issue of generalizability. While we respect that many scholars value the ability to make use of their results so as to have maximum coverage across a number of cases, or at least more broadly than the case that forms the basis of their analysis, we do not prioritize generalizability in the same fashion. That is, the subsequent case chapters should not be read as attempting to uncover refugee perceptions of the labor market integration process that can be seen as unfolding in all (or many, or even multiple) cases with large-scale refugee reception in times of international crisis. We do not possess that type of data. At the same time, we do not think that generalizability is the sole defining criteria of whether case study research makes a meaningful contribution to the broader literature in a given field. By the same token, we do not shy away from the challenge of considering how our data from these two cases can be of value beyond the Swedish case. Indeed, we argue that the voices of refugees that emerge in the two subsequent case study chapters make an important contribution to the refugee integration literature as a whole. While we develop these points further in the conclusion, it is worth briefly calling attention to our core point regarding contributions that can be made in lieu of meeting the traditional generalizability benchmark. Specifically, we

46 

G. Bucken-Knapp et al.

see two forms of important contributions. First, we argue for the inherent value of developing greater case-specific insights. While unfashionable in some branches of the social sciences, we note that the migration and studies fields are, at their core, broadly interdisciplinary, inclusive, and spanning a wide range of social sciences and humanities disciplines. Despite our background as political scientists and organizational researchers, we find that providing detailed and nuanced coverage of individual cases matters—both to the research community and to the broader public. For the research community, the greater level of detailed case coverage allows scholars to develop even more fine-­grained understandings of a specific case—one which may be regarded as particularly critical or challenging within their ‘national’ or subject specific research community. Moreover, the voices of refugees are never isolated from societal and historical contexts that give rise to the processes that shape the relevant politics, policies, organizations, and institutions. For the broader public, most of whom are solely interested in how research can help them make sense of the world immediately surrounding them (and to inform relevant policy), detailed case coverage can play an important role in uncovering the dynamics at play and can be of value in shaping future discussions regarding what is to be done. Second, while we do not prioritize generalizability as a virtue in and of itself, we do value the ability of results from one case to have utility for work conducted by researchers examining similar dynamics in other cases. Here, we argue that the onus is not on the researcher to demonstrate generalizability, simply that she or he must be able to present conclusions in such a way that relevant dynamics and intriguing possibilities can be considered and made fit for purpose by scholars working on similar issues in other cases. That is, broad case coverage is not our aim, but rather the broad appeal and utility of our findings.

 hy Refugee Voices? The Need W for Complementary Data Sources The Value of ‘Traditional’ Qualitative Data Sources In focusing on the importance of refugee voices for our understanding of the Swedish labor market integration process, it is of course necessary to provide a reasonably compelling argument for doing so results in some

3  The Voices of Refugees as a Method 

47

sort of added value for relevant scholarship and public debates. To put the matter in the language of many a doctoral dissertation supervisor over the years: What will we know as a result of this project that we won’t have known before, and why does it matter? Implicit in that question is that simply because a research project will have a different empirical focus than many of those that have come before, it may still not be significant as a contribution. Indeed, one of us recalls the admonishment of Lee Sigelman (the former editor of the American Political Science Review) to PhD students that the lack of a doctoral dissertation that focuses on penguin politics means does not mean that one should necessarily be written. As such, the challenge is clear. While refugee voices may largely be absent from the administrative and organizational literature, their absence does not imply that their inclusion is necessary. Anchoring our analyses and interpretations in the voices of refugees, our ambition is to challenge assumptions about the conventional ways of studying both the establishment of refugees onto the labor market and their social integration in the host society. For instance, in much of the management literature, (senior) managers’ stories are overrepresented and the picture that emerges of the studied subject and its activities (Alvesson and Sköldberg 2003) tends to be a positive one (e.g., creativity, goal orientation and a willingness to change), or somewhat one-dimensional (Deetz 1992; Omanović 2013). We do not consider managers’ or other elite stakeholders’ stories to be more ‘true’ or ‘untrue’ than the stories of other actors (such as jobseekers with an immigrant background, or/and employees with immigrant background). Emphatically though, our starting point is to counteract a dominant view and to avoid reproducing the limitations of a common methodology in terms of the social groups who are often represented in both the management/organizational literature as well as in the broader policy and administration literature. To demonstrate that the inclusion of the voices of refugees is necessary, the first step is to make clear that we see their value as being of equal importance to that of other data obtained via more traditional qualitative research focusing on the institutional and organizational aspects of migrant integration. Indeed, much of this data obtained via more traditional qualitative research methods is invaluable for developing a rich appreciation of the overall dynamics at hand. More concretely, we would argue that the current project would not be possible had it not been able

48 

G. Bucken-Knapp et al.

to build on the insights resulting from thorough document analysis, inclusion of the voices of elite stakeholders, and more tangentially, shadowing these stakeholders as well. Document analysis forms an essential part of this study in two ways. First, the official documents produced by labor market integration stakeholders—be they policymakers, political parties, administrative agencies, or relevant civil society organizations—all provide detail as to the specific programs and forms of cooperation to be implemented in order to meet the challenge of refugee labor market integration. Second, these documents can also offer—by way of what is included and what it omitted— provide an initial glimpse into the ways in which refugee labor market integration is problematized by elite stakeholders in these various sectors. However, we would argue that while it can be possible to glean something about the intent, worldview, and logic of problematization employed by elite stakeholders when considering these documents, their value is best regarded when making use of them as part of an initial mapping exercise: what are the policies affecting refugees seeking to establish a labor market foothold?; what concrete programs have resulted to address these?; who are the stakeholders with the formal mandate to be implementing these?; what, if any evaluations of these policies and initiatives may already exist and what do they highlight as success stories and remaining societal challenges? The analysis of these documents and the answers to the above questions were thus important to us—in order to contextualize our individual stories within larger social–historical contexts and to recognize the relational dynamics in refugees’ processes of establishing themselves on the labor market and integrating into the host society. However, while a data collection strategy of solely focusing on document analysis is commonly adopted by scholars examining integration dynamics (particularly from a policy or administrative perspective) given practical limitations, such a focus often benefits from including the use of elite stakeholder voices through one (or multiple) data collection strategies. As is frequently highlighted by policy scholars when detailing their methodological approach, the inclusion of elite stakeholder voices allows for insight and nuance to be obtained that is not readily apparent in official documents, or even in press accounts. Quite simply, whereas document analysis allows for an important policy and program mapping

3  The Voices of Refugees as a Method 

49

exercise to take place, it will generally result in a set of questions that cannot be answered by reviewing the written record. These questions, intriguing by their very nature, often reflect the desire of researchers to understand the reasoning and decision-making process employed by elite stakeholders when developing policies and programs. Specifically, through speaking with elite stakeholders, researchers have a greater opportunity to develop a more nuanced understanding of the relevant dynamics, particularly with regards to making sense of how elites choose to identity and rank given policy problems and organizational and business strategies, how they identify and choose specific solutions, and how they interact with other actors and employees who may (formally or informally) be involved in the implementation process. In order to obtain these elite stakeholder perspectives, researchers can make use of multiple devices: online open-ended surveys, semi-structured interviews, and even focus groups. None of these is inherently superior to the others, and indeed, researchers may choose among them partly because of practical considerations, or may find opportunities to employ more than one of these methods in order to obtain even more nuanced information. Yet, even speaking with stakeholders has its limitations. When dealing with contentious social policy issues and organizational practices, as refugee integration has become in a period of increasing anti-immigrant populism, stakeholders may understandably choose their words carefully and be on guard when speaking. Thus, to develop an even more detailed understanding of how elite stakeholders engage with one another to devise policies and programs, as well as organizational practices (such as recruitment, managing diversity, internship, and mentorship), some form of shadowing can be of substantial value. By shadowing elite stakeholders, particularly at meetings of relevant organizational bodies that might not otherwise be open to the public, researchers are able to observe how issues are framed, reflected upon, and made candidates for different types of potential programmatic solutions and organizational strategies. The first two approaches—document analysis and the inclusion of elite stakeholder voices—have been central to much of the previous research (including our own projects, e.g., see Scholten and van Ostaijen 2018) that informs our current shift to the inclusion of refugee voices. Shadowing, while not a tool that we have employed ourselves in this

50 

G. Bucken-Knapp et al.

context, is still relevant in that it has emerged as a strategy among researchers engaged in analyzing the dynamics or refugee integration and who are seeking to develop the most nuanced appreciation of how stakeholders develop their logics and engage with one another.

 oving Beyond the ‘Traditional’: An Argument M for the Inclusion of Refugee Voices These traditional approaches to qualitative policy and organizational studies deserve their due credit for the substantial amount of empirical territory that they allow scholars to cover, including ourselves. Yet, in the course of multiple projects over the past several years, we have become frustrated by the way in which our understanding of what constitutes a policy or organizational problem, challenge or solution when it comes to refugee integration, and how these have prevailingly been informed by elite stakeholders has increased. To engage in a bit of methodological self-­ criticism, we had fallen into the rut of relying on the same types of data sources simply because these were the ones with which we were most familiar and which we saw as being acceptable conventional and mainstream approaches. Yet, as is apparent in a substantial body of migration-­ related literature that does not have policy, administration, or organizational approaches as its point of disciplinary departure, the voices of migrants can be a powerful additional source of data (see Olwig et al. 2013 as a prime example). Yet, even readers who are broadly sympathetic to this assertion will nonetheless expect an explanation that highlights what the voices of refugees bring to the table as an important source of additional data. In the plainest of terms: what do we gain by the inclusion of the voices of refugees as an additional data source? To this, we have two answers. The first, while not essential for our analysis, is still valuable when it comes to understanding that the voices of any actors in the findings of research projects, represents a form of visibility, and to some extent, inclusion. This is particularly important when it comes to those groups that are societally marginalized and lacking in the resources to make themselves heard. Here, we are not only inspired by the action research in which scholars seek to combine explanatory objectives with an explicit desire to alter policy and power relations, but also by critical social science in a way of challenging rather than confirming methodologies that

3  The Voices of Refugees as a Method 

51

are already established. In that sense we have become increasingly sensitized to the fact that the field of integration, migration and management/ organization scholarship—particularly from policy and strategy perspectives—is one where the voices of the subjects of policies, programs and measures as well as (strategic) organizational practices—have been comparatively underrepresented. Yet, we are well aware that many scholars (such as ourselves) have a greater interest in seeing the explanatory added value of including refugee voices, regardless of the ability to make visible the perspectives of marginalized groups in the research literature. As such, the second contribution made by the inclusion of refugee voices has to do with how it highlights issues that are of substantial importance for the labor market integration process, but which are generally absent from accounts that primarily focus on document analysis and elite stakeholder voices. Specifically, though a focus on refugee accounts of the labor market integration process—particularly when it comes to the hurdles that are faced—we become more attuned to the impact and role of both perceived discrimination, as well as the loss of various forms of capital as the refugee must develop her or his place anew in the host society. In starkest terms, we argue that the perceived discrimination of refugees seeking a labor market foothold cannot be empirically captured in standard qualitative approaches that focus solely on policy content, elite stakeholders, or organizational practices related to diversity and inclusion. Such insights can only come from those who perceive the discrimination as having taken place; that is, those who face the barriers and mechanisms of exclusion in the process of labor market integration and career advancement. Through interviewee-guided narratives or life stories, and supplemented through semi-structured interviews, researchers can become attuned to the potential presence of perceived discrimination, its location and sources, its assumed effects on employment prospects, and the extent to which refugees choose to develop adaptive strategies where possible, or choose to resign themselves to an unjust framing of their identity. Similarly, we maintain that the loss of various forms of capital cannot be adequately captured by approaches that chiefly center on official documents or elite stakeholders. In this case, refugees are able to reflect on the way in which their journey in the time of crisis from their homeland to Sweden may have resulted in a substantial decrease in capital in its many forms. Here, we choose to make

52 

G. Bucken-Knapp et al.

use of capital in a consciously broad manner so as to allow for inclusion of the many forms that can decrease upon arrival in a new society. These include, but are by no means limited to: educational capital (when formal qualifications are no longer officially valued), communicative capital (when individuals are confronted with new languages in which they have no prior training), social capital (in the forms of either formal or informal professional networks that can assist in identifying career opportunities and also personal networks to provide support and friendship), plus cultural capital (the understanding of the prevailing cultural norms and the degree to which these are rigid for different categories of migrants or the degree to which they are flexibly applied). We also note that this dual emphasis on perceived discrimination and loss of capital, as well as ‘encountered’ barriers and mechanisms of exclusion, from the perspective of the individual refugee, does not solely result in the analytical added value of two factors not captured in traditional accounts. Rather, we regard these two factors as important empirical ways to consider the links between refugee voices and an intersectional analysis, in that both perceived discrimination and loss of capital have the potential to be multifaceted in nature with interaction that may or may not be apparent to the individual refugee.

Data Collection and Analysis Strategies This study builds on multiple data sets from three different research projects exploring the labor market integration process for refugees to Sweden from the two most-recent large-scale waves of refugee reception in Sweden: those coming from BiH in the early 1990s, and those who have arrived since the inception of the recent large-scale, so-called refugee crisis faced by Europe from 2015 onward. All three projects have utilized a qualitative methodological approach, making use of (in the different projects), narrative life stories, semi-structured interviews, and focus groups. Each of these choices for data collection were initially made to fit the aims of the respective project in which they originated. However, upon preliminary comparison of the data across the three projects, it became apparent that they shared a similar underlying analytical emphasis, having to do with giving voice to refugees settling in Sweden, whose

3  The Voices of Refugees as a Method 

53

perspectives had not previously been detailed in this manner when considering the crucial sphere of labor market integration. Below, we first detail the data collection process for each of the respective projects. Following that, we discuss the broad analytical method that was applied to all three data sets.

Data Collection: The Bosnian and Herzegovinian Case The data for the BiH case is taken from a project involving one of the authors, which has had, at its focus, on biographically oriented interviews of BiH refugees who arrived to Sweden in the early 1990s. These narratives were intended to shed detailed light on the experiences of this group of refugees, prior to, during, and following their period of immigration to Sweden. In broad terms, these narratives sought to capture subjective perceptions among respondents of how life trajectories became transformed by the refugee experience, encounters, learning, and agency. As is usual in life story narrated interviews, the stories provided by our respondents revolved around thematic topics—established by the interviewer, which in turn provided the respondents with a general framework for selecting stories to be told in the interview-situation (Rosenthal 1993). For example, the topics identified for potential reflection included features of the refugee’s life prior to migrating to Sweden (level of education, working life experiences, quality of life in BiH, primary factors driving the decision to migrate to Sweden), the concrete experience of relocating to Sweden as a refugee, the initial period in Sweden (the period of time spent in refugee resettlement camps, the process of applying for and waiting to receive a residence permit, the integration activities that took place alongside this process, such as partaking in Swedish for immigrants [SFI] courses, evaluating and validating educational qualifications), and the post-receipt of permit process that saw respondents seeking either to begin/continue their studies or to go about securing employment. These also included the respondents’ encounters with Swedish authorities and bureaucracy; their experiences of different networks and the educational system in Sweden, as well as their experiences of being involved in different initiatives directed to labor market integration of foreign born. Also, the respondents’ life stories included their ‘encounters’ with the Swedish

54 

G. Bucken-Knapp et al.

labor market, the job search process—and the barriers they perceived themselves as facing along with the agency exercised to overcome them. This set of themes enabled us to identify mutual relations between the BiH refugees’ experiences in terms of their ‘encounters’ with different institutions and individuals, integration/immigration policies, economic needs, and structural labor market conditions, as well as their own agency in the processes of achieving individual goals of integration and professional recognition. We also identified the processes in which refugees were able to overcome certain obstacles—and how identities shifted over time; for example, from that of ‘refugee’ to ‘student’ or from ‘unemployed’ to ‘employed’. Fieldwork for this project began in autumn 2017 and was completed in autumn 2018. Respondents were chosen based on initial personal contacts of the primary researcher, and were then subsequently expanded using a snowball technique. A total of thirty-eight interviews were held. All interviews were individual, except in two cases when the researcher conducted interviews with two couples. Most of the interviews were held either in the researcher’s office or at another mutually agreed upon location. Seven interviews were conducted by phone or Skype, as the respondents were not located in Gothenburg. The educational background of the respondents varied, as did their age, occupational profession, and their regional place of origin within BiH, while there is an equal number of women and men. Before coming to Sweden, respondents who had studied at either high school or at university had a fairly wide range of educational backgrounds including general secondary schools, electrical engineering schools, mechanical-technical schools, IT-education, and secondary military school. Among those with a university background, fields of study included journalism, military sciences, mechanical sciences, business administration, economics, law, construction, architecture, electrical engineering, as well as political science and medical school. Alongside their studies, many of the respondents held part-time employment positions (e.g., as tourist guides, waiters, bakers, radio hosts, salespeople, a tennis coach, logistics employees, and other service jobs). Those who had graduated university before coming to Sweden worked mostly in the profession for which they had been trained, such as architecture, political

3  The Voices of Refugees as a Method 

55

science, mechanical engineering, education, civil engineering, journalism, the military, factory work, and clothing. Many of them who had not completed their education prior to leaving BiH, did so after coming to Sweden. As such, 76% of the respondents currently have a post-­secondary education of three years or more. Each of the interviews varied in time, with the average interview lasting just over sixty-five minutes. The interviews were conducted by one of the authors (Omanović) in the native language of the respondent, these being either Bosnian, Croatian, or Serbian. The interviewer has operational fluency in all three of these languages, as well as Swedish, and there was no risk of misunderstanding between the interviewer and the respondent based on the language of the interview. It is also important to emphasize that most of these respondents also spoke some Swedish during the interview. In general, this would take the form of a few Swedish-­ language sentences being used most often when respondents were discussing specific Swedish institutions, courses attended in Sweden, and the Swedish educational system and level of qualifications. This is not surprising, taking in account, as mentioned, that the vast majority of them have lived for in Sweden for more than twenty-one years. Of the thirty-eight interviews, thirty-two were transcribed. In the six remaining interviews, only relevant portions were transcribed for inclusion. Due to a technical problem, one respondent was interviewed a second time with the previous interview. This recording was a summary of the previous interview.

