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

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 at 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. Considering this context, this study aims to investigate the perceptions of refugees of different origins regarding the processes and difficulties of integrating into Brazilian society and labor market. The processes deal with bureaucratic barriers, cultural differences, ethnic-racial issues, and language, among others. The study uses a qualitative approach consisting of eight interviews in the city of Rio de Janeiro with refugees of a variety of nationalities and both genders. The results show that these respondents perceive 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.

摘要
当今世界出现了一种贯穿整个人类历史、但如今规模与影响均显著扩大的社会现象：大规模难民流离迁徙。据联合国统计，截至2017年末，全球范围内处于难民境况的人口已逾7500万，创下历史新高（联合国难民署（UNHCR），2017）。自1951年以来，包括巴西在内的147余个国家签署了《联合国难民公约》（United Nations Refugee Convention），该公约确立了缔约成员国需为难民提供合法且安全的工作条件的义务。

基于上述背景，本研究旨在探究不同背景难民对于融入巴西社会与劳动力市场的相关流程及所遇困境的认知。相关融入流程涵盖行政官僚壁垒、文化差异、族裔种族问题以及语言障碍等诸多方面。本研究采用质性研究方法，于里约热内卢市对多国籍、两性难民开展了八次访谈。

研究结果显示，受访难民认为，针对难民的职场公共政策与实际执行之间存在脱节，同时还遭受来自民众、雇主及官方机构的歧视，并指出巴西社会呈现出多元文化而非跨文化的语境。尽管面临上述诸多挑战，受访难民均表示计划继续在巴西生活与工作。