| Original Full Text | Masculinity Tales: The Impact of Masculinities on the Socio-economic Status of Male Refugees in Malawi. Daphne Langwe Candidate number:125489 VID Specialized University Stavanger Campus Master’s Thesis Master in Community Development and Social Innovation Word count: 23,905 Date: 15.05.2024 ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS To God almighty, for being on my side. For the gift of wisdom, courage, and endurance. I would not have done it without you. For the inspiration I found in you when I was down. To myself, this thesis is a reminder of my capabilities and potential, both as a scholar and as an individual. Through the highs and lows, I remained steadfast in the pursuit of knowledge and understanding. iii ABSTRACT Masculinity is a central aspect of men’s lives. It is both public and intimate, something that men co-create, perform, and live. This study sought to explore masculinities among refugee men in Malawi. Specifically, the study aimed at understanding how masculinities impact the choices that refugee men make and how they influence their lives, socioeconomic status, and standing within their communities and among other men. To achieve this aim, the study answered the following research questions: How do refugee men understand masculinities and their intersection with everyday life choices? How do refugees feel they are perceived and socially positioned within society? and What role do ethnic enclaves play in refugee men’s lives if any? The study was qualitative in nature with data being collected through in-depth interviews with 8 refugee men. The study revealed the complex and multifaceted dynamics that men navigate influenced by social policies, cultural norms, expectations, and individual experiences. It was found that similarities in some cultural layers of the refugees' origin countries and that of the host country Malawi make it easier for the refugees to maintain cultural attributes from their home countries. This cultural similarity also influences how they are perceived as they are not seen as a cultural threat and hence, they are accepted even among the local communities outside the refugee camp. The respondents understanding of masculinities was found to center around the family, with men being seen as breadwinners and heads of households. The findings also revealed that there are different forms of masculinity that men experience over their lifetime. The fluid nature of masculinity was seen through men’s daily life activities and choices. The fluidity of masculinity was also reflected throughout their lifetimes at different ages as boys, young men, and elders in the community. The findings also revealed how the refugees are in one economic class which influences their social status in society. Evidence revealed the existence of ethnic enclaves among the refugees whose reach exceeds the confines of the camp. Ethnic enclaves were found to be a major source of social connections that translate into economic opportunities. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of refugee men’s experiences in host societies elucidating how they navigate social and cultural expectations and restrictions to secure and maintain manhood. The study also revealed gaps in the existing literature on refugee men from third-world countries who migrate to other third-world countries, the existence and impact of ethnic iv enclaves, and how refugees are perceived by the local population in Malawi and in the Sub-Saharan region. v LIST OF TABLES Tables Contents Table 1 Ages of Respondents………………………………………………. 41 Table 2 Education Qualifications of Respondents…………………………...41 Table 3 Time Frame Between Arrival in Camp and Moving out of Camp…. 42 vi ACRONYMS DRC: the Democratic Republic of Congo ILO: International Labor Organization IOM: International Organization for Migration IMT: Inclusive Masculinities Theory NGO: Non-Governmental Organization UNHCR: United Nations High Commission for Refugees SGBV: Sexual Gender-Based Violence vii Table of Contents ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .............................................................................................................. ii ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................... iii LIST OF TABLES .......................................................................................................................... v ACRONYMS ................................................................................................................................. vi Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................................. 10 1.0 Background of the Study .................................................................................................... 10 1.1 Refugees in Malawi ............................................................................................................ 13 1.2 A Focus on Men .................................................................................................................. 15 1.3 Statement of the Problem .................................................................................................... 17 1.4 Research Questions ............................................................................................................. 18 1.5 Significance of the study ..................................................................................................... 19 Chapter 2: Theoretical Framework and Literature Review .......................................................... 20 2.0 Chapter Overview ............................................................................................................... 