Data from the UNHCR shows that the number of refugees reached over 84 million in 2021, with many of these people fleeing human rights violations, violence, and armed conflicts. While we perhaps like to think that those fleeing such horrors would receive a warm welcome wherever they seek refuge, the reality is often anything but.

A recent book from Boston University’s Heba Gowayed explores why the welcome afforded to people often veers between lukewarm to openly hostile. The book is based on Gowayed’s research on the reception offered to Syrian refugees in the United States, Germany, and Canada.

Rapid integration

Refugees have to become self-sufficient incredibly quickly in the US, with government support withdrawn after just three months. Gowayed argues that this is scant time to do so, especially when picking up the language is considered or people need to work towards citizenship.

She believes this miserliness is often rooted in anti-Black racism that portrays welfare claimants as living the good life off of the state and being generally unwilling to work. Such hurdles are not confined to the US, however.

For instance, both Canada and Germany impose quite strict requirements on who qualifies for asylum. In Canada, for instance, the educational and professional requirements have been criticized for reinforcing racial and class inequalities as these all shape who has the skills that make them eligible to travel. Similarly, the German labor market is very much geared to exclude non-Germans as existing skills are often devalued.

Making things better

The author believes that the situation would be greatly improved if the safety net was improved, while also divesting from the seemingly excessive border security and enforcement.

They also help to run a service called the Citizenship Hub, which offers English tutoring and support to help people with their citizenship exams.

The author believes that the $65 billion that is currently being spent on border security and immigration enforcement in the United States, and that this money could be spent considerably better. Similarly, they believe that the skills requirements in Canada deny access to people facing economic adversity in their country, which merely exacerbates and reproduces inequalities.

With climate change likely to produce much more displacement, it seems like a problem that is only going to get worse. Whether there’s a political will to make seeking refuge more humane and efficient, however, I’m not so sure.