Ableism

Welcome to the third edition of Refugee Review, an open-source, peer-reviewed journal that aims to showcase unique perspectives and emerging voices in refugee studies. In this edition, we are pleased to present 18 academic articles, practitioner reports and multimedia pieces that cover a range of issues impacting refugees and migrants. In a moment in time where the number of forcibly displaced persons is at the highest on record, and the question of accepting refugees has become a central topic in political discourse in many regions of the world, we consider it more important than ever to offer nuanced, critical perspectives on refugees and the challenges they face.
In this edition we have a special focus, comprising eight articles, on the topic of labour and refugees. Given the controversial status of refugees in the labour markets of many countries, we felt this topic is extremely timely. As can be seen in e.g., Gündüz’s piece on Turkey, refugees are often viewed or portrayed as a “burden” on the economy and as job competition for the locals, while at the same time have their access to the labour market restricted by regulations and discrimination. In the meantime, many states seem to have lost sight of the original obligations of the 1951 Refugee Convention, which asserts that refugees have a right to work or a “dignified standard of living” in the state offering protection, a disconnect explored by Arapiles & Madziva in their article focussing on the UK. And as Sager & Öberg point out in their article on Sweden, the spectre of “deportability” not only puts refugees in a vulnerable position vis-àvis employers, it also regulates the worker’s rights of regular migrants and can become an opportunity to erode workers’ rights more generally. Clearly, the labour rights of refugees (and lack thereof) has the potential to become a topic of increasing importance for economies worldwide as they struggle with integration of newcomers and with challenges to the financial status quo in the wake of the global financial crisis.
The intersection between refugee issues and more general concerns of identity and social justice occupy numerous other of our authors in this edition. For instance, several pieces illuminate the ways in which feminist philosophy can inform our view of refugees. Taha seeks to highlight how post- colonial feminist discourse can take refugee studies to new heights by allowing for a more complex view of victimhood and agency that discards with some of the stereotypical, orientalist assumptions of the past. Burnett & Villegas call for greater consideration of gender development in conflict situations, fruitfully comparing the examples of Colombia and Palestine to consider the failures in security caused by disregarding gender. And in their multimedia piece, Ratkovic & Sethi use poetry and visual arts to explore migration and transnational feminism through the eyes of the displaced.
The authors presented in this volume are also interested in looking beyond the surface to the unseen challenges refugees face. In a piece on the double marginalisation encountered by disabled refugees in the EU, Oyaro considers how governments can better comply with UN guidelines on persons with disability when applying refugee law. Boeynik explores the topic of vulnerability as it pertains to people under suspicion of terror, by looking at the example of Somali refugees in Kenya in the wake of the Garissa attacks, and Forin argues for a closer examination of the divide between “forced” and “voluntary” migration, to see how this paradigm is being used as a containment strategy that often denies individual rights.
Although the subject matter presented in this volume is broad, what the authors above and others presented have in common is a desire to shed light on the aspects of the refugee experience that negate a simplistic approach to the topic. In the face of a political climate where refugees are increasingly cast as a homogenous group that threatens security, economy, and culture, it is more important than ever to emphasise discourse that highlights that refugees, like all people, navigate complex intersections of identity and social life at work and at home, and have different challenges and motivations that define their experiences. We offer these accounts of refugees to problematise the dominant discourse of refugees as scapegoats for society’s many problems and offer a glimpse at a kaleidoscopic reality that is necessarily more complex, and closer to the truth.

The chapter considers potential possibilities and pitfalls encountered by music learners and scholar-practitioners when using tablet-based technologies for music making and learning. The authors address this question by providing a nuanced, anti-ableist, and balanced discussion of issues that arise at the intersection of adaptive and tablet-based technologies, music learning and making, and disability. First, the chapter highlights applications and approaches discussed elsewhere in the volume, addressing their potentials for fostering adaptive, inclusive, equitable, and meaningful music learning and making with and for disabled musickers/musickers with disabilities (DM/MwD) that can include tablets. Then the authors draw on theoretical perspectives indigenous to discourses about disability studies to problematize these resources, calling attention to potentially negative implications related to autonomy, extracurricular advancement, and othering rooted in and affirming ableism. The chapter concludes with questions and suggestions to assist music learners and scholar-practitioners in navigating the intersections and interactions of tablet-based technologies, use of apps, music learning and making, and disability. anti-ableism, ableism, adaptive technology, tablets, apps and disability.

