El surgimiento de las crisis migratorias

Following from narratives presented by the women in the previous chapter and contrasting these with the narratives of the men, I argue here that a significant reason behind the gendered different experiences of integration and belonging can be traced back to agency, in particular how recognition of agency from government institutions and everyday encounters influence these experiences. Looking further into these differences, I explore notions of citizenship, one of Ager and Strang’s foundations of integration (2008), which entails rights and obligations. The experiences of citizenship

will be explored through focusing on participation, recognition and capabilities - substantive citizenship.

Citizenship is often considered fundamental for an integration process as well as for the development of belonging (Buonfino, 2007; Hamaz and Vasta, 2009) (see Chapter Two). Ager and Strang (2008) placed the domain of rights and citizenship within the indicators of foundations and observed how citizenship relates to the expectations surrounding an integration process. Access to citizenship and the rights and responsibilities entailed within citizenship are considered crucial for a successful integration process. This is reflected in much academic literature as well as many countries’ immigration policies. For instance, Castles et al. (2002:121) noted how citizenship is often “seen as a mark of full integration into society”. However, they also pointed to problems with the citizenship process in some situations (Castles et al.,

2002:21):

People who have formal citizenship may not enjoy full access to important rights, as a result of racism or social exclusion. In such cases, citizenship may be seen as a necessary, but not sufficient condition for full integration.

In my study, for most of the men access to rights - together with obligations and responsibilities - was a vital aspect of citizenship and also an important part of an integration process. The men talked enthusiastically about their experiences of becoming citizens and their hopes and expectations related to this, such as education and employment. Many of the men also linked citizenship to a fundamental sense of safety through a reinforcement of their identity as a citizen as opposed to a refugee. Most of the educated young men discussed citizenship as a necessary first step towards integration. They cited examples of the rights and obligations that come with citizenship, especially employment and the right to participate on equal ground as the rest of society. The women also felt that citizenship was related to employment, rights and obligations. While some women noted that being a citizen would increase their social involvement, they also spoke of citizenship as something that would give them capabilities through as access to work and education. Other women, however,

commented more on the lack o f employment and involvement in society, which

Out of the male participants for this study, all but four were citizens of Australia. One non-citizen, Pajok, had only been in Australia for about three years at the time of the interview and before then he had spent six years in refugee camp in Kenya. He was not yet a citizen of Australia at the time of the interview because citizenship “requires a total of four years lawful residence in Australia, including 12 months as a permanent citizen” (Department of Immigration and Citizenship [DIAC], 2012). The men’s language proficiency, either upon arrival or through an early training on arriving in Australia, made the citizenship process relatively easy. Furthermore, many of the men had spent considerable time in Australia and had participated in both the workforce or in university study. These experiences made the necessary citizenship test more easily accessible.

Among the women, four were without citizenship. Akoul, who had recently moved to Australia from the USA, explained that her non-citizenship status was due to her failing to meet the time requirements for eligibility. The second woman without citizenship, Adit, also had only been in Australia for a short time and was ineligible for citizenship. The third woman, a single mother, Nyakor, explained that she was not yet a citizen of Australia due to lack of time to complete the process. The fourth woman, Adhieu, felt that she was too old to take the citizenship test.

Adhieu was the oldest of the women taking part in the focus groups, and also the most outspoken. She had been in Australia since 2006 and before migrating had been in a refugee camp in Kenya. The fact that she was not a citizen of Australia caused her stress as it prevented her from travelling to visit her family overseas. While her understanding of the limitations of her permanent residence was often based on her own perceptions rather than reality, the way these perceptions impacted on her life made it real for her. Adhieu related the lack of citizenship to other anxieties in her life, including her lack of employment. She could not understand why it was so difficult to find a job in Australia when she had worked for many years in South Sudan. For example, her lack of English did not prevent her from understanding the basic knowledge of a cleaning job. Adhieu had five children but had recently lost one son and was a widow. She struggled with English as well as learning computer skills. Therefore, the introduction of the

citizenship test (see Chapter One) made the citizenship process even more difficult for her.

Travel was a major issue for Adhieu as her children and grandchildren were living in Canada. Due to serious family-related events in Canada, Adhieu wanted to stay with her grandson in Canada for an extended period of time. Yet, her perception of the residency-related restrictions impacted negatively on her quality of life at the time of the interview. As explained by the translator:

She did go to Canada but she had trouble getting into some areas because they would tell her, “you are not a citizen so you are not allowed to travel all the time”. Yes, so she is saying it would be really nice if I get a citizen so that I can go and visit my grandchild.