20 2.1 Social Stratification Theory ................................................................................................ 20 2.2 Masculinities ....................................................................................................................... 21 Literature Review.......................................................................................................................... 28 2.3.0 Literature Review Overview ............................................................................................ 28 2.3.1 The Influence of Work and Employment on Refugee Men’s Lives ................................ 28 2.3.2 Refugees Social Positioning and Social Status ................................................................ 30 2.3.3 The Role of Ethnic Enclaves in Refugee’s Lives. ........................................................... 32 Chapter 3: Research Design and Methodology ............................................................................ 35 3.0 Chapter Overview ............................................................................................................... 35 3.1 Research Design.................................................................................................................. 35 3.2 Study Context...................................................................................................................... 36 3.3 Data Collection Method ...................................................................................................... 37 3.4 Sampling and Sample Size.................................................................................................. 38 3.5 Data Analysis ...................................................................................................................... 39 3.6 Study Limitations ................................................................................................................ 40 viii 3.7 Ethical Considerations ........................................................................................................ 40 3.8 Positioning .......................................................................................................................... 41 Chapter 4: Research Findings. ...................................................................................................... 42 4.0 Chapter Overview ............................................................................................................... 42 4.1 Demographic Characteristics of Respondents .................................................................... 42 4.2 Refugee men’s understanding of masculinities and their intersection with everyday life. 44 4.3 Social Perception and Social Positioning ........................................................................... 47 4.4 The Role of Ethnic Enclaves in Refugee Men’s Lives ....................................................... 50 Chapter 5: Discussion ................................................................................................................... 52 5.0 Chapter Overview ............................................................................................................... 52 5.1 Refugee men’s understanding of masculinities and their intersection with everyday life. 52 5.2 Social Perception and Social Positioning ........................................................................... 58 5.3 The Role of Ethnic Enclaves in Refugee Men’s Lives ....................................................... 63 CHAPTER SIX: CONCLUSION ................................................................................................. 69 6.0 Chapter Overview ............................................................................................................... 69 6.1 Conclusion .......................................................................................................................... 69 Appendix 1 .................................................................................................................................... 80 Appendix 2 .................................................................................................................................... 82 ix Chapter 1: Introduction 1.0 Background of the Study Refugee experiences are influenced by multiple factors such as vulnerability, social policies, and culture. At the core of these experiences are individual experiences which are influenced by different factors such as ethnic background, age, and gender. For men, these experiences are also uniquely influenced by masculinities. In this paper, masculinities will be understood as the different gendered practices that refugee men embody, internalize, and practice, that influence their actions and how they position themselves in relation to other men and women in society. Scholarly work on masculinities has revealed that masculinities are deeply embedded in culture, social, and individual contexts, and structures making them both subtle and easy to ignore at the same time prominent and enigmatic (Brown & Ismail, 2019; Connell, 2005; Ortner, 2022; Srivastava, 2018). For instance, masculinity is easily mistaken for patriarchy, yet the latter is a system of organizing social life that is premised on the idea of the superiority of all men to women, through which masculinity is performed, enacted, and even maintained (Srivastava, 2018). Similarly, Ortner (2022) defines patriarchy as the power of men over other men and women. Ortner (2022, p. 307) continues that ‘patriarchy never stands alone, and always exists in complex intersections with other forms of power.’ Patriarchal arrangements assume and produce a notion of manhood that is inseparable from racial superiority, heterosexuality, and able-bodiedness making patriarchy inherently intersectional, in the sense that it organizes not just ‘men’ in the abstract but men defined as superior in terms of all the other indexes of social superiority in the culture (Ortner, 2022). In this way, patriarchy provides the basis for multiple masculinities in different contexts within which patriarchy operates both overtly and covertly like in politics, marriage, and men’s personal lives. That patriarchy as a social arrangement influences gender relations is well understood. However, this has mostly been discussed in relation to women and not men (Brown & Ismail, 2019; Srivastava, 2018) as highlighted by the prevalence of numerous studies on feminism and it’s long history. As Srivastava (2018, p. 33) states, masculinity studies is, in this way, a supplementary discourse to feminism. That men’s life and masculinity is equally affected and influenced by femininity is understood but there is less documentation regarding it although this 11 is becoming a growing field of interest of late. As O’Hanlon (1997: 1) states, a proper understanding of the field of power in which women have lived their lives demands that we look at men as gendered beings too: at what psychic and social investments sustain their sense of themselves as men, at what networks and commonalities bring men together based on shared gender identity, and what hierarchies and exclusions set them apart (Srivastava, 2018, p. 34).It is for this reason that study seeks to explore how men as gendered beings understand how masculinities intersect with different aspects of their life, how they as men perceive themselves and how others perceive them. And how they embody masculinity in their daily lives. Although women are involved in the creation and enforcement of masculinities and men’s identities, men, have a unique experience and perspectives hence they should be the ones more involved in creating knowledge about their experiences. White (1997) states that the first step in analyzing men and masculinities is to explore the ‘private stories’ of men, and how they support or contradict the public ideologies of masculinity, especially in a context where there is a dearth of literature on masculinities like this study’s setting. This paper therefore dives into the intersection of masculinities and the social and individual contexts that influence the socio-economic outcomes of refugee men. Culture, work and employment, social status, social perception, and the influence of policies are analyzed and discussed in relation to masculinities and men’s lived experiences to provide an understanding of how these issues interact, intersect, and influence men’s lives. Socio-economic status has been defined as the position that an individual or family holds with reference to the existing and prevailing average standards of living, income, material possession as well as participation in community activities (Akinbile, 2007). Socioeconomic status is fluid and can change over an individual's lifespan. For instance, through migration, one can gain status or lose their status and honor. The status gain and/or loss also depends on where it is being viewed or analyzed from. For example, in a migration context, one may move to a lower socio-economic status in the destination country. In contrast, the same migration may mean a gain in status from the perspective of the origin country. Socio-economic status is therefore a subjective issue. Euteneuer, (2014) defines subjective social status as the individual’s perception of one’s 12 place on a societal hierarchy (visualized by a ladder), taking into consideration their economic resources, education, and occupation or job prestige. This definition takes into account the diversity of human experiences that differ from person to person. The definition also takes into consideration other social factors that intersect in individual experiences including masculinity, femininity, and the migration experience itself in determining one's social status. The subjectivity of social status also depends on the reference point, whether it is the host population or the migrant's origin location. Engzell, (2020) states that research on migrants’ social and economic position is incomplete as long as it does not study how immigrants themselves perceive their position. When it comes to refugees, of greater importance is also migration-induced social mobility which may not be within the control of the migrants. Migrants should therefore be at the center of describing and analyzing their situation and social status. This thesis aims to understand refugee men’s self-perception of their social status and how the issue of masculinity intersects with this self-perception and experience. Migration research has become increasingly important in recent years with the continuing increase in migratory movements across the globe. The World Bank (2023) provides a more general definition of migration as the movement of persons away from their place of usual residence, either across an international border or within a state. This paper takes Alan Simmon's (1987) suggestion of using three major dimensions to define migration: a change in residence, a shift in employment, and a shift in social relations (Piché & Dutreuilh, 2013, p. 142). This definition highlights some of the social aspects of migration that migrants encounter which the definition by the World Bank does not highlight. These social aspects of migration are what make migratory movements different from person to person. There are different types of migrants based on the reasons for migration and migration period. Refugees are one group of