Narratives of Asylum Seekers and Refugees in the Hungarian Context of Vulnerability: In-depth analysis of the experiences of service delivery practitioners

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Narratives of Asylum Seekers and Refugees in the Hungarian Context of Vulnerability

In-depth analysis of the experiences of service delivery practitioners

Bernadette Daragics

Department of Global Political Studies Peace and Conflict Studies

Bachelor Thesis

PACS III Spring Semester 2021

Supervisor: Katrine Gotfredsen

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Thank you,

My deepest gratitude goes out to all the members of Menedék – Hungarian Association for Migrants. Your common dedication, professionalism, and serenity touched me deeply. Thank you for welcoming me with open arms.

Thank you to Béla Soltész, my mentor at Menedék. Your thoughts, and insights are much appreciated.

I am grateful for my supervisor, Katrine, who saw this work develop throughout the months and whose advice was instrumental in finalizing it.

Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to my family and friends for the continuous support and encouragement.

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“I had a constant sense of gratitude. I have such an admiration for these people, for being committed to such good causes and to other

people's fate despite this increasingly difficult circumstance.

Profound respect is awakened in me towards them.”

- Volunteer

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Abstract

This thesis explores how the Hungarian service delivery practitioners construct the vulnerability narratives of their asylum seeker and refugee clients and how they reflect on the implications of their intervention. For the method of inquiry, the study employs qualitative thematic analysis in order to identify reoccurring themes and patterns within the material written by professionals, paraprofessionals, and volunteers. When applying the concept of vulnerability and reflexivity in service delivery practice, the analysis suggests that the consequences of war, conflict, fear of persecution, and the hostile environment in Hungary further perpetuate clients' vulnerability. Furthermore, mental health issues, the lack of access to education, the unemployment problems resulting in financial hardship, and housing difficulties are all impacting the vulnerability experiences and coping mechanisms. Also, the material suggests that besides the objective categorizations of vulnerability, there are also its subjective perceptions that emerge in the narratives through the reflections of service delivery practitioners, expanding the concept of vulnerability.

Key words: Vulnerability, asylum seekers, refugees, service delivery practitioners, Hungary

Word count: 12,620

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List of Abbreviations

BIP Beneficiaries of International Protection EU European Union

FDP Forcibly Displaced People MIPEX Migrant Integration Policy Index NGO Non-Governmental Organization

NIEM National Integration Evaluation Mechanism PACS Peace and Conflict Studies

PTSD Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

RAISD Reshaping Attention and Integration Strategies of Distinctively vulnerable people among the forcibly displaced

SDP Service Delivery Practitioners

UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

VG Vulnerable Group

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1. Introduction

The situation of asylum seekers and refugees in Hungary is characterized by an unparalleled bureaucratic hardship and belligerent rhetoric animated by the government.

This hostility started after the events in 2015 when hundreds of thousands of forcibly displaced people (FDP) crossed Hungary towards other Central and Western European countries (Roberts, 2015). The consistent portrayal of refugees as illegal or economic migrants justified the governments' retraction of rights for protection, aid, and support.

This approach desensitized the Hungarian society from the complex problematics of asylum seekers and refugees. They have become the nation's public enemy together with those aid organizations, activists, and volunteers who addressed the governments’

administrational lack to provide immediate support (Juhász et al., 2015). In this environment, asylum seekers and refugees have become unworthy of the Hungarian governments’ protection.

As of today, the number of refugees in Hungary decreased significantly. There is no available data indicating their exact number. Only a rough estimation exists, which projects around 3,000 beneficiaries of international protection (BIP) living in Hungary (Soltész et al., 2021). Due to the recent legislation changes introduced in 2020, lodging an asylum application is no longer possible in the territory of Hungary (Hungarian Helsinki Committee, 2020). Yet, the narratives about asylum seekers and refugees are still unfolding in service delivery practitioners' (SDPs) memories and daily practices.

In the summer of 2020, in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic, I had the privilege to move to Hungary and work as an intern at Menedék

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– Hungarian Association for Migrants. During the internship, I got involved in one of the international research projects of the organization through which I encountered the personal narratives of SDPs.

While reading the stories written by professionals, paraprofessionals, and volunteers about their asylum seekers and refugee clients, I felt the urge to bring these unique materials to the public. This is how the idea for this thesis emerged.

1 Menedék means shelter

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This qualitative study attempts to explore how SDPs construct the narratives of their clients while re-establishing their vulnerability that has been downplayed within the governmental rhetoric. Furthermore, I analyse the SDPs reflections that emerge on several layers. Therefore, at the centre of this thesis are the stories written by SDPs which guided the research process accordingly.

1.1 Research Problem and Aim

Since 2015 a massive influx of refugees – who have been forced out of their countries of origin by political turmoil, armed conflict, ethnic wars, social and gender persecution – have arrived on the European continent. As a response, several governments have developed and implemented political measures to maintain the unwelcoming environment towards the new arrivals (Szabó, 2018). In Hungary, in particular, anti- immigration issues have been placed high on the political agenda of the Fidesz party. The openly xenophobic discourse maintained by the government, combined with the continuous restrictions of immigration policies, has strongly affected the integration projects, civil society organizations, SDPs, and further perpetuated vulnerability factors of asylum seekers

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and refugees

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(Kováts and Mazzola, 2019). Despite the harsh circumstances and the hostile political environment, service providers are making a considerable effort to eliminate some aspects of the vulnerability of their forcibly displaced clients

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.

Much research focuses on the implications of measures that the government has taken following the ‘crisis’ year (Kováts and Mazzola, 2019; Köves, 2018) and how it impacted the integration of refugees on the policy level (Szabó, 2018). There is also significant theorization on vulnerability (Black, 1994; Brown et al., 2017; Cole, 2016) however, there

2 An individual who is seeking international protection. Asylum seeker is someone whose claim has not yet been finally decided on by the county in which he or she has submitted it (IOM, 2016).

3 Someone who is unable or unwilling to return to their country of origin owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion (1951 Refugee Convention).

4 In the context of this thesis client is a person or a family on whose behalf a social worker provides or agrees to provide a service or to whom the social worker is legally obliged to provide service. Clients represent the asylum seekers and refugees (Farrah, 2012).

