Investigating the Local Integration of Rohingya Refugees: A Multifaceted Analysis of the Complex Dynamics Involved

• In Event: Policy Panel: Race, Space, and Inequality

Abstract

This study explores the local integration of Rohingya refugees in Chicago. Previous research has highlighted two primary areas of potential success: professional and academic achievements. In light of the general barriers to success, much of the research conducted in the late 2010s and early 2020s suggests that the process of local integration is complex and should not be analyzed through a narrow framework. Since the Rohingya population has been excluded from the formal education system and denied access to basic healthcare services in Myanmar and neighboring refugee camps, this study investigates their progress in local integration in Chicago, with a particular emphasis on their academic and professional accomplishments.

In alignment with recent publications by Gopalan and Watson (2023) and Marlowe (2018), this study examines local integration through the lens of race and the challenges faced by the Rohingya community, especially in the post-9/11 context and amid growing anti-Islam sentiments in local communities. Employing Shaw and McKay's Social Disorganization Theory, Sampson, Raudenbush, and Earls's Collective Efficacy Theory, and Crenshaw's Intersectionality Theory, this study conducts 25 semi-structured interviews to explore how both they and their children are navigating the journey of local integration.

Author

• Md Kamrul Islam, University of Illinois Chicago