Why is it so hard to belong? The difficulties of refugees in their integration processes within Brazilian society and its labor market

Open Access

Abstract

The world has recently witnessed a social phenomenon that has been present during the entire history of humanity, but has now taken on greater proportions and impact: the large population displacements of refugees. According to the United Nations, more than 75 million people were in this situation worldwide as of the end of 2017, a figure never observed before (UNHCR, 2017). Since 1951, more than 147 countries, including Brazil, have signed the United Nations Refugee Convention, which established obligations for signatory governments to provide refugees with legal and safe working conditions. Taking this context into consideration, this study aims to investigate the perceptions of refugees of different origins regarding the processes and difficulties of integrating into Brazilian society and its labor market. The processes under focus deal with topics such as bureaucratic barriers, cultural differences, ethnic-racial issues and language, among others. In conducting this study, we have opted for a qualitative approach consisting of eight interviews in the city of Rio de Janeiro with refugees of a variety of nationalities and both genders. Among our main results is that these respondents perceive that there is a gap between public policies and practices involving refugees in the workplace, and also discrimination by the population, employers and authorities, describing a multicultural rather than an intercultural context. Despite these challenges, respondents say they intend to continue living and working in Brazil.