Seeking Sanctuary
Exploring the Changing Postcolonial and Racialised Politics of Belonging in East London
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2642466 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Shamser Sinha (London South Bank University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2008 |
| Volume | 13 |
| Issue | 5 |
| Pages | 102-116 |
| Publication date | 2008-09-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Sociological Research Online (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1360-7804 • E-ISSN: 1360-7804 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.5153/sro.1799 |
| OpenAlex | W1993270758 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
| References cited | 23 |
This paper explores the changing postcolonial and racialised politics of belonging in East London. In particular it draws on research with multi-sector professionals and 15 to 18 year old young separated migrants. Separated from parents, these teenagers include those who had applied for asylum and were living under social services care as 'unaccompanied' and those living with their extended family. It also includes separated migrants wanting sanctuary, but who had insecure immigration status because their asylum claim had failed, or because they had not yet applied for asylum and had no other visa status. The research focuses on healthcare issues and the broader life-situations of young separated migrants as a way to examine the changing politics of belonging in East London. Features of this politics include a rise in popularity of the Far Right, the impact of immigration and healthcare legislation and practice, and racial hostility. As well as looking at this, there is an exploration of resistance to this racialised political context by teenagers and certain professionals, and the struggle for a convivial multiculture that is a feature of their resistance. The argument here is that the changing racialised politics of belonging in East London: (1) show how underdevelopment, geo-political and postcolonial forces contribute to shaping local experiences of racism (2) sometimes involves, rather than aggressively targets, British citizens from NCWP (New Commonwealth and Pakistani) backgrounds and their descendants, as skin colour becomes less of an articulated symbol of 'otherness' than immigration status (3) therefore excludes 'new migrants' and especially those seeking sanctuary, such as the young people in this paper, from belonging (4) faces local resistance. However resistance to this politics might be better informed by a greater understanding of how postcolonialism shapes local racism and militates against a convivial multiculture, with sociology playing a role in accomplishing this
Commonwealth · Immigration · Legislation · Political science · Politics · Racism · Sociology · Gender Studies · History · Homelessness and Social Issues · Law · Migration, Health and Trauma · Migration, Refugees, and Integration
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Staying power
Citizenship and Migration
After Empire
Race and Racism in Britain
Qualitative data analysis for applied policy research
Racism after 'race relations'
How primary care services can incorporate refugee health care
Homo Sacer
Promoting psychosocial well‐being in unaccompanied asylum seeking young people in the United Kingdom
A New Era or More of the Same? Asylum Policy in the UK
Children Seeking Asylum in Wales
Changing course or changing clothes? Reflections on the ideological evolution of the British National Party 1999–2006
Critique of everyday life
Race, Immigration and Asylum
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Race, class and the state
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| Citations per year | 0.29 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2012 - 2016 (5) |
| Highly cited | No |