Noun
- The act or state of settling or being settled
- The establishment of a new region; colonization
- A place newly settled; colony
Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/settlement?s=t Accessed 1/07/2012
- 1. [S]ettlement generally refers to acclimatization and the early stages of adaptation, when newcomers make the basic adjustments to life in a new country, including finding somewhere to live, beginning to learn the local language, getting a job, and learning to find their way around an unfamiliar society.
- 2. The (re)settlement process can be viewed as a continuum, as newcomers move from acclimatization, to adaptation, to integration.
“Best Settlement Practices: Settlement Services for Refugees and Immigrants in Canada”. 1998. Canadian Council for Refugees http://ccrweb.ca/bpfina1.htm Accessed 1/07/2012
- Settlement is the period of adjustment that occurs following a migrant or refugee’s arrival in a new country, as they become established and independent in their new society. On arrival, the entrant will need:
- somewhere to live
- money to live on
- information and orientation on services including schools, transport and health services
- access to employment and education
- the development or enhancement of English language skills
- the formation of individual and family social networks,
“What is Settlement?” Australian Government: Department of Citizenship and Immigration. http://www.immi.gov.au/living-in-australia/delivering-assistance/government-programs/settlement-policy/what-is.htm Accessed 1/07/2012
“The spheres of settlement/integration
Settlement and integration are multi-dimensional concepts. We can explore these processes within four main spheres:
* the social sphere;
* the economic sphere;
* the cultural sphere;
* the political sphere;
Within each sphere, the speed and degree of integration can vary, and what happens in one sphere affects the outcome in the other spheres. For example, research has shown that those who succeed in integrating economically will more easily integrate socially and culturally.(5) As is apparent, these complex processes are also very abstract and cannot be measured directly, but through “certain traits which we believe are indicative of, or indicators of” integration.(6) Indicators — measurable, specific, simple outcomes — are one way to assess or determine the degree of integration.”
Canadian Council for Refugees. 1998. “Best Settlement Practices: Settlement Services for Refugees and Immigrants in Canada”. Canadian Council for Refugees http://ccrweb.ca/bpfina1.htm Accessed 1/07/2012
“Whereas local integration can be regarded as a process that leads towards a durable solution for refugees, the notion of ‘local settlement’ is best defined as a strategy for dealing with mass refugee movements. It was practised most widely between the 1960s and 1980s, at a time when Africa and other developing regions were experiencing a growing number of large-scale refugee influxes. Responding to these influxes, host governments recognized the new arrivals on a prima facie basis and provided them with land where they could establish new settlements, engage in farming and other economic activities. While the international community was expected to support such refugees for an initial period, it was assumed that they would eventually attain self-sufficiency, enabling their settlements to be ‘handed over’ from UNHCR to the authorities of the host country. This approach to the problem of mass refugee influxes was acknowledged in the 1967 OAU Refugee Convention, which says that member states “shall use their best endeavours consistent with their respective legislations to receive refugees and to secure the settlement of those refugees who, for well-founded reasons, are unable or unwilling to return to their country of origin or nationality.”
The relationship between the concept of local integration and that of local settlement is a somewhat ambiguous one, complicated by the tendency of some commentators to use them interchangeably.”
“The notion of local integration is based on the assumption that refugees will remain indefinitely in their country of asylum and find a solution to their plight in that state. Ideally, but not necessarily, that will involve the acquisition of citizenship. Local settlement, however, does not presuppose that refugees will find a durable solution in their country of asylum. In some instances, locally settled refugees might indeed remain in exile, becoming progressively integrated there in legal, economic and social terms. But in other instances, local settlement might be a temporary phase, allowing refugees to live with a degree of dignity, security and prosperity, pending the time when they are able to benefit from the solution of voluntarily repatriation.”