Data Collection: The Syrian Refugee Crisis Case The data for the Syrian case comes from two separate research projects involving two of the authors. The first of these was conducted during the spring and summer of 2017, initiated as a master’s thesis project (Fakih 2017), and then subsequently expanded for publication (Bucken-Knapp et al. 2019). In this project, sixty semi-structured interviews with Syrian refugees to Sweden (comprised equally of thirty men and thirty women) were conducted during the spring and the summer of 2017. The interviewees were identified largely through a snowball technique as well as

56 

G. Bucken-Knapp et al.

through a site-based interview strategy, with an emphasis on language school as settings for identifying potential interviewees. This dual-­ pronged strategy proved adequate for obtaining a cross-section of demographic characteristics, most notably age and level of education. In terms of educational backgrounds, just under half had completed an undergraduate degree at university or higher. This was particularly important given the emphasis within previous literature on how labor market integration outcomes are thought to depend on such factors as country of origin, age, educational level, immigration status, and especially, gender (Knocke 2011; Neergaard 2006). Unlike the biographical narratives in the BiH case, the structure of the interviews involved having respondents identify key integration topics, reflect on general experiences with labor market integration, and address the impact of the integration program on career prospects. Respondents were asked to describe what they might change about the labor market integration process and to reflect on the efficacy of its overall organization, allowing for a non-elite assessment of the mechanics of integration. Respondents were given the opportunity to discuss any instances of discrimination that they might have experienced on the labor market or more broadly, and were asked about their level of trust in those who staff labor market integration services. Additional questions addressed dynamics between partners when it came to working or staying at home, responsibility for taking parental leave, and whether they perceived that the gender of a refugee might shape their reception into Swedish society. Geographically, interviews were conducted chiefly with refugees located in and around Gothenburg, Sweden’s second-largest city, which has taken in a substantial number of newly arrived refugees. Additional interviews were conducted with refugees living in Stockholm, Malmö, plus other smaller cities and surrounding rural areas. Interviews were primarily conducted in person. Fourteen interviews were conducted by phone, six on Skype, and five on FaceTime, as these were more logistically convenient for the respondent than meeting in person. Interviews, which ranged from twenty to forty minutes, were conducted in Arabic by an MA student who herself had come from Syria as a refugee, and with the consent of all interviewees, recorded.

3  The Voices of Refugees as a Method 

57

The data from second of the two projects focusing on the voices of refugees in the current ‘crisis’ is based on research carried out in collaboration between one of the authors and the City of Gothenburg (Franke Björkman and Spehar 2018), as part of a mapping exercise to better understand how refugees who have arrived since 2015 experience and evaluate the utility of the integration services on offer. A total of thirty-­one respondents were interviewed. Eighteen of these took part in one of three group interviews, while thirteen were interviewed individually. It should be stressed that use of the term group interviews should not be seen as synonymous with focus groups. Unlike focus group, group interviews employ less of a reliance on the participants themselves to drive the discussion agenda forward, and there is also a greater use of prepared questions, thus making it more akin to a group semi-structured interview. The group interviews were conducted by a project researcher with the assistance of licensed professional interpreters and each lasted shortly over an hour. The thirteen individual interviews, also conducted by a project researcher, were conducted in either English or Swedish and ranged from just under thirty minutes in length to just over seventy-five minutes. Participants, regardless of whether they took part in an individual or group interview were chiefly recruited from classes in ‘societal orientation’ that are organized by the City of Gothenburg’s Integration Center. A smaller number of participants were recruited with the assistance of multiple civil society organization in Gothenburg who conduct programs seeking to foster refugee integration. In terms of gender, slightly more women (seventeen) than men (fourteen) took part in the two types of interviews. In terms of educational backgrounds, just under half had completed an undergraduate degree at university or higher. Given that the focus of the project was to gain an increased understanding of how the respondents viewed their integration process as a whole, the items for discussion were not strictly limited to those of labor market integration in the narrow sense of the word. Rather, both interview formats provided respondents with the opportunity to reflect in detail on many different themes identified by the researchers as having relevance for the integration process. These include, but were not limited to, challenges in obtaining and maintaining housing, taking part in Swedish-language education classes, courses in societal orientation, how free time was spent and what sorts of social contacts the

58 

G. Bucken-Knapp et al.

respondents had established, an assessment of treatment by those staffing the institutions of integration, access to relevant information, and reflections on both labor market integration programs in which they took part. All interviews were then translated by the licensed interpreter, with transcripts in Swedish provided to the research team.

Data Analysis Once all interviews were transcribed, they were then analyzed with the assistance of NVivo, a popular software package for use in qualitative data analysis. The analysis itself was conducted by two of the project team’s researchers—one who had been active in the BiH project and one who had been active in the data analysis for the first of the two contemporary refugee ‘crisis’ projects. In an initial meeting, all three project members discussed key findings from each of the three projects whose data sets are used in this project, with special attention given to how refugee perceptions about the labor market integration process were apparent in the interviews. Following this, the two researchers employed a two-­ stage process to locate the relevant data. First, using word frequency and keyword searches, overall trends were first identified in the responses. This resulted in the establishment of an initial set of ‘top-level’ categories allowing the researchers to classify responses in a thematic, albeit broad, manner, without taking into account respondent sentiment, or other characterizations that could be considered thematically distinct under the same heading. Following this, the three project members discussed the ‘top-level’ themes that emerged through reviewing the respective coding and developed a list of subcategories for each broader theme. The data sets were then coded a second time, making use of these subcategories. Taking into account that one researcher was coding data for the BiH case and one for the Syrian case, regular discussions were held to address instances where pertinent data was located, but where it could not immediately be ascertained what top-level and subcategory applied, whether a new category needed to be established, or whether the coding frame could be made more parsimonious by combining subcategories. While we acknowledge that this does not constitute a formal inter-coder reliability check in any strict sense of the term, it nonetheless served as a

3  The Voices of Refugees as a Method 

59

pragmatic and effective way for the underlying logic driving the data categorization to be explicit among the team and applied to the data in a relatively even fashion. Certainly though, it is worth emphasizing that a substantial amount of the initial work with the data was emphatically eclectic, in which we would engage in a close reading of the more detailed accounts of the labor market integration process provided by the refugees, and also test our hunches as to the relevance of an intersectional approach by considering how gender, educational level, specific profession, or age may have correlated with specific types of perceptions or experiences. Overall, this strategy allowed us to focus on the lived experiences of refugees with attention to ‘transformative narratives’, highlighting specific moments and dynamics in the life trajectories of refugees, and conveying their assessment of how barriers to inclusion can be removed, and how dynamics of exclusion can be undone. As researchers who primarily work in a qualitative vein analyzing text in its various forms, we have often been frustrated by the lack of an explicit discussion in scholarship regarding the choices made by authors when presenting specific quotes intended to illustrate the veracity of their arguments, even when the underlying logic for coding and analyzing the data is predominantly transparent. Indeed, we are frequently asked by students at all levels conducting qualitative analysis of text—why we present certain quotes in our texts and not others. This is not a question that is commonly addressed in methods sections, not in most qualitative research that seeks to provide a rich theoretically informed analysis of how social phenomena are problematized. And we do not pretend that we have a definitive answer to how this matter should be addressed. But, to the extent possible, we accept that it is necessary to pull the curtain back on how we have selected the quotes that appear in the subsequent two case study chapters. First, as to be expected, they chiefly represent categories and subcategories that were more prevalent in the interviews than less so. Second, it bears remembering that even monographs have space limitations. As such, we have looked at the quotes associated with these specific categories and subcategories and asked ourselves: whether the quote is somehow representative of a more general pattern of reflections made by the interviewees, and whether the quote has the potential to shed insight on prevailing assumptions among scholars and policymakers regarding integration dynamics and mutual relationships. In this

60 

G. Bucken-Knapp et al.

latter case, both ‘confirmatory’ quotes as well as those that run counter to the conventional wisdom were deemed appropriate for citation. Of course, we accept that there are some quotes that fall outside of these loose guidelines that might nonetheless be intriguing for making sense of integration dynamics, such as strongly articulated dissenting views, or especially vivid and detailed depictions of key moments and meetings in the integration process. Those too have found their way into the empirical chapters. Lastly, we call attention to our decision not to include any identifying information (e.g., gender, age educational background or date/time of interview) in terms of respondents when quotes are presented. This information has been gathered for all respondents in both cases, both for individual and group interviews. However, in the case of the group interviews, the transcriptions do not always allow for identifying a specific respondent on the basis of their comments. As such, we have chosen not to include this information for any respondent quotes included in this book.

A Final Reflection on Our Data Sources In an ideal world (or at least the ideal world inhabited by researchers), data for a project such as this would have been generated and collected after the development of the research theme, or it would have made use of existing data that was collected in a systematic and comparable manner. However, the data for this project is the result of smaller previous projects, with only two of those having a thematic link. Even in that instance, the data were generated using different techniques—group interviews and semi-structured interviews. Further, the project that gives rise to the BiH data makes use of biographical narratives. Lastly, we note that these biographical narratives were conducted nearly more than twenty years after the events being described, which is a far different time frame than the various interviews having to do with the more recent refugee ‘crisis’. Certainly, we understand that there are those who may voice some degree of skepticism to our use of data from these disparate projects, and which have been collected following the passing of very different amounts of time.

3  The Voices of Refugees as a Method 

61

Yet, while acknowledging that all of this is indeed the case, we do not regard it as problematic for the following reasons. First, we remind the reader that that while the methods for data collection may have differed across the three data sets, they are nonetheless guided by a similar research interest: to cast light on how refugees to Sweden perceive their integration experiences. The data collection net may have been cast more broadly than simply labor market integration, and the construction of the netting may have been slightly different for each data set, but they nonetheless capture the information that is of relevance to us, and which can be made subject to analysis. Second, we regard the amount of time that has lapsed in the BiH case as one that allows for an intriguing possibility to be considered, even if it cannot yet be substantiated. We understand that the passage of time may have an impact on the ability to recall events precisely. Yet, as will be apparent in the forthcoming empirical chapters, the BiH respondents, more than twenty years on, appear to be sharply less critical of the integration process than those who have arrived since 2015. While we return to this point in greater detail in the conclusion, at this point we stress the possibility that proximity to the crisis, and the attending uncertainty understandably results in more critical assessments. With the passage of time, and with successful establishment, a more nuanced form of reflection, which does not just focus on the (very real) negative aspects is potentially expressed. In short, while acknowledging these potential limitations, we land very firmly on the side that these are only limitations if one chooses not to approach existing data pragmatically, and does not see the potential in creatively engaging with it. It is not an ideal collection of data sets for some, but it is one that can still be well-­ suited for the purposes of this analysis.

References Alvesson, M., and K.  Sköldberg. 2003. Reflexive Methodology. New Vistas for Qualitative Research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications Inc. Bucken-Knapp, G., Z. Fakih, and A. Spehar. 2019. Talking About Integration: The Voices of Syrian Refugees Taking Part in Introduction Programmes for Integration into Swedish Society. International Migration 57 (2): 221–234.

62 

G. Bucken-Knapp et al.

Deetz, A.S. 1992. Democracy in an Age of Corporate Colonization. Developments in Communication and the Politics of Everyday Life. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press. Fakih, Z. 2017. Labour Market Integration of Female Refugees – A Comparative Study of the Swedish and Norwegian Labour Markets. Center for European Studies: University of Gothenburg. Franke Björkman, K., and A. Spehar. 2018. Ny i staden: Hur upplever nyanlända flyktingar mottagande och integration i Göteborgs Stad, 2015–2017. Centre for Global Migration: University of Gothenburg. Knocke, W. 2011. Osynliggjorda och ‘fragmenterade’ – invandrade kvinnor i arbetslivet. In Arbete i intersektionella perspektiv, ed. P.  Mulinari and R. Selberg. Malmö: Gleerups. Neergaard, A. 2006. På tröskeln till lönearbete. Diskriminering, exkludering och underordning av personer med utländsk bakgrund. Rapport av Utredningen om makt, integration och strukturell diskriminering. SOU. 2006:60. Olwig, K.F., B. Romme Larsen, and M. Rytter. 2013. Migration, Family and the Welfare State: Integrating Migrants and Refugees in Scandinavia. Routledge. Omanović, V. 2013. Opening and Closing the Door to Diversity: A Dialectical Analysis of the Social Production of Diversity. Scandinavian Journal of Management 29 (1): 87–103. Rosenthal, G. 1993. Reconstruction of Life Stories: Principles of Selection in Generating Stories for Narrative Biographical Interviews. The Narrative Study of Lives 1 (1): 59–91. Scholten, P., and M. van Ostaijen, eds. 2018. Between Mobility and Migration: The Multi-Level Governance of Intra-European Movement. IMISCOE Research Series. Springer International Publishing.

4 The First Years of Bosnian and Herzegovinian Refugees in Sweden in the 1990s

Abstract  In this chapter, we put the analytical spotlight on the voices of BiH refugees, exploring the mutual relationship between BiH refugee experiences: their ‘encounters’ with both institutions and individuals, integration and immigration policies, practices of organizing, economic concerns, and structural labor market conditions. We also emphasize how BiH refugees exercised agency in the processes of reaching individual goals of integration and investigate the processes by which they overcame obstacles and developed their own strategies for pursuing educational and professional goals. The principle finding in this chapter is that labor market establishment rarely depends on one single process. Rather, there are mutual relations between processes. These have an impact, either directly or indirectly, on the ability of migrants to become established in the labor market. Keywords  Integration • Life experiences • Encounters • Learning • Struggles • Agency • Policies and practices of organizing • Bosnia and Herzegovina • Sweden • Refugees • Migrants

© The Author(s) 2020 G. Bucken-Knapp et al., Institutions and Organizations of Refugee Integration, Global Diversities, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-27249-4_4

63

64 

G. Bucken-Knapp et al.

 migration to Sweden and a Time E of Uncertainty: To Stay or to Go Back? … Never in my life had I thought I would leave Sarajevo for more than two weeks.

Unlike those people who migrate willingly for purposes of employment, education, or love, this chapter presents the viewpoints of a segment of the then BiH population that was forced to leave the country. Their decision to make Sweden their destination partially reflected on up-to-date information about Sweden, that was the result of multiple sources, including transnational interpersonal networks. However, even with knowledge of Sweden in hand, in most cases it was something of a random decision to opt for Sweden among the pool of likely destination countries for BiH refugees. As such, the conditions that prevailed in the Swedish labor market at the time were not the priorities that factored in selecting the new host country. Rather, the goal above all was to find a stable and safe setting that could be a temporary base until the war was over, as eventual return was an initial goal among BiH refugees. Yet, as will be shown, this initial plan of short-term migration for reasons of safety turned into permanent residency and citizenship for most of our participants. This notion that Sweden as a destination country was chosen almost by coincidence can be seen in the following comments from two respondents who describe their ‘choice’ of Sweden as almost pure coincidence: A friend of my father … he was a sailor (and he) spoke to me … nice things about Denmark … (But) when we came to, to Swinoujscie … to Poland…. then we saw that most people went to Sweden … (so we also) decided to go (take a ship) to Sweden (instead of Denmark). … We came to Swinoujscie and we did not know … whether we would go to Denmark or Sweden … Because the first ship was going to Sweden, so we (decided) to go to Sweden.

Upon arrival in Sweden and beginning the formal asylum-seeking process, BiH refugees were usually first sent to refugee centers, from which they were later transferred to refugee camps. It was in the refugee camps that individuals were to wait until the decision was reached as to whether

4  The First Years of Bosnian and Herzegovinian Refugees… 

65

they would be granted asylum or not. The length of stay in the refugee camps varied to a great extent, but it was not uncommon for individuals to spend approximately one year there waiting to learn their fate. Their first encounters with Swedish institutions and those staffing these institutions, for example, people working at the Swedish Migration Board, lawyers responsible for preparing, filing and arguing their asylum applications, and so on, occurred during the first months of their stay in Sweden. This period was characterized not only by uncertainty over whether the refugees would be allowed to remain in Sweden, but also by whether or not they would want to. This uncertainty, as well as the related indecisiveness, had the following sources: on the one hand, BiH refugees did not know what decision the Swedish Migration Board would make regarding their asylum applications. However, most BiH refugees had only applied for temporary stay during this initial phase, owing to what was seen as a war that would end and a comparatively quick return of normal conditions in BiH. For example, one of the respondents characterized his reasoning at the time in the following manner: When I came to Sweden … I thought that the war would end in a month or two and that I would return to Mostar (his hometown in BiH). That was … the first thing I thought.

