Navigating Integration and Emotional Distress During Vulnerable Stages of Life: The Case of Slovenian Repatriates From Venezuela

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3986/2024.2.04

Keywords:

repatriation, vulnerabilities, integration, Slovenia, Venezuela

Abstract

Slovenia has been repatriating persons of Slovenian descent and their immediate family members from poverty-stricken Venezuela since 2019. The article explores the innate, situational, and structural vulnerabilities of the repatriates, focusing in particular on the vulnerabilities affecting their well-being and leading to emotional distress. The vulnerabilities are examined through the lens of time, i.e., before, during, and after the acquisition of the status of a repatriate, and in the context of specific age-related integration challenges. The article shows that their preferred emotional support is provided by the close-knit community of Venezuelan repatriates with whom they share the same language, culture, and experience of repatriation and integration and by the Catholic church through mass, confession, and church gatherings.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Ahačič, M. (2020, August 24). Hvala bogu, da smo tukaj … Gorenjski Glas. https://www.gorenjskiglas.si/article/20200824/C/200829905/1002/hvala-bogu--da-smo-tukaj-

Arvidsdotter, T, Marklund, B., Kylén, S., Taft, C., & Ekman, I. (2016). Understanding persons with psychological distress in primary health care. Scandinavian journal of caring sciences, 30(4), 687–694. https://doi.org/10.1111/scs.12289

Baglioni, S., & Isaakyan, I. (Eds.), (2019). Integrated Report on Individual Barriers and Enablers, Work Package 6 Research Report, SIRIUS Project.

Bhugra, D. (2004). Migration and mental health. Acta psychiatrica scandinavica, 109(4), 243–258.

Bull, B., & Rosales, A. (2020). The crisis in Venezuela. European Review of Latin American and Caribbean Studies/Revista Europea de Estudios Latinoamericanos y del Caribe, 109, 1–20. http://doi.org/10.32992/erlacs.10587

Društvo slovensko-latinskoameriškega prijateljstva Lipa. (2021, April 11). OBVESTILO!! Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/drustvoLIPA/posts/pfbid0Gm7ZSuBPvdozzeNx2VDsZAhJd1U5G9QJ171jeqsitjbVP5kEL9hdG63D4hUFARV8l

Emergency Appeal. Venezuela Situation. (2023, August). UNHCR – United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. https://www.unhcr.org/emergencies/venezuela-situation

Freier, L. F., Berganza, I., & Blouin, C. (2022). The Cartagena Refugee Definition and Venezuelan Displacement in Latin America 1. International Migration, 60(1), 18–36.

Gilodi, A., Albert, I., & Nienaber, B. (2022). Vulnerability in the context of migration: A critical overview and a new conceptual model. Human Arenas, 1–21.

Heckmann, F. (2006). Integration and integration policies. IMISCOE Network Feasibility Study. Europäisches Forum für Migrationsstudien (efms). https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:0168-ssoar-192953

Human Rights Watch. (2023). World Report 2023. Events of 2022. https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/media_2023/01/World_Report_2023_WEBSPREADS_0.pdf

Isaakyan, I., Triandafyllidou, A., & Baglioni, S. (2023). A Long Journey of Integration. In I. Isaakyan, A. Triandafyllidou & S. Baglioni (Eds.), Immigrant and Asylum Seekers Labor Market Integration upon Arrival: NowHereLand (pp. 209–231). IMISCOE Research Series. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-14009-9_9

Jež, L. (2022, March 22). Nazaj v domovino staršev. Vzajemnost. https://www.vzajemnost.si/clanek/186614/nazaj-v-domovino-starsev

Klavora, M. (2012). Ko izbire ni: Pričevalci in evakuacija Slovencev iz Sarajeva novembra 1992. Dve domovini / Two Homelands, 36, 143–155. https://ojs.zrc-sazu.si/twohomelands/article/view/10904

Miklavčič, K. (2021, June 19). “V Venezueli si kot žaba, ki jo počasi kuhajo.” [Video]. N1info. https://n1info.si/novice/slovenija/repatriiranci-iz-venezuele-v-sloveniji-zivijo

Oprčkal, B. (2020, December 12). Bolj znam ceniti stvari v Venezueli, kjer nimamo nič, kot pa vi tukaj, kjer imate vsega dovolj. Aleteia. https://si.aleteia.org/2020/12/12/bolj-znam-ceniti-stvari-v-venezueli-kjer-nimamo-nic-kot-pa-vi-tukaj-kjer-imate-ateivsega-dovolj

Penninx, R., & Garcés-Mascareñas, B. (2016). The concept of integration as an analytical tool and as a policy concept. In B. Garcés-Mascareñas & R. Penninx (Eds.), Integration processes and policies in Europe: Contexts, levels and actors (pp. 11–29). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-21674-4_2

Petek, A. (2022). Ko se srečajo Slovenci je živahtno. Žarek dobrote, 8/XX, 13–15. https://www.karitas.si/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Zarek_avgust_22-web.pdf

Rousseau, C., & Frounfelker, R. L. (2019). Mental health needs and services for migrants: an overview for primary care providers. Journal of Travel Medicine, 26(2), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1093/jtm/tay150

Rupar, A. (2023, April 18). Hvaležni smo, ker imamo priložnost, da si tukaj ustvarimo novo življenje. Aleteia. https://si.aleteia.org/2023/04/18/hvalezni-smo-ker-imamo-priloznost-da-si-tukaj-ustvarimo-novo-zivljenje

Spencer, S. (2022). The contested concept of integration. In P. Scholten (Ed.), Introduction to Migration Studies (pp. 219–232). IMISCOE Research Series. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-92377-8_14

Strzemecka, S. (2015). School integration in the eyes of migrant children. Based on the Polish migration to Norway. Przegląd Socjologiczny 64(1), 81–101.

Triandafyllidou, A., Isaakyan, I., & Baglioni, S. (2023). Labor market integration as an interactive process. In I. Isaakyan, A. Triandafyllidou & S. Baglioni (Eds.), Immigrant and Asylum Seekers Labor Market Integration upon Arrival: NowHereLand (pp. 1–28). IMISCOE Research Series. Springer. Research Series, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-14009-9_1

Uradni list Republike Slovenije. (2006). Zakon o odnosih Republike Slovenije s Slovenci zunaj njenih meja [Act Regulating Relations between the Republic of Slovenia and Slovenians Abroad]. Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, no. 43/06, 76/10 and 206/21 – ZDUPŠOP. http://pisrs.si/Pis.web/pregledPredpisa?id=ZAKO4387

Van Roekel, E., & De Theije, M. (2020). Hunger in the land of plenty: The complex humanitarian crisis in Venezuela. Anthropology Today, 36(2), 8–12. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8322.12561

Venezuelans, Colombians, and Peruvians lodge near-record numbers of asylum applications in the EU+. (2023, May 22). EUAA – European Union Agency for Asylum. https://euaa.europa.eu/news-events/venezuelans-colombians-and-peruvians-lodge-near-record-numbers-asylum-applications-eu

Downloads

Published

2024-07-31

How to Cite

Vah Jevšnik, M. (2024). Navigating Integration and Emotional Distress During Vulnerable Stages of Life: The Case of Slovenian Repatriates From Venezuela. Two Homelands, 2024(60). https://doi.org/10.3986/2024.2.04

Issue

Section

Articles