Österreichisches Jahrbuch für Soziale Arbeit

Refugee Resistance against Deportation in Germany, Post-Deportation, and Social Work

Zusammenfassung

In this article we explore discourses and practices of refugee activist struggles in the context of deportation and post-deportation and their connection to social work. We examine knowledge production in refugee activism, direct action against deportation, and self-organised post-deportation social support by migrants. Thus, this research complements studies on migrant activism around the right to stay by addressing the question of how refugees in Germany articulate their criticism of and resistance to deportations as well as how migrant activism in the form of social support in Mali responds to the needs of migrants after deportation. Our research is based on documents from refugee activism since the 1990s, interviews with activists in Germany and Mali, and observation. We highlight the need for social work to pay attention to migrants†™ struggles against deportation and to support migrants post-deportation.