Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
1
pubmed:dateCreated
2010-5-31
pubmed:abstractText
Debates between refugee advocates, institutional actors and the wider public regarding refugee claimants often evoke anger, fear and sadness, as well as more positive emotions such as compassion, suggesting a complex societal emotional response toward refugee stories. This article analyses the emotional interactions surrounding refugee determination hearings, as reflected in the discourse of administrative judges and refugees. Our results show that the concepts of empathy and compassion are often used by judges to confirm the benevolent image that the administrative tribunal wants to project as a representative body of the host country. However, the very unequal power relations of the hearing setting structure the transmission of the refugee stories in a way that often prevents an emotional encounter between decision makers and refugees. Beyond the specific context of the refugee determination process, these results illustrate how prevalent psychological models of empathy and the transmission of trauma implicitly reveal a political dimension that validates representations of the helpless but potentially dangerous Other, representations that often underlie broader north-south power relations.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Feb
pubmed:issn
1461-7471
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Electronic
pubmed:volume
47
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
70-92
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed-meshheading:20511253-Advisory Committees, pubmed-meshheading:20511253-Altruism, pubmed-meshheading:20511253-Consumer Advocacy, pubmed-meshheading:20511253-Cooperative Behavior, pubmed-meshheading:20511253-Empathy, pubmed-meshheading:20511253-Humans, pubmed-meshheading:20511253-Interdisciplinary Communication, pubmed-meshheading:20511253-Interview, Psychological, pubmed-meshheading:20511253-Machiavellianism, pubmed-meshheading:20511253-Moral Obligations, pubmed-meshheading:20511253-Narration, pubmed-meshheading:20511253-Politics, pubmed-meshheading:20511253-Power (Psychology), pubmed-meshheading:20511253-Prejudice, pubmed-meshheading:20511253-Quebec, pubmed-meshheading:20511253-Refugees, pubmed-meshheading:20511253-Social Justice, pubmed-meshheading:20511253-Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic
pubmed:year
2010
pubmed:articleTitle
"Look me in the eye": empathy and the transmission of trauma in the refugee determination process.
pubmed:affiliation
McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada. cecile.rousseau@mcgill.ca
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article