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Social Sciences
Special Issues
International Migration Crisis: Critical Social Work and Social Policy Perspectives
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International Migration Crisis: Critical Social Work and Social Policy Perspectives

A special issue of Social Sciences (ISSN 2076-0760). This special issue belongs to the section "Social Policy and Welfare".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2021) | Viewed by 26730

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Shulamit Ramon

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Health and Social Work, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield AL10 9EU, UK
Interests: critical social work with refugees and migrants in Europe; domestic violence; shared decision making in mental health and in social work; participatory action research
Prof. Darja Zaviršek

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Social Work, University of Ljubljana, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Interests: disability and gender studies; theories of violence; critical ethnicity and migration studies; human rights issues in social work; history of social work

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Social work and social policy in the context of migration is an integral part of social work practice and, therefore, also to social work and social policy education and research for a long time, with its profile being raised due to the re-emergence of large-scale social conflicts.

The re-emergence of the current migration crisis in 2015 has some distinct features in terms of the underlying reasons for its scale, international impacts, and changes in social policies and social work practice. Last, but not least, one such factor is COVID-19, which does not conform to formal borders and demonstrates that social inequalities and injustices are issues of life and death.

Taken together, the points raised above call for critical reflection based on research evidence, which includes details of the research questions, methodology, key findings, and outcomes. Articles may focus on structural injustices, social and individual specifications, and intersectional contextualisation.

In this issue, we focus on the following two areas:

  • Critical research studies which systematically detail social work practice and social policy intentions and outcomes in relation to people who migrate and acquire different and fragmented policy status, such as refugees and asylum seekers.
  • Critical reflection from the perspectives of service users, people on the move and those in the host countries, social policy makers, and social workers regarding the outcomes in terms of human rights and social work ethics, in response to the underlying reasons for migration.

If you are uncertain whether your proposed paper might address these issues, please feel free to contact the editors to discuss this.

Prof. Shulamit Ramon
Prof. Darja Zaviršek
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Social Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Key dates:

1st September 2020: Informing the editors of article topic followed by a short summary of the key issues and methodology of the intended article.
15th September 2020: Editors confirm acceptance of the article concept.
15th December 2020: Final submission date for the first draft of the article.
31st January 2021: Drafts sent back to authors with peer reviewers’ comments.
28th February 2021: Final date of submission of revised articles.
31st March 2021: Publication of the Special Issue with Editors’ introduction.

Keywords

  • international migration 2015–2020
  • humanitarian crises and human rights in the field of international migration
  • social work principles and ethics in the context of international migration
  • critical social policy on migration: intentions and implementation
  • critical social work practice with refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants
  • transformative and integrative changes in the area of migration
  • social work and policies with different age groups of migrants (children, young adults, adults, older people)
  • gender and sexual orientation issues in policy and practice of social work in the context of international migration
  • housing of people who migrated: policy and practice
  • the impact of the COVID-19 on social work with refugees and asylum seekers

