Quota Refugees Ten Years On Series

This annotated bibliography brings together New Zealand and international literature on the long-term settlement of refugees and provides an insight into the factors that facilitate or act as barriers to integration. This report is the first publication from the three-year ‘Quota Refugees Ten Years On: Perspectives on Integration, Community and Identity’ research programme.

The annotated bibliography contains close to 200 annotations on a wide variety of topics relating to the long-term settlement of refugees. Each annotation contains information on the research aim or focus, who the participants were, key findings and outcomes, and the scope of the research. The bibliography is structured around the main themes emerging from the research, and includes a thematic review of the literature. The main themes include: integration and social cohesion; identity and citizenship; community and social networks; social exclusion; education and training; economic participation including employment; health and wellbeing; housing; and integration issues related to gender, age, generation and disability.

Overall, the review highlights that there is relatively little research that specifically focuses on the long-term integration of refugees, as opposed to the initial period of settlement. Nevertheless it is apparent that countries that resettle refugees are considering similar issues. There has been a growing body of research over the last decade aimed at describing the experiences of refugees and/or host country members, and identifying useful indicators of integration or the factors that act as barriers or facilitators to long-term settlement.

Employment and ability to communicate in the host country language are identified as being critical to accessing suitable housing and health services and having the means (both in terms of economic resources and time) to participate in social and civic activities. However, the literature indicates that the nature of employment in the host country, the experiences of racism and other forms of social exclusion and changes in family dynamics may adversely affect refugees’ sense of belonging to the host country. Alongside economic participation, the literature also reflects a growing emphasis on other aspects of long-term settlement, including the importance of social networks and identity.

In addition to informing the Quota Refugees Ten Years On programme, this annotated bibliography provides a new and valuable resource for policy makers, service providers, researchers and people from refugee backgrounds.

Long-Term Settlement of Refugees: An Annotated Bibliography of New Zealand and International Literature is available from the New Zealand Department of Labour’s website at: http://dol.govt.nz/publications/research/publication-view.asp?ID=284
For further information please contact research@dol.govt.nz