The stories provided by our respondents show that these were not only individuals forced to leave their homes, but that they also perceived their future and the future of their families as still being rooted in the good life that they recalled from BiH: Never in my life had I thought that I would leave Sarajevo for more than two weeks. The most interesting thing to me was when they asked me … ‘do you want to seek asylum (in Sweden)? Hah, I do not know what is asylum.’ She says: ‘So you have the right to stay here if they approve … but you have to have a reason like …’ I tell her: ‘So you know what, I have a house, we have a job, my daughter goes to school (in BiH) … it is not like I want to stay here, nor … I like to be (here) … I’m just waiting for the war to stop…’

The joint uncertainty and indecisiveness in this initial period also had an influence on the motivation of refugees, albeit with exceptions, to become

66 

G. Bucken-Knapp et al.

actively engaged in learning the Swedish language. However, as we will subsequently see, once a residence permit had been acquired, the motivation to learn the Swedish language assumed an entirely new dimension. This shift in attitudes toward acquiring Swedish language skills understandably reflected practical considerations associated with the path toward integration. For instance, without Swedish language proficiency, individuals could not fulfill certain entry requirements for studying at a secondary school and at a university. Similarly, in many cases, without proper knowledge of Swedish language, it was simply quite difficult to find any form of employment.

First Encounters with Swedes After obtaining a residence permit, BiH refugees departed from the refugee camps and received transfers to a specific municipality. As discussed in Chap. 2, immigration issues were integrated into more general social policy in Sweden, immigrant issues were part of the general social policy. As such, as opposed to specifically targeted measures, these new migrants had access to the Swedish labor market and the ‘regular’ educational system, along with a parallel set of tailor-made educational initiatives for migrants, such as language and competency development courses. However, to have access to the Swedish labor market was not the same as to automatically get an internship or a job equivalent to one’s educational level. Many of the respondents said that (except for the knowledge of the Swedish language) the lack of social contacts in the new country, in the beginning, slowed down their labor market integration. All contacts that had been built up in the country of birth, from kindergarten, through education, to employment, were almost worthless in the new country. One respondent pointed this out, noting: Contacts were important (in B-H, too), but there we had contacts. And here the contacts are important, but we did not have them.

Some of the respondents’ experiences show not only how the limited knowledge of the Swedish language, but also a lack of involvement in different networks, prevented them from getting close to that crucial very first contact with potential employers. Yet, despite their lack of a network

4  The First Years of Bosnian and Herzegovinian Refugees… 

67

fit for purpose in Sweden, respondents detailed their own agency in going about changing this situation. For example, one respondent explained that: I decided that I would phone three or four organizations every day and ask for an internship. And despite the fact that I was sweating, and my palms were sweating, I told to myself: ‘I do not care, they do not see me, and when I drop the phone, I will forget it.’ And so, I did it, when I came from school (for Swedish language) I called them. I did not know how many organizations I contacted, but the answer was always the same: ‘We do not have need for interns’, ‘We do not have the resources for it’ … I remember one of them told me: ‘We do not have a space where you can sit’, and then I said: ‘No problem, I will stand. [Laughter]’.

Therefore, several of our respondents emphasized the importance of their new encounters with Swedes, both while they were still in the refugee camps, but especially in the subsequent period, once residency had been granted. From their point of view, these encounters were not only important for gaining new friends and for acquiring a better understanding of Swedish society, but also for improving their chances of getting a foothold on the Swedish labor market. Interestingly, many of these first contacts with Swedes evolved into long-term friendships, many of which continue to this day. One respondent described how he and his girlfriend still have contact with a Swedish family whom they met while in the refugee camps almost three decades ago: In that first period, in a refugee camp … we met a woman, a Swede, who came there as an activist. Since we knew English … she easily got in contact with us. … So, it all began so spontaneously … so we stayed in touch with her, and with her family…. They invited us many times at home for dinner, and for the holidays, at Christmas, in the first years … And it meant a lot to us, the contact with the Swedish society … (and) that somebody understood us in the right way…

Another respondent described the first encounter that he and his wife had with a Swedish family 24 years ago in the following way: We started to hang out with this family in 1993… (who were) about our … ages, … they also have two children (as we do) … (We meet) sometimes more, sometimes less, but we are still friends and we visit each other and go

68 

G. Bucken-Knapp et al.

out together. And that contact with them was quite helpful, for example, when his friend recommended me to an organization, where I got my first job (and I’m still working there).

Another respondent related a broadly similar experience: While we lived in a refugee center … we met a Swedish family … (The contact with them) helped my then husband … who was an engineer, to get a job relatively quickly…

In addition, the Swedish Migration Board, in cooperation with some local primary and secondary schools, helped younger asylum seekers who lived in refugee camps to attend regular classes alongside ‘regular’ pupils. Although the youth from refugee camps could not formally receive grades, the experience enabled the youth to make contacts with Swedish peers and to develop their Swedish language skills. Encountering a new, unknown environment, where one possesses very limited knowledge of the language, was both difficult and challenging. One of our respondents, who was fifteen years old at the time, recalled the difficulty of this experience: It was very difficult for me in one way, and (at the same time) I felt very privileged. … I remember the fear I had. … The fear of meeting … with that class, with those teachers. … I was out of the system; I did not get the grades…. So, they actually … did a lot for me. But the situation made me feel like … slightly inferior, (although) they were … very friendly. … I was afraid of all those encounters, because I did not understand half what they were saying, and even more than half …

Another respondent detailed how the combination of entering into a new environment, along with an insufficient knowledge of the Swedish language, constituted barriers that generated feelings of non-­belongingness and exclusion. I came to this class, in a group of pupils who had been in the same class for a long time … It was a very difficult period (for me). … I remember days when I spent school-breaks in the school’s toilet, so that (other pupils) would not notice that I was alone (that nobody wanted to have a contact with me). (I felt isolated) … especially at the beginning, for the first half of the year in that class.

4  The First Years of Bosnian and Herzegovinian Refugees… 

69

No Going Back: Staying in Sweden As the situation in BiH deteriorated, and the war intensified, the refugees gradually realized they will not be able to return to BiH in the near future. Thus, they began to think actively about other alternatives. First and foremost, their thoughts turned toward building a safe future for themselves and their families in Sweden. This became more salient for BiH refugees when the Swedish government chose to make permanent residency a possibility for those fleeing the war, as noted in Chap. 2. Of course, this did not automatically mean that one would be granted permanent residency and the ability to remain in Sweden indefinitely. But, it did mean that there was at least one safe alternative, which was, staying in Sweden. One respondent explained what she and her family were thinking at that point: We did not know how long we would stay, and whether we would obtain a residence permit (or not). And then when we got … a residence permit, sometime in October 1993,… then we decided … to stay … (and we started) planning a life in Sweden.

Of course, the deterioration of the situation in BiH considerably influenced their planning: Already then (in 1993) it was definite, everything was destroyed … one year passed … (and) the war was still going on…. I saw that there was no (chance for) return at all…

Similar experiences and thoughts were shared by another respondent: Everything in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the complete infrastructure was destroyed. … I was left with nothing, like many (others) … (And when) you have children, it was the reason, mostly, for me to start thinking about staying, (although, at the beginning) I did not even intend to stay at all.

Some of the examples at the beginning of this section illustrate that the unresolved status of asylum seekers results in a substantial sense of

70 

G. Bucken-Knapp et al.

insecurity, provides very limited possibilities for integration, and affects the desire of refugees to integrate into the host-society. However, when the BiH refugees obtained a residence permit, it did not only, in legal terms, solve their status. Of course, they were then entitled to obtain a personal registration number that is the fundamental basis for everyday life in Sweden. However, it also meant that, if so desired, they could plan their life in Sweden for the long run, which included establishment into the labor market and the potential for social integration into Swedish society.

 here Is No Integration Without the Swedish T Language Many respondents emphasized how Swedish language skills were one of the most important prerequisites for their further education and employment in Sweden. The vast majority of them chose to learn Swedish in the early stages of their new lives in Sweden. As mandatory Swedish classes were not part of their lives in the refugee camps, some tried to find possibilities for learning Swedish language on their own: I quickly realized that there are great opportunities here … but (also) that one needed language skills first and foremost. And the first thing I did … before any … formal opportunity (I had) was to … learn the language. (I asked) one teacher and she let me to attend her classes … In those first months … I learned Swedish very quickly and became independent in society …

Their experience regarding the quality of Swedish language teaching at SFI varied, however, and depended on which municipality, or even school, was attended. Those schools with better organization and teaching played helped the new migrants develop the skills necessary for fulfilling entry requirements for continuing education, and/or for locating employment. In contrast, those schools that lacked these positive features did not provide BiH migrants with that necessary prerequisite. The most common complaint in regard to SFI education was that the selection

4  The First Years of Bosnian and Herzegovinian Refugees… 

71

process failed to match course participants with the appropriate courses on the basis of their prior knowledge of the language. One respondent described it in the following way: In 1993 (when I went to the SFI) they (the municipality) … put me in … the same group where there were people who did not even have an elementary school background … (and who) did not know either English or some other language, … or how to write in their own language. … (So) this speed was completely unsuitable for me…

Another respondent detailed a similar experience: The problem at SFI was that my ex-boyfriend and I … and one professor of our language—were together in a class with some people who were not quite sure about how to read and write. So, they put us all in the same class.

However, this lack of language course matching on the basis of educational background was not the case in all settings. Some municipalities, according to the respondents, were more active in supporting the migrants during their ‘acclimatization’ period, that is, immediately after they received a residence permit. In those municipalities, the migrants were provided with a contact person who sought to develop an individual plan for each newly arrived immigrant: When we received a residence permit and a transfer… and moved to a new municipality, in that municipality we had—a person who … was our … contact … and … it was very easy for me to cooperate with him … because he really took care of us individually … (and immediately) in the same month we started learning Swedish …

This was also the case for another respondent, who described the experience as such: I think … that (our municipality) had a great policy of integrating … refugees. … They had an extraordinary immigrant support…. They … offered everyone … SFI … (and) after a month they made groups—more advanced … less advanced … and so.

72 

G. Bucken-Knapp et al.

However, it is also important to emphasize how the respondents’ own agency played an important role in assisting them with the process of learning Swedish. For instance, one respondent, after having talked with his teacher, realized that SFI was organized in such a way that each level lasted a certain period of time. He calculated how long he would need to spend in SFI before obtaining the certificate that would allow him to enroll in university studies. Feeling that this was too long of a time frame, he began to seek alternative solutions—for learning Swedish faster: I went to SFI perhaps (only) three months and I should have gone for a year, and then I told her (a Swedish language teacher): ‘Could I take this test now?’ And she said: ‘If you want, but I do not think you’re ready.’ So, I decided to do this test and I passed it … in the best possible way, so I automatically entered the most advanced level (SAS 3) …

Another respondent, relying on a personal strategy for language learning, also shortened the amount of time spent at SFI: I went to the SFI perhaps just for a week … literally, the tempo of learning at that course was terribly slow to me … (so) I learned Swedish (mostly) by watching … TV … I was listening in English and reading the text in Swedish. And so, I learned Swedish much more quickly than I would have learned on SFI …

These examples illustrate how the official paths to language acquisition in the ‘acclimatization’ phase were not always the best solution for BiH migrants. Some actively sought alternative paths and solutions that, in some cases, resulted in a faster process of obtaining the necessary requirements for continuing their education. This, in turn, facilitated a smoother process of being able to enter an educational program of one’s choosing and completing it, which in turn led to better opportunities for establishment on the Swedish labor market. It is important, however, to emphasize, that this strategy would not have been possible if those who devised and staffed the official structures for providing Swedish language education, had not been tolerant and supported these alternative routes for language acquisition.

4  The First Years of Bosnian and Herzegovinian Refugees… 

73

 conomic Needs and Structural Labor Market E Conditions Understandably, the situation on the Swedish labor market, had a substantial impact on the ability of BiH migrants to locate their initial employment opportunities and their subsequent choices for professional development. In many cases, the economic downturn at the time, which led to an inability to find employment, led many BiH migrants to continue with university education and or taking part in various courses organized by the Public Employment Service (PES) and similar institutions. This was an actively made decision, opted for instead of remaining idle and receiving social assistance and supplementary welfare benefits: At that time (the early 90s) there was no job … So, you did not have any other choice at that time … than to continue with an education …

It should also be noted that in the case of some respondents, particularly those who were younger at the time, factors beyond the economic downturn contributed to their desire to continue their education. Indeed, many of them had planned to study, or had already started studying at university in BiH before arriving to Sweden, and this remained a priority even after arrival: We had to do something … (finish some type of education) to gain a profession. The easiest (and) best way is through … studying. So, that we finish something concrete—and that was what we wanted in principle (to do in BiH). And it was also perhaps culturally related to how we lived down there (in BiH). I was also thinking (in BiH) to study (first) at the university, and then to see what I would do in life.

Similar thoughts and plans were voiced by another respondent: I had just finished my first two years of the grammar school before I arrived in Sweden. So, I came with … with this fear: ‘I stopped my school education … what am I going to do now? I did not finish it completely (due to the war and emigration to Sweden) …’ So, it was both a fear and some

74 

G. Bucken-Knapp et al.

driving force… to learn Swedish as soon as possible so that I could catch up with my generation. Because for God’s sake … in our culture, it’s important that everything is done in order not to lose a year at school!

Yet, the path for those who had already completed an education was not necessarily straightforward. In order to gain a foothold on the job market, some BiH migrants were willing to accept jobs that did not correspond with their education level. The following empirical fragment comes from one respondent, who had earned a degree in political science from the University of Sarajevo. Despite several years of work experience, he could not find work within his profession in Sweden: (I applied for) many, many jobs … and I contacted (various) firms, but … they only thanked me for my job applications … I did not even go to any interviews. … (And then we thought) … that I should start monitoring job ads…and accept or find any kind of job, including cleaning, maintenance, … anything, just … that I have a job here in Sweden.

 utuality Between the Housing Situation M and Labor Market Integration As has been previously noted, the housing situation for BiH refugees in the early 1990s, especially when compared with that of the more recent Syrian refugees, was much more favorable. Yet, the presence of more housing in Sweden overall was not wholly decisive for speedier labor market integration. Location of this housing also mattered. In order to take advantage of the housing opportunities that existed, it was also necessary that the migrants would be willing ready to move to either another city or region within Sweden. Here too, the issue was one of whether those regions with vacant housing corresponded with those that had jobs on offer that matched the professions of BiH migrants. When BiH migrants discovered that they were unable to find a job in the municipality to which they had moved after being granted a residence permit, some became actively engaged in finding apartments in other locations, where they believed they had better chances to find work or to continue their education:

4  The First Years of Bosnian and Herzegovinian Refugees… 

75

‘K’ is a beautiful … city … But if you are looking for a job, it (‘K’ at the time) was not (the best solution). Poor industry … so we understand … that we … we need to move to one of the larger cities.

In general, many respondents who changed their Swedish place of residence during the early 1990s, did not face considerable difficulties in locating accommodation in another city: I do not know how it was for others, but I have a positive experience.

For example, one respondent described the situation in a specific region of Sweden at the beginning of the 1990s as both alarming, yet also as a great opportunity for jobseekers who were willing to relocate there. A great deal of publicly owned housing was vacant there, and local companies were having difficulty filling employment vacancies. As such, this type of confluence of factors, constituted a clear win-win: In 1992 in the city ‘V’…there were six or seven hundred empty apartments (according to the then mayor) … The plan foresaw that some neighborhoods would be destroyed, it was an economic crisis, while industry was lacking labor… then … there was a miracle, and for these people (who had experienced) a misfortune (in the sense that they were forced to leave their country because of the war) … Our apartments were filled with people … and the industry got (the required) workforce …

As the above-mentioned example illustrates, a favorable housing situation, in combination with the willingness of migrants to relocate to areas where labor was in demand, resulted in a much faster establishment in the labor market. Thus, it bears repeating that the situation on the labor market, while important, cannot in and of itself account for the successful or failed integration of immigrants. This point will be further developed more in the next section. There, it will become apparent that when there is a high demand for labor, traditional barriers of exclusion, such as poor language skills, inadequate work experience, foreign educational qualifications, or even lack of social skills, no longer exercise the same power that they do as when the demand for labor is much less.

76 

G. Bucken-Knapp et al.

Increased Demand for Labor: Reducing the Risk for Exclusion Mechanisms The example from the city ‘V’ in the previous section highlights that when there is a great need for labor, very little attention is paid to formal competencies, or the countries in which jobseekers received their education. According to one respondent: In such a situation, verifying a diploma, for example of an engineer or an economist, was not in those regions (where there was a high demand for labour). On the contrary, a diploma from BiH (which was not formally recognized in Sweden) was quite sufficient to get a job …

One of respondents spoke openly about her fears at finding work with Sweden, particularly with concerns about being excluded because of her immigrant status: There was segregation. It was a commonly known story that CVs were ‘sorted’… and that you (as an immigrant) have no chance to meet (the one who conducting job interviews). So, I was very, very annoyed.

