HYPOTHESIS
Humiliation: an Absence of Social Power
According to Goffman, face is the positive social value a person claims for herself by the way she presents herself in a social interaction. One way of describing humiliation is as a loss of face, that is the picture of oneself one wishes to present is suddenly discredited before an audience. So one effect of humiliation is that a person can lose power in social action, an absence of power that can be akin to social death; hence the use of the term "mortification" to describe severe humiliation. An interesting point of study could be a consideration of the effects of this disempowerment through humiliation, individually in terms of self-concept, and loss of a social and political means to act.
Refugees potentially already suffer other types of social absences, including not having a home, family, occupation, or status. Refugees are potentially deprived of many means of social interaction. Humiliation perpetuates further absence within the refugees social sphere. What is an individual's response to humiliation in terms of their subsequent action?
AN EXISTENTIAL-PHENOMENOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE
Being-in-the-World and Humiliation
Refugees understood from an existential perspective means that each refugee exists as a being-in-the-world; that is, each refugee has an immediate relation to (1) self, (2) others and (3) things in the world. The many relations to these aspects is unique according to each refugee, and exists as the totality of their lived situation. Existential phenomenology attempts to characterise these relations comprising a refugees experience of her world and herself; such relations are understood within a context of the refugees whole being-in-the-world.
The refugee retains dignity throughout a study of humiliation by remaining as a free and responsible being, as a subject rather than object, as a self rather than Other, and essentially as perpetuating their own values--i.e. as a person. Further, for the sake of avoiding depersonlisation, an existential study of the refugee does not aim to be objective but attempts to remain unbiased. We regard an objective study of the refugee as further humilation to their predicament.
Understanding humiliation existentially means that humiliation is lived by someone, i.e. by a particular individual, namely, the unique refugee. Humiliation involves experiencing self as both subject and object. In humiliation, we are suddenly seen by others as something, we have become an isolated object for other selves: the refugee experiences being-an-object-for-others (object=a refugee); but, at the same time, we feel ourselves being looked at, we feel ourselves blushing and turning pale: the refugee experiences their own subjectivity.
Further, in humiliation the refugee lives the immediate relation to their own body: the body is at once felt by self through feelings and simultaneously experienced as being perceived by others, being at once comprehended from outside and inside. Furthermore, In humiliation one feels looked down upon, 'small' and 'lowly'. Why? Because the self sees itself through others-i.e. from outside. The experience of spatiality (particularly 'size of self') is suddenly altered in humiliation through the look of the Other.
Thus the refugee is a being-in-the-world, fundamentally anchored at once to the three aspects of being (others, self and world). Further, the immediate relations between one's individual, social and political situation is revealed to self through the experience of humiliation. Humiliation is not reducible to any single one of these spheres (e.g. internal experience or cognition). Our multi-disciplinary approach shall reflect this principle.
Unembodiment as an Existential Way of Responding to Humiliation
The refugee is likely to have been thrown into being a refugee, fleeing their country out of the necessity of survival. However, the attitudes of the refugee towards their world remain as being fundamentally chosen, that is, the refugee is assumed to be free in self-determining how humiliation and being-a-refugee is to be lived (or responded to). Choosing such ways is to ground oneself in the world amongst others.
However, one attitude towards being a refugee is that the refugee may wish to be otherwise, that is, to not-be-a-refugee; a refugee may live their situation in bad faith. Being under strain from the painful emotion that humiliation is, the refugee may flee the lived feelings and their body-for-others, both germane to humiliation, by divorcing their self from their body. In other words, as a possible reaction to feeling humiliated, the refugee becomes existentially unembodied, existing eventually in mind-body dualism (see Laing, 1960). This is to say that, although the feelings of humiliation are universal, the relation between bodily experience and self is unstable (see Lindner, 2000).
The refugee exists as in danger of having its immediate relations to self, body, others, and the world shattered. Being-beyond-humiliation is the extreme of complete unembodiment, the complete divorce between body and mindand therefore between authentic social action and being with others. At such an extreme, no further humiliation is felt as such; it is just too painful to relate to bodily experience. Conceptually understood, the humiliated self has the possibility of becoming bereft of feeling, of becoming numb.
This thesis suggests that oppression dis-embodies the refugee through unacceptance and lack of empathy. Merleau-Ponty has described the existential relation between a chosen project and 'missing limb'. Explained in an example, a amputee-pianist would feel their arm as absent inasmuch as they have the project of piano-playing. This has implications for the refugee (relating to their body) whom intends projects that cannot be manifested, whether through oppression or displacement. Thus 'healing' humiliation is re-embodying the refugee, through the upheaval of oppression and empowerment of the refugee (namely, with manifesting their original projects).
