Periodic Reporting for period 1 - SESED (The role of socio-economic status in experiences of displacement: The case of displaced Burundians in Kigali)
Reporting period: 2022-04-01 to 2025-03-31
Given the political and popular discourse on African migration to Europe, particularly in the last decade, it is easy to forget that the largest part of African migration is within the continent and that African migration to Europe is not a significant percentage of migration in Europe. African forced migration has many different trajectories and to obtain a full comprehension of what conflict-related migration means and looks like the many different aspects of it need to be explored and understood, by academics and policymakers.
Africans of a high socio-economic position who forcibly move due to conflict in their home country, have received little to no attention. It is important to understand the various different experiences of (forced) migrants to accommodate appropriately for the different groups which will benefit migrants themselves and the communities they integrate into.
The overall objective was to explore what role socio-economic status plays in the experiences of displacement, looking specifically at the decision to leave and choice of destination. The project also brought into light theoretical insights into what is communicated with mobility, including the politicisation of different places.
Africans of a high socio-economic position who forcibly move due to conflict in their home country, have received little to no attention. It is important to understand the various different experiences of (forced) migrants to accommodate appropriately for the different groups which will benefit migrants themselves and the communities they integrate into.
The overall objective was to explore what role socio-economic status plays in the experiences of displacement, looking specifically at the decision to leave and choice of destination. The project also brought into light theoretical insights into what is communicated with mobility, including the politicisation of different places.
As the project was initially supposed to examine displacement of people of a higher socio-economic status who reside in a neighbouring country, the first months of the project were used to try to attain a research permit for Rwanda. After months of efforts, it became clear that the efforts would not be fruitful. Therefore, new sites, Belgium and Sweden, were chosen. During these first months, an application for ethics permit was drafted, admitted and approved.
Although the sites for the fieldwork needed to be changed due to the challenges in acquiring research permit in Rwanda, it soon became apparent that this was not a problem regarding obtaining the research objectives. Many of the informants had either started their journey in neighbouring countries, or had plans or wishes to continue their journey to a neighbouring country to Burundi. Discussions with the informants therefore revealed good comparisons on why people would want to go to a neighbouring country and why they might opt for Europe.
Six field-trips within two years were undertaken to Belgium, which allowed multiple interviews with each informant and to follow them through different developments in their lives, such as acquiring refugee status, acquiring family reunification, graduation from universities etc.
During analysis and writing, preliminary results were presented in two international conferences, one national conference in Iceland, and two seminars at the workplace of the researcher. Two journal articles are under review, whilst two are still on the drafting board. A policy note has been drafted and will be out in 2025, and the researcher has been interviewed on Icelandic state radio about the research and has written an op-ed in an Icelandic newspaper. The op-ed was taken up and shared on a Facebook group which shares interesting discussions on international affairs in Iceland.
Although the sites for the fieldwork needed to be changed due to the challenges in acquiring research permit in Rwanda, it soon became apparent that this was not a problem regarding obtaining the research objectives. Many of the informants had either started their journey in neighbouring countries, or had plans or wishes to continue their journey to a neighbouring country to Burundi. Discussions with the informants therefore revealed good comparisons on why people would want to go to a neighbouring country and why they might opt for Europe.
Six field-trips within two years were undertaken to Belgium, which allowed multiple interviews with each informant and to follow them through different developments in their lives, such as acquiring refugee status, acquiring family reunification, graduation from universities etc.
During analysis and writing, preliminary results were presented in two international conferences, one national conference in Iceland, and two seminars at the workplace of the researcher. Two journal articles are under review, whilst two are still on the drafting board. A policy note has been drafted and will be out in 2025, and the researcher has been interviewed on Icelandic state radio about the research and has written an op-ed in an Icelandic newspaper. The op-ed was taken up and shared on a Facebook group which shares interesting discussions on international affairs in Iceland.
The main scientific conclusions related to the role of socio-economic status and deciding on a place in exile; choosing when to flee; maintaining a relationship to the home country; and gender.
Firstly, socio-economic status impacted destination wishes differently to what is usually assumed. The informants in this research had the capital to make it to Europe, but some had started in neighbouring countries to Burundi and many discussed plans for their next move to be back to the African continent. The reasons for this were both personal and socio-economic. People wanted to be closer to home and friends and family, but having experienced a large fall in socio-economic status when moving to Europe and usually being unable to climb the ladder completely the dreams and plans of a return to the African continent also related to ideas of where it is easiest to maintain high socio-economic status.
Secondly, socio-economic status impacted on when people fled Burundi. Even though all the informants had capital and could make arrangements quite quickly to flee they did not leave as soon as the situation in Burundi became insecure for them. On the contrary, the informants used their capital to avoid fleeing. They did this by being mobile within the capital city, within the country or by crossing borders to neighbouring countries temporarily. This required capital to lease new houses on short notice, to have jobs where it was possible to work from home or to have the capital to be able to take unpaid leave. High socio-economic status was thus used to delay fleeing as long as possible.
