Migration Processes in Central and Eastern Europe - Multiple Choices

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Refugees in Central and Eastern Europe
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CLOSED DOOR STRATEGY
The closed-door strategy is typical for “new era”
refugees, whom I call “unsupported refugees”. The cause of
their departure is so dramatic that they have no possibility
to return home. The most significant causes are the disintegration
of a family and the influence of developing informal
structures in the countries of origin. Transformation of
family roles, women's resistance to traditional norms and
domestic violence all expose the whole family to risk.
Husbands are condemned for committing crimes, consea
need for having control over refugees. 3 The establishment
of smaller and cosier asylum facilities or alternative forms
of stay outside asylum facilities were virtually ignored as
options. 4 Asylum facilities also keep claimants at a distance
from local populations, which can be linked to anxieties
about the “early” integration of asylum seekers. They have
become symbols of the concentration of foreigners. Social
distance between residents and newcomers is maintained,
and this enables the continuation of a stereotypical image
of refugees.
THE STRATEGIES OF REFUGEES
Refugees either leave their homes with a hope to
return or they choose a final destination with no prospect
of coming back to their homeland, in both instances they
have to choose the means of getting there (Turton, 2003:
2-4). They are permanently called on to modify their decisions
and considerations of what is possible, important and
beneficial. Refugees know very well that to rely on certainties
is illusive and that things which seem to be sure today can
disappear forever tomorrow.
An attempt to comprehend asylum seekers by
means of the “ideal type” of refugee is ineffective. It would
only compress the wide range of asylum immigrants into
one type of refugee. Asylum seekers should not be identified
with the image of a passive individual, who is detached from
everyday realities, nor should we view them as someone
who is degraded to a mere object of social control and is
exposed to cultural shock and consequently mortified.
Bauman uses the term “tourists” to define voluntary immigrants
in the global world, while using “vagabonds” as a
term for involuntary nomads who don't have any other
options (Bauman, 1999: 110-112). I prefer the term
prospectors, as the term indicates a more active element in
itself. Prospectors never rest and constantly inquire
whether it is time to move out or to stay put. Final decisions
regarding settling down in one place are eliminated
from their lives. Readiness to re-evaluate their choices at
any moment makes them uprooted global travellers, with a
cultivated sense for permanent research of new and hypothetical
opportunities. Prospectors must know how to play
the game of chess well, acting strategically in order to survive
in the global world. This assertion opens up new questions
about the meaning of asylum amongst the entanglement
of strategies and also about which strategies are
employed most frequently.
Asylum seekers are prospectors because of the
way they consider particular possibilities and the available
resources in the global dimension. In my professional life, 5
I have been surprised to see how skilfully asylum seekers
are able to compare asylum systems and living conditions
in different countries. Hovewer, refugees' strategies are
often unavailable for a common observer because they
belong to their private sphere (Kabele, 1998: 278). Two
kinds of strategies can be distinguished: the small and the
great, and both of these are internally connected.
Great strategies are anchored in a more extended
dimension, and focus on the processes of conduct in the
context of wider living. The processes focus on survival,
concerning: where to live, how to get there, how to survive
there, with whom to travel, etc. Claiming asylum is a part
of the great strategy; it can be, in some cases, instrumental
in providing protection, a temporary legalisation of stay and
preparation for a further journey to another country. The
types of great strategies used are manifold, but they can be
distinguished in the following manner: closed-door strategy,
right consummation strategy, nest transfer strategy,
prospect strategy, residence maintenance strategy and
bridging strategy.
The great strategies point to the fact that most
goals are to be found outside the sphere of asylum facilities.
Asylum policy speaks rather simply about the misuses of
asylum and so called “asylum shopping” (Bade, 2004: 356).
Some strategies behind migration entirely circumvent the
asylum system. Consequently it is often hard to know if the
reasons for migration are to find work, asylum or something
different.
Small strategies concern the proceedings applied
in everyday life, such as the steps necessary for survival
in an asylum facility. They are an inseparable part of
a refugees' daily life, directed towards various short-term
goals and attempts to gain minor profits or benefits.
Additionally, it is necessary to acknowledge, that
all the strategies of asylum seekers have been developed
in connection with the transformations of the migratory
situation in the Czech Republic. Two important milestones
have affected the situation: the transformation of the
Czech Republic from a transit country to a destination
country and various amendments in the field of asylum
and alien laws.
In the rest of this paper, I will discuss only one
of the great strategies: closed-door strategy, which has
proven to be the most widespread. It also reflects the
ongoing dissolution of social structures in the homeland
of refugees.
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Migration Processes in Central and Eastern Europe: Unpacking the Diversity