Abstract

In conflict situations, rapid changes can occur in the conditions in both host and home countries. In the context of such uncertainty, how do refugees navigate the bureaucratic apparatus of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to obtain humanitarian aid and resettlement? We carried out fieldwork in 2019 in Lebanon and found the UNHCR’s bureaucracy to be a ‘black box’ for refugees in relation to the provision of information on humanitarian aid and resettlement. In this context of limited information, we found that rumours – widely considered to be uncertain truths – contributed to shaping participants’ understanding of the UNHCR’s decisions on the provision of aid and resettlement. In this article, we highlight the interpretive aspect of rumours and argue that refugees engage in interpretive labour as a result of the unequal relationship between themselves and the UNHCR’s opaque bureaucracy and provision of information. While refugees have to provide the UNHCR with detailed and highly personal information in interviews and household inspections, officers provide refugees with only generic responses, leading refugees to make their own interpretations of the bureaucratic decision-making processes. We conceptualise this interpretive labour as a collective process that contributes to generating rumours among refugee groups.

摘要

在冲突局势中，东道国和母国的情况都可能发生快速变化。在这种不确定性的背景下，难民如何通过联合国难民事务高级专员公署（UNHCR）的官僚机构来获得人道主义援助和重新安置？我们于 2019 年在黎巴嫩进行了实地考察，发现难民署的官僚机构是难民在提供人道主义援助和重新安置信息方面的“黑匣子”。在信息有限的情况下，我们发现谣言——被广泛认为是不确定的事实——有助于塑造参与者对难民署关于提供援助和重新安置的决定的理解。在本文中，我们强调谣言的解释性方面，并认为难民从事解释性工作是由于他们与难民署不透明的官僚机构和信息提供之间的不平等关系。虽然难民必须在面谈和家庭检查中向难民署提供详细且高度个人化的信息，但官员们只向难民提供一般性的回答，导致难民对官僚决策过程做出自己的解释。我们将这种解释性劳动概念化为一个集体过程，有助于在难民群体中制造谣言。官员只向难民提供一般性的回应，导致难民对官僚决策过程做出自己的解释。我们将这种解释性劳动概念化为一个集体过程，有助于在难民群体中制造谣言。官员只向难民提供一般性的回应，导致难民对官僚决策过程做出自己的解释。我们将这种解释性劳动概念化为一个集体过程，有助于在难民群体中制造谣言。