Thirdly, socio-economic status, and its fall on arrival in Europe impacted the relationship to Burundi. As a very poor country, without a welfare system, people helping each other out financially when possible is a highly important part of being part of Burundian society. It varied between informants how successful they were in maintaining their socio-economic status. A few (mostly women whose husbands were in well paid jobs on the African continent) still enjoyed a relatively high socio-economic status and could for example buy land in Burundi after having fled, thus clearly "investing" in the dream of return. More importantly they could also continue support those less fortunate in Burundi. For the majority of informants sending money to Burundi was getting more difficult and there was a sense of shame for not being able to support people they way they used to. Due to this shame they were less and less in touch with people back home in Burundi.
Fourthly, socio-economic status impacted gender relations. Although divorce rates in Burundi are very low, informants all agreed that this changed once people had fled to Europe. Some of the men spoke of a change in culture or had ideas that displacement changes people. The women, who are usually the instigators of divorce, however connected the higher divorce rate to the fall in socio-economic status. Prior to displacement all informants had been in relationships where both husband and wife had university education and jobs linked to that education. They paid people for housework, childcare, gardening and sometimes driving. Once they came to Europe they had less means and were in a society where only the very well off can afford to have a number of staff in their household. All the women spoke about this and that all this extra work ended up as their responsibility. The women also spoke of the difficulties their husbands went through when not getting jobs or jobs they found fulfilling. The loss in socio-economic status was felt as a loss of masculinity for the men. The additional unpaid labour was a burden which usually landed on the women and was identified by the women as the most common reason for divorce amongst Burundian displaced couples.
The results of the research come at an important time when there is more need than ever for evidence-based discussion and policies on African migration to Europe. The engagement with media has helped generate a discussion on the different experiences of displaced people in Iceland and it is expected that the forth-coming policy note, written in English will reach a larger audience, including policy makers, particularly in the Nordic region.
Firstly, socio-economic status impacted destination wishes differently to what is usually assumed. The informants in this research had the capital to make it to Europe, but some had started in neighbouring countries to Burundi and many discussed plans for their next move to be back to the African continent. The reasons for this were both personal and socio-economic. People wanted to be closer to home and friends and family, but having experienced a large fall in socio-economic status when moving to Europe and usually being unable to climb the ladder completely the dreams and plans of a return to the African continent also related to ideas of where it is easiest to maintain high socio-economic status.
Secondly, socio-economic status impacted on when people fled Burundi. Even though all the informants had capital and could make arrangements quite quickly to flee they did not leave as soon as the situation in Burundi became insecure for them. On the contrary, the informants used their capital to avoid fleeing. They did this by being mobile within the capital city, within the country or by crossing borders to neighbouring countries temporarily. This required capital to lease new houses on short notice, to have jobs where it was possible to work from home or to have the capital to be able to take unpaid leave. High socio-economic status was thus used to delay fleeing as long as possible.
Thirdly, socio-economic status, and its fall on arrival in Europe impacted the relationship to Burundi. As a very poor country, without a welfare system, people helping each other out financially when possible is a highly important part of being part of Burundian society. It varied between informants how successful they were in maintaining their socio-economic status. A few (mostly women whose husbands were in well paid jobs on the African continent) still enjoyed a relatively high socio-economic status and could for example buy land in Burundi after having fled, thus clearly "investing" in the dream of return. More importantly they could also continue support those less fortunate in Burundi. For the majority of informants sending money to Burundi was getting more difficult and there was a sense of shame for not being able to support people they way they used to. Due to this shame they were less and less in touch with people back home in Burundi.
Fourthly, socio-economic status impacted gender relations. Although divorce rates in Burundi are very low, informants all agreed that this changed once people had fled to Europe. Some of the men spoke of a change in culture or had ideas that displacement changes people. The women, who are usually the instigators of divorce, however connected the higher divorce rate to the fall in socio-economic status. Prior to displacement all informants had been in relationships where both husband and wife had university education and jobs linked to that education. They paid people for housework, childcare, gardening and sometimes driving. Once they came to Europe they had less means and were in a society where only the very well off can afford to have a number of staff in their household. All the women spoke about this and that all this extra work ended up as their responsibility. The women also spoke of the difficulties their husbands went through when not getting jobs or jobs they found fulfilling. The loss in socio-economic status was felt as a loss of masculinity for the men. The additional unpaid labour was a burden which usually landed on the women and was identified by the women as the most common reason for divorce amongst Burundian displaced couples.
The results of the research come at an important time when there is more need than ever for evidence-based discussion and policies on African migration to Europe. The engagement with media has helped generate a discussion on the different experiences of displaced people in Iceland and it is expected that the forth-coming policy note, written in English will reach a larger audience, including policy makers, particularly in the Nordic region.