(Seeking) Asylum in the Netherlands: Experiences of and Challenges to Sustain Human Security of Afghan Forced Migrants

Abstract

Through adopting a human security approach, this research aims to explore what implications forced migration movements have on experiences of, and challenges to sustain, human security of Afghan forced migrants in the Netherlands. The human security approach places individuals and communities, instead of states, at the centre of security. At the core of human security are three freedoms that are fundamental to human life: freedom from fear, freedom from want, and freedom from indignity. Fourteen semi-structured interviews with Afghan forced migrants who arrived in the Netherlands between 2007 and 2021 form the basis of this research.

This research sheds light on the predominant insecurities and conditions that drove Afghan migrants to flee. Participants fled from situations severely endangering their personal security, such as persecution and shootings. A combination of structure and agency determined when participants could flee, which routes and channels they could use, and which destinations were reachable. Financial resources appear to be an important factor in the abilities to move.

Participants reported several insecurities in the Netherlands. They did not experience any threats to their freedom from fear. Hence, seeking asylum often involved temporal uncertainties, which gave rise to unworthiness and feelings of indignity. Some participants reported discrimination or inequality because they perceived to be treated unequally by authorities to other migrant groups. Moreover, when migrants became irregular, they often experienced livelihood tensions, threatening their freedom from want. Receiving refugee status diminished most of migrants’ insecurities. However, some felt pessimistic and experienced feelings of indignity due to the long time they spent waiting. Last, participants reported difficulties with finding jobs that match education and work history in Afghanistan, as well as instances of discrimination as possible sources of feelings of indignity.

This research contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of Afghan forced migrants’ human security in the Netherlands, as well as to a more broad narrative concerning human security and displaced lives of forced migrants fleeing from places of conflict.