“It Was Like a Tsunami”: Challenges for Refugee Third-Sector Organizations at a Time of Repressive Asylum Policies
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25071/1920-7336.41450Keywords:
Italy, United Kingdom, refugee third sector, knowledge exchange, state asylum policies, local sanctuaryAbstract
Based on an innovative method of knowledge exchange with two third-sector organizations working with asylum migrants in Newcastle, UK, and Parma, Italy, we examine how each has reoriented what they consider as sanctuary-building work in response to repressive state asylum policies. This includes focusing on language and communication due to increasingly troubling anti-migration discourses that make the once unspeakable now speakable in both countries. Second, in response to different local government politics, they have sought different relationships with local institutions: autonomy in Parma and collaboration in Newcastle. The conclusion discusses how autonomous third-sector initiatives have more potential to build long-term sanctuary than those pursued through institutional collaboration.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Cathrine Degnen, Silvia Pasquetti, Hannah Barnes, Chiara Marchetti, Michele Rossi
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