Refugees in towns

supporting integration of refugees and hosts

Overview

The Refugees in Towns project (RIT) promotes understanding of the migrant/refugee experience by drawing on the knowledge and perspectives of refugees themselves as well as local hosts. The project was conceived and is led by Karen Jacobsen, and is based at the Henry J. Leir Institute for Migration and Human Security at The Fletcher School at Tufts University.

For refugees, migrants, and hosts, RIT offers an opportunity to develop and promote authentic narratives through participatory, reflexive, and local research. They author a range of case studies and reports in collaboration with students to identify the factors that enable and obstruct integration, and the different ways in which migrants and hosts co-exist, adapt, and struggle with integration.
For academics, RIT analyzes the global differences and similarities in the factors that enable or obstruct integration. Researchers further explore thematic areas of interest, for example the impact of COVID-19 or racism on integration. Additionally, RIT promotes its unique methodology, which utilizes participatory action research (PAR), reflexivity, localization, and a case study approach.
For policymakers and practitioners, RIT seeks to develop an understanding of potential solutions to the barriers refugees, migrants, and hosts face in integration through collaborative research and policy briefs informed by case studies.

RACE AND REFUGEES: HOW REFUGEES LEARN ABOUT RACE IN AMERICA

Since 2021, the Refugees in Towns project has worked with the Hello Neighbor Network to assess how refugees come to understand and experience race in the U.S.

The first phase of research, completed in August 2022, investigated understandings of race before, during, and after migrating, finding that refugees learned about US race relations through school, media (digital and print), word of mouth, and personal experiences of discrimination. However, the degree of this learning is heavily dependent on education level, age, and country of origin. Learn more about these findings in the literature review and report below, which were the foundation of RIT’s 3rd annual convening, the Race and Migration Symposium.

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EXPLORE OUR CASE REPORTS

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News

Latest Case Report

This case report by Dr. Olga R. Gulina identifies the technical aspects of securing legal status and the emotional impacts of settling in Berlin, identifying the challenges and opportunities émigrés face. It highlights the experiences of a particularly vulnerable group of émigrés, LGBT Russians, and finds that despite the relative ease of settling in Germany’s capital, the uncertainty of being chased away from home remains. This case report was produced in collaboration with the Fletcher School’s Russia and Eurasia Program.

RIT Symposium: Race & Migration

Recordings for RIT’s 3rd annual convening are now available. The Race and Migration Symposium draws on RiT’s ongoing research with the Hello Neighbor Network focused on assessing how refugees come to understand and experience race in the U.S.

Latest Reflection

Barnabas Ticha Muvhuti, a Zimbabwe Exemption Permit holder in South Africa, reflects on the South African government’s decision to cancel the permits and Zimbabweans’ mixed reactions to the situation. RIT commissioned two Zimbabwean artists living in South Africa--illustrator Wynona Mutisi and poet Oswald Kucherera--to express these sentiments in their preferred works. Their work accompanies Barnabas’s reflection in this StoryMap.

Our Office: Cabot Intercultural Center, The Fletcher School at Tufts University

Address: 160 Packard Ave., Medford, MA 02155

Contact us: If you are interested in contacting RIT, please email leirinstitute@tufts.edu.