OTHER AVENUES OF CONSIDERATION
In Hayes & Turner Baker (2004), discourse analysis was used to highlight the differing meanings referred to by the terms 'asylum seeker' and 'refugee'. 'Asylum seeker' had negative associations including ideas of bogusness and scrounging. 'Refugee' connotated victim status. We are aware of the distinction and the various social understandings of such terms.
A structural consideration is the idea of the refugee having a 'moral career'. In Asylums, Goffman described the career of a mental patient, indicating key moments in the chronology of the patient. Such awareness is to situate the humiliated refugee in relation to their individual past and that of the general 'refugee' as such. How does the Iraqi refugee structure their past in terms of the events and periods common to all refugees (such as, through pre-flight, flight, resettlement and assimilation)? What is the relation between humiliation and structuring self as 'refugee' through a moral career?
SHORT BIBLIOGRAPHY
R. D. Laing (1960), The Divided Self (see chapter chapter 4: The Embodied and Unembodied Self)
Lindner (2000), Humiliation in the Flesh
KEY TERMS
Embodied/Unembodied, media representation, discourse analysis, stereo-types, social action. Iraq
Regional Description/Introduction of Study Population
Iraq borders on Turky, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Syria, and has a population of approximately 20 million. The main ethnic groups are Arabs, whom account for approximatlely 80% of the population, and Kurds, whom account for about 20%. There are also several ethnic minority groups such as Armenians, Assyrians, Turkomens and Iranians. Religiously the main divide lies between the Sunni-muslim (about 15%) and the Shi'a Muslims (50-60%). Geographically and broadly speaking, the country is divided into three zones: The Kurdish North, The Shi'a Muslim South, and a central, Sunni-Muslim part.
Human rights abuses in Iraq have been on the agenda for several decades. Forced displacement of the Turkomen, military attacks against the Shi'a Marsh Arabs, water diversion, restriction of access to food, drinking water and medicines are among the numerous attrocities reported (United nations High Commisioner for Refugees). Both Denmark and Brittain have a long history with Iraqi refugee asylum seekers.
With the US-led Operation Iraqi Freedom initiated in March 2003, the Saddam Hussein government was toppled. While success on the battlefield was achieved within a matter of days, the U.S and Great Britain found it much more difficult to establish a functioning administration. Security remains a key issue in Iraq today, and as a consequence of the contemporary status within the police and justice system many Iraqi citizens find themselves hesitant to approach any relevant authorities for help. In fact, some observers report that contact with authorities can be counter productive (Danish Refugee Asylum Assistance). Consequently there are still grounds for Iraqi refugees seeking asylum irrespective of regime change.
Post 2003 Refugees granted assylum can be divided into the following categories:
- Persons whom worked under the earlier regime and whom risk becoming victims of revenge because they (possibly unjustified) are seen as having committed attrocities towards one or more people. Examples include doctors whom work at hospitals where forced amputations occurred.
- Persons whom have been subject to torture or other abuse, and in which the people or person responsible for the abuse still excercises influence in the region of residence.
- Women whom are threatned with honor-killings due to marriage or divorce against the will of their families, or due to affairs outside of marriage.
- Single, Christian women without a nettwork of support.
We wish to study Iraqi refugees living in Denmark and UK (Manchester). We feel that this is a national group of particular interest to humiliation studies when seen in context of persons taking refuge within a country that has waged war on their place of origin. The host nation (UK) has the potential to be labled as both provider, victor, and also as humiliator.
There has been a long history of British involvement in Iraq, from the humilation of colonialism in early twentieth century to ecomonic sanctions, two Gulf wars and present occupation.
Iraqis at present are the third largest national group seeking asylum in the UK, according to Home Office statistics. The majority of Iraqi refugees living in the UK are Kurdish.
Pre-2003, Denmark has had little if anything to do with Iraq, other than taking its refugees. The number of refugees accepted in 2003 dropped markedly due in part to changed regulations. However, Iraqi refugees are still the third largest group of asylum seekers in Denmark, moving down from 4 years of "first place" in 2002 (Utlendingestyrelsen 2005).
The recent political elections in Denmark highlighted among other things a growing hostility among Danes towards immigrants. This may add another humiliating element to the culture clash ineviatbly experienced by the refugee.
There are marked differences between the quality of welfare afforded citizens of Denmark and UK (e.g Philip & Smith, 2005), and this may effect the level of humiliation felt by refugees within the respective countries.
Contrast with British colonial and recent history with Iraq.
OPERATIONAL SCHDULE
Months:
- 1) Narrow research questions through consultation with Iraqi community groups. 2-4) Individual interviews with refugees; 5-6) Transcription; 7-9) Analysis, draft conclusion and possible follow-up interviews; 9-12) refine analysis and conclusions, presentation and final draft.