Aspirations and frustrations: experiences of recent refugees in the Netherlands

Abstract

One year after the so-called migration crisis we investigate how refugees who arrived in these dramatic circumstances are managing their lives in the Netherlands. We choose not to employ the common approach with indicators of integration theories, since we argue that that is a destination-country perspective. Instead we choose the perspective of the refugees themselves who have migrated to fulfil certain life aspirations and who compare the starting point of their trip with their destination in terms of freedom in fields of life. From this perspective, a stream of frustrations becomes visible, which is a result that otherwise remains hidden. This is caused by both disappointments and the particular characteristics of the receiving society. We will illustrate this for the two largest refugee groups who arrived in the Netherland in this specific period, Syrians and Eritreans, and show how they constitute very different examples.