Refuge: How the State Shapes Human Potential

by Heba Gowayed

How states deny the full potential of refugees as people and perpetuate social inequality

As the world confronts the largest refugee crisis since World War II, wealthy countries are being called upon to open their doors to the displaced, with the assumption that this will restore their prospects for a bright future. Refuge follows Syrians who fled a brutal war in their homeland as they attempt to rebuild in countries of resettlement and asylum. Their experiences reveal that these destination countries are not saviors; they can deny newcomers’ potential by failing to recognize their abilities and invest in the tools they need to prosper.

Heba Gowayed spent three years documenting the strikingly divergent journeys of Syrian families from similar economic and social backgrounds during their crucial first years of resettlement in the United States and Canada and asylum in Germany. All three countries offer a legal solution to displacement, while simultaneously minoritizing newcomers through policies that fail to recognize their histories, aspirations, and personhood. The United States stands out for its emphasis on “self-sufficiency” that integrates refugees into American poverty, which, by design, is populated by people of color and marked by stagnation. Gowayed argues that refugee human capital is less an attribute of newcomers than a product of the same racist welfare systems that have long shaped the contours of national belonging.

Centering the human experience of displacement, Refuge shines needed light on how countries structure the potential of people, new arrivals or otherwise, within their borders.

Genres: Nonfiction, Immigration, Sociology, Social Justice, Politics, Social Issues

208 pages, Paperback

First published April 5, 2022

Reviews

[Mary Beth · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this for a class, it was interesting to compare the resettlement programs of the US, Canada, and Germany.

[Nitza Cabral · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibly powerful and moving assessment of the experience of Syrian refugees being 'resettled' in the US, Canada and Germany. I loved how Gowayed truly centered the voices and experiences of her participants to illustrate the experience as best as is possible through text. I would have appreciated a bit more critical analysis and theory but I think Gowayed nonetheless proved her thesis that human capital rests at the core of many contemporary immigration/refugee policies in countries like the Canada, Germany, and especially the US. I definitely recommend this to anyone with interest in the experiences of refugees, refugee/immigration systems in the specified countries, or anyone seeking inspiration to act with empathy and kindness to everyone around us.

[niki.uu · Rating 5 out of 5]

"destination countries, including the United States, Canada, and Germany, are not saviors. They are complicit in the conditions that instigated the very wars from which refugees are fleeing. And, within their borders, they too are capable of violence—the violence of minoritizing, of denying living wages, of non-recognition of people’s humanity."

the brutality of borders! this was so goodmygod.

[Julian Mydlil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written and quick book that centralizes the experiences of new refugees in national systems (in this case Syrian refugees in the USA, Canada, Germany) that limit their human potential in different ways, namely through not investing in them and/or through not recognizing the skills they already possess. A needed reframing of the language behind immigration/refugee policy.

[Jessica Orrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

*Read for SOCY4931*
This book gave a great comparison of the policies around resettlement of immigrants in the US, Canada, and Germany by following the lives of Syrian refugees. Very insightful and definitely changed my own opinions about policy surrounding refugees.

[Elizabeth]

As heard on Code Switch:
https://www.npr.org/2022/05/24/110105...