The Process of Integration

Abstract

The Kurdish refugees’ diasporic consciousness and their continuous relations with the country of origin should not divert attention from the fact that refugees do want to integrate into their new countries of settlement. Although refugees do not want to, and feel that they cannot, totally assimilate, there is a clear wish among them to play an active social and economic role in their new societies. Different aspects of the process of integration among Kurdish refugees are described in this chapter. A structural dimension of integration is discussed from the point of view of the refugees’ integration into the labour market. Various experiences of racism, xenophobia and discrimination are outlined and their relation to the process of integration into the receiving society is discussed. In the latter parts of the chapter the analysis of integration is developed further through a study of the refugees’ interpersonal relations and social networks.