During twelve years of ethno-nationalist secessionist violence in the north and east of Sri Lanka, insurrection in the south, and island-wide state repression, many Tamils were forced to seek political asylum overseas. At least 200,000 Tamils, primarily from the Jaffna Peninsula, have escaped to Europe of whom ca. 25,000 (the largest group relative to the population) have settled in Switzerland, the focus of this study. The author examines the conditions in Sri Lanka that led to the flight, the phases and technicalities of the emigration and resettlement in Switzerland. Based on anthropological fieldwork and on completely new archival material, the author not only looks at the development of the Tamil community in all its diversity but also at the impact of federal and cantonal policy and practice, at the economic situation and broader changes in Switzerland which led to demands for reforms to the country's asylum and immigration rules. In this respect, Switzerland set an example that other governments were soon to follow.
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Editorial Reviews
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...based on good use of existing literature, documentary research, and ethnographic interviewing... has major implications for those concerned with repatriations and the way in which asylumseekers are channeled to different countries. -- Elizabeth Colson
...the study is strong...the data is very well analyzed and socio historically contextualized... .McDowells research can not only serve as a praiseworthy example of a detailed migration study, but scholars in religious studies, anthropology and indology may take it as an example how to contextualize and to empirically substantiate ones studies on South Asian overseas communities. -- International Journal of Hindu Studies
Since the early 1980s, several hundred thousand Sri Lankans, mainly Tamils, have fled violent conflict and sought asylum abroad...McDowells book deals with this Sri Lankan migration and settlement in Switzerland. It gives and outline of the conflict in Sri Lanka which led to the Tamils out-migration, and provides a useful analysis of the mechanisms of Swiss asylum policy, focusing on its meandering in relation to the Tamil asylum-seekers and thus evidencing the economic and political tenets underpinning asylum policy...The author makes intelligent use of the astonishingly rich sources of data yielded by the Swiss Federal Office for Refuges on the characteristics of Tamil asylum seekers. This study is thorough and well documented. It provides a detailed insight into the workings of the Sri Lankan expatriate community and may help promote a better understanding of the difference and continuities between refugees and other types of migrants. -- Journal of Refugee Studies
...the study is strong...the data is very well analyzed and socio historically contextualized... .McDowells research can not only serve as a praiseworthy example of a detailed migration study, but scholars in religious studies, anthropology and indology may take it as an example how to contextualize and to empirically substantiate ones studies on South Asian overseas communities. -- International Journal of Hindu Studies
Since the early 1980s, several hundred thousand Sri Lankans, mainly Tamils, have fled violent conflict and sought asylum abroad...McDowells book deals with this Sri Lankan migration and settlement in Switzerland. It gives and outline of the conflict in Sri Lanka which led to the Tamils out-migration, and provides a useful analysis of the mechanisms of Swiss asylum policy, focusing on its meandering in relation to the Tamil asylum-seekers and thus evidencing the economic and political tenets underpinning asylum policy...The author makes intelligent use of the astonishingly rich sources of data yielded by the Swiss Federal Office for Refuges on the characteristics of Tamil asylum seekers. This study is thorough and well documented. It provides a detailed insight into the workings of the Sri Lankan expatriate community and may help promote a better understanding of the difference and continuities between refugees and other types of migrants. -- Journal of Refugee Studies
About the Author
Christopher McDowell is Research Officer, Refugee Studies Programme, International Development Centre, University of Oxford.
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