Yet, her suspicions were not confirmed. On the contrary, when applying for her first job in Sweden after completing university, she found the situation to be quite favorable: (When I graduated from the University, IT-engineer), just before the IT crisis … then there was an expansion … they were looking for software developers and I had four job offers in a week. … At the end of graduation, I sent a couple of job applications and everyone answered me positively …

Other respondents, who graduated with either degrees in IT or electrical engineering described largely similar experiences: (At one job-fair) there were 150 firms and literally each of them asked you to come to them, in particular if you were an engineer, especially a computer engineer. I could choose what I wanted. I … chose only what was really interesting to me…I literally stood next to each stand … and I asked

4  The First Years of Bosnian and Herzegovinian Refugees… 

77

them, ‘OK, why should I come to you?’ … At that time, there was no question at all can I come to you, whether I am good enough, whether I am interested in you …

As these examples illustrate, traditional liabilities such as having a non-­ Swedish name, speaking broken Swedish, or lacking the necessary network and professional contacts, are of less importance when the situation on the labor market is good. At the same time, the sense of agency that BiH migrants displayed when it came to identifying regions in the country where suitable jobs were on offer, or their decision to take responsibility for their own educational opportunities, were also of importance. These proactive strategies, quite simply, contributed to better integration outcomes in terms speedier and long-term establishment on the Swedish labor market. Taken jointly, it is possible to argue that the comparatively fast or slow BiH migrant integration onto the labor market was rarely the result of any one factor. Instead, it was more common that the interconnectedness (mutuality) of several different factors that could be understood as facilitating or hindering integration. For example, in one case, an unemployed BiH migrant, who was actively seeking employment, managed to secure an attractive employment offer only days after being registered by the PES, while still lacking both functional Swedish, as well as formal qualifications in the language: After only four days (from my registration to the PES) … in March (1994), the PES … offered me a job at Company A (a production company for a car industry) the company that had a need for new workforce (because it was in expansion). … And since I had completed a tailor’s education (from BiH) … it was like a big plus.

Another example illustrates the complexity of dynamic mutual relations between the jobseeker’s own sense of agency when it came to securing employment, earlier education, and work experience, the needs for such specific competences and skills on the Swedish labor market, as well as the PES’ specific initiatives targeted to support migrant labor market integration. One respondent, who completed a university education in mechanical engineering in BiH and who had previous work experience as

78 

G. Bucken-Knapp et al.

an engineer in the airline industry, managed to get a job in his specific sector, despite the more general poor economic conditions that prevailed on the labor market a whole in the early 1990s. Even in recessions, some sectors go through expansion, and for this respondent, his education and previous work experience made him an ideal fit for a sector that was bucking the larger economic trends: In that period, despite the generally poor economic situation in Sweden, this manufacturing had a good business. They started to receive big orders for their products from abroad (industrial machines), and also orders for the luxury products they produced.

Yet, in this case, the respondent (as was often the case), lacked the networks that could put provide him with that crucial first contact when it came to getting on the radar screen of Swedish employers. What ultimately mattered for this individual was that, prior to receiving the job offer, he had taken part in a PES organized and financed course that was specifically designed for foreign-born and well-educated jobseekers. Like other similar courses, this course focused on acquiring professional Swedish language skills, developing increased knowledge of how Swedish society it organized, with a particular emphasis on the labor market and firms. Moreover, participants received support in preparing job applications and CVs, and the courses also assisted in brokering the necessary contacts to secure employment in desired firms and sectors. At the same time, his previous education and experience played a key role in being able to carry out his job duties once he had been hired. According to the respondent, his previous employer in BiH, where he had been employed as an engineer was ‘in technical terms 10–15 years more advanced than this Swedish company’.

 on-Adaptable Practices of Organizing N and Immigrants’ Agency In the process of setting out to achieve individual goals for integration and professional recognition, BiH migrants, of course, encountered both barriers and obstacles. Such barriers can be seen in how respondents

4  The First Years of Bosnian and Herzegovinian Refugees… 

79

recount their encounters with Swedish bureaucracy, as well as in their interactions with future employers and colleagues, as they moved from statuses of unemployed to intern to employed, and as they shifted from insecure low-wage positions to more secure higher-wage jobs. One of the barriers, for instance, was related to the ways in which different bureaucrats validated diplomas and other paperwork that BiH migrant provided to document completed education prior to coming to Sweden. The outcome of these informal validation processes had a direct impact on whether BiH migrants could pursue their education in Sweden. In situations where bureaucrats validated diplomas and other documentation from BiH, migrants were judged to have fulfilled general and/or specific entry requirements for studying at a Swedish higher educational institution. Yet, in those cases where the documentation was not accepted, the migrants would be required to undergo additional periods of education prior to being considered eligible for applying to higher education.1 As the following example shows, the process of validating foreign educational credentials, was sometimes made on unclear grounds, with both positive and negative implications for individual migrants. Two respondents who successfully completed a secondary education at the same school in BiH, and with the same major, faced sharply different fates. In one case, the education was validated as being comparable to its Swedish equivalent, while in the other, the evaluators decided that the migrant ‘did not have sufficient knowledge’ in chemistry, and had to take a year-­ long adult education (Komvux) course: They told me that they did not approve chemistry … (because according to their decision) I did not have enough chemistry and they automatically sent me back to Komvux … (So) instead of starting to study at university in the autumn of ’95 … I could do it in the autumn of ’96. … (while), for example, my friend, who went to the same school as me (in BiH), was accepted at the university, and had completed the same diploma as I had …

Another respondent described a largely similar experience:  There are no tuition fees for Swedish higher education for those who have Swedish residence permit or passport, or are citizens of an EU, EEA country or Switzerland. 1

80 

G. Bucken-Knapp et al.

I … for example went to Komvux to (complete) mathematics, … however, … people who were studying with me in the same city (and at the same school in BiH, and who had) the same level of mathematics, … their mathematics were approved… but not mine … The same situation was for English … so I had to complete even this subject … while some others who had the same level of English as me—they did not need to do it …

Although this respondent, for example, demonstrated very strong knowledge in mathematics he was still required to obtain the Swedish diplomas first, in order to begin university studies: My teacher (of mathematics, at Komvux) asked me often—‘why are you here?’ … Because there were moments when I even knew some things better than she…

In these and similar cases, the consequences of such validation outcomes were not only the loss of an additional year so as to fulfill the entry requirements for university studies. It also meant incurring an additional financial burden. In these cases, individuals had to take out loans to continue their studies at Komvux. Thus, these examples illustrate that institutional barriers can be comprised of seemingly arbitrary and sometimes contradictory validation decisions made by Swedish bureaucrats. These decisions, when negative, served as effective mechanisms for hindering the quicker establishment of migrants onto the labor market, as well as their integration into Swedish society. With regard to the possibilities of accessing the labor market, career advancement, and securing high-wage employment, things did not always progress as quickly as some respondents had hoped for. As noted earlier, BiH refugees, like all other refugees to Sweden who had been granted permanent residency at this time, were transferred to different municipalities throughout Sweden, taking part in the ‘acclimatization’ process. That is, the Swedish government implemented an orientation program to assist migrants with acclimatizing themselves to their new host municipality. Among other purposes, the aim of this period was to increase immigrant knowledge of Swedish society, Swedish working life, and Swedish language. Immigrants were usually given the opportunity,

4  The First Years of Bosnian and Herzegovinian Refugees… 

81

most often through the PES, to attend a variety of courses. These courses usually aimed to improve knowledge, competences, and skills within specific professions, but the PES also provided support to participants to assist them in developing contacts more easily with potential employers. Municipalities received a fixed amount of compensation from the state for each migrant taking part in these orientation programs. If a recent immigrant arrival decided to move to another municipality, the funds were then redirected to the new municipality. However, this in practice did not always work as it should. Indeed, some municipalities did not want to forego these funds from the state, and opposed such relocations: In ‘N’, there were … more chances to get jobs … (however, my municipality, where I was enrolled in the introductory program) did not allow me to move to ‘N’. I even found an apartment there … (but the municipality) … they wanted to receive money for all eighteen months … (So) … it was more appropriate for them to give me social assistance, (so that they can) get the founds from the state, … than for me to get a job in another city …

Other institutional barriers also constituted exclusion mechanisms, such as restrictions in regard to foreign driver’s licenses not issued in EEA countries. In this case, non-EEA driver’s licenses are only valid in Sweden for up to a period of one year. This meant that BiH migrants with valid BiH driver’s licenses were forced to apply for a Swedish driver’s license after one year: (When) I came here, I had a driving license and they told me: ‘You can drive a car for one year in Sweden’… And then suddenly (after one year) my driving license is no longer valid. It was a total absurd (to me) …

Many perceived this institutional barrier as lacking any real logic. For example, professional drivers of trucks, buses, or taxis from non-EEA countries, who were registered in Sweden for more than a year, had to re-take their driving test in Sweden, which incurred a considerable financial expense. Given that many BiH migrants did not have jobs in this initial period, they also had fairly limited funds they could be set aside for obtaining a driver’s license. Yet, without a license that was valid in Sweden,

82 

G. Bucken-Knapp et al.

they were automatically excluded from all potential employment opportunities where the prerequisite was having a valid license. Other barriers were related to a mutuality between the respondents’ specific professions from BiH and the perceptions of some Swedish organizations located in Sweden about the perceived usefulness of these competences and skills in a Swedish context. Thus, in some cases, even when a respondent had a BiH university degree, it could still be difficult (if not outright impossible) to find job opportunities in certain professions. This was notably the case for those who had been journalists, lawyers, researchers, or military officers prior to arriving in Sweden. In these cases, after multiple failed attempts to have their diplomas validated, or to find job in their professions, most opted pursue an education in their profession from the very beginning, or to change their profession entirely: It was my wish (to work in Sweden as a journalist). But I was aware that if I want … to be independent of social assistance … that I have to forget … those plans. … (and instead) try to find a niche, in order to get easier work in the field of information and communication.

However, this same respondent, trained as a journalist, also highlights how searching for a job that is below one’s qualifications might constitute a process that is both painful and difficult. In her case, the interview was for the position of a pre-school assistant who would watch over children: I was invited to an interview where three teachers … sat, and they tried in all possible ways to refuse me, to make me refuse the job. … Among other things, one of them, who was an ‘informal headmaster’ at the school said: ‘How will we explain to our parents, that a person who does not know Swedish herself should teach our children?’ Although I was not supposed to give lectures, but to watch over the kids at … school breaks, and… to watch what they are doing. So … I would be just an assistant staff in the classroom … I did not say that, but I thought then: ‘Do the Swedes watch over and run after the children in a different way than we immigrants do…?’ That triggered a protest in me, so I told them only this: ‘I learn quickly!’

Another respondent, who had previously had a successful career as a film maker and editor of columns on culture in two leading BiH journals, had hoped to continue in the same profession upon arrival in Sweden:

4  The First Years of Bosnian and Herzegovinian Refugees… 

83

When I arrived here (Sweden), my knowledge of English and German was very decent, so I had no communication problems. Then I tried to write something (and then I got in touch with various newspapers and magazines) in order to get a job … and then I realized that there was nothing for me there, because I was completely ignored. No one has ever responded to my letter or anything.

Considering that his education (a doctoral student in the final stages of a thesis on animated film) was not recognized in Sweden, he decided to begin his studies again at the undergraduate level in Sweden. After graduation, he again became a doctoral candidate and started writing his doctoral thesis on another subject. His memories of this period are not particularly happy, because he faced, from his perspective, obstructions and barriers: I suffered humiliating treatment at the doctoral program. I wrote my doctoral thesis in three years, but I had to wait while some other doctoral candidates … defended (their doctoral dissertations) before me … When my doctoral project material was discussed, it was a state of war … My opponents, they did nothing else … but preparing (to oppose to my work) and then if they found I had written (in Swedish) ‘ett’ instead of ‘en’, they made a big fuss. …I did not get the right job then, of course, I got 50% of working time (part-time job), but I worked at 300% capacity.

As we see from these two examples, knowledge of Swedish was of central importance in both instances. Although in the first case, it was not a decisive or even necessary factor for doing a particular job, while in the second case, a stronger focus was given to formalities of language, than to the content of what was being expressed through use of the language. Here we may recognize excluding mechanisms that Bourdieu (1986) elaborates on: namely, that different professions tend to set specific criteria, beyond formal competences, which may open but also close the door to a specific person. Such characteristics may be related to age, social, or ethnic origin, gender, social competences, or in this case, nuanced language skills, which are effective mechanisms of exclusion for those who do not meet such criteria. Thus, the decisions to begin a university education anew or to change one’s profession cannot be viewed in isolation from a range of other fac-

84 

G. Bucken-Knapp et al.

tors. Labor market circumstances, specific entry requirements for higher education, as well as informal encounters and attempts are more or less mutually related, and can influence the opportunities of migrants for achieving labor market integration. Several of these examples also share certain similarities with what Girard and Bauder (2007) label as a ­‘superiority complex’ among decision makers, which they found to be present among employers who considered Canadian engineering schools to be superior to that of non-Canadian engineering schools. In the case of Swedish employers, feelings of superiority, combined with an unfamiliarity about international credentials, excluded, or slowed down, the ability of BiH migrants to access the labor market.

 lternative Practices of Organizing A and Immigrants’ Agency Although some macro-studies on the economic integration of BiH immigrants explore their success in terms of their labor market integration, they do not provide many details about how this success came to be. That is, they do not explore the details about micro-processes and encounters, learning, and the struggle of immigrants to achieve the goals, which our respondents have considered worth fighting for. As we have pointed out, those who had to abort their education due to the war, sought ways to continue their education in Sweden upon arrival and obtaining a residence permit. Respondents who had already completed their education in BiH had their primary focus on locating suitable (or any) employment. This process, as described above, took place at a faster rate for some, and slower for others. Several respondents describe situations what could be qualified as ‘alternative practices of organizing’. That is, they were not always consistent with established bureaucratic and administrative practices, but which led to faster labor market access. For instance, one respondent, who was sixteen at the time she arrived in Sweden, wanted to continue studying at high school after obtaining a residence permit. However, the information that was provided to her by staff at the high school was that she had to go back to elementary school to complete some subjects, which she opposed. After a long conversation with the high school principal, initiated by our

4  The First Years of Bosnian and Herzegovinian Refugees… 

85

respondent, they agreed on a solution that went beyond the established practices of organizing: So, the deal was to do certain tests (for the subjects that I had to complete). … So, I did not go to school … but I got books and I did everything myself and prepared myself for those exams … (and I passed all those exams). And after that, they allowed me to start the second year of high school.

In another case, a mechanical engineer with work experience and excellent grades from university in BiH received 264 rejection letters to job applications that he had sent in Sweden. Following this, he scheduled a meeting with his contact person in the PES: I went to him … and I told him: ‘R., this way we did this, this does not work! How, (asks R.)?’ Well, I told him—here, I sent (a lot of job applications but) … no one called me (for an interview) … And (then) I told him: ‘Can you help me?’ (And he said): ‘Well, I have been helping you all this time.’ I said: ‘Well, but I have one (another) suggestion how you can help me…All these companies here (a list of the companies where he applied for a job), do you know somebody in any of these companies … whom you could ask to meet me … And that’s (all) I am asking you to do.’

As this example shows, the respondent’s own agency, initiated this alternative suggested practice of organizing, that led to a meeting with Swedish company, who subsequently made an offer of employment. Some of the jobs that were offered were not related to the migrants’ chosen professions, but had to do with their hobbies. For example, one respondent, after receiving a Swedish residence permit, opted to move to another city. Upon arriving, he spotted a tennis club as he was walking from the train station to the city center, and decided to stop in, as he had played a great deal of tennis in his leisure time: I went to this tennis club … and there I met a tennis coach … who is (I realized) a legend in Sweden … one of the few people on the planet who beat Björn Borg. He played for the Swedish national team as well … we connected quickly and he … said he would like me to work with him as a coach. Do you understand … it meant the same evening (upon my arrival in the new municipality I got my first job in Sweden) …

86 

G. Bucken-Knapp et al.

Another example of respondent agency, and also the willingness of decision makers to find alternative practice of organizing, took place when one respondent wanted to study at university, but needed to meet entry requirements in mathematics at Komvux. After just a few lessons, he realized that the level of the course was far below his actual knowledge of mathematics that he acquired in secondary school in BiH. Therefore, he asked the school principal to transfer him from this basic course to the most advanced course: (I told her that) … my major subject in grammar school in BiH was mathematics—and what they do in mathematics F (the highest level) roughly equals my actual level of knowledge in mathematics … She did not believe me, but she … asked a teacher in mathematics to give me a couple of tasks (to do a test in the rector’s office). And then I had to do a couple of tasks and that teacher checked it and said: ‘No problem’ (meaning, I could take the most advanced course instead).