Adhieu blamed her lack of citizenship for this sense of a loss of freedom to visit her own family. She felt it excluded her from the rights possessed by others. She also blamed her lack of language and her old age. In other words, this lack of control over her own life impacted on her sense of agency and self-efficacy.

Gecas and Schwalbe (1983:80) have also related a sense of control over one’s own life to agency and well-being: “The importance of sense of control, agency, and self- efficacy for psychological well-being in general, as well as for self-esteem in particular, is increasingly evident in the psychological literature”. Adhieu felt that her loss of control over her circumstances had worsened since the introduction of the citizenship test in 2007, which meant that all refugees and migrants had to pass a written test before they could receive citizenship. This presented additional difficulties for both her and other women without sufficient knowledge of language, and older men and women with no computer skills. In Adhieu’s words, this citizenship test was a serious barrier for many newcomers:

The government is telling them, even though they are older...they are matured age, like they are telling them to sit at the computer and do the citizenship test but this is very, very difficult, they cannot do that because it takes a lot of time and they don’t even know how to do that and it takes a lot of experience, but they are telling them to do that so that they can be citizens. How they are going to learn English is a big thing

so...and the test it’s like about history and all that so it is difficult.

This citizenship test reinforced how the sense of loss of control can ultimately act as a barrier blocking the efficacy of the agency of migrants such as Adhieu. It impacts on their quality of life as well as their ability to feel a sense of belonging.

Returning to the key theme of Chapter Four, many of the women linked language to citizenship. This imperative role of language was ever present among the women. As emphasized by Ager and Strang (2008:182): “[Bjeing able to speak the main language of the host community is “consistently identified as central to the integration process”. While language was mentioned as essential among the men, this was mainly when they contrasted themselves with the women in the community and the problems they faced. Among women, Adhieu articulated these worries with language by again noting the difficulties associated with old age: “because we are getting old and to be in Australia you need to be a citizen of Australia, but they are making it hard for us to do the test then we don’t have the English and we cannot actually access the internet and do whatever they want us to do”. Adhieu expressed concerns with the substantive rights following citizenship, suggesting that citizenship, or rather the lack of it, can have a negative impact on people’s lives by restricting access to travel and employment.

Adau, another of the older women with limited English, but with full-time employment and citizenship, reflected more positively on both opportunities and responsibilities when talking about citizenship. She had been in Australia for about seven years at the time of the interview, and was also a widow with four children, all living in Australia. She arrived in Australia one year after the rest of her immediate family and only had a few months to spend with her husband in Australia before he passed away due to illness. In spite of this distressing start to her new life and her difficulties with language, she articulated how becoming a citizen helped familiarize herself with her social surroundings:

The citizenship enables you to be part of this community and it enables you to know how things work, it happens because when you are a citizen you sort of just you know... if you are not a citizen really you are just detached from what happens. Also becoming a citizen you feel it is your responsibility to let your

neighbour know you, and to get to know people and learn about things...and try always to do the right thing because you are a citizen and part of this community.

Adau showed an awareness of the two-way process of citizenship discussed in Chapter One. Her notions of inclusion and participation in the new society speak of how agency is enabled through acceptance. Adau articulated one of Ager and Strang’s (2008:175) key aspects of citizenship - “the rights accorded, and responsibilities expected”. As May (2011) stated, belonging is about creating a sense of “identification with one’s social, relational and material surroundings”, of being acknowledged and recognising oneself in the other. While citizenship is not enough for the development of a sense of belonging, it can play a vital role in a person’s sense of self and agency. For Adau, citizenship meant a connection with the Australian society. Her strong self-esteem was enhanced by her knowledge that she was a part of the host society. By feeling part of the society through her citizenship, Adau could act on this sense of connectedness: ‘get to know people...learn about things...try to do the right things’. Agency and belonging are here mutually interconnected through her sense of recognition from society. This recognition made Adau feel valued and accepted (worth-based self-esteem), strengthening her capacity to act by seeing herself as competent and capable (efficacy- based self-esteem) (Stets and Burke, 2003). This recognition enhances a sense of belonging.

