Hvordan lykkes med integrering? Stedsproduserende fortellinger om integreringsarbeid i to rurale kommuner

Abstract

Sammendrag Den nasjonale integreringspolitikken i Norge kan sies å dra i to ulike retninger, med målet om spredt bosetting på den ene siden og målet om sysselsetting på den andre. I dette kapittelet analyserer vi intervju med offentlig ansatte integreringsarbeidere i to rurale kystkommuner med nokså forskjellig erfaring med å bosette flyktninger. Ved å sammenligne hvordan de ansatte snakker om integreringsarbeidet, viser vi hvordan lokale integreringsfortellinger skapes i spennet mellom nasjonal retorikk og stedlige forutsetninger. Videre argumenterer vi for at stedsspesifikke fortellinger om integrering ikke bare bidrar til å gjøre erfaringer med lokalt integreringsarbeid meningsfullt, men også til å skape noen bestemte forståelser av sted som gjør det teoretisk fruktbart å analysere dem som stedsproduserende. Kapittelet skriver seg slik inn i en teoretisk diskusjon om hvordan forskning kan bli bedre på å adressere den lokale kontekstens betydning for hvordan integrering blir forstått og erfart.

Personal, peaceful, progressive: Integration workers’ narratives of refugee settlement and the rural

“…The findings also link up to an insistence on the part of many integration researchers that integration should be studied in its local context, and not only as a national matter (Hadj Abdou, 2019;Saetermo et al, 2021). The findings in our analysis echo some of the insights from this research, in that in its local settings, integration is typically approached pragmatically and in relation to aims of revitalization and development, as opposed to national narratives in which integration is often presented as 'a problem to be solved' (Brekke & Mohn, 2018;Gullikstad & Kristensen, 2021).…”

“…In Norway, integration work is largely a public responsibility (Espegren et al, 2019), which in practical terms is handled on the local municipal level, through publicly funded integration services (Saetermo et al, 2021). Municipal integration services therefore play a key role both with regards to the municipality's achievement of national integration policy goals and the municipalities' own ambitions of retaining new inhabitants in the local community.…”

“…Yet most importantly, refugees represent much‐needed immigration that contributes to ensuring a demographic basis for schools, leisure activities, services, shops and so on. Many rural municipalities – including those with little experience with refugee settlement – have therefore settled quite large numbers of refugees in recent years (Kristensen & Sætermo, 2021; Søholt & Aasland, 2021; Tønnesen & Andersen, 2019), and many express both a capacity and a will to settle more refugees (Kristensen & Gullikstad, 2022).…”

“…Such understandings of rural communities go against common notions of the rural as backward and stagnant and see them as more closely connected with progressive and diverse urban societies (McAreavey & Argent, 2018). Moreover, studies have shown that successful experiences with integration are used as arguments for future settlement policies in rural regions and municipalities, as well as to attract newcomers (Gullikstad & Kristensen, 2021; Kristensen & Gullikstad, 2022; Kristensen & Sætermo, 2021).…”

Integration as a Solution to Depopulation? Producing the Moral and Loyal Resident in Policies Aiming to Attract and Retain International Migrants

“…When it comes to the settlement of refugees in Norway, municipalities have the autonomy to decide whether they will settle refugees, how many, and how to arrange accommodation (Søholt & Aasland 2021;Steen & Røed 2018). Municipalities are encouraged with economic incentives from the national government, and refugees are presented as a possibility for municipalities experiencing depopulation to attract new and younger residents (Kristensen & Saetermo 2021). Kristensen and Saetermo (2021) illustrate tensions between the national dispersal policy for refugees-with the intention to steer settlement and spread refugees geographically-and local realities; for example, 4 Kvalvaag Nordic Journal of Migration Research DOI: 10.33134/njmr.640 many smaller municipalities may lack translators, qualified language teachers, and health personal with competencies in refugee health, and have few work possibilities.…”