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are fewer accounts that centre on the empirical realities of vulnerability from the perspectives and experiences of practitioners, service managers, and service users/clients (Brown et al. 2017, p. 10). This study aims to focus on the first category since, in response to the Hungarian government’s xenophobic narrative, a professional civil society group has emerged that had been carrying out integration projects for refugees and immigrants.

Their mission should have been accomplished by the government in the first place.

Exploring this under-examined area in the literature could open up important gaps between theorizations and experiences of vulnerability. Therefore, this thesis attempts to extend this field by exploring Hungarian SDPs’ narratives of the vulnerability of their asylum seeker and refugee clients as their insights could bring forth valuable details and enhance the resettlement processes of these particular individuals.

1.2 Purpose and Research Question

What is help? What do helpers mean by help? What defines who is eligible for help and who is not? Brown (2017) argues that vulnerability narratives are the stories people tell about what vulnerability is and how it should be addressed. The purpose is to explore the variety of vulnerability narratives, which are shifting and developing through interactions and policy frameworks, that shape the storylines told by SDPs about vulnerable people and their daily experiences of vulnerability (ibid.). To this end, the study asks the central question:

How do Hungarian service delivery practitioners (SDPs) construct vulnerability narratives of their highly vulnerable clients, and how do they reflect on the implications

of their intervention?

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The central question is explored through the narratives of professionals

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, paraprofessionals

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, and volunteers, and the following operational questions will help answer it:

1. Which external factors are seen by the SDPs perpetuate vulnerability?

To analyse vulnerability, it is necessary to outline its causes. This question will map out the vulnerability contexts as well as the institutional and organizational factors that maintain the vulnerability of asylum seekers and refugees according to the SDPs.

2. How is vulnerability seen to impacts the daily life and integration of asylum seekers and refugees?

This question addresses the implications of vulnerability on the daily life and integration processes of the asylum seekers and refugees as they are narrated by the SDPs.

3. What reflections of SDPs emerge from the narratives?

This question addresses the personal observations, perceptions, and opinions of practitioners during the intervention processes.

Taken together, these questions will construct a holistic picture of the vulnerability contexts of asylum seekers and refugees in Hungary as seen by the SDPs, furthermore, the analysis explores the reflections that emerge from the narratives.

1.3 Relevance for Peace and Conflict Studies

Peace and Conflict Studies (PACS) as an interdisciplinary field is committed to a great number of issues, but the consequences of war remain one of the central areas of interest.

This includes the experiences of people who have found themselves in situations where

5 Professionals include social workers, physicians, nurses, psychologists, teachers, marriage and family therapists, vocational counselors, attorneys, and so forth. Professionals have at least a bachelor’s degree in their discipline, and usually have a graduate degree (Potocky-Tripodi, 2002).

6 Paraprofessionals are workers who have not completed a course of formal education in the discipline, but who come from the same background as the clients they serve (Potocky-Tripodi, 2002).

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they did not have another alternative but to flee. Therefore, on the one hand, the connection between conflict and refugees is straightforward. On the other hand, the resettlement stages of the forcibly displaced are also highly relevant to PACS.

The hostile environment animated by the Hungarian government towards asylum seekers and refugees puts in focus the civil society initiatives that mobilized quickly and en masse to respond to the needs (Timmer and Docka-Filipek, 2018). There lies the importance of investigating the role of SDPs, touching upon a broader issue of helping refugees re-establish their lives after the flight.

The SDPs shape the framework of social integration in a host country, and their approach and narratives define the space within which refugees can locate themselves.

Their insights contribute to our knowledge of conflict and its consequences on the lives of the people who have fled them.

1.4 Delimitations

This study is limited in a number of ways. It focuses on how Hungarian SDPs construct the vulnerability of their clients and their personal reflections, limiting the generalizability of the study. Furthermore, qualitative research design implies the impossibility of repeating the study precisely the same way. This study is not representative, but it can identify patterns (Creswell, 2009). Furthermore, it can add depth, detail, and nuance to the research, therefore it is the right choice for this study (Chambliss and Schutt, 2019).

The material relies on the selection of cases of asylum seekers and refugees. The narratives represent the stories of individuals who have been selected according to a set of criteria defined by the project's research team to emphasize vulnerability. These were the following: 1. the helper-client relation lasted at least six months; 2. the social worker provided long-term and complex assistance; 3. difficulties appeared; 4. the cases present the aspects of the local service delivery system. As a result, only highly vulnerable cases were chosen, where the focus is on the difficulties, and challenges asylum seekers, refugees, and their helpers face during the assistance. Positive outcomes can rarely be detected, and most cases end unresolved due to the complex administrative processes.

Also, three of the nine cases are narrated only by the social workers.

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The conceptual framework is structured around the concepts of vulnerability and reflexivity in service delivery practice. These concepts assist in answering the operational questions and are not based on hypotheses or pre-determined theories.

1.5 Thesis Outline

This study is organized into seven chapters. Following this introductory chapter, Chapter

two offers a brief overview of the political context regarding asylum seekers and refugees

in Hungary. The third Chapter presents previous research, while chapter four discusses

the concept of vulnerability and reflexivity in service delivery practice which constitutes

the study’s conceptual framework. Methodology and the material are discussed in

Chapter five. Chapter six unfolds the analysis of the data using the conceptual framework

and reflects on SDPs construction of their client’s vulnerability in Hungary. The last

chapter offers a short concluding discussion.

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2. The Hungarian Context

This chapter has two aims. The first section provides the reader an overview of the political measures that have been taken in Hungary since 2015 against asylum seekers and refugees until recently. The second section explains how vulnerable individuals became unworthy of protection, aid, and support in the governments' rhetoric.

2.1 Overview of the Political Situation

Major flow of asylum seekers, mainly from Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, but also from Eritrea and several other countries, appeared at the European Union’s (EU) external border between Hungary and Serbia. This was one of the events later labelled as the European Migration Crisis (Soltész, 2018). In 2015, approximately 390 thousand

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refugees – of which 177 thousand

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applied for asylum – crossed the Hungarian border (Simonovits et al., 2016). This was a strong contrast with previous trends, and as a response, the Hungarian government started a massive political campaign. Placing the immigration issue high on the political agenda resulted in the continuous dismantling of the refugee protection system up until today (Kováts and Mazzola, 2019).

