Browsing by Author "Barbashina, Emma"

This study analyses the refugees’ activity during the integration period in Finland within the framework of acts of citizenship proposed by the British theorist Engin Isin. The purpose is to investigate what acts of citizenship refugees perform to constitute themselves as citizens and what factors prevent them from pursuing acts of citizenship as well as to examine the influence of moving to the Capital region on constituting refugees as citizens. The method of qualitative interview is used for this study. Thirteen interviews, including two paired ones, were conducted between June and October 2019. The interviewees were selected among the clients of the Immigrant Services of the city of Espoo on the criterion of moving to this city after living in another municipality outside the Capital Region of Finland. The results show that during their integration process, refugees are focused on performing the following acts that enable them to constitute themselves as citizens: Finnish language learning, job search, political activity and establishment of social relations. The analysis also shows that the lack of integration conditions outside the Finnish Capital Region and difficulties in obtaining available social services prevent refugees from constituting themselves as citizens during their integration. This research points to the differences in integration conditions in different regions of Finland and brings to the conclusion that although there are organizations providing guidance on access to the Finnish social security system, the understanding of Finnish bureaucracy among the refugee population remains a big challenge. The study also demonstrates that refugees are not passive, but rather put an effort to improve their situation, take the initiative, and thus change the common perception of a refugee.