Browsing by Author "Muurinen, Heidi"

When moving to another country, one faces several borders. As the national border is crossed, one is also passing through the first gate of migration. The second border separates temporary immigrants from denizens: passing through the second gate of migration gives one access to social rights. The last gate of migration represents naturalization and grants access to full citizenship. (Hammar 1990, 21.) The focus of this Master’s thesis is on the experiences of the immigrants who are waiting to enter the second gate of migration, thus being included in the social security system. I reflect their experiences by the theories of social citizenship and marginality. The purpose of the thesis is to research how the lack of access to social and health care services as well as social benefits affects immigrants’ daily lives and how they experience their membership and belonging in society. The methodological approach I apply in this study is experience-centered narrative research which is founded in phenomenological and hermeneutical theories. The data was collected in the spring 2011 by using thematic interviews. The data consists of ten thematic interviews. The immigrants had migrated to Finland to work, live with their family or to seek asylum. The interviewees were contacted through Helsingin Diakoniaopisto, Pro-tukipiste, International Evangelical Church and through personal networks. The data was analyzed by using content analysis during the fall 2011. Waiting to enter the second gate of migration was difficult. A shadow of uncertainty, emptiness and loneliness prevailed throughout this period. Exclusion from the social security system caused economic problems and restricted access to health care services. On the other hand the ones, who sought help, received it. The helping professionals and local register offices were in the narratives viewed as gatekeepers. Living without social security was not considered a problem to all the narrators. They viewed the lack of work permit as a bigger problem. Experience of belonging and externality can be present collectively. Belonging requires continually negotiating in the social interaction as well as when trying to access the services. The institutional practices and experiences of exclusion produce marginal identities. Equal right to social security strengthens the sense of belonging and home. However social security does not alone define the experience of belonging and home. Other factors affect it as well. Some of the most important of these factors include family and social relationships, work, apartment and experience of racism and being physically located in Finland .