The government’s first step towards creating a hostile environment was an anti- immigrant billboard campaign, followed by a national consultation on immigrants and terrorism. Nearly eight million citizens received the consultation survey and a letter from Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, stating that since the European responses to immigration are ineffective, Hungary had to do things its own way (Juhász, 2017). It has never been revealed how many responses arrived back and what were the actual answers to the

7 It is hard to estimate their exact number, because of the lack of proper registration.

8 This is according to the Hungarian Immingartion and Asylum Office, though many of them left before the decision and many did not receive the status.

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questions

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(Köves, 2018). However, the government proceeded to use the results to justify its further actions (Juhász, 2017).

When the tension and fear among the public were noticeably high, the government started to modify the legislations to dismantle asylum seekers' rights (Köves, 2018). The government modified the list of safe third countries – for instance, Kosovo and Serbia, from where most asylum seekers arrived (191/2015 (VII. 21) Government Regulation).

They also announced that they would build a razor blade fence along the Serbian – Hungarian border to keep out the “illegal migrants” (Köves, 2018). The government also modified the Penal Code, and it became possible to punish those who would cross the border (T/5983 Proposition Bill).

By the end of 2016, due to the restrictions, many asylum seekers were avoiding Hungary, hence, the government needed a new enemy to keep up the threat level and sustain power. The campaign against refugees became connected with the government’s fight against the European Union (EU), more specifically “Brussels,”

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and the local NGOs (Köves, 2018). A relevant step in this process was holding a referendum on the quota mechanism of the EU, which was an emergency relocation proposal for distributing refugees among member states. Due to the low turnout, the vote was not legally binding.

Still, it was useful for the Hungarian government to keep the topic high on the agenda, and it showed opposition to any mandatory distribution system (Szabó, 2018). Seeing the xenophobia at its national highest and referring to the quota referendum's success, the government modified the legislation connected to asylum, migration, and borders, and further extended the border control in 2017 (70/2017 (III.31.) Government Regulation).

This has resulted in the complete dismantling of the right to asylum, meaning that people could submit their applications only in the transit zones along the border, outside the territories of Hungary (Köves, 2018).

In the meantime, the government continued its fight while other enemies came into focus: NGOs and George Soros, a Hungarian-born philanthropist. Since previously the migrants were portrayed as terrorists, those who attempt to help them have also become a threat to the nation, saying they are not keeping the country’s interest in mind.

Moreover, those who financially support the NGOs (e.g., the EU or George Soros) were

9 Some estimate around 1.25 million out of 8 million surverys.

10 The government conistently used the word “Brussels” instead of “the EU”, in order to deliberately mix the terms and proceedings in the people’s mind.

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presented as a threat too (Köves, 2018). As a result, a new Act on the Transparency of Organizations Supported from Abroad (Lex NGO) entered into force. It obliged the organizations to register themselves as foreign-founded and use this label on their websites and publications. Non-compliance would result in sanctions that may lead to fines or even the organizations’ dissolution (Amnesty International, 2021).

At the beginning of 2018, the government announced a new law package to abolish NGOs critical towards it. This was also one of the government's campaign tools. After the election in April, Orbán and his party won again with a 2/3 majority. A few days later, a list was published in one of the pro-governmental newspapers with names of NGO workers, investigative journalists, and other individuals being critical to the government as the people who pose a national threat (Witte, 2018). Furthermore, the new government amended specific laws related to combatting illegal migration (Köves, 2018).

Following the legislative changes introduced in 2017, a new asylum system was introduced in 2020. At the core of the new system is a compulsory precondition. First, asylum seekers must submit a “declaration of intent” at the Hungarian embassy in Belgrade or Kyiv. Depending on the approval, the asylum seeker is issued a special travel permit to travel to Hungary and submit his/her application. The new system violates the Fundamental Law, the EU asylum system, the Refugee Convention, as well as the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), and its Fourth Protocol. This arrangement has de facto removed Hungary from the Common European Asylum System and further restricted the already extremely limited access to the asylum procedure (Hungarian Helsinki Committee, 2020).

2.2 The Government Rhetoric and Rising Xenophobia

Protecting vulnerable people forms a cornerstone of modern welfare systems. The distinction between the ‘deserving’ and the ‘undeserving’ vulnerability provides a crucial yardstick for whether an individual is concerned ‘worthy’ of public or private assistance (Black, 1994, p. 360).

When referring to asylum seekers coming to Hungary, the government consistently used the terms ‘subsistence immigrants’, ‘economic migrants,’ and ‘illegal immigrants,’

suggesting that all these people had left their homelands for economic reasons and were

only pretending to be refugees (Juhász et al., 2015, p. 24). They have become the absolute

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villain, jeopardizing Hungarian and Christian culture and taking Hungarians' jobs (Köves, 2018). Politicians made no distinctions between people coming from war zones potentially deserving asylum and people who do not come from crisis areas. Lawmakers asserted that immigrants pretending to be refugees were exploiting international law, spreading diseases, committing theft, and violent crimes (Juhász et al., 2015, p.25).

The government’s rhetoric of devaluing people and the notion that most asylum seekers are ‘bogus’ rendered these individuals ‘undeserving’ of support, aid, and protection (Sales, 2002, p. 263). Human rights NGOs raised their voices against this rhetoric. They argued that those labelled as ‘subsistence immigrants’ are actually asylum seekers forced to leave their homeland and not immigrants who change their countries for better living conditions (Juhász et al., 2015, p. 27). These voices, however, got little attention as opposed to the governments’ 14 billion

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worth campaign (Dull, 2016).

11 Approx. € 39.2 million

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3. Previous Research

When looking at refugees in Hungary, much of the research focuses on the so-called ‘long summer of migration’ in 2015, when hundreds of thousands of refugees crossed Hungary towards other Central and Western European countries on the Balkan route (Nagy, 2019).

