Transforming Refugees In Refugee Camps

The transitional state of Southeast Asian refugees in refugee camps has, since the late 1970s, been viewed by the international community as an opportune time to prepare refugees for their resettlement in western countries. Americans have established extensive programs in language training and cultural orientation to transform refugees into economically selfsufficient and well-adjusted members of the United States. An anthropological perspective of one specific processing center suggests, however, that the liminality of refugees is reinforced by refugee camp activities; that in regards to possessions, status, space, time, mobility, and regulations the total social context of the processing center encourages the powerlessness and dependency of refugees both in the camp and in the country of resettlement.