My first Publication Mojatu Nottingham Magazine M030 | Page 23

Nottingham connected
Arts & Culture
23

The Way We Talk of Integration Will Lead to
Segregation, Not Inclusion
By Tamim Nashed
Exclusive programs or integration courses designed
solely for refugees lead to segregation instead of
inclusion and can neglect to address newcomers’
different backgrounds, says one Syrian man now
living in Austria.
I left Syria in August 2012, as there was no other choice.
I had friends in Austria and that is why I ended up
in Vienna. At the time, I had no idea what the words
“refugee,” “asylum” and “integration” meant. During the
first year after getting asylum, I was busy learning the
German language and looking for a job. However, I had
zero intention of integrating myself in the new society I
was living in, and frequently asked myself why I would
need to integrate.
After 18 months of hard work invested in learning
the language, making new friends and exploring a
new country, journalists started contacting me. They
wanted to hear more about the Syrian revolution and
the factors that had helped me integrate in Austria.
That was my first concrete exposure to the world of
“integration.” Before that, I had thought I already was
part of the society, as my friends never asked me to
integrate: We were simply all equals living in the same
place yet sharing different experiences.
For me, “joining” the world of integration felt like
a burden, enforced by governments, NGOs, public
institutions and other key players. I say enforced
because it felt like I was sent from one place to another
with the argument that certain projects or programs
were designed for people like me – people who are
refugees, because refugees have special needs. It’s
moments like these when you realize that you belong
to a minority and are treated differently from any other
individual who simply wants to learn a new language,
start a new job and settle down in a new country. It’s
almost like you are meant to stay behind and enjoy
the assistance offered by the superiors. I still struggle
with this myself, while policymakers and NGOs might
consider me a success story.
For these reasons, I believe that refugees should
seek advice from friends, service providers, language
institutes or any other relevant sources that could
help them settle down in a new country, as many civil
society actors are making great efforts to support
newcomers.
Exclusive programs or integration courses designed
just for refugees lead to segregation instead of
inclusion and can neglect to address newcomers’
different backgrounds, including the fact that those
fleeing wars may need additional support to overcome
trauma and health issues. Refugees frequently find
themselves obliged to follow certain paths or make
certain choices imposed by governments, and this
leads to the creation of a new second-class society. We
live in a time where “integration” has become a burden
on “refugees” instead of being a solution.
In order to create inclusive societies, governments
have to embrace diversity and integrate it into the
human rights discourse. This can happen through
education and fighting discrimination. We need
education systems that teach diversity and
emphasize equal opportunities for all, and for this
reason policymakers should think strategically
and modify the current education systems. At the
moment, political agendas are polarizing European
societies, and steps in the right direction can be
very quickly overturned when there is a change in
government.
Once diversity is seen as an essential part of a society,
we will see future generations take diversity for granted.
These new generations will not discriminate because of
nationality, race, colour or for any other reason. Future
teachers, policymakers and workers in public agencies
will not practice discrimination because they have
grown up in a country that embraces difference, and
they will put together policies that affect everybody
in the country, not only refugees. This might sound
like a dream, but for refugees, this is the dream: not
being referred to as someone who needs specific care.
My advice to “refugees” is to fight for changing the
narrative and the way people think about “refugees”
and “integration,” because these two expressions have
become misleading. “Integration” in its current form
will lead to segregation instead of inclusion. We have to
fight stigmatization, and with the current terminology,
this is not possible because it highlights the fact that
we belong to a minority and that we are not part of the
society we live in.
I have learned that a refugee should never feel
incapable of pursuing his or her dreams. And this is the
message I will keep fighting for.
Tamim Nashed is Policy Officer on Refugee Inclusion at the
European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE). Originally
from Syria, he currently lives and works in Austria.