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Editorial

Editorial Narratives and the Contexts of Care Charles Watters Director of the European Centre for the Study of Migration and Social Care For asylum seekers, the telling of personal stories may be literally a matter of life and death. To be believed may result in the granting of refugee status, while being disbelieved may result in deportation and a precarious future. The sheer diversity of asylum seeker languages and dialects, and the often short periods of time they have been in countries of reception, often necessitate the services of interpreters. The latter act as vital intermediaries between legal advisors and a myriad of agencies charged with assessing and responding to their health and social care needs. As Tribe and Thompson highlight in their contribution, the various ‘meso’ level workers asylum seekers are confronted with act as gatekeepers to services and can determine whether services are provided and asylum seekers claims are recognised. At this level, the role of the interpreter may be critical. Despite the importance of their role, they are often poorly paid and occupy marginal positions in organisations. In a companion paper, Tribe and Thompson highlight ways in which interpreting can be enhanced in the context of therapeutic relationships. While narratives occupy a distinctive place in the legal and political contexts of asylum seeking, they also offer important insights into the roles of those charged with providing services to asylum seekers and refugees. As Brown and Horrocks demonstrate in this volume, the narratives of those charged with providing services to asylum seekers provide insight into the complex sociopolitical contexts in which asylum seeker support workers operate. Here there are telling distinctions made between ‘official’ and ‘unofficial’ accounts of their roles which provide insight into the constraining influence of the structures within which they operate and the potential for exercising choice and flexibility in their work. The role of various push and pull factors in migration underpins the final contribution by Mitra and Murayama. In examining the role of rural to urban migration in India, they note the salience of gender in determining the scale of migration. In analysing the health dimension, they note that the achievement of higher wages in urban areas may not necessarily have health benefits since there may be more problems in accessing appropriate health care in urban areas. ew You can now purchase individual PDF articles from Pier Professional for only £20 Visit www.pierprofessional.com International Journal of Migration, Health and Social Care Volume 5 Issue 2 September 2009 © Pier Professional Ltd http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png International Journal of Migration, Health and Social Care Pier Professional

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Publisher
Pier Professional
Copyright
Copyright © 2009 by Pier Professional Limited
ISSN
1747-9894
eISSN
2042-8650
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Narratives and the Contexts of Care Charles Watters Director of the European Centre for the Study of Migration and Social Care For asylum seekers, the telling of personal stories may be literally a matter of life and death. To be believed may result in the granting of refugee status, while being disbelieved may result in deportation and a precarious future. The sheer diversity of asylum seeker languages and dialects, and the often short periods of time they have been in countries of reception, often necessitate the services of interpreters. The latter act as vital intermediaries between legal advisors and a myriad of agencies charged with assessing and responding to their health and social care needs. As Tribe and Thompson highlight in their contribution, the various ‘meso’ level workers asylum seekers are confronted with act as gatekeepers to services and can determine whether services are provided and asylum seekers claims are recognised. At this level, the role of the interpreter may be critical. Despite the importance of their role, they are often poorly paid and occupy marginal positions in organisations. In a companion paper, Tribe and Thompson highlight ways in which interpreting can be enhanced in the context of therapeutic relationships. While narratives occupy a distinctive place in the legal and political contexts of asylum seeking, they also offer important insights into the roles of those charged with providing services to asylum seekers and refugees. As Brown and Horrocks demonstrate in this volume, the narratives of those charged with providing services to asylum seekers provide insight into the complex sociopolitical contexts in which asylum seeker support workers operate. Here there are telling distinctions made between ‘official’ and ‘unofficial’ accounts of their roles which provide insight into the constraining influence of the structures within which they operate and the potential for exercising choice and flexibility in their work. The role of various push and pull factors in migration underpins the final contribution by Mitra and Murayama. In examining the role of rural to urban migration in India, they note the salience of gender in determining the scale of migration. In analysing the health dimension, they note that the achievement of higher wages in urban areas may not necessarily have health benefits since there may be more problems in accessing appropriate health care in urban areas. ew You can now purchase individual PDF articles from Pier Professional for only £20 Visit www.pierprofessional.com International Journal of Migration, Health and Social Care Volume 5 Issue 2 September 2009 © Pier Professional Ltd

Journal

International Journal of Migration, Health and Social CarePier Professional

Published: Sep 1, 2009

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