This period gained much attention amongst scholars nationally and internationally since it resulted in the biggest and most massive propaganda campaign in Hungary – based on fear of migrants and refugees (Köves, 2018). Before examining this period, it is worth briefly looking at the situation prior to 2015 to understand why the campaign was so successful.

Discrimination and criminalization of vulnerable groups was a consistent tactic of the Fidesz party to create a common enemy from which the Hungarian people had to be protected (Köves, 2018). Campaigns against homeless people, Roma communities, and LGBTQ members were conducted on different levels and intensity, contributing to a political culture based on hate and discrimination (ibid.). This form of propaganda resulted in a significant level of xenophobia in Hungary. Research conducted by TÁRKI Social Research Institute

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for more than two decades illustrates the trend of an increased level of animosity over the years (“TÁRKI,” n.d.). By 2015 according to the TÁRKI poll, 48% of the respondents did not want foreigners to set foot in the country (TÁRKI, 2015).

As the Fidesz started its anti-immigration discourse, several studies have focused on the implications of the Hungarian government’s campaign (Bocskor, 2018), leading to the securitization of migration (Szalai and Gőbl, 2015). The maintained crisis narrative of the government also affected the border management practices (Kallius et al., 2016) and the refugee reception developments that took place since 2015 (Kováts and Mazzola, 2019). There are also significant analyses on mainstream media practices representing asylum seekers and refugees and how they influenced the social perception of these individuals (Dessewffy and Nagy, 2016; Kiss, 2016). The media portrayal of the new arrivals was biased and stereotypical, and even the government-critical media outlets

12 After 2017 due to the lack of funding researchers could not continue their work.

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misrepresented them. Kiss (2016) concludes that the media in Hungary “failed to fulfill its interrogative role” (p. 68).

The hostility towards refugees had an adverse impact on the more general delivery of humanitarianism in the country (Gyollai and Korkut, 2020, p. 6). There is also much attention paid to the grassroots organization movements and volunteers that suddenly emerged during 2015. The initiatives were built via Facebook groups and provided humanitarian aid for refugees in various places across Hungary (Dessewffy and Nagy, 2016). Numerous qualitative studies were dedicated to analysing the role of both official organizations, self-organized volunteering groups, their motivation, and their actions' political context (Bernat et al., 2016). Scholars have also investigated the social and political impact of civic support for refugees in Hungary. Simonovits et al. (2016) emphasize that avoidance of politics – considered by the volunteers, was a condition of efficient help giving. Others have criticized volunteers because of their disregard for refugees as political actors (Kallius et al., 2016). Feischmidt and Zakariás (2019) argue that charity involvement and politics are strongly interconnected where charity became a

“modality of revolt and a means of acting against politics” (p. 89). Feischmidt also examined the social representation and identification of Hungarian aid activists and volunteers and based her analysis on qualitative interviews, revealing that the experiences of solidarity are framed by personal biographies, collective memories, and the dynamic relationship between the recipients and helpers (Feischmidt, 2018).

By 2016, asylum seekers and refugees were no longer present in large numbers in Hungary (Kováts and Mazzola, 2019). Their number further decreased due to the legislative changes mentioned in the previous Chapter. As of 2021, the number of internationally protected living in Hungary is around 3000 (Soltész et al., 2021). The significant decrease of asylum seekers and refugee presence in the country also resulted in less research during recent years.

On the international level, there are important inputs regarding migration integration policies in Hungary. One of the most significant is the Migrant Integration Policy Index (MIPEX). According to the Index, policies regarding integration have changed little, and immigrants face many obstacles. MIPEX classifies Hungary’s approach to integration as

‘equal on paper,’ meaning that immigrants, particularly those refugees who have been

granted asylum, enjoy basic rights and security but not equal opportunities. Many

obstacles emerge in several areas, especially education, health, political participation, and

access to nationality (“Hungary | MIPEX 2020,” 2020). Another transnational project,

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called National Integration Evaluation Mechanism (NIEM), was initiated to improve the integration outcomes of beneficiaries of international protection (“NIEM,” n.d.). A comprehensive analysis was published in 2020, comparing the national integration mechanism of refugees in 14 European countries, including Hungary (Wolffhardt et al., 2020). NIEM has developed over 150 indicators to cover different areas (general condition, legal integration, socio-economic integration, socio-cultural integration), allowing widespread analysis of integration. Based on these indicators, in a forthcoming report that will be published by Menedék – Hungarian Association for Migrants, scholars have conducted extensive policy analyses on different areas, including labour market and the impact of Covid-19, education, access to healthcare, and housing.

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The report shows that the integration of beneficiaries of international protection into the Hungarian labour market is obstructed by several factors on the part of both employers and employees. The study reveals that despite the general openness of employers to hire refugees, their lack of awareness of the legal conditions, and due to the perceived administrative obligations, in many cases, companies refrain from employing them.

According to expert interviews, the two main obstacles for the employees are the lack of language knowledge and the difficulties in redefining their qualifications in order to fit the Hungarian job market (Budai, n.d. (forthcoming)). Another analysis highlights the different treatment experienced by the refugees during the job search and employment regarding the legal restrictions that substantiate discrimination (Nagy-Nádasdi, n.d.

(forthcoming)).

There is a complete lack of targeted programs in the Hungarian public education system that would help refugee children’s successful integration and language catch-up.

Children who have been granted international protection are required to attend school the same way as children of Hungarian citizenship. The situation is particular for asylum- seeking children: they have the right to participate in public education from the time their asylum application was submitted. However, the interviews with service delivery practitioners show that in reception facilities, these children have been severely obstructed from access to education due to the complicated administrative processes (Bognár, and Hetzer, n.d. (forthcoming)).

13 I had access to this report because I was involved in the project during my internship. The expected date for the publication will be in June 2021, and will be available here: Publications (forintegration.eu)

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Access to the Hungarian healthcare system is also problematic. Refugees generally refrain from using the healthcare system even if they know they are entitled to benefits.

According to Tóth’s (forthcoming) analysis, this is partly because companies do not employ them legally and do not pay annuities for them. Hence refugees do not receive free benefits. On the other hand, healthcare providers may not be aware of the types of documents used to prove refugees’ entitlement to health insurance and refuse treatment or refer them elsewhere (to a specialist) (Tóth, n.d. (forthcoming)).