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 297 KiB  
Article
The Case of Ahmad Shamieh’s Campaign against Dublin Deportation: Embodiment of Political Violence and Community Care
by Jelka Zorn
Soc. Sci. 2021, 10(5), 154; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/socsci10050154 - 27 Apr 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2420
Abstract
Differently from studies that analyze antideportation struggles in relation to concepts of state sovereignty and (un)making of citizenship, this paper focuses more on intersection of politics and body. It discusses struggle for the “place in the world” as an embodied experience. Ahmad Shamieh [...] Read more.
Differently from studies that analyze antideportation struggles in relation to concepts of state sovereignty and (un)making of citizenship, this paper focuses more on intersection of politics and body. It discusses struggle for the “place in the world” as an embodied experience. Ahmad Shamieh came to Slovenia in 2016 through the humanitarian corridor on the Balkan route. The Slovene Ministry of the Interior refused to examine his asylum claim and instead issued him a Dublin Regulation decision, stating that he was to be deported to Croatia. Ahmad’s and his supporters’ legal and political struggle, which lasted several years, prevented his deportation. In contrast to state’s politics of exclusion, causing dehumanization and traumatization the grassroots community struggle developed the politics of inclusion, solidarity and care from below, in practice transforming the conditions of belonging. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue International Migration Crisis: Critical Social Work and Social Policy Perspectives)
17 pages, 711 KiB  
Article
Unaccompanied Minors in Greece and Italy: An Exploration of the Challenges for Social Work within Tighter Immigration and Resource Constraints in Pandemic Times
by Ravinder Barn, Roberta Teresa Di Rosa and Theano Kallinikaki
Soc. Sci. 2021, 10(4), 134; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/socsci10040134 - 12 Apr 2021
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 5792
Abstract
The number of unaccompanied minors (UAMs) arriving in the European Union (EU) has been increasing dramatically over recent years resulting in the formulation of EU policy directives around safeguarding and well-being. Notably, the majority of UAMs enter Europe irregularly through two main gateways [...] Read more.
The number of unaccompanied minors (UAMs) arriving in the European Union (EU) has been increasing dramatically over recent years resulting in the formulation of EU policy directives around safeguarding and well-being. Notably, the majority of UAMs enter Europe irregularly through two main gateways to the European continent: via Italy, using the Central Mediterranean Sea route; or through Greece, transiting through the Eastern Mediterranean route from Turkey, mostly via sea. Profiles of UAMs travelling via the two different routes are significantly diverse, reflecting Italy’s and Greece’s geographical proximity to North Africa and the Middle East, respectively. Although Italy has witnessed a decline since 2018 (Todaro and Romano 2019), the two countries have faced a significant increase in UAMs, and this has required a considerable reorganisation of the reception systems and, more generally, of their welfare systems. However, difficulties in securing adequate reception for UAMs seeking protection have persisted in both countries. Through an analysis of the impact of the pandemic on the Italian and Greek reception systems and social interventions with UAMs, we utilised a multiple embedded case study approach within a comparative analysis, to identify key changes in the main services which should be guaranteed to minors—namely, hosting/housing, guardianship, foster care, family/relatives reunification, school integration, language, job training for care leaving, and preparation for leaving care after 18 years (Di Rosa 2017; Buchanan and Kallinikaki 2018; Barn et al. 2020). Against a background of critical reviews of the main issues related to policies and reported social work practice in a context of COVID-19 precarity, set within a wider EU framework, this paper contributes to the literature with an analysis of the current situation and the tightening of the conditions of reception, inclusion and integration that await UAMs in these gateway countries today. We conclude that with the suspension of key services and amenities, and with a practical halt to the due process of immigration and asylum, social workers are facing a difficult challenge to prevent the deterioration of UAMs’ mental health and well-being. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue International Migration Crisis: Critical Social Work and Social Policy Perspectives)
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17 pages, 334 KiB  
Article
Language as a Trigger for Racism: Language Barriers at Healthcare Institutions in Slovenia
by Uršula Lipovec Čebron
Soc. Sci. 2021, 10(4), 125; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/socsci10040125 - 30 Mar 2021
Viewed by 4217
Abstract
The article analyzes the impact of language barriers on the medical treatment of foreign-speaking patients and illustrates that the absence of systemic, institutional responses to language barriers in healthcare facilities exacerbates racist attitudes toward migrants and ethnic groups. The article is based on [...] Read more.
The article analyzes the impact of language barriers on the medical treatment of foreign-speaking patients and illustrates that the absence of systemic, institutional responses to language barriers in healthcare facilities exacerbates racist attitudes toward migrants and ethnic groups. The article is based on 201 interviews with healthcare workers, employees of public or non-governmental institutions as well as users of healthcare services that were conducted between 2018 and 2019 in twelve local communities in Slovenia. Following the methodological and conceptual framework, the first part of the article highlights the various negative consequences of language barriers experienced by healthcare workers and foreign-speaking patients. The second part shows that in the absence of an accessible network of professional intercultural mediators or interpreters, healthcare workers are left to their own devices with respect to overcoming language barriers. Finally, the last part of the article shows that many interlocutors are increasingly searching for the culprit for this situation. Some healthcare workers attribute the responsibility to the abstract concept of the “system”, while others attribute the responsibility exclusively to migrants, thus perpetuating key elements of the culture of racism present in Slovenia. In this culture of racism, knowledge of Slovene language becomes one of the most important criteria that distinguishes deserving from undeserving migrants. The latter are a privileged object of racist responses at the level of cultural, institutional and personal racism, which is proving to be mutually toxic. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue International Migration Crisis: Critical Social Work and Social Policy Perspectives)
10 pages, 274 KiB  
Article
Towards a Model for Integrating Informal and Formal Learning for Children in Refugee Camps: The Example of the Lesbos School for Peace
by Ephrat Huss, Smadar Ben Asher, Tsvia Walden and Eitan Shahar
