My research aims to explore the experiences of asylum seekers and refugees who currently live in Wales and the extent to which current policies impact upon their ability to integrate. Wales has been a dispersal area for asylum seekers since 1999, with the majority being housed in Cardiff, Newport and Swansea. There is, however, a lack of research focusing on the experience of asylum seekers and refugees in Wales.
The broad aims of this research are to examine how refugees and asylum seekers construct accounts of their integration into Welsh communities. The questions raised are:
- What is the nature of integration as it is constructed and negotiated in the talk of refugees and asylum seekers in Wales?
- To what extent do these constructions have implications for refugee and asylum seeker integration policies?
Selected Recent Publications
Parker, S. (2015) ‘’Unwanted invaders’: The Representation of refugees and asylum seekers in the UK and Australian print media’, eSharp Issue 23 (Spring 2015): Myth and Nation. Accessible at http://www.gla.ac.uk/research/az/esharp/issues/23spring2015-mythandnation/
Parker, S. (2016) Putting integration back on the agenda: Working across disciplines, The Psychologist (Online), Available at https://thepsychologist.bps.org.uk/migration-crisis-psychological-perspectives
Parker, S. (2017) Falling behind: The declining rights of asylum seekers in the UK and its impact on their day-to-day lives, eSharp Issue 25 Rise and Fall (Spring 2017), pp. 83-95. Available at http://www.gla.ac.uk/media/media_529634_en.pdf
Nightingale, A., Goodman, S. and Parker, S. (2017) Beyond Borders: Psychological perspectives on the current refugee crisis in Europe. The Psychologist June 2017, pp. 58-62. Available at https://thepsychologist.bps.org.uk/volume-30/june-2017/beyond-borders
Parker, S. (2018). “It’s ok if it’s hidden”: The discursive construction of everyday racism for refugees and asylum seekers in Wales. Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1002/casp.2344