Waite, Louise, Lewis, Hannah, Dwyer, Peter James orcid.org/0000-0002-2297-2375 et al. (1 more author) (2015) Precarious Lives:Refugees and Asylum Seekers’ Resistance within Unfree Labouring. ACME: An International Journal for Critical Geographies. pp. 470-478.
Abstract
This paper is concerned with the interplay between vulnerability, resistance and agency for forced migrants. Such concepts are yoked together as soon as the vulnerability inherent in the life-worlds of many migrants is seen to align not solely with victimhood, but also potentially to act as a springboard for agentic resistance, mobilisation and activism. As such, this paper is oriented towards a critical theoretical, and empirically insightful, engagement with the concept of resistance. Most particularly, we ponder the possibilities for resistance in situations of subjugated unfreedom within realms of forced labour. The backdrop for this paper is a broader research project that aims to gain an in-depth understanding of the experiences of severe labour exploitation and unfree labour among asylum seekers and refugees living in the UK (see http://precariouslives.org.uk/). The lives of many refugees and asylum seekers are widely recognised as characterised by poverty, social exclusion and destitution (Crawley 2001; Phillips 2006), yet there is little research documenting their experiences of exploitation and unfree labour and the reasons why they may be engaged in it. It was such a research gap that spurred our broader project, together with concern that government policy is potentially influential in propelling asylum seekers and refugees into severely exploitative working conditions including unfree elements (see fuller discussion in Lewis et al 2014a). This paper homes in on the particular issue of whether, and how, resistance may manifest for asylum seekers and refugees in landscapes of extreme labour precarity.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | This content is made available by the publisher under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-No-Derivative Licence. This means that a user may copy, distribute and display the resource providing that they give credit, do not use it for commercial purposes, and do not alter, transform, or build upon the image. Users must adhere to the terms of the licence. |
Keywords: | Refugees,Asylum seekers,Labour |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of York |
Academic Units: | The University of York > Faculty of Social Sciences (York) > Social Policy and Social Work (York) |
Depositing User: | Pure (York) |
Date Deposited: | 02 Mar 2016 14:44 |
Last Modified: | 25 Dec 2024 00:13 |
Status: | Published |
Refereed: | Yes |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:95288 |