« 2022. # 1 (163)

The Ethnology Notebooks. 2022. № 1 (163), 202—217

UDK 930: 314.151.3-054.73(44=221.31)”19/20″

DOI https://doi.org/10.15407/nz2022.01.202

FORMATION OF THE AFGHAN COMMUNITY IN FRANCE AT THE TURN OF THE XX—XXI CENTURIES

SYPKO Bogdana

  • ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3136-9340
  • Candidate of History, docent
  • The Ivan Franko National University of Lviv
  • Department of Modern and Contemporary History of Foreign Countries
  • 1, Universytetska str., 79000, Lviv, Ukraine,
  • Contacts: е-mail: bogdanasypko@gmail.com

Abstract. Introduction. The return of Taliban to power in Afghanistan in 2021 has provoked a new wave of refugees. Opponents of the new regime will seek political asylum primarily in Western countries, including France.

Problem Statement. The article clarifies the peculiarities of the formation of Republic’s Afghan community. This involves a number of tasks: to consider the characteristics of migration waves, to analyze France’s policy on Afghan refugees, to highlight the problems faced by newcomers and to trace the emergence of the first associations created by Afghans.

Purpose The sources of the study are reports of administrative organizations, NGO France Terre d’Asile, archives of the official journal and electronic yearbook of public non-profit organizations.

Methods. The general scientific methods of analysis and syn­thesis, as well as special scientific comparative-historical and chronological methods are used in the work. The author adheres to the principle of historicism.

Results. The first refugees from Afghanistan arrived at France in the late 1970s and 1980s, but it was a small number of members of Afghan elite. In the 1990s and early 2000s, the Republic served as a transit area for many Afghan refugees. The initial reluctance of Afghan refugees to see France as a destination is primarily due to the Republic’s strict adherence to the principle of laпcitй. After 2009 the French authorities had to respond to growing requests for asylum. Government proposed three alternatives: obtaining official refugee or subsidized status, voluntary repatriation, or deportation. After 2015 France became the direction of the «Secondary migration» of Afghans from Germany and Scandinavian countries.

Conclusion. The full-fledged integration of the Afghan community in France began in the second decade of the ХХІ century, when its rapid growth was observed. But the community is in the early stage of diaspora development, as evidenced by low proportion of women and small number of organizations created by Afghans.

Keywords: Afghan associations, Afghan community, asylum seekers, France, integration, refugees.

Received 11.01.2022

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