Another example having to do with meeting the entry requirements for study at university also illustrates the relation between the migrant agency and the willingness of decision makers to accept alternative ways of organizing: My wife went to this university … and there she was told … that before any kind of studying at universities in Sweden, we had to pass a test in Swedish for University Studies, … but (she was also told) that we cannot take this test if we do not complete SFI. ‘Well, we did not finish (SFI), but can we take this test, anyway’, (asked my wife)? … And, after (only) three months of SFI (which we have not completed yet) we took that test in Swedish for University Studies and … and we passed it …

Conclusion As has been shown, the process of integration into a host-society and its labor market cannot be isolated from the previous experiences and knowledge that refugees and migrants possess. Moreover, their encounters with officials and institutions, their struggles and creative responses through

4  The First Years of Bosnian and Herzegovinian Refugees… 

87

use of agency, the relevant policies in the host-society, the way in which organizations engage in practices of organizing are all mutually related and contribute to the integration outcomes. Taking into account that the empirical material presented in this chapter includes 38 life stories, it is not easy to argue which one of these mutually related activities may have been most important, or which had the greatest impact on other activities, as well as on the integration process for BiH migrants during their first years in Sweden. These stories are based on experiences of different individuals who share a common country of origin, experience of studying in the same educational and political system, as well as a common tragedy that led them to emigrate. But their stories also differ when it comes to educational levels of our respondents, their professions, ages, working experiences, places of birth in BiH, family lives, and relationships, as well the different encounters with people and organizations in Sweden. Nonetheless, the process of integration for BiH refugees as a group reflected several underlying processes that were largely common. First, BiH migrants benefited from a liberal refugee admission policy that first allowed them to seek asylum, and the afforded them the chance to build permanent lives in Sweden with their families. Second, the decision to make use of permanent residency reflected a realization that the war would not be short-term. Third, BiH refugees were highly ambitious when it came to continuing their education upon settling in Sweden, with over 75% of the respondents in this study completing a university education that was three years or longer. Fourth, BiH migrants displayed a very active agency in terms of searching for alternative legal paths to help them achieve their personal integration goals. Interrelated to this was the willingness of street-level bureaucrats, employers, and other actors to allow and support these alternative strategies for pursuing integration goals. Fifth, BiH migrants were willing to go where the internship, education, and/or job opportunities were throughout Sweden, even if this meant moving. Facilitating this willingness was the broader availability of housing at the time, which has not been the case for Syrian refugees. This can also be understood as a willingness to adapt to the circumstances of life in Sweden (as well as the norms), but also to have an influence on society, in that BiH migrants often pushed the boundaries

88 

G. Bucken-Knapp et al.

of what was standard practice in Swedish society through not passively deferring to established procedures and routines. Taken jointly, a central feature of the narratives provided by the respondents in this chapter is that labor market establishment does not depend on just one activity or process. Rather, there are mutual relations among different activities and processes that can directly or indirectly influence the labor market establishment of migrants in the new host country. For some respondents these processes took less time, while for others, it took a much longer time and was a more difficult than initially expected.

References Bourdieu, P. 1986. Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgment of Taste. London: Routledge. Girard, E.R., and H.  Bauder. 2007. Assimilation and Exclusion of Foreign Trained Engineers in Canada: Inside a Professional Regulatory Organization. Journal Compilation. Editorial Board of Antipode 39 (1): 35–53.

5 The First Years of Syrian Refugees in Sweden in the 2010s

Abstract  This chapter focuses on the voices of refugees who came to Sweden as a result of the Syrian conflict throughout the 2010s. The presentation of immigrant voices reflecting on the integration process in this chapter is structured around major themes that migrants face. This includes reflections on life before arrival in Sweden, the language learning process, and experiences associated with attempting to develop a foothold on the Swedish labor market. Attention then shifts to the importance of professional and social networks for integration, the sense of exclusion voiced by many respondents, and encounters with the bureaucracy more generally. The chapter concludes by highlighting the resilience (sticktoitiveness) of refugees when exercising agency, and the assessments that they have of the integration experience as a whole. Keywords  Integration • Life experiences • Encounters • Learning • Struggles • Agency • Policies and practices of organizing • Syria • Sweden • Refugees • Migrants

© The Author(s) 2020 G. Bucken-Knapp et al., Institutions and Organizations of Refugee Integration, Global Diversities, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-27249-4_5

89

90 

G. Bucken-Knapp et al.

Introduction This chapter shifts the analytical focus to the substantial number of asylum seekers who have come to Sweden as a result of the Syrian conflict throughout the 2010s. Similar to the case of those who arrived from Bosnia and Herzegovina, the large number who have arrived during this decade have produced substantial challenges for the institutions of Swedish state that are charged with fostering immigrant integration. And in broadest terms, the immigrant voices highlighted in this chapter will reveal similar experiences and impressions: the sense that life pre-conflict was not only stable but quite good; that the idea of coming to Sweden had never really crossed one’s mind and was solely a result of the need to flee to safer conditions; that the process of integration upon arrival and over time has been piecemeal, chaotic, and uncertain; and that the individual migrant, even with the support of the institutions of integration, must play an exceptionally active role in identifying the available opportunities in order to establish a meaningful life in one’s new homeland. At the same time, the experiences of the migrants detailed in this chapter also highlight how the case of Syrian refugees diverges from that of those from Bosnia and Herzegovina in one critical regard. Specifically, many of those refugees who have arrived from Syria emphasize that they are visually identified as the other—largely on the basis of religious symbols such as the headscarf—and that they see this as having consequences for the willingness of Swedish society to treat them as equals. The presentation of immigrant voices in this chapter is structured around the major themes that migrants face when seeking integration into a new society. It begins with reflections on life before Sweden, allowing the reader to develop an appreciation for the stability that once existed in the lives of those who have recently come to Sweden, and the way in which those stable everyday lives were cast into turmoil. It then continues by providing detail—from the perspective of the migrants themselves—about several of the key moments and experiences associated with the effort to become integrated into Swedish society. These include both the language learning process and the rather wide-ranging set of experiences associated with attempting to develop a

5  The First Years of Syrian Refugees in Sweden in the 2010s 

91

foothold in the Swedish labor market, two of the most immediate and pressing challenges faced by migrants. In terms of the latter, the focus is on presenting migrant impressions of the search for internships, the odd jobs that emerge along the way, and the efforts to break into desired sectors of employment. Following this, the chapter addresses several themes that can be regarded as salient all throughout the integration process, regardless of the specific point in the journey of the individual migrant toward being firmly settled. Here, the chapter will address the importance of contacts for the integration prospects of the migrant, focusing on both the way in which professional networks are perceived as being crucial, and how social networks play not only valuable informational roles, but also serve to undermine the sense of social isolation associated with an unplanned life in a new setting. Related to this, this section will also call attention to how many Syrian refugees experience a sense of being apart from the mainstream fabric of Swedish society, and how they feel that they are judged and excluded on the basis of visual cues. Contacts matter in another way for one’s integration prospects of course, and that would be the nature of the contacts that the migrant has with the face of the Swedish state—that is, their meetings with the street-level bureaucrats who gatekeep both information and access regarding the various societal initiatives aimed at speeding the integration process. Finally, the chapter focuses on two themes that became especially apparent throughout the course of the data analysis. First, the narratives provided by the migrants reveal an emphatic persistence in some cases, in which migrants refuse to become excessively dejected by their experiences with complex processes and sometimes less than supportive caseworkers. We refer to this persistence through use of the conversational term sticktoitiveness, as this captures that impressive resilience in the face of everyday obstacles. Second, the participants in these interviews often viewed them as an opportunity to reflect on the big picture of the integration process—sometimes offering suggestions as to what Swedish society is doing well or could do better, or sometimes providing an especially succinct analysis of one aspect of the integration process or another. These, we feel, are ideal for supplementing the elite voices that more often form the subject matter of most qualitative analyses regarding migrant integration.

92 

G. Bucken-Knapp et al.

Life Before Sweden Migrants come from somewhere. That much we always know with certainty. Refugees come, we tend to assume, because of the perceived need to escape conflict, crisis, disasters, or other situations that the given individual deems as threatening to her or his existence. At the same time, a hardening public climate toward the presence of all categories of migrants increasingly tends to downplay, or in some cases even ignores, the severity of these push factors. Proponents of a populist anti-immigrant standpoint call into question the motives of those who arrive as refugees, and the language of welfare chauvinism has taken hold among many of those—both elites and the general public—who once supported widescale refugee admission. Lacking in this discussion and rhetoric are the accounts of the everyday lives of refugees prior to arrival in their new homelands. By this we do not primarily mean the dramatic stories of the journeys taken in order to arrive in Sweden safely. Rather, we seek to call attention to that sense of normalcy that once existed in their everyday lives that most of us take for granted as being the norm. These reflections on everyday life prior to coming to Sweden are not included to show nostalgia on the part of the individual refugee in our opinion. Rather, it is important for highlighting once crucial point. Had there not been the violent conflicts that necessitated fleeing one’s homeland, these individuals would likely not have left. The catalyst was the conflict, and not the generosity of the Swedish welfare system or the structure of the Swedish labor market. As one refugee notes, moving—in this case from Libya to Sweden, was solely a function of war, and the effect that it had on erasing the symbols of normalcy: a profession, a home, and a stable middle-class existence: It was fantastic. My husband was a dentist and I was an English teacher. Our work was very good, he had a private dental clinic. We had a house, a car and everything. We didn’t live in Syria, although that’s where we are from—we lived in Libya. There was also a war there, my husband’s clinic was bombed and we moved here. If there hadn’t been a war, we wouldn’t have moved.

5  The First Years of Syrian Refugees in Sweden in the 2010s 

93

Another respondent emphasized the general satisfaction that one felt with one’s life prior to the outbreak of the crisis. In this case, the respondent was not from an upper-class economic background, but described the basic stability of a working life familiar to so many of us—a two-­ income household, a home and a solidly positive assessment of the quality of one’s life: Life was good in Syria. I did work there because my husband’s salary was so low, but life was good. Most people own their own home, only a few rent—those who are very poor. The cost of living is inexpensive, and there aren’t that many things that cost so much.

Another respondent, who had been resident in Kuwait until it was no longer possible to remain and return to Syria was not an option described the routine-like simplicity of a stable life now lost: Before I was a teacher, English teacher for elementary school for eight years…And I got married and got kids so it was easier to work as a teacher, you know. There I would finish at 1.30 and go back home, so it was like… very comfortable, very convenient for my situation.

Implicit in many of these reflections is the notion of a life interrupted by war, conflict, and crisis. In some cases though, war took center stage as a disruptive character in a narrative about professional and personal dreams left unfulfilled. One respondent detailed the professional expectations that his family had of him, and how, had it not been for war, he was to have gained an education abroad so as to be able to join one of the family businesses: I grew up in family that ran several different pharmacies, plus my father owned and operated an agricultural pesticide business. As a result, I went to Ukraine to study agronomy, where I earned an MA degree. And my goal was to earn my PhD there, but because of the war in Syria, I couldn’t continue. I also had problems with money, and decided to come to Sweden. It was very difficult for me to build a life in. Ukraine, as they were at war with Russia, and Syria found itself in a very difficult situation.

94 

G. Bucken-Knapp et al.

Clearly, these reflections by the respondents on their lives before Sweden are not intended to present an idealized portrayal of Syrian society (or that of Libya, or Kuwait, or Ukraine) pre-conflict. Rather, they illustrate how Sweden as a destination country was not on the cognitive map in any sense of the word for these individuals. Life was to have been something else, and only because of the conflict did the vast majority wind up with Sweden as their new homeland.

Swedish Language Acquisition In one of the sets of interviews that form the basis of this chapter, respondents were given the opportunity to provide a shortlist of the top three topics seen as important for achieving integration. Occupying top place was the importance of Swedish language acquisition, which was identified as being of crucial importance for gaining a foothold on the Swedish labor market. For example, respondents pointed out that, ‘Language is everything. We cannot work or talk to people without speaking the language.’ Common to all of the data sources that inform this chapter, respondents tended to frame their experience with Swedish language acquisition in less than positive terms. A common reflection was that the attempts to place refugees in courses appropriate to their educational background often missed the mark, creating a sense of frustration: Respondent: Regardless of the level of the course, I think that the pedagogy is inappropriate for learning. After six months, I still hadn’t learned anything because of their way of teaching. They could have simplified how they taught and it would have gone better. Interviewer: Can you say a bit more about what it was in the courses that you didn’t think was particularly good? Respondent: When I began SFI…I began on the (advanced) C-level, with a group that had been studying for a longer time and they were able to speak the language very well. They could construct sentences, while I could barely speak a word. This type of mix simply doesn’t work. Putting a beginner in with an experienced group, that doesn’t work.

5  The First Years of Syrian Refugees in Sweden in the 2010s 

95

Another respondent highlighted how staff at language schools conflated their age as adults with what their ability to learn adequately a foreign language that relies on a sharply different grammar, syntax, vocabulary and intonation: The problem is that they view us as adults. Well, we are adults, but they view us as adult Swedes. If you say to them that you’re having difficulties learning, they say—you’re any adult, you’re fully grown. That’s a problem, because it is a new language to us, we have to be seen as six-year olds when it comes to Swedish. … We come from Arabic or Kurdish language backgrounds, we’re not studying at either university or high school. But they say to us that we are adults and we can handle this. But we can’t handle this.

Yet, as with all institutions of the integration process, the picture is often complex. Indeed, multiple respondents noted that the situation was not uniform from school to school (and even within schools). As one individual implied, the prospects for learning Swedish came down to many different variables—the school, the teacher, the individual student, her/his background—and painted a more nuanced picture: When it comes to SFI, it’s going to vary between one person and another as to how quickly one can progress. And age will also play a roll. There are also differences between schools and teachers, and there are different levels. There are some teachers who are quite good and are able to communicate the material to the students. So, the quality varies from school to school, because I have heard that some people are extremely satisfied with their schools, and others are unsatisfied.

A common theme among respondents when addressing language was to devote less of an emphasis to being solely critical of the language schools themselves, and instead to stress the individual responsibility that one had for acquiring Swedish. While language schools were indeed the subject of much criticism, respondents did point to the opportunities that were available beyond the classroom, and how these were crucial for making progress at learning the language:

96 

G. Bucken-Knapp et al.

But of course, you can’t learn the language just as a result of being at school or university, you have to practice, and go to language cafes, meet friends and spend time with them, speak and practice Swedish. And that’s the biggest thing, because school won’t give you everything that you need.

This quote serves also as our first illustration of the persistence that refugees highlight time and time again in their narratives—what we call sticktoitiveness—and how this attitude and drive emerges time and time again as a concrete example of how they have managed to overcome institutional and societal barriers that slow the integration process. Further examples of sticktoitiveness will be presented later in this chapter.

F inding Employment: Interviews, Internships, Networks, and Exclusion Occupying the number two position in the short list of topics important for integration was the ability to secure employment. The question of gaining entry to the Swedish labor market for refugees was one that took up a substantial portion of all interviews, and it was addressed in a variety of complementary ways—including discussions of the types of job opportunities on offer, locating internships as strategies for subsequent employment opportunities, the experience of going on job interviews, and the types of contact networks necessary to locate desired work. The dominant tone in discussions of all things labor market related was one of frustration, both in terms of being able to find the desired opportunities to which one could apply in the first place, and then also in terms of being able to close the deal and land the job itself. Unsurprisingly, adequate mastery of Swedish remained central. In one case, a daughter who was interpreting for her mother, explained the challenge facing refugees seeking employment, but who lacked language skills: The system is like this, when you have completed six months of an internship, then you have the chance to get a job at the same place. Yeah, so she thought—first an internship, develop language skills, and then maybe get hired. But she applied for lots of positions and no. Her friends from lan-

5  The First Years of Syrian Refugees in Sweden in the 2010s 

97

guage school (SFI), they can speak a lot of Swedish, but they can’t necessarily write or they don’t know grammar, so my mom asked how they managed it—how did they manage to learn to speak good Swedish? They tell her that they learned from internships that they already completed, like at a restaurant.

For one respondent, language was of central importance to a job opportunity in an unexpected way, and in one which resulted in her calling into question her own appropriateness for carrying out the job requirements—teaching Swedish to students with Swedish as their first language: I was once asked to come to a job interview at a school where I would be teaching the Swedish language to Swedish students. Really odd. I didn’t understand at the beginning why I would have to teach Swedish to fifth and sixth graders. When I got back from the job interview, I began checking around and googling, and discovered that there are lots of problems at that specific school and that no one wanted to work there as a teacher. But I wanted to, because it was an open-ended job, but on some moral level I felt that I can’t do this—I can’t teach the Swedish language to Swedish students. I turned them down. I told the principal that if they are students from dual language backgrounds that I could help with grammar. But since they speak Swedish better than me, how could I be their teacher? They wouldn’t respect me, or listen to me. How would it go? My pronunciation is a catastrophe.

This example is one of the more intriguing seen in the data and is not illustrative of the standard narrative of refugees citing a lack of language skills as a reason for not securing desired employment opportunities. Rather, in this case, the refugee appears to have called into question her own skill set—assuming that as the students had Swedish as their first language, that she would be unable to carry out her duties, and that the offer was mistakenly made and linked to a perceived low level of educational quality at the school. In reflecting on the role played by the central formal actor in the job-­ hunting process—the Public Employment Service (PES)—skepticism was not uncommon. One refugee, with a higher education that had been

98 

G. Bucken-Knapp et al.

validated by Swedish authorities, foretold a rather pessimistic and dead-­ end view of what would be the result of relying on the opportunities identified by the PES: So, here’s the problem. The PES might be able to help with finding lots of employment offers, but not in the professions that you dream about. Personally, I haven’t studied for eight years to go and work in a McDonald’s or to be a carpenter or a painter, what was the point in getting an education then? So, given that I have studied and had my previous education validated here in Sweden, I think that I have a chance of finding a better job. But the PES can’t offer me that, they can only send me to McDonald’s or to a hairdresser or something like that.

