Does Community Size Matter in the Settlement Process? The Experience of Syrian Refugees in Lethbridge in Alberta, Canada

Sandeep Agrawal () and Pradeep Sangapala ()
Additional contact information
Sandeep Agrawal: University of Alberta
Pradeep Sangapala: University of Alberta

Journal of International Migration and Integration, 2021, vol. 22, issue 2, No 14, 653-672

Abstract: Abstract The article documents refugee experience in the first year of their settlement in a small city in Canada and then explores whether the size of the community matters in the settlement processes. This is based on an extensive study of Syrian refugee settlement experiences in one large Canadian city (Edmonton) and one small Canadian city (Lethbridge). The findings argue that contrary to existing scholarly literature, small municipalities such as Lethbridge were more creative, nimble, and efficient in settling Syrian newcomers. In small cities, however, lack of denominational and non-denominational organizations to complement government assistance, the onset of compassionate fatigue among the city dwellers, and limited retention of newcomers due to limited employment opportunity are real threats to the settlement process immediately after newcomers’ arrival and in the long term. A more substantial role of municipal governments in the refugee resettlement process is recommended to offset the disproportionate burden settlement sector carries.

Keywords: Syrian refugees; Sponsorship; Community size; Lethbridge; Canada (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s12134-020-00761-6 Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:joimai:v:22:y:2021:i:2:d:10.1007_s12134-020-00761-6

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.springer ... tudies/journal/12134

DOI: 10.1007/s12134-020-00761-6

Access Statistics for this article

Journal of International Migration and Integration is currently edited by Lori Wilkinson

More articles in Journal of International Migration and Integration from Springer
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().