In the process of refugee integration, housing is a crucial area often linked to the employment situation and language skills. Besides, refugees face particular difficulties due to scarce sources of information, their lack of local knowledge, and the prejudice and discrimination against foreigners in Hungary. Furthermore, there is no available housing support and affordable housing options for vulnerable groups, and therefore refugees may end up in homeless shelters or temporary family homes (Pósfai, n.d. (forthcoming)).

All these factors characterize the conditions of asylum seekers and refugees and

significantly contribute to individuals’ vulnerability. They describe the framework in

which the clients and their helpers need to navigate but do not reflect on how the

vulnerability is constructed and experienced according to the SDPs.

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4. Conceptual Framework

This chapter forms the conceptual framework concerning vulnerability and reflexivity in service delivery practice. The first section provides an overview of the definition of vulnerability that is the central concept of this study. This section also elaborates on the external factors causing vulnerability and how it impacts the daily life and integration of asylum seekers and refugees. The second section discusses the role of reflexivity in service delivery practice. These concepts are the basis of the analysis presented in Chapter six.

4.1 The Concept of Vulnerability

Generally, asylum seekers and refugees are seen by society as vulnerable and in need of help. However, the situations of vulnerability are not fixed and will change over time with changing circumstances. Vulnerability is shaped by personal (internal) and environmental (external) factors, which can be multiple and intersect to entrench and exacerbate the risk of harm (Refugees, n.d.).

The concept of vulnerability provides new ways to rethink enduring problems, ranging from social marginality and economic insecurity to international warfare (Cole, 2016, p. 262). Turner (2021) argues that “vulnerability is on the rise” (p. 3). The world is experiencing a risk of situations which has generalized vulnerability (Hogan and Marandola, in Turner, 2021, p. 4).

In the social sciences literature, vulnerability appears as a kind of sociological shortcoming or designation of worthiness, understood as something innate, physical, or connected to the life course (childhood, pregnancy, older age) (Brown et al., 2017, p. 1).

According to this approach, we are all vulnerable by virtue of our human embodiment.

We all have bodies that decay and die, but the degree of our lived vulnerability varies

through the life course (Albertson Fineman, 2008).

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Postmodern ideas about the construction of social problems have highlighted how such normative accounts of the human condition vary across time and space, reflecting and reinforcing social norms and structures by political, social, economic factors rather than ‘natural’ ones and ‘innate’ accounts of vulnerability (Brown et al., 2017, p. 3). As a result, the concept is often under- or undefined (Turner, 2019).

Normative accounts of vulnerability are used to highlight situational concerns where vulnerability is used to demarcate adverse experiences, transgressions, or groups of people who may be in circumstances of social difficulty. Here the concept of vulnerability is drawn on to emphasize biographical experiences, which demand special treatment or exceptions to be made in policy and practice processes (Brown et al., 2017). Examples of situational vulnerability include homeless people, Roma communities, women experiencing domestic violence, drug users, asylum seekers and refugees, and so forth (Peroni and Timmer, 2013). Vulnerability is then associated with violence, disasters, war, poverty and denotes a range of unfavourable conditions, disabling qualities, and diminished capacities (Cole, 2016, p. 264).

In addition to the developments discussed above, vulnerability has gained a significant role within humanitarianism and its work with refugees (Turner, 2021).

According to Sözer (2019), by the 2010s humanitarian actors increasingly aimed to assess which populations were the most vulnerable and focus their attention and resources on these particular groups. Vulnerability has become a crucial label for classifying asylum seekers and refugees (Turner, 2021, p. 5).

Vulnerability is an “extraordinarily elastic concept, capable of being stretched to cover almost any person, group, or situation” (Levine, in Turner, 2019, p.4). It is both universal and particular, constant and yet temporally and contextually varied (Cole, 2016, p. 263). The concept has experienced a phenomenal rise in both scholarship and humanitarianism (Turner, 2021, p. 6). Vulnerability is therefore regarded both as an analytical concept and an empirical manifestation. Consequently, vulnerability becomes an arena of negotiations by both state and non-state actors about who constitutes deserving or underserving help and therefore labelled as vulnerable. To illustrate the dichotomy, the Hungarian situation is particularly representative. Within state rhetoric, asylum seekers have been portrayed as ‘bogus’ and therefore unworthy of services.

Refugees with granted status enjoy basic rights and security but not equal opportunities.

In the narratives of SDPs, representatives from both groups appear as highly vulnerable,

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therefore deserving of help. The elasticity of the concepts allows claims to and denial of vulnerability depending on political interest and humanitarian motivation.

To address the first operational question about the external factors perpetuating vulnerability and the second about vulnerability impacting the daily life of asylum seekers and refugees is important to discuss the structural factors causing vulnerability and the experiential implications of these factors.

4.1.1 External Factors Causing Vulnerability

Drawing on the different understandings discussed above, vulnerability derives from circumstances external to the individuals concerned. These factors influencing vulnerability relate to how particular groups are perceived and treated by society (Black, 1994, p. 361). Asylum seekers and refugees are politically vulnerable due to their personal experiences, in the sense that they require protection, normally from the host state, against forcible repatriation to their country of origin

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. Their perceived vulnerable status justifies the responsibility felt by states and non-governmental agencies to intervene (Black, 1994, p. 362). They are often exposed to heightened risks of harm and require special care and support. Thus, to access protection, aid, shelter, or resettlement, refugees often have to be recognized as vulnerable by both humanitarian and state actors (Turner, 2021, p. 1).

To identify the external factors and address the vulnerability of asylum seekers and refugees, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has developed a Vulnerability Screening Tool to help guide and inform SDPs and decision-makers.

Addressing vulnerability is informed by the principles and standards of international refugee and human rights frameworks, other areas of international law, and how these are applied in individual country contexts (Refugees, n.d.). This Tool also guided those Hungarian SDPs represented in this study to identify the most vulnerable individuals among their forcibly displaced clients. But everyone’s circumstances are multifaceted and

14 Everyone is politically vulnerable who is “owing to well-founded fear of being persecuted for reason of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of his former habitual residence as a result of such events, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it” (Geneva Convention 1951).