Resumen: apoyado en una etnografía realizada entre 2018 y 2019 con personas participantes de una comunidad y cultura Sorda en Cali —principalmente de la Asociación de Sordos de Cali—, el presente artículo discute la pertinencia de adaptar los métodos de registro y escritura investigativa a las poblaciones con las que se trabaja. Por una parte, explora metodologías etnográficas situadas dentro de discusiones más amplias, relacionadas con la antropología de los sentidos, la etnografía sensorial, el problema de representación, las políticas de transcripción y el uso de dibujos como herramienta metodológica. Por otra, este artículo recoge reflexiones éticas sobre el consentimiento, el enfoque, la sensibilidad frente al contexto y el posicionamiento asumido en campo, al optar por posicionarme no solo como antropóloga o socióloga, sino también como mujer hipoacúsica. Como resultado, se argumenta que una correcta lectura previa del contexto de la población a etnografiar permite construir diseños metodológicos y éticos que no solo evitan activamente reproducir violencias históricas denunciadas —como la epistémica—, sino que también posibilitan puntos de entrada, lecturas y análisis, que prioricen las experiencias locales y personales de existencia, las categorías emergentes y el cuerpo como dato potencial para entenderlas. Así, el artículo expone decisiones éticas y metodológicas de una investigación realizada desde una perspectiva de etnógrafa insider, que se centra en aspectos sociales, políticos, y culturales de la Sordedad. Es, justamente, en la exploración de nuevas perspectivas interseccionales y sensorialmente diversas que logren desafiar las tradicionales lecturas capacitistas, que este texto pretende estimular el debate en torno a estas identidades colectivas que negocian su existencia en el marco de la multiculturalidad como escenario de concertación de derechos exigibles.

Palabras clave: antropología sensorial, comunidad sorda, etnografía, metodología, reflexiones éticas, trabajo de campo.

Sensorially Different Realities: Methodological and Ethical Reflections on Fieldwork in a Deaf Community

Abstract: Supported by an ethnography conducted between 2018 and 2019 with people —mainly from the Deaf Association of Cali— participating in a deaf community and culture in Cali, this article discusses the relevance of adapting the recording and investigative writing methods to the populations with whom we work. On the one hand, it explores ethnographic methodologies situated within broader discussions related to the anthropology of the senses, sensory ethnography, the problem of representation, the politics of transcription and the use of drawings as a methodological tool. On the other hand, this article gathers ethical reflections on consent, approach, sensitivity to the context, and the positioning assumed in the field, by choosing to position myself not only as an anthropologist or sociologist, but also as a hard
of hearing woman. Thus, it is argued that a correct prior reading of the context of the population to be studied enables the construction of methodological and ethical designs that not only actively avoid reproducing denounced historical violence —such as epistemic violence—, but also provide entry points, readings, and analyses that prioritize local and personal experiences of existence, emerging categories, and the body as potential data to understand them. The article presents the ethical and methodological decisions involved in a study conducted from the perspective of an insider ethnographer, focusing on the social, political, and cultural aspects of Deafhood. It is precisely in the exploration of new intersectional and sensorially diverse perspectives that challenge the traditional ableist readings that this text intends to spark the debate on these collective identities that negotiate their existence within the framework of multiculturalism as a stage for the consolidation of enforceable rights.

Keywords: Deaf community, ethical considerations, ethnography, field work, methodology, sensorial anthropology.

