Refugees, Humanitarianism, and the Politics of Kinship
About this episode
Sophia Balakian discusses the complexities of refugee identity and kinship politics in the context of her research on Somali and Congolese migrants.
with Sophia Balakian hosted by Brittany White and Chris Gratien | The word "refugee" might conjure images of families devastated by war fleeing their homeland. But what happens when those who seek asylum abroad do not conform to that image? As Sophia Balakian argues in her new book Unsettled Families: Refugees, Humanitarianism, and the Politics of Kinship , the question is one that shapes the case of every refugee seeking a new home abroad in the United States. The Somali and Congolese migrants in her study face an intense vetting process that includes DNA testing to confirm that a refugee family forms a biological unit, creating numerous reasons by which people who have survived war and displacement may be judged "fraudulent" families. In this episode, Balakian is back on the podcast to share an anthropologist's perspective on the history of migration and the politics of kinship in refugee resettlement. « Click for More »
People in this episode
Hosts: Brittany White, Chris Gratien
Guest: Sophia Balakian
Topics covered
- refugees
- humanitarianism
- politics of kinship
- migration
- resettlement
Keywords
- refugee
- asylum
- DNA testing
- vetting process
- migration
- displacement
- kinship
- resettlement
Mentioned in this episode
Books & works: Unsettled Families: Refugees, Humanitarianism, and the Politics of Kinship
Places: United States, Somali, Congolese
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