Another respondent called attention to the conflicting and inaccurate information provided by caseworkers, and how this could only be rectified through going through a formal complaint body with the relevant agencies: The problems that I have run into are at both the PES and the Social Insurance Agency. While I was taking part in the establishment program, I had five or six different caseworkers, and each one gave me different information. And it caused a great deal of problems. And it seemed that almost every month I had to lodge a formal appeal and wait for a decision. And then there would be a positive response to my appeal, and then they would switch my caseworker. And it continues the same way, continues like this for about a year.

Yet, the source of frustration expressed by respondents when attempting to locate employment was not solely targeted at the formal institutions tasked with fostering labor market integration, but rather with the informal institution that is central to locating meaningful employment in most societies: the network. In some cases, the consequences of lacking a professional network was expressed in a resigned tone, as if there was little point in competing for positions that were going to be filled by those native Swedes who possessed the right set of contacts and network: Yeah, and sometimes you feel that you know the reply ahead, but you apply anyway. I feel that here in Sweden it’s very important to have contacts,

5  The First Years of Syrian Refugees in Sweden in the 2010s 

99

people will refer you, otherwise no one will take you seriously. No one will just take you from your CV, because you’re anonymous. Who are you? Unless someone really says, ‘Oh, well, I know her.’ And this is what is making things maybe harder, because we don’t have a Swedish network. We don’t know such people.

Even in a case where a respondent opted to highlight an employment success story—albeit that of a family member and not his own—the positive outcome seemed to be driven by chance, while the underlying point was years of the relative submitting job applications, going to interviews, and a perception that he repeatedly fell short of the mark because of being an unknown entity—lacking in contacts and a network to make him the insider: I have one bad experience also of my brother-in-law. He has a Master in statistics, and before he came here he worked as a business manager. He’s over-qualified and everything, no one would take him. He made like three or four interviews every time, sometimes in Stockholm, in very big companies, in Stockholm and Malmö, and he reached the third interview, you know one, two, three. And they would never take him, because no one really knew him. Although he did the interviews and everything was really well and they could see that his experiences, his CV, everything was perfect, no one would take him. And he struggled for like four years until it was an event, five months ago, where employer meets job-seeker and he met the manager, the manager is a Swedish young man who has a very big company, doing really big projects. And he sat with him and talked, and he took him straight away, you know. They agreed on four months internship and then he had the contract. So I feel that this is a good example, although he struggled a lot.

Of particular interest is the way in which a lack of a professional network was sometimes seen as being compounded by a perception that one was an outsider in Swedish society—particularly in the case of female respondents who chose to wear headscarves. Suspicions of how specific symbols of faith were used as cues to exclude were addressed by one respondent, who suggested how the decision to wear a headscarf made the lack of a professional network even more problematic:

100 

G. Bucken-Knapp et al.

Interviewer: Why do you think it is so tough (to find a job)? Because I also think it is odd, because Sweden is going to be facing a shortage of those with an education—teachers and doctors—but many still don’t succeed at finding work. Respondent: Maybe it’s because we don’t have any contacts. They don’t know anything about us. In the beginning, I used to have a picture on my CV, but then my husband and I thought that since I wear a headscarf that they won’t want to hire me. So, I got rid of the picture… But it’s difficult for me to work here, to be accepted by everybody, because not everybody wants us here. And that is difficult for me. My husband, when we talk about men, not women, it’s easier for him, he is more accepted than I am. Because they don’t know whether he is Muslim or Christian, they don’t know about his religion or background or whether he is a recent arrival to Sweden. But when they look at me, they know… Another female respondent who wears a headscarf reflected on how self-conscious it made her feel in Swedish society, and her awareness of how it led to stereotypes as to her abilities and the type of life that she lived: And for us there are so many barriers, you know. For me as a woman, wearing a scarf, they would be like, they have those stereotypical thoughts, that I can’t do much…and I still can see the ‘ahhh’ in their faces when I speak, ‘ahhh you can speak’, ‘ahhh you studied’. They think that. I don’t tell people at college that I have kids, because you know they will judge you ‘ahhh, you have too many kids like Arabs do…’

One of the most unexpected reflection on stereotyping came not in the context of employers who use the headscarf as a sorting technique, but from researchers who had an active interest in learning more about the lives of refugees in the city of Gothenburg, but were hesitant to make the short trip to the suburbs in which many migrants are often concentrated: We had a study group…who came here also and interviewed so many of us… And the first time their lecturers they came with them, two or three

5  The First Years of Syrian Refugees in Sweden in the 2010s 

101

Swedish women. So, we agreed on the time, ok it was winter, ok so come at four o’clock, she said, ‘Is it safe for our students to come to Angered at four o’clock in the winter, in the darkness?’ I was looking at her, we come here, we live here, we walk here [laughing]. She was being honest, that was a little bit rude for us…

The significance of this one experience should not be overlooked— particularly when it comes to our own assumptions as researchers supportive of expansive integration policies. Certainly, we have an implicit bias that suspicion toward migrants will be located among employers and public sector workers who gatekeep their day to day lives in many different ways. But it was telling to see that academia—who might be regarded as allies for their interest in seeking to shed more light on the challenges of integration—also opted for behavior that stemmed from stereotypes, in this case of unsafe immigrant neighborhoods.

Social Networks A sharply different picture emerges in the interview data when it comes to the presence of social networks and the role that these play in the everyday lives of these individuals. While the narrative of professional networks is one of their general absence and the negative consequences that this has for locating employment, the discussions of social networks revealed that they are not only present, but vibrant and of great value— both for practical matters and also for a general sense of community. One respondent offered a peak behind the curtain in terms of how the participants in various integration programs come to see one another as ­informational resources that can be tapped into to solve the various problems that come up in day to day life in Sweden: Seriously, we (refugees) just usually ask one another about things. So, if I’m in SFI, or SAS (Swedish as a Second Language) or some other program, we all just ask, ‘Hey guys, who knows anything about X? Oh, okay!’ and then we begin discussing with one another how you take care of that specific thing.

102 

G. Bucken-Knapp et al.

Another respondent detailed, with apparent and understandable pride, the way in which she had assumed an informal role in her personal network for assistance with locating housing. Her description of the role that she plays is on the one hand unremarkable—making use of social media to try and identify options—but her role as a conduit for information for new arrivals who have lost the established personal contact networks from their homeland is clearly vital: I do try (to help other refugees). Probably about ninety percent of my friends say to me (things like), ‘Can you help us find somewhere to live?’ So, I’ll go on Facebook and ask my friends, my Swedish friends, if they know of anywhere, if there’s a room available, or if there is a sublet, or just a room in someone else’s place, it doesn’t matter. But they really want this help as quickly as possible, and I try to help those that I can. Sometimes I succeed and sometimes I don’t.

Lastly, one respondent described a rich social community based at her local mosque, which provides not only a range of activities, but the chance to be involved in leadership roles and the creation of community to battle social isolation: Yeah, I live in Gårdsten…I have so many friends, we have…and in this place [the venue for the interview] we started a community, people come here of course to the mosque, and then we have the activities for the kids every Saturday and Sunday. And we around 150 kids coming here, so imagine with their families and I’m on the board.

 eetings with Street-Level Bureaucracy: Face M to Face with Official Sweden Throughout the integration process, refugees encounter the formal institutions that are charged with facilitating their (hopefully) smooth entry into Swedish society. Individuals, of course, do not confront institutions as abstract structures or as organizational charts. Rather, in coming face to face with these institutions, the most common encounter is with a

5  The First Years of Syrian Refugees in Sweden in the 2010s 

103

street-level bureaucrat. In some cases, this street-level bureaucrat is a formally assigned caseworker or a teacher, while in others, it may simply be one of the myriad of public sector workers that the individual refugee gets access to while attempting to navigate the complexity of the integration process. The assessment by refugees of their encounter with the street-level bureaucrats administering the integration process will generally not be comforting reading. On balance, respondents expressed frustration, a sense of disbelief and impatience with these encounters. Of course, we recognize that the high volume of client demand placed on the Swedish public sector as a result of the substantial number of arrivals should certainly be taken into account when considering these subjective perceptions. Emphatically, we do not argue that these perceptions are the only way to understand the meeting between refugee and street-level bureaucrat. But they are important perspectives that can contribute to a more nuanced picture. For example, respondents perceived the Swedish bureaucracy as one that ‘kills people’s energy and wastes their time in this country. You apply for something and then they let it sit for months on end’, that it is ‘annoying’ and responsible for ‘slowing down our integration’. Two detailed accounts from interviewees underscore the perceived causal link between Swedish bureaucracy and an integration process that is regarded by refugees as unnecessarily long. Addressing the lengthy wait associated with the validation process, one respondent lamented thus: The bureaucracy is unbelievable here. We have to wait for everything. It is ridiculous that I had to wait more than 6 months to receive an answer from UHR (Swedish Council for Higher Education) to validate my education and now I do not know what I should do to be able to use my education since there is no available programme to validate my degree.

More broadly, and suggesting a key difficulty with the interrelationship between refugee reception and subsequent integration, one respondent made the pointed argument that the lengthy bureaucracy associated with the processing period turned the experience waiting in Swedish refugee reception centers into one that was tantamount to being inactive in a holding pen, without the option to get a jumpstart on assembling the paperwork and skills necessary for partaking in the Swedish labor market:

104 

G. Bucken-Knapp et al.

They are good if they speed up the process a bit. It is too much bureaucracy, waiting in a camp for more than a year without any progress is wasting money and people’s time. I could have finished the language courses and validate my education, while I was living in the camp, but they do not consider that. They should give more attention to people in the camps because sitting there, without work, without money, without any friends or activities to do can lead to very bad results.

Related to the lengthy waiting periods is the sense among respondents that street-level bureaucrats are insufficiently engaged in providing services to refugees and have expectations that are unrealistic regarding how familiar their clients should be with the relevant procedures. One respondent detailed the multiple meetings with street-level bureaucrats assisting with locating employment and how, over time, the meetings left an impression of being on one’s own when help was needed: They didn’t guide me at all. They said you have to do it on your own, you have to search on your own. Even when I got back to them, after I finished my MA they said, ‘Oh, you’re so good, your CV is good, and you have those academic grades and whatever, but go and continue and get the teaching license, as it would be better for you.’ And yeah, they didn’t enroll me in any kind of job. They assumed that I know everything…

Here, it is important to acknowledge that there are certainly instances where refugees (or native Swedes) approach caseworkers with a passive attitude and a sense of service entitlement. Yet, the situation described above suggests a motivated job-seeker, whose frustration lies in not seeing engagement on the part of the caseworker after she had made a sustained effort to acquire desirable professional qualifications. Less common, but not entirely isolated occurrences among the respondents, were street-level bureaucrats who were either entirely absent from the process in the eyes of the refugee, or who were thought to have behaved capriciously in ways that were simply befuddling. For instance, one respondent detailed an almost Kafkaesque non-encounter with his caseworker who had been assigned to help with securing employment.

5  The First Years of Syrian Refugees in Sweden in the 2010s 

105

At the Public Employment Service I haven’t met or spoken to a caseworker, we don’t make a plan, I don’t know—I don’t know him or her. They sent me a letter and said that your case worker is named Morgan. Morgan. I don’t know if that is a man or a woman, I still haven’t met this person after two years.

Another refugee detailed an encounter that could be characterized as a bit of mixed bag, in which one street-level bureaucrat chose not to provide informal linguistic assistance with completing documentation, went outside of his formal role and helped the refugee complete the necessary forms then and there: One time I got in touch with them to notify them about a change of address and to apply for housing support funds. The first time they told me that ‘we don’t have any interpreters, you need to get an interpreter.’ I went away for five minutes, came back and then spoke to another case worker. I told him that I can’t speak Swedish, and it turned out that he could speak Arabic, and he helped me with everything. And he told me that that the other case worker could speak Arabic as well. That is, the first person that I had spoken to.

 ticktoitiveness: Refugee Resilience in the Face S of an Uphill Battle Refugee resilience—or what might be called (in the American parlance) sticktoitiveness—was not a theoretical concept that informed the design of the interview guides used throughout this study. But it is clearly one of the most striking themes that emerged, and merits more than passing mention. Respondents frequently detailed how the road to integration in Swedish society was fraught with obstacles, delays, misunderstandings, implicit, or explicit exclusion and a host of other challenges. At the same time, respondents detailed in a very matter-of-fact manner how they did not back down in the face of these challenges. In explaining how they found employment, or in particular, how they managed to make progress in learning the Swedish language, respondents time and time again told

106 

G. Bucken-Knapp et al.

tales of just sticking to it and being goal-oriented, often to the point of surprising their teachers or caseworkers. For example, one refugee explained how her initial job was located not with the assistance of PES staff, but by simply keeping an eye on the job announcements and making cold calls at prospective employers: I check the want ads, whether there is a job opening, whether there might be an opening for an English or math teacher at the school. (I went to the school and asked) if I could work there as a substitute teacher. And that’s how I found my first job. They said that since I spoke Arabic and that they had (Arabic-speaking) student who needed help—I could help.

Another respondent underscored the importance of self-motivation for being successful in the long run, particularly in the face of a difficult job market for refugees, and the need to acquire—within a relatively quick time frame—an adequate level of Swedish that would be regarded as sufficient for employment purposes: Yeah, pretty much self-motivation, because I chose what I want to do. And maybe because, I know that getting a job is not very easy, if you want to be a teacher you have to get the license, if you want to do something else, then you know the system is not very easy, I hear stories and stuff. So I felt that it would be the safe side to study and this is what I wanted to do, but of course if I would have got a chance to get a good job, for instance in the municipality or in something like this I would have taken that…I asked the teacher whether I could read SAS as a distance course on line and she agreed. And I kept at it. When I was done with the fast track course for teachers in Örebro, the case worker invited me in for a meeting. He asked why I didn’t contact my SFI teacher to continue studying SFI. Why should I study SFI? I have completed SFI, SAS basic, SAS 1 and I am about to start SAS 2. He asked me, ‘What? When did you do this?’ I did it on line!

However, that sense of sticktoitiveness appears in some cases to have been linked to an awareness that not only does one need to be responsible for personal integration project, but that the officials charged with assisting them are indifferent or tacit obstacles. Two examples stand out in this regard. In the first, one respondent noted how student progression

5  The First Years of Syrian Refugees in Sweden in the 2010s 

107

through the levels of the Swedish language courses was not something that the teachers kept an eye on or saw as being of importance. Rather, for the motivated student, it was necessary to speak up and indicate that one was ready to take the necessary test in order to proceed to the next course: We should always show our motivation and tell the teacher that we want to do an exam to move forward. If we do not ask for the exam, they will leave us in the same class for a long time. They do not care if we learn or not or if we finish fast or stay for a year in the same class.

In the second example, a respondent expressed frustration at having her level of ambition repeatedly checked by case workers and teachers who repeatedly informed her (and mistakenly so) that she was unable to decide herself when she wanted to test up to the next level of Swedish language instruction. It was only through persistence that she finally discovered that she did have the right to seek an alternate path to progress at a pace more to her choosing; namely, through exercising the right to switch language schools: I stayed in the same class for seven months and every time I asked the teacher to do the exam and move to the second level, she said I needed to wait a bit. I complained about that to the PES many times and my caseworker said that I do not have the right to change schools. The last time I complained about it, my caseworker told me that I could change the school by myself and ask the school for help. She wasted seven months of my time without telling me that I could do it by myself.

However, it is important to stress that the sticktoitiveness located in so many of the interviews was not a universal. Indeed, among some respondents, particularly those who were older and had not been in the classroom for many years, a seemingly boundless energy to achieve integration as quick as possible was understandably not present. Rather, as one respondent noted, an advanced age implied less energy, less focus, and less of an ability to have the necessary individual drive to succeed at learning Swedish:

108 

G. Bucken-Knapp et al.

We are not so motivated to learn and we do not put a lot of effort into it. I cannot study for more than three hours per day. I mean, if we were younger it would have been much easier, but not now after more than twenty years without having been to school.

Reflections on Life in Sweden In seeking to make use of refugee voices to illuminate the integration process, it is necessary to understand that the interviews could have been structured so as to limit the input toward certain pre-defined issues, or to allow for broader commentary. The risk with the latter approach is obvious from a data analysis perspective. Granting respondents a relatively wide berth in answering questions and steering the answers toward topics that diverge partially from the interview guide result in lengthy transcripts that are not always focused on the specific issues seen as most pressing. Yet, by the same token, this strategy has resulted in a richness of unexpected data and commentary, particularly when it comes to how respondents reflect on all their new lives in Sweden and Swedish society—issues that are inextricably linked in their understanding of the integration process. Indeed, it was often in these moments that expressions of gratitude to the Swedish public sector were voiced that tempered some of the harsher assessments being made. This was especially the case when one interpreter summarized the mindset of a respondent who was still struggling to learn the language: Sweden has helped us a great deal and we don’t want to just sit home and just, yeah, just be. But she doesn’t just need money, we need to work, to build lives, we need to help one another…But then she thinks that if she is going to continue her life in Sweden that she really needs to do something about a job. She’s grateful for that—that there are opportunities for all to work, for both sexes, for any age, that’s good. Even if it is difficult, even if there aren’t many job opening, you can find a job somewhere. She really wants to be able to speak and understand—not just the language, but what they mean by the rules and all of that. She wants to understand the big picture. They are really nice, they are really patient, that’s good. She is just grateful.

