Abstract
“What’s technology got to do with refugees?” is the question posed by Linda Leung, an associate professor at the University of Technology, Sydney in the opening chapter of the Technologies of Refuge and Displacement. Leung believes that technology is crucial for refugees in several ways: It allows them to maintain their family connections, to seek social support, and to truly integrate into their new communities. However, the use of technology by refugees is a topic that has been neglected by most researchers compared with research focusing on other users. Therefore, Leung’s main purpose is to delve deeper into this specific area and contribute much-needed analysis of this population. The author found that, as technologies develop, the ideas of refugees as “have-nots” or of being on the “wrong” side of the “digital divide” should be transcended; thus, she attempts to break the binary relationship between technology and refugees to provide practical solutions for them to access technology. Her book’s logical flow and exquisite writing style will ensure that readers find it an engaging intellectual experience.
The first part of the book introduces the background for the study and details how the author collected the empirical data regarding refugees’ technology use. Based on a series of in-depth interviews and surveys, Leung not only vividly and comprehensively depicts refugees’ technology use but also gives them a chance to be heard. As the author states in chapter 2, “Participants seemed to appreciate the opportunity to have a voice and tell their stories as this was not available to them when they were in refugee camps or immigration detention.” Following this, the concept of the digital divide is systematically reviewed.
In Part 2, “Digital Dichotomies,” by unpacking “the binary oppositions that have been invoked when representing particular technology users and the technology itself,” Leung deconstructs the oversimplified understanding of key binary concepts such as netizen and technological and social determinism, showing how easily we can be influenced by assumptions and perspectives that we take for granted and how important it is to closely examine real-world data to uncover the truth.
In Part 3, “Alternative Models,” the author demonstrates that nonbinary models such as weak ties and the actor network theory can be applied to the displacement context to provide “alternative ways of understanding refugees’ relationships to technology that are not simplistically dichotomized, but rather flexible and adaptable to users in low-tech and resource-scarce environments.” These alternative models are wisely selected as they all align well within the displacement context and also give other researchers promising directions by conceptualizing refugees diversely “as technology users, as active agents, and networkers.”
In Part 4, “Practices and Principles,” Leung distinguishes the notion of accessibility from that of availability. Simply providing refugees with a particular type of technology does not guarantee that they can access it; the reason is that, in general, they come from non-English-speaking and low-tech countries, and therefore, can use only those technologies that are appropriate for their levels of language, technical, and financial literacy. In addition, the author examines the way user-centered design can be applied in practice to propose innovative solutions from “users, experts, and anyone connected to the issue at hand.”
Having been involved in this field for more than fifteen years, Linda Leung has published three books and several research papers pertaining to refugees’ technology use. Many details that are included in the Technologies of Refuge and Displacement display her vast knowledge and expertise in this field. However, we would like to offer several suggestions for future research on this topic. According to the author, the data used in the book span the years from 2004 to 2011. A pilot study conducted between 2007 and 2008 revealed that the mobile phone was the most frequently used technology by refugees, while the landline telephone was the second-most frequently used technology and the Internet was the third-most used, after refugees had arrived in Australia. With the rise of social media in recent years, we suggest that scholars investigate the ways social media have affected refugees and how they can further be used to help them, especially after their resettlement, as social media is highly pervasive and has tremendously changed every aspect of our lives.
Finally, it is difficult to read this book without reflecting on the controversial, ongoing debate regarding a proposed border wall between the United States and Mexico to stop refugees and migrants from entering the United States. The topic has already resulted in 35 days of partial shutdowns of the U.S. government and US$11 billion in losses, as estimated by the U.S. Congressional Budget Office. Similar issues have arisen related to Europe’s long-standing migrant crisis. It therefore makes sense for scholars to conduct comparative research that takes these additional issues into consideration, thereby giving us a larger picture of refugees and displacement on a global scale. These issues urgently require solutions and affect the larger population worldwide.