Becoming German: Middle Eastern Refugees in Small Town Germany

RAPID grant to collect data for a larger project on refugees flows from the Middle East into Europe and North America
The European refugee situation, entering its second year of heightened media attention, presents a unique opportunity to examine the relationships among state positions toward refugees and immigrants, political rhetoric oriented toward election outcomes, labor market policy and practice, and the on-the-ground experiences of refugees. We suggest that labor market participation constitutes a key variable intervening in the production of political discourse and refugees? lives. Conducting fieldwork during the second summer season of refugee flows from Syria, other parts of the Middle East, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Africa into Europe, we will examine how participation in agriculture and specifically the German dairy industry influence natives? views toward refugees and refugees? experiences with their host environments.

Scholars @ ECU