The women who could speak English expressed similar sentiments as Adau when talking about citizenship, despite the fact that some had yet to become citizens. Adit, who had only been in Australia for about two years and was therefore ineligible for citizenship lived with her teenage son and partner. Having had extensive work experience in both Sudan and in Egypt, at the time of the interview, Adit was studying while looking for job opportunities. She was fairly content in her neighbourhood and she had contact with other South Sudanese living nearby. When asked about what citizenship would mean when she could achieve it, she expressed a similar view as many of the men: “being a citizen gives you opportunities to do things” (my emphasis). This situation hints at the capabilities that participants associated with citizenship. While still looking for a job and finding this process challenging, Adit acknowledged that opportunities were available. She felt a greater sense of acceptance and participation in Australian society as a result of her ability to speak and understand

English. She had developed relationships both within her own community and with the receiving society through her language classes. For Adit, it was both the relations she had developed with the South Sudanese community as well as with the ones with the broader society that gave her a sense of recognition. This sense of recognition together with English language knowledge gave Adit a sense of hope for future employment. The combination of social relations, language and citizenship offered opportunities and the ability to act on these opportunities. Her awareness of the “capability to act” (O'Byme, 2012:107) strengthened her sense of agency and her sense of belonging through this hope for future possibilities.

Like Adit, Nyakor also spoke English and was not a citizen. She also had a positive outlook with respect for what citizenship would mean to her. She was a single mother, studying and working part-time. She aspired to citizenship and related it to both her identity and to being part of the Australian community:

When I am a citizen it will mean a lot, I will feel like more...like more Australian, I will feel that I am an Australian, like I have an identity and everything, and I will be considered as one.

Nyakor appreciated the positive aspects of becoming a citizen that results from being treated like others. This would facilitate her search for employment. There was consensus in the women’s group on the relationship between citizenship and employment, as articulated by Nyakor: “The first thing that you will be asked is, are you a citizen. If you are not, chances of losing that job are high. That is true.” Even though she had high hopes of greater connectedness within Australian society through citizenship, Nyakor currently experienced barriers to two domains of integration considered vital for a successful settlement: citizenship and insecurity of employment.

Citizenship in Australia was for the participants in my research a reflection of opportunities and connectedness in and with the society. While some of the participants had yet to become citizens, they still expressed an expectation relating to both rights and obligations when they would become citizens. A connectedness with society through citizenship together with a sense of identity-change, or rather an additional identity (a citizen as opposed to a refugee) meant that many of the participants anticipated a

strengthening o f their self-esteem. It was related to a sense o f “control over their own lives” and something the participants required “to gain a sense of belonging” (O'Byme, 2012:13). A mutual dependency between self and agency, where a strong self-esteem depends on actual participation and action, and where the capacity to act depends on a strong self-esteem, was highlighted in participants’ feelings about citizenship. The next section looks further into the participants’ views of social participation in society.

Citizenship, participation and mutuality

Among the men, citizenship reflected a new start in a new country, with new opportunities and new social roles. Mamer, for example, viewed citizenship as an important foundation for settling and belonging. He arrived in Australia on a scholarship visa in 2002. He had lived in a refugee camp in Kenya for about 12 years where he had the opportunity to continue the education he had started in Sudan. While expressing his wish to find a wife and start a family, Mamer was single at the time o f the interview, had no children and had arrived in Australia alone, except for his cousin who went to Tasmania at the same time. He spoke with enthusiasm about the opportunities he had found in Australia. My first meeting with Mamer was at the Australian National University where, along with his cousin, we discussed my work and the possibilities o f setting a date for an interview. After exchanging a few emails, Mamer and I agreed on a date to meet. He arrived very much prepared for the interview. He had already read through the research brief and the consent form and had clear ideas o f what he wanted to discuss. He had also organized his thoughts on what would be important for my work, showing a capacity to actively contribute to issues surrounding him. In particular, he had ideas on how to successfully settle in a new county.

Being able to obtain his desired education and to create the life he aspired to was central to M amer’s vision, and he attributed this to his ‘easy’ access to citizenship. As he explained:

Australia is a good country, it is a good country in the sense that they welcome people, they actually welcome people, and it is the first country where I feel that I am living again, like...I feel a sense o f human life .... when we first came to Australia we were granted permanent residency and within two years, after two years we were asked whether we wanted to remain

permanent resident or whether we wanted to become citizens for 15 years I have lived as I don’t know...a refugee, that was the...that was my status. So to be given a citizenship in Australia is good thing because I feel that I am living again .... you feel that you are living the life of a human being again. So I feel that I am a part of this community.

For Mamer, this importance of citizenship for his sense of identity and connectedness -