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dynamic. Hence besides the framework provided by UNHCR, there are also the subjective vulnerability narratives constructed by SDPs – which will be discussed in Chapter six.

4.1.2 Vulnerability Impacting Integration and Daily Life

Cole (2016) argues that the way people experience vulnerability differs significantly as it is both a structural matter as well as an experiential one. People are vulnerable in radically distinct and unequal ways (Cole, 2016, p. 266). Due to the unique stressors experienced during the pre-migration and departure, transit, and resettlement stages of the migration process, individuals are at risk of developing mental health problems (Potocky-Tripodi, 2002, p. 256). Structural issues regarding legal status, labour market, education, the lack of access to healthcare, and housing problems discussed in the previous chapter all impact the vulnerability experiences and coping mechanisms of refugees. Their decision-making capabilities are influenced by anxiety, depression, stress which further affects their daily life.

4.2 Reflexivity in Service Delivery Practice

In addition to the pre-determined, objective categorization of vulnerability outlined above, the perceptions about vulnerability that emerge from the narratives can be identified in the reflections of SDPs. Delivering services to asylum seekers and refugees is not based only on facts but on the perceptions and intuitions of the helpers. It is, therefore, crucial to elaborate on the concept of reflexivity as the final operational question addresses the occurrence of personal observations, perceptions, and opinions of practitioners in the material of this study.

The literature suggests blurring between the concepts of ‘reflexivity,’ ‘reflection,’

‘critical reflection,’ and in some sources (Jessup and Rogerson, 1999; Fook, 1999), these ideas are used interchangeably (D’Cruz et al., 2005, p. 74). Clarification seems vital because the concepts are explicitly associated with approaches to improve the practice of professionals.

Reflection on practice has traditionally been associated with the attempts by

practitioners to distance themselves from their experiences to achieve a more objective

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view of their practice (Kondrat, 1999). Later, this idea has evolved, and more complex definitions came to light. D’Cruz et al. (2007) establish three variations. In the first definition, ‘reflexivity’ is understood as a “self-defining process that depends on monitoring and reflecting upon psychological and social information about possible trajectories of life” (Elliott, 2001, p. 37). According to the second definition, reflexivity is understood as a critical approach to professional practice (D’Cruz et al., 2005, p. 77).

This definition holds relevance for this study since, within the materials, practitioners attempt to reflect on several aspects of their interventions. Concerning this variation, Parton and O’Byrne (2000) propose the concept of ‘relational reflexivity’ to refer to practitioners’ knowledge about their clients and challenges the assumptions that SDPs may have about them (D’Cruz et al., 2005, p. 79). D’ Cruz (2005) further argues that reflexivity encourages practitioners to identify their personal narratives as they contribute to the understanding of how meaning is constructed in the helper-client interactions (ibid, p. 79).

The third definition is based on the critical awareness of the factors influencing knowledge criterion, suggesting that insights could be gained by reflecting on why practitioners have a particular emotional response to a situation (ibid, p. 80). According to D’Cruz (2005), this approach proposes that “the acknowledgment of emotional responses by the practitioners can be used to promote deeper understanding between helpers and clients and ultimately enhance practice” (p. 81). In the narratives, I also discovered such emotional responses of SDPs, which will be further discussed in Chapter six.

Reflection as a process towards a deeper understanding and awareness constantly

feeds action, and deeper focused thought towards becoming a more competent

professional in the interest of service users (Sicora, 2017, p. 8). The importance of

reflection on error is essential, especially when practitioners have to explore and act in

challenging fields, where the amount of information about asylum seekers and refugees

is limited (ibid p. 18).

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5. Methodology

This Chapter outlines the methodological choices for the study. The first section explains the design of the qualitative thematic analysis, while the second section presents the material. The third and fourth section describes the data analysis method and the analytical process. The last two sections reflect on the ethical considerations and positioning myself as the researcher.

5.1 Research Design

This study sets to analyse ‘vulnerability narratives’ of asylum seekers and refugees told by professionals, paraprofessionals, and volunteers. Hence a qualitative approach to the analysis is suitable.

According to Creswell (2009), the qualitative design enables the researcher to capture the meaning individuals ascribe to a social or human problem, moreover, to bring forth personal experiences, reflections, and perceptions as well as provide an in-depth insight into their daily coping strategies. Thematic analysis is employed in order to identify, analyse and report patterns (themes) within the data (Braun and Clarke, 2006). These themes are built from the “bottom-up,” and the data is organized inductively into more abstract units of information. This inductive process involves researchers working back and forth between the themes and the database until a comprehensive set of theme is established (Creswell, 2013, p. 45). While this approach allows themes to emerge from the material, their meaning will be interpreted through the conceptual framework presented in the previous Chapter.

Since this study is concerned with analysing subjective experiences, it aligns with the

constructivist understanding of the social world (Chambliss and Schutt, 2019). It does not

aim at finding the objective truth but instead perceives individuals’ subjective

understandings as valid in themselves. This study does not aim at generalization nor at

constructing universal theories.

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5.2 Material

As an intern at a Hungarian civil society organization, I took part in a research project that addresses the need for effective strategies for the attention and inclusion of distinctively vulnerable groups (VG) among the FDPs. The project's overall objective is to identify these groups, their specific challenges, and needs to be able to provide tailored attention and inclusion strategies for them (RAISD, n.d.). Within this project, the research team invited several SDPs to describe the history of complex case management of their asylum seeker and refugee clients in a narrative way

¹⁵

. The organization granted me access to these pre-anonymized materials and allowed me to use them for the present study.

The narratives cover the experiences of two single refugee women, three families with different legal statuses, a single father waiting for family reunification, a single mother with two children, an asylum-seeking family living in a reception centre, and a Middle Eastern gay student. The team established a set of criteria to choose the relevant cases in order to emphasize vulnerability. Furthermore, the practitioners were provided with tools and guidelines to help to reconstruct certain events during the intervention process.

As a result, these materials provide insight into the social and institutional context, the practitioners’ problem-solving capacity, personal reflections, and experiences, as well as the different methods applied to resolve issues. The material is diverse since some of the stories are told by different practitioners (social workers, psychologists, intercultural mediators

¹⁶

, volunteers). These individuals have distinct experiences with the clients.