Soc. Sci. 2021, 10(3), 111; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/socsci10030111 - 22 Mar 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2794
Abstract
The aim of this paper is to describe a unique, bottom-up model for building a school based on humanistic intercultural values in a post-disaster/refugee area. We think that this model will be of use in similar contexts. This single-case study can teach us [...] Read more.
The aim of this paper is to describe a unique, bottom-up model for building a school based on humanistic intercultural values in a post-disaster/refugee area. We think that this model will be of use in similar contexts. This single-case study can teach us about the needs of refugee children, as well as provide strategies to reach these needs with limited resources in additional similar contexts. Additionally, this paper will outline a qualitative arts-based methodology to understand and to evaluate refugee children’s lived experience of in-detention camp schools. Our field site is an afternoon school for refugee children operated and maintained by volunteers and refugee teachers. The methodology is a participatory case study using arts-based research, interviews, and observation of a school built for refugee camp children in Lesbos. Participants in this study included the whole school, from children to teachers, to volunteers and managers. The research design was used to inform the school itself, and to outline the key components found to be meaningful in making the school a positive experience. These components could be emulated by similar educational projects and used to evaluate them on an ongoing basis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue International Migration Crisis: Critical Social Work and Social Policy Perspectives)
15 pages, 248 KiB  
Article
Teachers’ Perspectives: Challenges in the Integration of Refugee Children Deported from Israel to Uganda
by Ram Gudovitch, Gumisiriza Alex, Elly Kiyingi, Ezra Barigye, Maureen Zawedde, Aziizah Namu-Gambe, Flavia Mutesi, Lea Forshtat and Vered Slonim-Nevo
Soc. Sci. 2021, 10(3), 91; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/socsci10030091 - 05 Mar 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3382
Abstract
In 2012, Israel deported 500 South-Sudanese refugee children and their families. A year later, a civil war broke out in the young South Sudan and the deportees, along with over one million South-Sudanese citizens, fled to the neighboring Uganda. Since then, many of [...] Read more.
In 2012, Israel deported 500 South-Sudanese refugee children and their families. A year later, a civil war broke out in the young South Sudan and the deportees, along with over one million South-Sudanese citizens, fled to the neighboring Uganda. Since then, many of these children have studied in boarding schools in Uganda. We explore, using qualitative methods, the perceptions and experiences of six Ugandan teachers all working with these children for at least 5 years. The research is unique in studying children who have previously lived and studied in a developed Western environment, and experienced, subsequently, a transition to the global south, with far more conservative social norms and an authoritarian, teacher-centered conception of education. The results show a clear progression in the teachers’ conception of the children, beginning with an impression of the children as rebellious, tending to initiate conflicts, and disrespectful. Gradually, they came to view them as being open and assertive, often very articulate and communicative. They observed changes in the children’s behavior: acquiring language skills, being cooperative with staff, integrating with the other children and caring. Working with the refugee children had a great impact on the teachers’ perceptions and on their personal and professional conduct: they substituted punishments—including physical caning—with other methods of discipline. They endorsed open academic methods based on dialogue in class and between teachers and students, and encouraged experiment-based learning methods. On the other hand, the teachers initial perception of children’s parents as ignorant and disruptive remained unchanged and little effort, if any, was made throughout the years of this educational encounter to include the parents in the educational process. The teachers’ recommendations focused mainly on three issues: preparing the children and the staff to the new experience in order to facilitate integration, enhancing the communication and mutual work with the children’s parents, and giving more attention to the children’s emotional state. The discussion section addresses the limitation of this study, directions for future research, and practical implications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue International Migration Crisis: Critical Social Work and Social Policy Perspectives)
18 pages, 301 KiB  
Article
Social Workers’ Reflections on Forced Migration and Cultural Diversity—Towards Anti-Oppressive Expertise in Child and Family Social Work
by Merja Anis and Kati Turtiainen
Soc. Sci. 2021, 10(3), 79; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci10030079 - 25 Feb 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 7188
Abstract
Social work in Finland, like in many other countries, has faced various challenges after the large scale of forced migration in 2015. Although working with migrants is not a new area in social work, the exceptionally large amount of asylum seekers in the [...] Read more.
Social work in Finland, like in many other countries, has faced various challenges after the large scale of forced migration in 2015. Although working with migrants is not a new area in social work, the exceptionally large amount of asylum seekers in the Finnish society caused a need for improved social work expertise. Our article deals with Finnish social work practitioners’ reflections on multicultural, multilingual and transnational issues with a client group, which is in a vulnerable situation after forced or other forms of migration. The practitioners participating in our study have either attended a specializing education of child, youth and family social work or taken part in peer group discussions in order to develop multicultural expertise. All attendants worked in child and family social work during the study periods in the years 2018–2020. Applying a qualitative methodology by using thematic analysis, we analyze the social workers’ texts and discussions in order to find out the challenges and possibilities as well as needs and tools towards anti-oppressive practice in social work. The identified challenges are connected to differentiated local services, social workers’ uncertainty of their expertise in working with forced migrants, nationally defined welfare services and communication skills in client encounters. Some ways ahead were recognized in structural social work and further education to improve knowledge and skills. Social workers emphasize the need for self-reflection on their prejudices and in developing anti-oppressive practices, which contain human rights aspects and client-oriented practices. Specializing education and reflective group discussion gave a platform to social workers for reflective professional discussions and writings, which seem to have broadened their expertise in multicultural social work. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue International Migration Crisis: Critical Social Work and Social Policy Perspectives)
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