A Tamil Asylum Diaspora

Sri Lankan Migration, Settlement and Politics in Switzerland
1. Auflage 1996
ISBN: 978-1-57181-917-8
Verlag: Berghahn Books

Buch, Englisch, Band 1, 320 Seiten, Format (B × H): 145 mm x 222 mm, Gewicht: 538 g

Reihe: Forced Migration

During twelve years of ethno-nationalist secessionist violence in the north and east of Sri Lanka, insurrection in the south, and island-wide state repression, many Tamils were forced to seek political asylum overseas. At least 200,000 Tamils, primarily from the Jaffna Peninsula, have escaped to Europe of whom ca. 25,000 (the largest group relative to the population) have settled in Switzerland, the focus of this study. The author examines the conditions in Sri Lanka that led to the flight, the phases and technicalities of the emigration and resettlement in Switzerland. Based on anthropological fieldwork and on completely new archival material, the author not only looks at the development of the Tamil community in all its diversity but also at the impact of federal and cantonal policy and practice, at the economic situation and broader changes in Switzerland which led to demands for reforms to the country's asylum and immigration rules. In this respect, Switzerland set an example that other governments were soon to follow.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Mcdowell, Christopher

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Ethnologie | Volkskunde Volkskunde Minderheiten, Interkulturelle & Multikulturelle Fragen
• Rechtswissenschaften Öffentliches Recht Staats- und Verfassungsrecht Staatsangehörigkeitsrecht
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Spezielle Soziologie Soziologie von Migranten und Minderheiten

Inhaltsverzeichnis

List of Figures

List of Maps

List of Tables

Acknowledgements

List of Abbreviations

Glossary

PART I: INTRODUCTION AND RESEARCH

Chapter 1. Introduction - Asylum Diaspora

Chapter 2. Fieldwork and Research Methods

Chapter 3. Swiss Public Opinion, Asylum Policy Reform and the Repatriation Agreement

PART II: SRI LANKA AND CONFLICT

Chapter 4. Sri Lanka - Violence, Nationalism and Migration

Chapter 5. Sri Lanka 1983 to 1991 - Conflict

PART III: TAMIL ASYLUM ENTRY INTO SWITZERLAND

Chapter 6. Switzerland's Tamil Asylum Migrant Population

Chapter 7. Early-Phase Asylum Migration 1983 to 1985

Chapter 8. Middle-Phase Asylum Migration 1986 to 1988

Chapter 9. Late-Phase Asylum Migration 1989 to 1991

PART IV: DIASPORA DIVISIONS, FORMATION AND POLITICS

Chapter 10. Immigrants and Asylum Seekers

Chapter 11. Politics in Exile: The Profits of Inertia

PART V

Chapter 12. Conclusion

Bibliography

Index

Über Autor(innen)

Mcdowell, Christopher
Christopher McDowell is Research Officer, Refugee Studies Programme, International Development Centre, University of Oxford.