Identity construction in asylum interviews - expectations of interviewers vs. narrations of innocence
The granting of asylum in Western countries hinges crucially on the concept of personal identity. The applicant must make good his or her claim to a bureaucratically acceptable personal identity, preferably with bona fide identity papers (Sarangi and Slembrouck 1996). They must also establish an identity as needing asylum, by convincingly telling of personal persecution, a requirement which stems from the 1951 Refugee convention (Goodwin-Gill 1985).
In the Norwegian asylum procedure, the applicant is given space in for telling his or hers own story at the beginning of the interview. The caseworker takes notes and subsequently questions the applicant on any points that are unclear or need elaboration. The applicants will have had counseling from an intermediary organisation about the interview, this may shape the «free story» somewhat.
I argue here that the asylum seeker may choose tell his / her story from quite another viewpoint than what is expected by the caseworker. Instead of informing the caseworker about persecution experiences, the applicant may try to convince the UDI about his/her innocense and need for help. The caseworker must often base his/her appraisal of the correctness of the story on the credibility of the applicant, but has few tools available for this. There is no obvious solution to the uncertainty inherent in asylum cases (Liodden 2019), but an awareness of the possibly skewed ‘professional vision’ (Maryns 2006) may help. Better questioning practices should be explored.
Goodwin-Gill, G.S. (1985), 'Non-refoulement and the new asylum seekers', Virginia Journal of International Law, 26, 897-920.
Liodden, Tone Maia (2019), 'Making the right decisison: Justice in the asylum bureaucracy in Norway. Ethnographic perspectives', in Nick Gill and Anthony Good (eds.), Asylum determination in Europe. Ethnographic perspectives (Palgrave Socio-Legal Studies: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham), 241-62.
Maryns, Katrijn (2006), The asylum speaker. Language in the Belgian asylum procedure (Manchester: St. Jerome Publishing).
Sarangi, Srikant and Slembrouck, Stefaan (1996), Language, bureaucracy and social control (Real language series; London: Pearson Education).
In the Norwegian asylum procedure, the applicant is given space in for telling his or hers own story at the beginning of the interview. The caseworker takes notes and subsequently questions the applicant on any points that are unclear or need elaboration. The applicants will have had counseling from an intermediary organisation about the interview, this may shape the «free story» somewhat.
I argue here that the asylum seeker may choose tell his / her story from quite another viewpoint than what is expected by the caseworker. Instead of informing the caseworker about persecution experiences, the applicant may try to convince the UDI about his/her innocense and need for help. The caseworker must often base his/her appraisal of the correctness of the story on the credibility of the applicant, but has few tools available for this. There is no obvious solution to the uncertainty inherent in asylum cases (Liodden 2019), but an awareness of the possibly skewed ‘professional vision’ (Maryns 2006) may help. Better questioning practices should be explored.
Goodwin-Gill, G.S. (1985), 'Non-refoulement and the new asylum seekers', Virginia Journal of International Law, 26, 897-920.
Liodden, Tone Maia (2019), 'Making the right decisison: Justice in the asylum bureaucracy in Norway. Ethnographic perspectives', in Nick Gill and Anthony Good (eds.), Asylum determination in Europe. Ethnographic perspectives (Palgrave Socio-Legal Studies: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham), 241-62.
Maryns, Katrijn (2006), The asylum speaker. Language in the Belgian asylum procedure (Manchester: St. Jerome Publishing).
Sarangi, Srikant and Slembrouck, Stefaan (1996), Language, bureaucracy and social control (Real language series; London: Pearson Education).
Publisert i Text and talk in interaction in the asylum process, 2019
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