5  The First Years of Syrian Refugees in Sweden in the 2010s 

109

One respondent pondered in also philosophical tones about the nature of integration as a societal project. While admitting that the situation was perhaps more complex than originally expected upon arrival, she remained optimistic that there was something termed integration that could be achieved, but that it was based not on mandating value changes in those who had newly arrived, but rather in developing a form of mutual respect for the differences of those who inhabit the same society: Yeah, yeah… there are a lot of problems, I didn’t expect when I came here that they would run this deep, but they do. And it makes us feel that we want to be more segregated, because we are trying hard to integrate, but the other side is not accepting us the way we are, they want to change us in order for us to be accepted. And this is not going to happen—integration is not that I will change you to accept me or you will change me to accept you, it is that we stay how we are and we integrate with each other. And this is the struggle…

Still another respondent put emphasis on the nature of democracy not just as an idea—but as a form of practice, and a concept that needed to be moved from the classrooms in which refugees learned about the workings of Swedish society to an everyday sphere of activity: Yeah, we come from non-democratic countries, so I think it’s worth to try to make us like express democracy in different ways, democracy and equality between men and women and so on. We hear a lot about it, but we don’t practice it, so I think there should be some parallel activities…that make us practice this and feel the democracy, get involved somehow in policy…Because if we are just letting people sit by themselves, sending them to those segregated areas, they are not involved in democratic life, in policy, in voting. So I doubt that they are living a democratic life in their homes also. So I would say this is a very important area, we need those people to get out of their areas and get involved in the society, practice their rights and do their duties…

Even when rendering somewhat harsh judgment about Swedish society, there was at times a sense of pride. In a few instances, respondents viewed the interviews as an opportunity to speak very directly about

110 

G. Bucken-Knapp et al.

Swedish society or to Swedish society. In the latter case, one respondent in particular was negative in her assessment, but felt it was important that the message get out—so that Swedish society could reflect on a situation that was far from ideal for producing integration: You who are Swedish citizens, you can’t live the life that we are living. I don’t even think that you could…like…that your children could be exposed to what our children are being exposed to. You sit there and you talk about equality, between peoples, that there shouldn’t be any segregation. I really want that what I am telling you, that it goes somewhere. Even if you let people know my name, I am proud over what I have said. So that they know what they are doing. This isn’t fair. And that’s why we have the feeling that—since it’s always us who are the immigrants—that we have fewer rights than you have. That’s enough, it’s just that.

Conclusion In contrast to the case of Bosnia and Herzegovinian refugees, the Syrian case is still ongoing, and the respondents are, in many ways, still in highly unsettled circumstances and trying to develop stable roots in Swedish society. There are differences in the two groups of refugees. The Bosnian-­ Herzegovinians are perceived as European, largely well-educated and without substantial visible cultural and religious differences from that of Swedish society. By contrast, the Syrian refugees are much more heterogeneous in terms of their educational background, with a larger share not having basic education. A non-European language background, a perceived set of cultural values and religious beliefs (Islam and albeit not visible in this data—Orthodox Christianity) that often times generates unease within Swedish society can realistically imply that the preconditions for smooth integration are less apparent. And while issues of language, culture, and religious symbols are present in many of the reflections made by the Syrian respondents, it is important to speculate that this may not be the sole cause for the frustration that is voiced. Rather, we stress again that there is comparatively little chronological distance between the arrival of Syrian refugees and the reflections being made on

5  The First Years of Syrian Refugees in Sweden in the 2010s 

111

Swedish society. We do not argue that it is too soon and that the proximity to the events being addressed is analytically problematic. Rather, we simply wish to stress that possibility that it is this proximity and uncertainty that may be contributing to how the integration process is being characterized by Syrian refugees. To that end, the data presented in this chapter might be regarded as the benchmark, and that subsequent interviews in future years will allow us to see whether the passage of time has tempered the assessments. In the next chapter, we stand back and take stock of the integration experiences offered by refugees from both Bosnia and Herzegovina and Syria. In particular, we consider these varied experiences in light of what they can say about the contemporary workings of the organizations and institutions that administer and manage Swedish integration policy. We also return to a key argument, that refugee voices matter for analyzing and evaluating integration policies, programs, and organizational practices, particularly for highlighting concerns about mechanisms of exclusion/inclusion that cannot be captured elsewhere. Finally, we conclude by addressing the policy implications of this book and counsel continued efforts at more effective governance, plus patience—from policymakers, bureaucrats, employers, long-terms Swedish residents, and recent arrivals.

6 Refugee Integration in Sweden: Some Key Lessons and a Way Forward

Abstract  This chapter has three aims. First, we focus on highlighting key themes that emerged as we have analyzed the voices of BiH and Syrian refugees: that the institutions and organizations of integration are not perceived as responsive; that feelings of inferiority can become pronounced during the integration process; that refugees display persistency in their agency (sticktoitiveness) when confronted with barriers; and that employment is understood as key to establishing a ‘normal’ life in Sweden. Second, we revisit the voices of refugees as a method, calling attention to lived effects. Finally, we conclude the chapter by counseling patience on the part of all stakeholders and actors, even if it is clear that many institutional and organizational barriers could be reformed to hasten the process. Keywords  Migrant and refugee integration • Migrant voices • Sweden • Integration policy and politics

© The Author(s) 2020 G. Bucken-Knapp et al., Institutions and Organizations of Refugee Integration, Global Diversities, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-27249-4_6

113

114 

G. Bucken-Knapp et al.

Introduction In this final chapter we have three aims. First, we primarily focus on highlighting the key themes that have emerged as we have analyzed the voices of refugees from BiH and Syria. While the two cases cover highly different refugee groups, who arrived in Sweden decades apart, it is nonetheless possible to consider certain general lessons that emerge from having examined the cases side by side: that the institutions and organizations of integration are not perceived as responsive to refugee needs; that feelings of inferiority can become pronounced during the integration process; that refugees display a persistency in their agency (sticktoitiveness) when confronted with barriers in the form of actors, institutions and organizations; and that employment is understood as the key to establishing a ‘normal’ life in Sweden. Second, we revisit the voices of refugees as a method, calling attention to the importance of focusing on lived effects. Finally, we conclude the chapter by counseling some degree of patience on the part of all stakeholders and actors involved in the integration process, even if it is clear that many institutional and organizational barriers could be reformed to hasten the process.

 erceptions of Institutions and Organizations P for Integration as Not Responsive to Refugee Needs As noted in Chaps. 1 and 2, there is an emerging cluster of migration research that emphasizes migrant voices in the Swedish context. By studying the different paths of refugee migration and integration, several of these previous studies focus much-needed attention on issues of identity, gender, parenting, inter-generational relationships, and transnational micro-practices (e.g., Moe 1998; Slavnić 1998; Gustafson 1998; Povrzanović Frykman 2011). This research greatly increases our understanding of the migration processes and the first encounters of migrants with the Swedish labor market. Yet, the bulk of this literature is based on experiences of a relative limited number of migrants, and it focuses ­narrowly on migrant experiences in a limited number of institutional

6  Refugee Integration in Sweden: Some Key Lessons and a Way… 

115

and/or occupational settings. Other qualitative studies, though, based on the experiences of multiple migrants, provide greater details on how migrants perceive their pathway to employment in Sweden, perceptions of ‘public discourses’ regarding integration, and other factors that either hasten or hinder their social and economic integration in Sweden (Bennich-­ Björkman and Likić-Brborić 2018; Povrzanović Frykman 2012; Povrzanović Frykman and Öhlander 2018; Slavnić 2011). While a further advantage to this research is its comparative focus, such comparisons are primarily limited to migrants from the same country and do not consider the experiences of migrants from different countries. Moreover, they are often limited to comparison at one point in time, and do not explore how Sweden’s experiences with large-scale immigrant integration at different periods can be jointly analyzed to glean greater insight. By contrast, we have cast our analytical gaze more broadly in this book, examining the experiences of more than ninety migrants across a broad range of institutional and organizational settings (such as language education, vocational programs, and other forms of labor market integration, plus encounters with social services and organizations). Of equal importance, we have also focused on two key cases that involve migrants from different national settings, and which took place at two different periods in time. According to the MIPEX 2015 (Huddleston et al. 2015) international comparison, Swedish integration policies tend to rank as the most responsive, evidence-based, and financially well-­supported. Yet, Swedish institutions dedicated to receiving and integrating migrants have gone through significant reforms in the last three decades, particularly in regards to labor market integration. One could argue that Swedish integration policies have been developed in both depth and breadth when compared to the 1990s with the 2010s, with the main goal of facilitating faster integration of refugees into the labor market. Despite the differences in the integration policy contexts in these two periods, as well as the structural conditions associated with both cases, we nonetheless find that there are certain overarching similarities that have to do with how BiH and Syrian refugees view their possibilities for developing a new and rewarding life in Sweden. In both cases, there is a marked discrepancy between individual efforts and perceived institutional and structural barriers that make integration more difficult. In general, the

116 

G. Bucken-Knapp et al.

institutions and organizations of integration are not seen by refugees as being sufficiently quick or responsive to refugee needs, such as in the cases of SFI, validation of educational qualifications, and access to educational and professional competence training opportunities. Even taking into account the systemic pressure of having to develop services in response to a large number of arrivals, the data shows unequivocally that: refugees believe that they are often confronted with programs that do not sufficiently challenge them, that officials do not have the capacity to see progress among refugees, and that the overall organization of integration services generate frustration through poor inter-actor communication and lengthy waiting periods. In particular, the perceived lack of labor market policies that would support employment searches and the development strong occupational identities is crucial for understanding the challenges facing refugees in Sweden. Perceptions of insufficient institutional support during these first years in Sweden, was often viewed as the key factor impeding successful labor market integration. Furthermore, perceived devaluation of competence and perceived challenges with ‘starting over’ were also identified as key factors. Considering just the Syrian case momentarily, the majority of Syrian respondents were critical of the support offered by The Public Employment Service. This criticism included the claim that there was a lack of access to labor market programs and initiatives that matched their skills and experience. While some respondents found it difficult to imagine themselves on the labor market, given that that had never held a position of paid employment before, others struggled to maintain their professional identity. This was particularly the case when practical experiences could not be drawn upon in Sweden due to a lengthy process of validation, a lack of educational qualifications, or when perceived competences were devalued due to stereotyping and prejudice. Both BiH and Syrian refugees also put forward two central criticisms regarding SFI education. The first concerned the study paths and teaching groups open to the refugees, and the second had to do with the pedagogical structure of the lessons. The curriculum for adult education in Sweden states that offerings should be tailored according to individual needs and prerequisites of the given student. However, a significant share of Syrian refugees felt that they had been initially been placed on too high of an SFI-level, consequently making it difficult to keep up with the rest of the

6  Refugee Integration in Sweden: Some Key Lessons and a Way… 

117

class and learn the language properly. In the case of BiH refugees, the experience of respondents was the opposite, with several pointing out that they had been placed on a SFI-level that was too low for them. The interview participants also called attention to the prevalence of mixed teaching groups, where both different study paths and course levels were mixed, which was also understood as negative for their Swedish language acquisition. Further, the pedagogical structure and the uneven quality of the teaching were criticized, albeit chiefly by the Syrian respondents. In their view, SFI lessons primarily consist of self-study and completing written exercises. Teacher-led education was regarded as being largely absent, consequently impeding a quicker and better language acquisition. Meetings and daily encounters with public officials were also perceived as problematic by some BiH and Syrian refugees. Respondents detailed how they experienced difficulties in receiving correct information and adequate help from different public institutions. This was highlighted, particularly among Syrian refugees, as taking place in a number of ways: a lack of interpretation support, lack of cooperation among institutions, and mixed messages from different officials within the same authority. Language barriers were also highlighted as an obstacle for accessing information. How should we understand this criticism, and how can it be made use of in order to improve the integration process. First, while the process to create a ‘normal’ life in a new setting can reasonably be expected to take time, the refugees included in this study emphasized the desire to see a faster and more streamlined process. From their perspective, the integration process is one of barriers and a slow pace, while Swedish authorities frame it as facilitating and supportive. In the final section of this chapter, we will briefly return to this point, not only to counsel patience, but to suggest possibilities for sharing perspectives.

Feelings of Inferiority A further important finding is that refugees often regard themselves in inferior positions as migrants. That is, they must repeatedly prove their abilities and that they have a justifiable claim to membership in Swedish society. As shown in Chaps. 4 and 5, there is a pronounced sense among many of the respondents of discrimination and unequal treatment. This

118 

G. Bucken-Knapp et al.

is reflected in those quotes calling attention to concerns and consequences of not speaking Swedish perfectly, which can be utilized as a sorting mechanism and create perceived sense of exclusion and otherness. During the first few years in Sweden, many refugees and migrants become acutely more aware of the language and cultural barriers that separate them from mainstream Sweden. Many refugees in our study, particularly those from Syria, found the Swedish language to be difficult and many aspects of the new society to be alien. Several accounts about the encounter with the culture and institutions in Sweden could be described as a love-hate relationship. The general mood of individual respondents, and how they described their allegiances, depended, of course, on how ‘successful’ they perceived their resettlement to be, and how much control over their own life they felt they regained following displacement. When considering the cases of BiH and Syrian refugees side by side, it is however apparent that the sense of societal exclusion is palpably more present among Syrian refugees. Indeed, a distinctly intersectional perspective can be applied to the sense of exclusion expressed by many Syrian refugees in Sweden. Most notably, this is the case for Syrian refugee women where the veil is a marker of otherness compared to the secularism of Swedish society in which symbols of one’s religious affiliations are not generally displayed publicly. But, we have also seen that this is the case in terms of the exclusion that can occur when it comes to the educational backgrounds of Syrian women, both in cases where they have not had extensive educations prior to arriving in Sweden, and also in instances where their appearances cannot be squared by Swedes alongside a high level of education.

Sticktoitiveness: Institutional and Organizational Barriers That Were to Be Overcome The narratives provided by the migrants reveal an emphatic persistence in some cases, in which migrants refuse to become excessively dejected by their experiences with complex processes and sometimes less than supportive caseworkers. We refer to this persistence in the practice of exercis-

6  Refugee Integration in Sweden: Some Key Lessons and a Way… 

119

ing agency through use of the vernacular term sticktoitiveness, as this captures that impressive resilience in the face of everyday obstacles. Obtaining a residence permit was a formal/administrative way for BiH and Syrian refugees to qualify for equality of social rights, welfare benefits, and access to the labor market in the host country. However, having formal access to the Swedish labor market did not imply that one would be guaranteed to find a job that was the equivalent to one’s formal competencies and work experience. As Likić-Brborić and Bennich-Björkman (2016) also argue—it did not automatically imply or guarantee that the immigrants would not face barriers or be spared discrimination/unfair bureaucratic and organizational practices. This was particularly found to be the case in terms of the validation of diplomas, and rejecting job applications potentially on the basis of non-Swedish names and credentials. Therefore, what is also relevant in practice is the implementation of integration policy that has adequate content, is targeted and specific to the challenges faced by individual refugees. For instance, as discussed in Chap. 2, Swedish integration policy, during the period of BiH refugee migration to Sweden in the 1990s was characterized by societal diversity. This, in turn, inspired several other arenas and actors, including different organizations and companies, who, in one way or another, ‘opened the door’ for diversity and affirmed it. As we illustrate in our empirical chapters—organizations (through their practices of organizing) are important actors in the governance of migrant integration. Their practices of organizing ‘define’ what human and social capital are of relevance and who is viewed as employable. Practices of organizing can thus be strong mechanisms of inclusion, but also of exclusion. In short, organizations and their practices of organizing are critical (together with the state, and migrants’ own agency) in determining the labor market opportunities available to migrants in the host society.

 mployment and Professional Carrier, a Key E to Re-establishing ‘Normal Life’ in Sweden The re-establishment of a normal life by refugees in Sweden calls our attention to the point that prior to the respective wars that forced them to flee their homelands, there was a normal life being lived. Contrary to

120 

G. Bucken-Knapp et al.

portrayals from anti-immigrant populist parties (and even many mainstream governing parties) throughout Europe, the individuals who came to Sweden in these two cases were not motivated by seeking to improve their economic lot. They were fleeing war, and looking for physical safety. Yet, it is also understandable that as the realization took hold that life in Sweden would be permanent and not temporary, the newly arrived refugees began to think of the tasks that we all do—how to get on with our life projects. And to that end, finding meaningful and rewarding employment, which could lead to a career, was of central important to the re-­ establishment of a normalcy in Sweden. Issues of identity and re-establishing a sense of normalcy are prominent features in refugee narratives. As one example, previous research focusing on BiH refugees in Sweden has shown that refugees strive for ‘normalization’ of their daily lives in the host country with hopes of achieving a stable economic and social life (Eastmond 1998; Gustafson 1998), and the desire to retain or reacquire their previous occupational identities (Likić-Brborić and Bennich-Björkman 2016). The central condition for the re-establishment of normalcy for the majority of respondents appeared to be linked to securing not only employment but an occupation that affirmed one’s sense of worth. In many cases, an unpleasant encounter with the Swedish labor market, which operates under sharply different rules from that which BiHs and Syrians are used to, and which did not value their skills or previous experiences, created substantial anxiety. Labor market integration was central to most respondents, who viewed being able to provide for themselves in the future as a fundamental goal and expectation. However, several respondents, especially those with lengthier educations behind them and advanced degrees, also expressed concerns regarding the possibilities of finding employment within the professions for which they had been educated. This was particularly evident for those of a white-collar background whose professions required supplementary Swedish education or certification, such as researchers, journalists, lawyers, or military officers. Yet, as seen in the case of BiH in Chap. 4, multiple examples exists where, even in the face of a recession, refugees were still able to establish themselves on the labor market without any great difficulty. To a greater or lesser extent, migration to Sweden necessarily involved a restart of life for all respondents. Starting over was perceived as a diffi-

6  Refugee Integration in Sweden: Some Key Lessons and a Way… 

121

cult challenge both for those with a great deal of professional experience and also for those who had never participated in the labor market. Naturally, the conditions for finding employment in Sweden differed significantly among respondents, depending on their backgrounds. Contrary to the conventional wisdom, that refugees with a lower education have a more difficult time in re-establishing a sense of normalcy on the labor market in the new host country, the data in this study shows that those with a higher education might have been more vulnerable when it came to employment opportunities. For some BiH and Syrian professionals, migrating to Sweden meant a loss of capital associated with their formal qualifications, as these were either now no longer recognized or only partly recognized by Swedish society. This not only brought about a decline in their standard of living and social status, but often also a loss of professional identity so central to the middle class. This loss of identity became particularly evident when these professionals were forced to confront the possibility that they would need to make use of social services in Sweden or engage in occupations far below their training and experience. The challenge that some migrants faced when attempting to locate employment that matched their training or experience was, of course, not just a function of an occupation that had Swedish-specific entry barriers. Recall that some migrants had a much easier time than others, ­particularly those from BiH, who had certain professions and work experience that were in demand on the Swedish labor market, such as engineers and tailors. It also merits pointing out that demand on the part of Swedish employers did not always equate with the ability of these individuals seeking employment to get their foot in the door for a job interview. For that, professional networks were perceived as crucial, as were social networks that served as valuable informational conduits.

