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    (De)constructing 'refugeeness' : exploring mediated discourses of solidarity, welcome and refugee (self)representation in New Zealand : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Development Studies at Massey University, Manawatū, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2019) Slade, Natalie Frances
    The tragic photo of Alan Kurdi ignited protests of solidarity and compassion across the Western world in support of refugees. In New Zealand, refugee advocates and media commentators urged the government to increase the refugee quota and welcome in more refugees. Although discourses of solidarity and welcome stem from humanitarian concern, they also risk encouraging a regime of compassion and charity that speaks more about ourselves and how we feel. Refugees are framed as objects of ‘our’ moral responsibility, stereotyped as helpless vulnerable victims without agency. These discourses consequently produce a generic type of refugee – an imagining of ‘refugeeness’ – that consigns individuals to an anonymous presence, silenced and marginalised by the very act of solidarity and protest that is performed on their behalf. Situated within a post-development and post-humanitarianism paradigm, and an actor-oriented approach to discourse and agency, this research aims to explore refugee representation and discourses of solidarity and welcome in the New Zealand mainstream media, and how people from refugee backgrounds experience and contest dominant discourses of ‘refugeeness’. Using critical discourse analysis, this research critically examines the discursive constructions of refugees and solidarity in the New Zealand mainstream news media, and the power dynamics involved in the production of discourse. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews with refugee advocates and former refugees are employed to create spaces for participants to share their stories and experiences, enabling voices to be heard, misconceptions to be challenged, and new meanings to be constructed. The emergence of themes in this research highlight the relationship between discourses of solidarity, humanitarianism, and imaginings of New Zealand national identity. Within these discourses, refugees are stereotyped in a particular way that calls on the New Zealand public to respond. However, as the title of this thesis suggest, meaning is not infinitely fixed. Refugees may be labelled by discursive structures, but they will also use their agency to deconstruct and redefine the refugee label for their own ends, creating space for the construction of their own identities in the process.
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    Refugee resettlement and ways forward : a dissertation submitted for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Development Studies at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2004) Ibrahim, Hassan Haji
    New Zealand has hosted refugees since World War II and is currently one of only ten countries in the world with a refugee resettlement programme, yet little is known about the experiences and unique needs of new refugees who are culturally, racially and ethnically extremely different from New Zealand mainstream society. The focus of this research is to provide an overview of the experiences the Afghan and Somali refugees have undergone prior to resettlement in New Zealand and the hindrances to realising their dreams in New Zealand as their country of resettlement. The structure and aims of the research were guided by Alternative Development theory which focuses on eliminating injustice being done to a particular group on the basis of their race, colour, religion or gender and addressing the priority needs of people to achieve sustainable society. To achieve the research objectives, the research has applied participatory methods (individual in-depth interviews, focus groups with interactive activities and discussion and document review). The research findings indicate that resettlement is a continuum process in which the new refugees are making effort to move away from situation of under-development to a favourable situation of development worthy of decent human life. The research findings also suggest that refugee resettlement, having links with Alternative Development and Human Rights, goes beyond meeting physical needs of refugees. It also covers the restoration and sustainability of people's capabilities. Finally, the research presents practical ways to empower refugees and foster opportunities to develop their own livelihoods and integrate with structures and systems of New Zealand society.
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    Healing from the horror of war : a study of a post-conflict psychosocial program for refugees in Uganda : a research report presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of International Development at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2018) Manson, Tim
    Uganda, a landlocked African nation of 41 million people, currently hosts 1.1 million refugees from surrounding nations including South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Rwanda. Many of these refugees have suffered significant psychological trauma as a result of their conflict experiences and through the process of fleeing from their homes and communities. Tutapona is a non-profit organisation that provides group based psychosocial trauma rehabilitation support among war affected populations. This research report examines the effectiveness of the ‘Grow’ program at empowering refugees. The study was carried out in Rwamwanja Refugee Settlement in Western Uganda, which is home to 64,000 people from the DRC. Four refugees who had attended Tutapona’s Grow program were interviewed in depth about their experience and subsequent decisions to ascertain the extent to which empowerment had taken place. The research report concludes that Tutapona’s Grow program has achieved a high degree of success at empowering refugees, especially on the individual and relational levels. More broadly, it suggests that psychosocial interventions in post- conflict settings should be more highly prioritized by humanitarian and development actors.
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    'As important to me as water' : how refugees in Rome use smartphones to improve their well-being : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of International Development at Massey University, Palmerston North, Manawatū, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2017) St George, Tanya Vivienne
    Mobile phones and smartphones have been hailed as instrumental in assisting migrants and refugees to make the perilous journey to Europe. Civil society groups and humanitarian agencies are responding by developing a plethora of technological aid initiatives to assist refugees and asylum-seekers - a phenomenon dubbed “ICT4Refugees”. However, without a sound understanding of smartphones enable people to be and do, such well-intended projects may fail. Within ICT4D the Capability Approach has become a popular conceptual tool for analysing and discussing the role of technology in improving the well-being of the poor and disadvantaged. Proponents argue it is not access to technology that matters; it is how people use it to enhance their capabilities and achieve valuable lives. Therefore, this thesis investigates how refugees in Rome, Italy, use smartphones to improve their well-being and whether, according to the Capability Approach, smartphones can expand refugees’ capabilities, choices and freedoms. The research is based on qualitative, semi-structured interviews with refugee guests and staff at a refugee centre in Rome, conducted in May 2016. Findings were analysed using an evaluative framework based on capability models created for ICT4D settings, which provided an ecological view of the different factors which influence smartphone use. Overall, the findings indicate that smartphones are critical to the psychological well-being of participants – “as important as water” for their survival - as they enable them to connect to friends and family conveniently and at little or no cost, providing they have access to the Internet. Frequent contact helps replenish participants’ resilience in an otherwise hostile environment. However, owning a smartphone has not improved the informational capabilities of all participants in this study. Thus, refugees may require support to develop the necessary digital and informational literacies needed to participate in an Information Society. Key words: Capabilities, refugees, ICTs, Italy, smartphones
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    Peace on a plate : aid, reintegration and the thesis of liberal peace, Timor Leste, 1999-2004 : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Development Studies at Massey University
    (Massey University, 2005) Hubscher, Ruth
    This thesis examines the impacts of aid agencies on the reintegration of repatriated refugees to Timor Leste. Scholars and aid practitioners involved in post-conflict peace building suggest that refugee reintegration is vital to the achievement of durable peace. They claim that reintegration will best occur through the reversal of structural inequalities and the adoption of a representative democratic structure and a market economy. Many of the relief and development activities aid organisations instigate are intended to contribute towards these ends. They are thus claimed to build a facilitating environment for returnee reintegration. The research is based upon the interviews of ninety-seven groups of returnees, stayees and community leaders and a number of aid agencies, which operated programmes between 1999 and 2004 in Timor Leste. The research concludes that aid agencies played a positive role in refugee reintegration however the non-aid aspects of people's lives were of greater significance to the success of their overall reintegration. The short time spans that most aid agencies operated in and their failure to develop close working relationships in the communities they operated in, prevented them from significantly contributing to deeper level social, political and economic change that may have contributed to the state of liberal peace.