Agents of change or passive victims: the impact of welfare states (the case of the Netherlands) on refugees

This paper explores the impact of a regulated society such as the Netherlands on the lives of refugees in general and on those of Iranian women refugees in particular. Two periods are distinguished in regard to Dutch asylum policies: the 1980s and post-1990. For the 1980s when refugee reception was less restricted, I use empirical material collected between 1995 and 2000. The women I interviewed during this period were leftist activists involved in the Iranian revolution of 1979 and had to leave Iran because of their political backgrounds. The material used for the post-1990 or more restricted... Mehr ...