Toward Integration: “We Cannot Achieve Integration Without Struggle”

This chapter consists of the narratives of Kurdish-Yezidi refugees regarding a variety of issues pertaining to their lives in new receiving environments that are not unrelated to their homeland. Refugees discuss the policies that disregard their cultural, social, and structural requirements, which they rely on to manage their lives, as well as the factors that shape them. Authorities’ lack of understanding of refugee context and their lived experiences is linked to the demands they place on refugees. These include, but are not limited to, the bureaucratic quagmire associated with paperwork and structural formalities that refugees come across. This chapter focuses on the refugees’ struggle to overcome these challenges by adapting coping strategies alongside pre-existing diaspora organizations. The chapter also addresses intra-community obstacles and conflicts.