The Voices of Refugees as a Method: Redux We are aware that for some readers, the inclusion of refugee voices will have been perceived as uncontroversial and as an appropriate source of data, while for others there will have been some degree of skepticism. In

122 

G. Bucken-Knapp et al.

terms of the former group, migration scholars who are anchored in qualitative approaches with an action research focus, and for those who make use of thick, contextual ethnographic approaches will likely have been the most methodologically comfortable with our approach. On the other hand, in terms of the latter, those migration scholars who are anchored in traditions that privilege official documents, statistics, and the perspectives of policymakers and organizational actors may have viewed this as an unconventional exercise. To this latter group of scholars, we would emphasize that as Carol Bacchi (2009) notes, policies have lived effects. That is, the decision to implement one policy framing and solution over another will have distinct consequences for the targets of those policies. To some extent, of course, these effects can be captured in the assessments of policy elites, and are reflected in official statistics. But, neither of those sources can meaningfully tap into the thoughts of the individuals who encounter, as subjects, the institutions and organization of integration on a daily basis. These voices and perspectives do not only provide us with important additional data for understanding integration outcomes. Rather, they also tell us a great deal about how certain understandings among refugees of the workings of Swedish society come to take shape, reflecting their encounters. As such, the voices of refugees perform important dual functions. Most closely related to the objectives of this book, the cast light on the workings of the institutions and organizations of integration that cannot be gleaned using a top-down strategy of data collection. By the same token, they also provide us with glimpses of how new members of the demos perceive the efficacy, appropriateness, and fairness of society’s institutions. As Kumlin (2004) details, individuals who inhabit societies with well-developed welfare state institutions will exhibit higher degrees of trust. Yet, for those who encounter these institutions and organizations for the first time, there are formative experiences that take place in compressed time frames, and which can result in either a positive disposition or a sense of alienation from said institutions and the broader society. The voices of refugees therefore serve as an important insight into that happens at those decisive early moments in meeting with official Sweden, meriting both review and consideration, in order for actors to take stock of how the integration process feeds into longer term relationships between the refugee and the host society.

6  Refugee Integration in Sweden: Some Key Lessons and a Way… 

123

Some Final Thoughts One of the key themes that has emerged in the empirical chapters is the understandable sense of urgency on the part of the refugees who have arrived in Sweden and wanted the integration process to take place, if not as quickly as possible, then at least faster than it was unfolding. This is evidenced through the many accounts of agency in which sticktoitiveness was on display, as refugees repeatedly tried to find ways through formidable bureaucratic obstacles that were perceived as brakes on their ability to achieve desired integration goals rapidly. Yet, as scholars of organizations, politics, and administration, we are aware that such processes do not always move at lightning speed, regardless of the intention of those involved. Of course, the voices of those who design and staff the institutions and organizations governing the integration process have not been a focus of this book. However, we know, through our regular contact with these actors, that they too share an interest in seeing integration proceed at a quicker pace. And to that end, we counsel all stakeholders to have some degree of patience and understanding for what the other players in the process are up against. Blanket portrayals of any type regarding the intents and abilities of actors tend to miss the nuances. Whole labor force participation rates may not be ideal for refugees after a certain number of years, such statistics do not take into account the substantial efforts made by refugees or difficulties that most refugees face, as we have repeatedly documented. Similarly, refugees may (either periodically or frequently) encounter a set of institutions that are perceived as a drag on the ability of refugees to progress in a quick and streamlined manner toward integration goals. Yet the actors who staff these institutions work in an organizational and policy context that can be hard-pressed to deliver results, often with unclear mandates, and with unclear responsibilities to actors at various levels of governance. This is by no means to argue that lessons should not have been learned from the period of BiH refugees and acted upon so as to improve the opportunities for Syrian refugees arriving in Sweden. Rather, it is to argue that institutions cannot always display the same type of flex-

124 

G. Bucken-Knapp et al.

ibility for rapidly implementing pragmatic solutions that refugees (and other stakeholders) wish that they would. Just as it is important for the general public to stand back and understand the complex nature of the refugee experience from fleeing to resettling, it is also important for all actors (including refugees themselves) to have some understanding for the complex process that is administering integration. Admittedly, counseling patience sounds very abstract, and hardly action-oriented. However, we argue that there are practical steps going forward—to achieve not only patience and understanding, but also a shared sense of mission when it comes to refugee integration. Refugees and migrants generally only meet with the street-level bureaucrats staffing the institutions and organizations of integration when there are individual cases at hand, paperwork to be processes, and decisions to be made or appealed. That strikes us as a shame, and a guaranteed route for perpetuating misunderstandings and incomplete explanations as to larger aims and possibilities. Here, we argue that one concrete option would be to take inspiration from the increasingly popular forums that bring together academics and practitioners to share perspectives with one another across occupational divides. In this case, the divided that could be spanned is one of power dynamics and role. Quite simply, those whose fates are largely determined by the institutions and organizations of integration should have the opportunity to sit down with those who staff those same bodies. We are not naïve. We do not think that the end result would immediately be a shared perspective. But we think that such meetings, carefully planned and well organized, would result in some increased measure of understanding. That understanding could generate more inclusive ideas as to how integration could work more effectively and more quickly. And in those cases where immediate change is not on the horizon, then understanding could contribute to a reduced sense of suspicion and increased patience. That is, some policy and administrative constraints can be easily circumvented, while others cannot be. Intentions may be good, yet processes, guidelines, and processes may not be fit for purpose. In all of these cases though, we point to the inclusion of refugee voices as a crucial way forward, not just for the indispensable insight that their experiences provide, but also for the inclusive way in which integration responses can be

6  Refugee Integration in Sweden: Some Key Lessons and a Way… 

125

developed when the targets of those policies and measures are given voice, and are heard.

References Bacchi, C.L. 2009. Analysing Policy: What’s the Problem Represented to Be? Pearson Education Australia. Bennich-Björkman, L., and B. Likic-Brboric. 2018. Svensk integrationspolitik och integration i Sverige: Hur har det gått för 1990-talets högutbildade flyktingar från Bosnien och Herzegovina? In Högutbildade migranter, ed. Maja Povrzanović Frykman and Magnus Öhlander. Sverige: Arkiv förlag. Eastmond, M. 1998. Nationalist Discourses and the Construction of Difference: Bosnian Muslim Refugees in Sweden. Journal of Refugee Studies 11 (2): 161–181. https://doi.org/10.1093/jrs/11.2.161. Gustafson, Å. 1998. Familj i förändring? -könsmönster i tre bosniska flyktingfamiljer. In Mot ett normalt liv: Bosniska flyktingar i Norden, ed. Ålund Alexandra. Nord, 1998:7. Huddleston, T., et al. 2015. Migrant Integration Policy Index 2015. Barcelona: Centre for International Affairs. Kumlin, S. 2004. The Personal and the Political  – How Personal Welfare State Experiences Affect Political Trust and Ideology. Palgrave Macmillan. Likić-Brborić, B., and L. Bennich-Björkman. 2016. Swedish “Exceptionalism” and the Integration of Refugees from Bosnia-Herzegovina in the 1990’s: Acceptance and Strategies of Citizenship. In Citizens a Heart? Perspectives in Integration of Refugees in the EU After the Yugoslav Wars of Succession, ed. L. Bennich-Björkman, R. Kostić, and B. Likić-Brbić, 87–117. Moe, A.-M. 1998. Att berätta, bearbeta och överskrida gränser: Identitetsarbete bland bosniska ungdomar i Sverige. In Mot ett normalt liv: Bosniska flyktingar i Norden, ed. A. Ålund. Nord, 1998:7. Povrzanović Frykman, M. 2011. Connecting Three Homelands: Transnational Practices of Bosnian Croats Living in Sweden. In The Bosnian Diaspora: Integration in Transnational Communities, ed. M.  Valenta and S.P. Ramet. ASHGATE. ———. 2012. Struggle for Recognition: Bosnian Refugees’ Employment Experiences in Sweden. Refugee Survey Quarterly 31 (1): 54–79. Povrzanović Frykman, M., and M. Öhlander. 2018. Högutbildade migranter i Sverige. Arkiv förlag.

126 

G. Bucken-Knapp et al.

Slavnić, Z. 1998. Spektrumet av icke-tillhörande. Temporärt skydd, kortsiktig pragmatism och problemen med sammansatta “etniska” identiteter. In Mot ett normalt liv: Bosniska flyktingar i Norden, ed. A. Ålund. Nord, 1998:7. ———. 2011. Conflict and Intern-Ethnic Solidarity: Bosnian Refugees in Malmö. In The Bosnian Diaspora: Integration in Transnational Communities, ed. Marko. Valenta and Sabrina P. Ramet. ASHGATE.

Index

A

C

Adaption, 5 Admission, 4, 13, 87, 92 Assimilation, 5, 6 Asylum, 8, 12, 13, 16, 26, 28–30, 34, 37, 65, 68, 69, 87, 90 Authorities, 36, 37, 53, 98, 117

Civic integration, 6, 7 Cultural codes, 5 D

Dialectical perspective, 6, 36 Discrimination, 30, 31, 51, 52, 56, 117, 119 Diversity, 18, 31, 32, 49, 51, 119

B

BiH refugees, 4, 27–29, 31–36, 38, 53, 54, 64–66, 69, 70, 74, 80, 87, 117, 119, 120, 123 Biographic interviews, 53, 56 Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH), 1, 3, 10, 12, 27–39, 52–56, 58, 60, 61, 64, 65, 69, 70, 72–74, 76–79, 90, 111 Bureaucracy, 11, 53, 79, 102–105

E

Employees, 36, 47, 49, 54 Employers, 9, 31, 66, 78, 79, 81, 84, 87, 99–101, 106, 111, 121 Employment, 2, 4, 11, 13, 14, 17, 26, 35, 36, 38, 39, 51, 53, 54, 64, 66, 70, 73, 75, 77, 78, 80, 82, 84, 85, 91, 96–101, 104–106, 114–116, 119–121

© The Author(s) 2020 G. Bucken-Knapp et al., Institutions and Organizations of Refugee Integration, Global Diversities, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-27249-4

127

128 Index

Employment rates, 8, 17, 28, 35 Ethnicity, 9 European countries, 3, 12, 26, 30

Internship, 2, 17, 31, 49, 66, 67, 87, 91, 96–101 Interviews, 2, 3, 11, 49, 51–60, 74, 76, 82, 85, 91, 94, 96–102, 105, 107–109, 111, 117, 121

F

Foreign-born citizens, 14 L G

Gender, 17, 26, 28, 29, 32, 33, 56, 57, 59, 60, 83, 114 Generalizability, 4, 44–46 Generosity, 12, 92 H

Housing, 6–8, 10, 13, 14, 38, 57, 74–75, 87, 102, 105 I

Immigrants, 5–17, 19, 26, 27, 30–32, 34–36, 38, 47, 66, 71, 75, 76, 78–86, 90, 101, 110, 115, 119 Institutions, 2–4, 28–32, 36–39, 44, 46, 54, 55, 58, 65, 73, 79, 86, 90, 95, 98, 102, 111, 114–118, 122–124 Integration policies, 6–8, 11, 12, 15, 16, 18, 31, 32, 37, 101, 111, 115, 119 Integration process, 2, 5, 6, 9, 11, 18, 26, 31, 45, 46, 51, 52, 56–61, 87, 90, 91, 95, 96, 102, 103, 108, 111, 114, 117, 122, 123

Labor market, 2, 3, 6, 8–10, 12, 16–19, 26–35, 37, 38, 44–48, 51–54, 56–59, 61, 64, 66, 67, 70, 72–75, 77, 78, 80, 84, 86, 88, 91, 92, 94, 96, 98, 103, 114–116, 119–121 Labor migrants, 9, 13, 14 Language, 2, 8, 9, 13, 14, 18, 26, 30, 38, 47, 52, 55, 56, 66–68, 70–72, 75, 77, 78, 80, 83, 90, 92, 94–97, 104, 105, 107, 108, 110, 117, 118 Language education, 2, 8, 31, 38, 57, 72, 115 Life, 11, 32, 36, 53, 59, 65, 69, 70, 73, 87, 90–94, 100, 101, 108–110, 114, 115, 117–120 Life stories, 51–53, 87 M

Migrant’s agency, 3, 86 Migration, 3, 6, 7, 12, 13, 15, 16, 26, 28–33, 36–39, 46, 50, 51, 64, 114, 119, 120, 122 crisis, 12, 51, 57, 58, 60 policy, 33 Multiculturalism, 6, 33

 Index 

Municipalities, 8, 14, 15, 17, 38, 66, 70, 71, 74, 80, 81, 85, 106 Mutual relationships, 3, 36, 59 N

Normalization, 11, 120 O

Obstacles, 3, 10, 54, 78, 91, 105, 106, 117, 119, 123 Organizations, 2–4, 18, 31, 46, 48, 51, 56, 57, 67, 68, 70, 82, 87, 111, 114–117, 119, 122–124 Orientation, 57 P

Permanent residence, 12 Personal networks, 2, 11, 52, 102 Polarization, 15 Power relationships, 50 Practices of organizing, 3, 6–8, 11–18, 78–87, 119 Public Employment Service (PES), 17, 38, 73, 77, 78, 81, 85, 97, 98, 105–107, 116 Q

Qualitative research, 47, 59 R

Refugees, 1–19, 26–39, 44–61, 64–88, 90–111, 114–125

129

integration, 1–19, 38, 45, 49, 50, 57, 114–125 perspective, 10–11 reception, 3, 14, 16, 26–39, 45, 52, 103 voices, 3, 44, 46–52, 108, 111, 121, 124 women, 28, 118 Relational dynamics, 48 Religion, 9, 13, 27, 100 S

Segregation, 8, 14–16, 39, 76, 110 SFI education, 70, 116 Stakeholders, 47–51, 114, 123, 124 Starting over, 116, 120 Sticktoitiveness, 91, 96, 105–108, 114, 118–119, 123 Struggles, 6, 84, 86, 109 Subjective integration, 11 Subjective perceptions, 11, 53, 103 Successful integration, 8–10, 35 Sweden, 1, 3, 4, 8, 11–19, 26–39, 51, 64–88, 90–111, 114–125 Swedish for immigrants (SFI), 17, 30, 37, 38, 53, 70–72, 86, 94, 95, 97, 101, 106, 116, 117 Swedish language acquisition, 94–96, 117 Swedish Migration Board, 29, 30, 65, 68 Swedish society, 2, 4, 13, 16, 30–32, 34, 36, 38, 56, 67, 70, 78, 80, 88, 90, 91, 99, 100, 102, 108–111, 117, 118, 121, 122 Syria, 1, 3, 12, 26–28, 36, 37, 56, 90, 92, 93, 111, 114, 118

130 Index

Syrian refugees, 2, 4, 12, 27, 28, 37–39, 55–58, 74, 87, 90–111, 115–119, 123

V

Validation, 2, 17, 79, 80, 103, 116, 119 W

T

Temporary permits, 12, 13, 37

Workforce diversity, 13, 31 Working experience, 87