Their interpretations and service delivery approaches vary depending on their motivations and various professional backgrounds.

15 The written narratives of SDPs are between 8 to 15 pages long text describing in detail the service dlivery process.

16 A person who enables intercultural communication that helps representatives of two differnet cultural communities communicate and understand each other (“What is Intercultural Mediator | IGI Global,” n.d.)

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Most of the materials are written in Hungarian language. One volunteer was engaged in an interview, and one client wrote his story in English. Thus, all translations in the thesis are mine

¹⁷

.

In the following, I will provide a table that explains how 15 stories relate to nine clients. In the first column are the clients followed by their legal status, then the number of texts, and in the last column are the authors.

Client Profile Nr. of

texts

Authors of the texts C#1: Amal A single woman with

granted refugee status

2 A social

worker and an intercultural mediator C#2: Fatima A single woman with

granted refugee status

1 A social

worker

C#3: Aisha Family with a temporary residence permit

2 Two social

workers

C#4:

Mariam

Family with granted refugee status

1 A social

worker C#5:

Mohammad

Family with granted refugee status

3 A social

worker, an intercultural mediator, and a

volunteer C#6: Jafari Single father granted

refugee status waiting for family reunification

1 A social

worker

C#7: Stacy A single mother with granted refugee status waiting for family reunification

3 Two social

workers and a volunteer (interview)

C#8: Klári Asylum seeking

family

2 A social

worker and a psychologist

17 I am a native Hungarian speaker. The translations were also checked by my mentor at Menedék.

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C#9: Tareq A young individual with a student visa seeking asylum

2 A social

worker and the client himself

5.3 Data Analysis Method

Thematic analysis, as defined by Braun and Clarke (2006), is applied in this study. It is a method for identifying and analysing reoccurring patterns and themes within a dataset (ibid.). It enables the analysis of shared experiences across the entire data set and is interested in the text itself and its entirety (Kuckartz, 2014). It is an approach that forefront the content of the story and implies that the analytical attention is turned to “what” is being told. Hence the story is maintained and interpreted via themes identified by the researcher (Braun and Clarke, 2006).

I chose thematic analysis for its flexibility and ability to provide a rich and detailed description of the patterns within my material. This approach does not require the detailed theoretical and technological knowledge of approaches, instead, it offers a more accessible form of analysis (Braun and Clarke, 2006, p. 81). Thus, it can be used within the frameworks outlined in Chapter four on the concept of vulnerability and reflexivity in service delivery practice. The point of thematic analysis is not to summarize the data, but it can be a method that works, on the one hand, to reflect reality and unpick or unravel the surface of ‘reality’ on the other. Due to the uniqueness of the material, I began the analysis process by identifying the reoccurring themes and then built up the conceptual framework inductively. Rather than simply reporting what is in the data, this process allowed me to include an interpretative story about the data in relation to the research questions (Braun and Clarke, 2006).

5.4 Analytical Process

The analysis is organized according to the operational questions addressing the external

factors that perpetuate vulnerability according to the SDPs and how vulnerability is seen

to impact the daily life and integration of asylum seekers and refugees, as well as the

reflections of SDPs that emerge from the narratives. In accordance with the thematic

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analysis procedure, themes and codes are used to analyse the data for each question. For the process of coding, I sorted the material into reoccurring patterns. Once this was done, the codes were grouped into more prominent themes that emerged during the analysis process.

I followed Braun and Clarke’s (2006) six-step model: 1. familiarizing with the data;

2. generating initial codes; 3. searching for themes; 4. reviewing the potential themes; 5.

defining and naming themes that will allow answering the operational questions; 6.

producing the final analysis. The codes and themes can be found in Appendix 1 at the end of the thesis.

5.5 Ethical Considerations

Regarding ethical aspects, several steps have been made on multiple levels. Within the RAISD research project, the Consortium carried out the project actions in compliance with ethical principles and applicable international, EU, and national laws. Furthermore, it developed its own guidelines, procedures, and measures regarding data collection, anonymity, gender balance, and so forth to support ethical aspects of research.

¹⁸

To protect the authors' identity, I use their function (social worker, psychologist, intercultural mediator, or volunteer) instead of their names. The clients presented in the text have already been given pseudonyms or aliases, therefore, it is impossible to trace back their identity. I am using the same alias system and do not describe anything that would make people identifiable. Also, a permit to conduct research was signed with the organization, and the research team has given their consent to use the materials for the present study (see Appendix 2).

5.6 Positioning Myself

It is important to reflect on personal biases and values in qualitative research, where the researcher is selecting and interpreting the data (Creswell, 2013). My choice of topic is

18 The full RAISD Ethics Plan is available here: https://raisd-h2020.eu/media/raisd-d3.1-ethics-plan- 4.0-2021.pdf

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motivated by my past experiences with asylum seekers and refugees as I volunteered at

different humanitarian organizations. Some of them have become my friends. Also, I am

enrolled in PACS, which in many aspects can be considered a critical program

questioning certain dominant beliefs and value systems and undoubtedly shaped my way

of thinking. Furthermore, I strongly disagree with the Hungarian government’s approach

of treating individuals fleeing from war-torn countries and seeking refuge here. As a

young researcher living in Hungary for the past eight months, I have gained insight into

the daily challenges of practitioners helping asylum seekers and refugees. I view their

commitment with great appreciation.

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6. Analysis

This chapter analyses the material according to the concepts of vulnerability and reflexivity in service delivery practice in the narratives of SDPs. The analysis is organized according to the operational questions of how external factors seen by the SDPs perpetuate vulnerability, how vulnerability is seen to impact the daily life and integration of asylum seekers and refugees, and what reflections of SDPs emerge from the narratives.

The questions are answered by using the reoccurring themes found in the material. In order to be as transparent as possible, the themes are discussed separately.

6.1 External Factors Perpetuating Vulnerability

Pertaining to how external factors seen by the SDPs perpetuate vulnerability, three main themes appeared to be most important. This section is organized according to the themes, the reason to flee, asylum procedures, and cooperation.