Crisp, Jeff. 2004. “The local integration and local settlement of refugees: a conceptual and historical analysis”. NEW ISSUES IN REFUGEE RESEARCH, Working Paper No. 102. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, page 3.
www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/home/opendocPDFViewer.html?docid=407d3b762&query=%22New%20issues%20in%20Refugee%20Research%22 Accessed 1/07/2012
“[T]here are situations in which the promotion of local integration or local settlement have a particular potential to succeed. Such is the case when refugees share a language, a culture or an ethnic origin with the host community. Similarly, when refugees bring particular skills to their country of asylum, when they move into areas where land is available, and when their presence can attract resources and investments which would not otherwise be available to the area, a response based solely on the expectation of an eventual repatriation movement is not necessarily the most rational one.”
Crisp, Jeff. 2004. “The local integration and local settlement of refugees: a conceptual and historical analysis”. NEW ISSUES IN REFUGEE RESEARCH, Working Paper No. 102. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, page 6.
www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/home/opendocPDFViewer.html?docid=407d3b762&query=%22New%20issues%20in%20Refugee%20Research%22 Accessed 1/07/2012
“In Africa as elsewhere in developing societies, governments loathe the presence of refugees in urban areas. This is because they see the presence of refugees as a factor that exacerbates the urban condition. Hence they prefer to place all refugees regardless of their occupational, educational,
and experiential backgrounds in government-designated and spatially segregated sites––refugee camps or settlements. More often than not, these sites are devoid of freedom of movement and residence. Some governments also apply draconian measures to control the behaviour and political activities of refugees in such sites. Whenever refugees want to leave such sites they are required to seek permission. Nearly all African host governments do not formally recognize the rights of refugees to settle in urban areas. Understandably, therefore, most refugees with urban backgrounds are opposed to living in refugee camps or settlements where no employment opportunities, amenities, and freedom of movement exist. Thus, most refugees with urban backgrounds tend to congregate in urban centres,
defying host governments’ policies. As a result, they are in most cases treated in a manner that violates their basic human rights.”
Kibreab, Gaim. 2007. “Why Governments Prefer Spatially Segregated Settlement Sites for Urban Refugees”. Refuge. Vol. 3, No. 1: 28-9
UN Habitat, For a Better Urban Future, Settlement and Integration of Refugees Programme – SIRP
www.unhabitat.org/content.asp?cid=721&catid=129&typeid=13&subMenuId=0
Bosankic, Nina. 2012. “Social Identities of Organised Refugee Settlement Inhabitants: Living in a Separate Circle”. City?, LAP Lambert Academic Publishing
How to Settle as a Refugee in Canada. http://www.canadafaq.ca/how+to+settle+as+refugee+in+canada/
Valtonen, Kathleen. 2008. “Social Work and Migration: Immigrant and Refugee Settlement and Integration”. City?, Ashgate Publishing Company
Settlement.org, http://www.settlement.org/site/FIRSTDAYS/home.
Canadian Council for Refugees. 1998. “Best Settlement Practices: Settlement Services for Refugees and Immigrants in Canada”. Canadian Council for Refugees http://ccrweb.ca/bpfina1.htm Accessed 1/07/2012
Crisp, Jeff. “The local integration and local settlement of refugees: a conceptual and historical analysis”. 2004. NEW ISSUES IN REFUGEE RESEARCH, Working Paper No. 102. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/home/opendocPDFViewer.html?docid=407d3b762&query=%22New%20issues%20in%20Refugee%20Research%22 Accessed 1/07/2012
Kibreab, Gaim. 2007. “Why Governments Prefer Spatially Segregated Settlement Sites for Urban Refugees”. Refuge. Vol. 3, No. 1: 28-9.
Bloch, Alice. 2002. The Migration and Settlement of Refugees in Britain, Palgrave Macmillan
Zetter, Roger. 1995. Shelter Provision and Settlement Policies for Refugees: A State of the Art Review. Studies on Emergencies and Disaster Relief 2. Uppsala: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet.
http://forcedmigrationguide.pbworks.com/w/page/7448144/Shelter%20Provision%20and%20Settlement%20Policies%20for%20Refugees
Other related terms:
resettlement; colonization; acclimatization; re-establishment