The ‘Silent’ Conflict (& Resolution) Between Refugee Community and Host Society
Start Date
10-2-2021 4:00 PM
End Date
10-2-2021 4:30 PM
Proposal Type
Presentation
Proposal Description
This ethnographic work explores the dynamics of contact and conflict between resettled refugees and their host society in Ohio. I spent two years immersed within a Bhutanese community; the community’s influx has introduced a much-needed capital and labor to the locality, but the economic progress has coincided with a social detachment, leading to suspicion, fear, and some instances of violence. In addition to providing a necessary context of this conflict, I discuss inferences from grant-funded contact-based community programs that allowed opportunities for ‘bridging capital’ (Ager and Strang 2008; Portes and Rumbaut 2006). The emergence of nationalism, racism, and economic marginalization are pertinent themes in this work; so is the shortcomings of the US resettlement policy. Finally, my research provides important inferences for refugee agency, community-based contact, and community-level conflict resolution.
The ‘Silent’ Conflict (& Resolution) Between Refugee Community and Host Society
This ethnographic work explores the dynamics of contact and conflict between resettled refugees and their host society in Ohio. I spent two years immersed within a Bhutanese community; the community’s influx has introduced a much-needed capital and labor to the locality, but the economic progress has coincided with a social detachment, leading to suspicion, fear, and some instances of violence. In addition to providing a necessary context of this conflict, I discuss inferences from grant-funded contact-based community programs that allowed opportunities for ‘bridging capital’ (Ager and Strang 2008; Portes and Rumbaut 2006). The emergence of nationalism, racism, and economic marginalization are pertinent themes in this work; so is the shortcomings of the US resettlement policy. Finally, my research provides important inferences for refugee agency, community-based contact, and community-level conflict resolution.