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"All day waiting": causes of conflict in refugee shelters in Germany
[working paper]
Corporate Editor
Bonn International Center for Conversion (BICC)
Abstract This Working Paper argues that conflicts in refugee shelters in Germany can largely be attributed to structural causes. These include the asylum regime, the interplay between the physical layout and social relationships within refugee shelters, and the specific properties of the refugee accommodati... view more
This Working Paper argues that conflicts in refugee shelters in Germany can largely be attributed to structural causes. These include the asylum regime, the interplay between the physical layout and social relationships within refugee shelters, and the specific properties of the refugee accommodation system, which can be regarded as a “total institution”. Further, there are other causes of conflict, which can be located at the personal level. On the basis of a qualitative survey, we worked with more than 200 participants in 33 refugee shelters operated at state and municipal level across the federal state (Land) of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW). Based on the data collected, we analyse five types of conflict: Conflicts at the individual level, group conflicts, aggressive behaviour and criminality, domestic and sexual violence and conflicts between residents and staff as well as conflict between institutions. The hypothesis that reported cases of conflict represent more than a mere collection of isolated cases was confirmed. Instead, conflict can usually be ascribed to certain interrelated root causes. Participants themselves were often unaware of the processes at work here. We therefore recommend a comprehensive approach to conflict prevention that takes both structural and personal causes of conflict into account. In this manner, the shelter situation could be improved significantly for refugees and staff.... view less
Keywords
migration; refugee; policy on refugees; emergency shelter; social conflict; asylum policy; asylum procedure; violence; criminality; aggressiveness; total institution; North Rhine-Westphalia; Federal Republic of Germany
Classification
Migration, Sociology of Migration
Social Work, Social Pedagogics, Social Planning
Document language
English
Publication Year
2019
City
Bonn
Page/Pages
49 p.
Series
BICC Working Paper, 3/2019
ISSN
2521-781X
Status
Published Version; reviewed
Licence
Creative Commons - Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0