Realidades sensorialmente diferentes: reflexões metodológicas e éticas do fazer campo numa comunidade surda

Resumo: apoiada numa etnografia realizada entre 2018 e 2019 com pessoas participantes de uma comunidade e cultura surda em Cali, Colômbia — principalmente da Associação de Surdos de Cali —, este artigo discute a pertinência de adaptar os métodos de registro e escrita investigativa às populações com as quais se trabalha. Por um lado, explora metodologias etnográficas situadas dentro de discussões mais amplas, relacionadas com a antropologia dos sentidos, a etnografia sensorial, o problema de representação, as políticas de transcrição e o uso de desenhos como ferramenta metodológica. Por outro, este artigo reúne reflexões éticas sobre o consentimento, a abordagem, a sensibilidade ante o contexto e o posicionamento assumido em campo, ao optar por me posicionar não somente como antropóloga ou socióloga, mas também como mulher hipoacústica. Como resultado, é argumentado que uma adequada leitura prévia do contexto da população a etnografar permite construir desenhos metodológicos e éticos que não somente evitam ativamente reproduzir violências históricas denunciadas — como a epistêmica —, mas que também possibilitam pontos de entrada, leituras e análises, que priorizem as experiências locais e pessoais de existência, as categorias emergentes e o corpo como dado potencial para entendê-las. Assim, este artigo expõe decisões éticas e metodológicas de uma pesquisa realizada a partir de uma perspectiva de etnógrafa insider, que se foca em aspectos sociais, políticos e culturais da surdez. É justamente na exploração de novas perspectivas interseccionais e sensorialmente diversas que consigam desafiar as tradicionais leituras capacitistas que este texto pretende estimular o debate em torno dessas identidades coletivas que negociam sua existência no âmbito da multiculturalidade como cenário de acordo de direitos exigíveis.

Palavras-chave: antropologia sensorial, comunidade surda, etnografia, metodologia, reflexões éticas, trabalho de campo.

The following article is written from the perspective of disability studies (Głodkowska, Pągowska 2017) and concentrates on cultural ableism as a dominant pattern present in Poland during the Iron Curtain (1945-1989). The authors are of the opinion that the conditions of forced functioning of the Polish society behind the Iron Curtain generated current and long-term effects formulating cultural ableism patterns. It should be pointed out that Polish academics (especially special pedagogues) mention the existence of transformation phenomena after the hardships of the past system, or sometimes are silent about the ideologisation, censorship and indoctrination of Polish society for 44 years, with Soviet concepts relating to disability. It happens also that the scholars cut off more or less strongly from the idea that in fact Soviet defectological thought was present or developed in special education. On the other hand, among the various long-term effects of being dependent on Soviet ideology and political supremacy, related to the construction of learned helplessness in many aspects of attitudes towards disability. The authors believe also that for some reason even in current Poland, speaking and thinking about disability corresponds with the cultural ableism effects and supreme slogan of Soviet defectology to "fit a man into the system" (Kalinnikova and Trygged 2014). The article was divided into sections in which the authors analyse the defectological concept of disability, normalization of cultural ableism towards the disabled people in times of the Iron Curtain. Then, there is discussion the issues of learned helplessness and the analysis of this phenomenon within the system and legal acts, and in the context of the segregation in the education system. The article ends with conclusions and implications for reeducation of normalized cultural ableism patterns.

The onslaught of neoliberalism, austerity measures and cuts, impact of climate change, protracted conflicts and ongoing refugee crisis, rise of far right and populist movements have all negatively impacted on disability and created more suffering, impairment and deaths in the global north and south. At the same time we are witnessing the watering down of many rights, legal entitlements and policies that sustained disability lives as well as the ability and willingness of academia, non-governmental organisations, multinationals and institutions to get involved in fighting back politically, economically, culturally and socially to ensure change. Yet, disabled people are fighting back and we urgently need to understand how, where and what they are doing, what they feel their challenges are and what their future needs will be.

We are thus putting together a book proposal for Routledge illustrating disability activism in its current forms and needed future directions. We will provide a dedicated space to disability activists to give them a platform to illustrate their current practices and a platform to do this in a format of their choosing. We also want to illustrate some of the ways in which academics are engaging in activist practice to understand why and how this occurs. Lastly, we feel we need to learn from the ways in which disability activism is forming and will change or needs to change to combat the coming challenges of the 21st Century.  How do you define activism? Does disability activism need to decolonise? What are the differing roles of pioneer and emerging activists in the north and south? What kinds of issues are of concern?