In the first sub-section, the theme of the reason to flee captures the background of why individuals became asylum seekers or refugees. The following codes led me to define this theme: war, conflict, fear of prosecution, sexual identity, abuse, religious affiliation.

The theme of the asylum procedure is discussed in the second sub-section aiming to describe the experiences related to the lengthy and complicated refugee determination process. The following codes relate to the issue: lengthy proceedings, rejection, decline refugee status, quick decisions, new regulation. Lastly, the theme cooperation captures the issues related to organizational complications and how that relates to the clients’

vulnerability according to the SDPs. The following codes relate to the theme: lack of cooperation, principles, lack of communication, good examples.

6.1.1 The reason to flee

As discussed by Black (1994), vulnerability derives from circumstances external to the

individuals concerned. Social workers identified factors that have caused individuals’

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vulnerability before arriving in Hungary. War, violence, and fear of prosecution are behind the reason why the clients of SDPs decided to leave their homelands:

“The family has left from [the Middle East] four years ago after Ferenc [husband]

got injured in a bomb attack and had life-saving surgery. From [their country of origin], they flew to Turkey, from here smugglers were taking them to Bulgaria where they lived for 1,5 years in an open camp. Then further on to Serbia where they spent another year and a half in two camps.” (Klári – Social worker).

“Mohammad flew Afghanistan around 2011 with his older son (…)” (Mohammad – Social worker).

„Amal had to leave her country of origin because of political prosecution. Before the Arab Spring broke out in 2010, she worked in the Ministry for Home Affairs of a dictatorial Arab regime and was part of a group of people who have been removed due to the closeness to the removed/resigned president. After the change, Amal was in danger because those who belonged to the previous regime were persecuted.”

(Amal – Social worker).

Other factors, such as sexual identity, sexual abuse, or religious background, also contribute to the reason why one is forced out of their country of origin:

“There had always been something that I can never tell to anyone, nor my friends, neither my family. It’s something very important about my identity, about who I am. It’s my sexual orientation. I’m gay (…). This is a great sin in Islamic Religion, and the punishment for this is death. (…) Therefore, I had to hide my secret all the time. Sometimes, I had to act, lie and pretend that I’m sexually attracted to girls just to keep myself safe” (Tareq).

“Stacy has been sexually assaulted when she was on her way home from work.

When she reported this to local officials, instead of helping her, she was the one who was blamed. The village where she has lived has outcasted her and made her life impossible, she lost her job too. That’s why she decided to try her luck abroad and left her children to the care of a close friend” (Stacy – Social worker #1).

[Fatima] “was a Muslim since her birth, but later she became a Christian, the reason why she had to leave her home country” (Fatima – Social worker).

Along the journey to Hungary, female asylum seekers face other particular situations of vulnerability in the transit zones. An example is shown in the case of Amal:

“According to Amal, there was an unofficial list of those who arrived in Serbia, and

the ones on top could enter to the transit zone. You had to pay to get ahead on the

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list. The community said Amal got ahead on this list because she offered sexual service to the ones helping her” (Amal – Social worker).

6.1.2 Asylum procedures

Due to significant legislative changes regarding the asylum system discussed in Chapter two, the refugee determination process in Hungary has become lengthy and complicated.

Asylum seekers are waiting for long months or even years until a decision is made in their case. It happens several times that applications get rejected, and the claimants have to appeal. This process is negatively affecting their overall state of well-being:

“For a long time, for more than two years, she had to wait in camps as an asylum seeker. The National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing has repeatedly refused her application (…). In Stacy’s view, this was a non-ending process” (Stacy – Social worker).

“Finally, in the fourth procedure (…), the National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing recognized them as refugees. All this “ping-pong” has been going on for two years and made the family’s life difficult, and they lived in continuous uncertainty. Similarly, Jafari had to go to interviews and trials all the time” (Jafari – Social worker).

The government’s rhetoric of devaluing people also affected the court rulings, therefore, a lot of applications get rejected indefinitely. In the following case, even though the family was fleeing from a conflict zone and the husband was a victim of a bomb attack, their request was rejected:

“(…) according to the first interviews held by the National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing, the family hasn’t proven any reason for which the asylum could have been granted. Also, because the Hungarian authorities have declared certain parts of Iraq safe, non-refoulment

¹⁹

has not been granted to this family” (Klári – Social worker).

After being granted asylum, Mariam's family left Hungary for another European country, where they applied for international protection again. The whole situation is unclear for

19 According to the principle of non-refoulement refugees should not be forcibly returned to the territory where their lives or freedom would be threatened.

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the social worker, but the family decided to go back voluntarily to their homeland.

Unfortunately, when they return, their second application gets rejected:

“Eventually, they have not been recognized as refugees again, because their return home indicates that they are not persecuted in their country of origin, Iraq, and thus, do not meet the criteria set out in the Geneva Convention

²⁰

” (Mariam – Social Worker).

In another case, the family refused to apply for international protection. Having had the conviction that owning a property they felt being one step ahead of the process, but at the same time, their residency permit placed them in an even more precarious situation:

“The family has secluded from applying for international protection because in their view by the end of 2020, they will obtain a permanent residency card, alas all their problems would be resolved. I gave them the feedback multiple times – we even had a meeting together with a legal counsellor – that by how their current situation looks like it is impossible to get a permanent residency card” (Aisha – Social Worker #1).

This decision further perpetuated their vulnerability since without refugee status, they were not eligible for organizational support:

The main obstacle in applying for family support benefits was their status (…) (Aisha – Social worker #2).

Problems also arise when there is a favourable decision, but there is not enough time to prepare for the upcoming steps. After receiving refugee status, the clients have 30 days to find a job and housing, which in reality is impossible:

“The family reunification (…) has accelerated (…). So, with the other organizations/helpers, we couldn’t prepare properly for everything before their arrival, for example, the misunderstandings around their accommodation” (Jafari – Social worker).

“It’s quite common for these cases, that you don’t get any information for months, and then a positive decision all of a sudden, helpers start to act in a rush because no state support is given to be able to start an independent, free life. This meant that in

20 The 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees is the foundation of international refugee law.

Narratives of Asylum Seekers and Refugees in the Hungarian Context of Vulnerability: In-depth analysis of the experiences of service delivery practitioners