Arguing and Justifying: Assessing the Convention Refugees' Choice of Moment, Motive and Host Country(Research in Migration and Ethnic Relations Series)

To many, refugees look like any other "charity case", and we like to imagine ourselves as participating in the benevolent act of welcoming them to our country. But a second look, informed by the historical and present-day facts and events shows the error of assuming that they receive status and apparently offer nothing in return. In fact, the author of this text argues, refugees arrive in the country generally as a last resort, and although they are in desperate need of assistance, they are in fact essential not only for the economy, but for the diversity upon which contemporary society thrives. A further look at global economics demonstrates that our standard of living is partially dependant on the types of corporate forays into the cheap labour wells and the unregulated environmental buffets of the Third World that create refugee problems. Our very social structure is built upon the fruits of previous and ongoing First World control over distant lands. This book aims to demonstrate that refugee claimants don't simply move to Europe or America to gather up the gold that lines the streets; indeed, the resistance of even the most heavily-persecuted claimants to the idea of leaving their home, their family and their friends is, in the vast majority of cases, monumental, and their knowledge of Canada (where most of the interviews for this project were conducted) tends to be extremely sparse. Studies have shown that in virtually every respect, refugees make for "better Canadians" than Canadians do: less likely to go to prison; less likely to be unemployed; more likely their children and to a higher degree; less inclined to use social services; and more likely to employ other Canadians. This shows, the author asserts, that the number of restrictions toward necessary migration is unnecessarily high, and indeed the arguments generally employed to erect or bolster these restrictions tend to be founded on false premises. Rather than a text about why we should adopt a liberal policy towards immigrants and refugees, this is a book which forwards one underlying hypothesis: that people have the inalienable right to move around as they wish, for whatever reason they think appropriate. Borders between states are, the author maintains, an aberration, the idea of nation is reprehensible in its consequences, and restrictions imposed upon people who wish to travel from one region of their world to another are absurd and hurtful. Robert Barsky puts forward the theory that the category "refugee" shouldn't exist and that people employed to limit the movement of persons from one place to another should be occupied with other matters, such as the problem of assisting those who would like to move to another region but cannot on account of limited resources. Barsky maintains that we can and should be doing better than we're doing and that eliminating barriers from persons who would move if they could might be a small step in that direction, if only becasue it would mean that populations wouldn't necessarily have to be subjected to the lunatic ideas of power-mongerers or hurtful economic systems, because they would simply move to another, more comfortable, space.

Table of Contents:
Contents: Introduction; Interpreting refugee discourse: from discourse analysis to inter-cultural communication; Claimants from the former Soviet Union: from European standards to the American dream; Claimants from Israel: a threat to the Jewish Identity?; Claimants from Peru: persecution in America and flight to Canada; Claimants from Pakistan: the constraints of state intervention; Conclusion: theorizing the obstacles to female claims; Bibliography; Appendices; Index.

About the Author :
Robert F. Barsky, Professor, Program in Comparative Literature, Department of French & Italian, Vanderbilt University, USA

Review :
’This is a most original piece of work, impossible to pigeonhole by genre. It is everywhere touched by passion and a kind of ethical anger that can make even the most difficult research data seductive...Informing Barsky’s argument throughout is his wide reading in social, linguistic and literary theory. He draws on Marc Angenot, Chomsky and Bakhtin, especially, to make a powerful argument for the role of narrative construction in the hearings he describes. He articulates a discourse theory that will be of interest not only to those directly involved with refugee issues, but to those pursuing literary theory, sociolinguistics, postcolonial studies, as well as those working in law and literature.’ Michael Holquist, Yale University, USA ’...identifies some key and quite disturbing policy concerns in the field of refugee studies.’ Ethnic and Racial Studies 'Barksy's approach in general is refreshingly eclectic. He blends legal thought, literary criticism and discourse analysis, with a powerful moral outrage...The book will be of interest to a wide range of scholars and professionals working with asylum issues...' Journal of Refugee Studies 'Barsky's book offers radical and efficient critique of the legal structures which lock refugees into a state of vulnerability and powerlessness...Breaking inter-disciplinary barriers, Barsky opens the way to new and profitable research directions...the refugees' narratives...are lively and informative. An extensive bibliography by topics, as well as a list of refugee organizations and documentation centers around the world bring added value to an already interesting work.' Asian and Pacific Migration Journal