
The first section of Escape from Violence offers the
comprehensive definition, as well as historical analysis that tell the
evolution of such a fluid and rigid term. The United Nations High Commissioner
of Refugees (UNHCR) definition, he argues, is too restrictive and technical to
imply the political origins of their displacement. Whereas the popular
conception of refugees as individuals who are within a “large and varied
universe of oppressed, suppressed, malcontent and poor persons…commonly
considered as ‘push’ factors that produce migration” (Zolberg 1989, 4). Both
conceptions of a refugee suffer from disconnect between the identity of a
refugee and root causes of the migration problem. To mend this, Zolberg
provides three sociological types of refugees: (1) activist, who is someone that
engages in some politically significant activity that the state is again
st, (2)
target, someone belongs to a social/cultural group that has been singled out,
and (3) victim, an individual displaced by societal/international violence that
is not necessarily directed at them (1989, 30). He states that the first two
are acknowledged in the current structure of the refugee regime, and room needs
to be made for the third.
My paper uses these
sociological types from section one to argue that there is currently a lack of
recognition of Iraqi SIV (Special Immigrant Visa) refugees. These individuals
worked for the US military for at least a year during the US occupation, and
now their lives are threatened. They have lost their identity as an Iraqi, and
lack necessary assistance from the US to flee. The identity that creates their
refugee status is completely different than the three types that Zolberg
illustrates. For the second and third type, there is a collective identity that
subjugates these individuals, through no choice of their own. The first type is
closest to the SIV, though not equivalent; the difference is present through
the motives of the individual. An activist has a deliberate intention to rebel
against the regime, whereas the motives for an SIV cannot be assumed. The Iraqi
is targeted because of a job they had which tainted their perception amongst
other Iraqis as a ‘traitor.’ This identity as a SIV refugee was a product of political
conflict. The US invaded Iraq and employed citizens to carry out its operations
with full efficiency. “Unilateral intervention tends to become competitive
no-win situations for the intervening powers…[and] place a heavy burden on the
local parties” (Zolberg 1989, 265). The creation of the refugees was through
political strife, and therefore, recognizing the refugees is, inherently, a
political move for the US. I argue that it is their obligation since the Iraqis
provided the military a service, and solely through this service, their Iraqi
identity has been extracted from these individuals.
The third section of Escape from Violence argues that
refugees are a critical element within political phenomena; reforms must occur
in the refugee regime in order to give the victims the adequate attention and
resources that they deserve. The definitions prove to be an extremely useful
tool in order to urge the international community to take the displacement of
these individuals quite seriously. Currently, the UNHCR sees the refugee
phenomena as a humanitarian concern. Zolberg takes issue with this because the
political motives of the international community in recognizing, or not
recognizing, various groups and individuals are not considered. This choice
that every country makes is entirely based on its own interests and what
relationship the refugee identity has with the receiving country’s politics.
Zolberg urges the country “to observe that the sociological existence of a
refugee (whether an activist, a target or a victim) is independent of the legal
recognition that may be extended, or withheld, for a variety of political
reasons in addition to the claimant’s sufferings” (1989, 274). There is a need
to look at the refugees as non-political individuals who require assistance.
Escape from Violence is a necessary and comprehensive study of this
complicated international issue of migration due to victimization. Zolberg specified
and expanded the conception of what it means to be a refugee, and urges the
international community to apply the definition in their policies. Insofar as
this book was written before the Iraqi SIV case was present, I don’t criticize
his types. Rather, they are necessary to prove the legitimacy of these
individuals’ strife and I argue that the types need to be reformulated. The
identity of these individuals is both collective and individual, and based on
inherent identity (what they are born into) along with identity based on choice
(the activist and SIV). The international community must take this into account
when the specific policies are made, and are required to acknowledge the
inevitability of refugees with any political conflict or strife.
I did not know that there were varied types of politcal refugees prior to reading your review of Escape From Violence. The title at first glance seems to coincide with the idea that a refugee is one fleeing a seemingly tyrantical regime. By drawing disntinctions between the many varying brands of refugees. I would be interested to see in your paper how you identify situations in which refugees seek help and there corresponing reasons for being in political turmoil.
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