migrants that the International Organization for Migration (IOM), World Bank, and other authority organizations recognize as forced migrants. Refugees exist the world over. According to the 1951 Convention, ‘ a refugee is a person who, owing to a well-founded fear of persecution, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of his former habitual residence as a result of such events, is unable or, owing to such 13 fear, is unwilling to return to it (World Bank, 2023). Lately, due to an increase in wars, civil unrest, climate change, and other factors, the number of refugees across the globe has increased. A lot of countries are hosts to refugees. The World Bank Group (2023, p.xxvi) defines migrants ‘as people who live outside their country of nationality; whether they moved in search of better economic opportunities or were displaced by conflict or persecution.’ In this paper, refugees are recognized as a distinct group of migrants in line with this definition. This is because ‘refugees are objectively migrants, and over time, refugees end up working, setting up businesses, reunifying their families at their destinations, and starting to form communities just as other migrants do. Sometimes, refugees also take up the same routes as regular migrants’ (De Haas et al., 2019, p. 33). These are also aspects that are observed among the refugees in question. In addition, distinguishing between the two categories risks ignoring what happens ‘in between’ geographically, socially, and temporally as being largely inconsequential yet the ‘real world’ doesn’t work like that as people with different motivations travel together and individuals may change status or simultaneously fit in two or more categories (Crawley & Skleparis, 2018). Hence in this paper, there is an application of different migration concepts, and the terms migrants and refugees might be used synonymously. 1.1 Refugees in Malawi Malawi, a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa hosts refugees and asylum seekers. Malawi also hosts other types of migrants as recognized by the IOM and World Bank including migrant workers and international students (Ndegwa, 2015). Like most countries, Malawi has also been an origin country for refugees. This was during the one-party era when Jehovah’s Witness followers fled prosecution from the government and other political activists who opposed the then-life president, Dr. Hastings Kamuzu Banda (Donald, 2014, p. 10). Malawi’s relative stability offers the ideal destination for immigrants from regions with instability, especially countries in the Horn of Africa and some parts of the Central African region. Malawi is increasingly becoming a site of second or third asylum for refugees (Crisp & Kiragu, 2010; Donald, 2014). It is also a route to other preferred destination countries and is used to ‘stage’ these planned movements (Crisp & Kiragu, 2010; Ndegwa, 2015). The Democratic Republic of Congo contributed most of the refugees in Malawi as of 2022, followed by Burundi, Rwanda, 14 and Mozambique (UNHCR, 2023). There is an encampment policy for refugees and asylum seekers (Ndegwa 2014). This policy is attributed to the socio-economic, political, environmental, and security challenges as its justification (Sinoya, 2021). Refugees and asylum seekers are housed at Dzaleka camp, which until recently was the only camp in the country and the current largest camp (population-wise). The camp is a multicultural community or ‘settlement’ area as often called. It should be noted that although referred to as a ‘refugee camp’, Dzaleka is essentially a community or village in its organization and structure. Dzaleka was originally one of the three maximum prisons for political detainees during Malawi’s one-party era after it gained independence from British colonial rule. The prison was closed shortly after Malawi became a multiparty democracy in 1994, but it was quickly reopened as a refugee camp in December of the same year to accommodate refugees coming primarily from the Horn of Africa and parts of Central Africa (Bulletin, 2005, p. 16117). Since the 1970’s Malawi has hosted refugees including more than one million refugees from neighboring Mozambique who fled from the country’s long civil war (Donald, 2014). Shawa (2005) states that the one million refugees, both those in camps and those dispersed amongst the local population were regarded by the local population as having a negative economic impact on their lives (Donald, 2014). This was due, at least partly, to the fact that Malawi received little or no international assistance for hosting Mozambican refugees, placing locals and refugees in competition for the same state resources (Crisp & Kiragu, 2010). The trend of refugees settling outside the camp persists. Although there is an encampment policy, most refugees have settled and integrated into the local communities just like before. Some of them became well-known members of the community, including owning reputable businesses and marrying within the local population. However, as of June 2023, the government of Malawi recalled all refugees back to the camp. The camp which was originally designed to house about 10,000 people currently hosts over 50,000 people (UNHCR, 2022). This involuntary move disrupted the refugees’ lives, livelihoods, and connections, and the relative stability they had built outside the camp. It is also evidence that refugees are still perceived as a threat and competition for resources and opportunities. This move by the government also reflects the fact 15 that refugee camps or settlements do not exist in a vacuum outside the host country's social, political, and power relations (Donald, 2014), but are subject to being influenced by these external factors. Castles (2000, p. 277) observed that ‘culturally distinct settler groups almost always maintain their languages and some elements of their homeland cultures, at least for a few generations in host societies.’ This is easy to see within refugee camps and even outside the camp, for example, it can be seen through their traditions, cuisine, and language. It is also easy to maintain since migrants, including refugees, usually settle or associate with fellow migrant groups known as ethnic enclaves. Ethnic enclaves have been defined as areas in which the population’s share of an ethnic group is higher than the share of that group at the national level (Chakraborty & Schüller, 2022). Espinoza-Kulick et al. (2021, p. 1) provide a broader definition which defines an ethnic enclave as; the geographic concentration of migrants and co-ethnics in a neighborhood, a place with social and economic structures that diverge from those in the surrounding area, or a concentration of economic activity, particularly businesses owned and staffed by members of a single ethnic group. In the strictest sense, scholars consider only the geographical location of the migrants. However, this study, with its interest in male refugees lives outside the refugee camps as well, considers ethnic enclaves as those groups of people with a similar heritage or nationality with socio-economic ties that span several locations including the camp and outside it. These ethnic enclaves can be observed in the way refugees of the same nationalities associate with and stick to each other. 1.2 A Focus on Men Sociologists have long recognized that gender relations are an important part of human relations. Gender relations are part of human identities and an essential part of culture as they determine how daily life is lived within communities and families (Chakarova, 2003). Gender relations are crosscutting affecting and influencing people’s behavior, opportunities, and life chances (Connell, 2005). Gender relations are socially constructed around the two main binary genders, men, and women. Gendered norms and practices create gendered relations and expectations for men and women. These gendered traits are known as masculine and feminine behaviors for men and women respectively. ‘Femininities and Masculinities are therefore acquired social identities’ 16 (Ritzer, 2011, p. 222) with ‘feminism being a system of ideas and practice based on the principle that women are human beings equal to men’ (Ritzer, 2011, p. 224). For instance, in the book The Second Sex, Simone De Beauvoir (2010) states that one is not born a woman but one becomes a woman to reflect that gender is socially constructed. While the nature of gender relations varies across time and space, there is a general pattern where men are dominant, and women are subordinate (Chakarova, 2003). Important to note is the fact that ‘masculinity’ and ‘femininity’ are not simply opposite and equal categories, but each has its sphere of activity (Srivastava, 2018). The field of gender studies is dominated by research on feminism. Work on masculinity emerged from feminism studies. Although research on gender studies is dominated by work on femininity, there has been increasing work on masculinity. This work has also flowed to other sectors including research on the intersection between masculinities and migration in which this paper is centered. However, gender research in migration studies has meant increased interest in female migration while men have remained largely unaddressed (Wojnika 2020). This is because gender is rarely considered when it comes to men’s mobility (Palillo, 2019). Historically, ‘that women’s positions, interests and choices are influenced by their gender is recognized; the fact that men’s situations are similarly affected by gender is not’ (Large, 1997, p. 25). However, it is important to remember men’s agency when focusing on them instead of falling into the trap of saying ‘poor men’ or ‘poor men have problems too’ as Susan White reminds us (White, 1997). This is in part to not disregard all the literature in the mainstream of migration and gender studies but rather to add a masculine human touch to it and to normalize acknowledging that masculine experiences can be different and even difficult and not always ‘normal’. This is by making masculine norms and patriarchy visible instead of continuously subsuming men under the category of the ‘generic person/aid recipient’, with little or no consideration of their particular needs as men (Dominelli, 2020). There is a paradox around research on masculinities and migration even though it is a growing area of research interest. For instance, Myrttinen (2023), noted that although research on men and masculinities has been conducted in different geographical locations, it is either on what is 17 termed the Global South or on men from the Global South who have migrated to the Global North and around humanitarian settings. Myrttinen (2023, p. 8), continues that ‘this research is centered on ‘particular clusters of crisis-affected regions more than others, such as the Eastern Mediterranean, as opposed to say the Lake Chad Basin or Central Asia or Sub-Saharan Africa’ where the current study is located. Still more, compared to international migration, research on the specific intersection of masculinity and forced migration is relatively less developed (Gass, 2014). Masculinities in migration is not the only sector where men have been understudied. Masculinities among displaced men with disability is another understudied area. Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) is another sector where men have also been under-examined, yet it is one of the major protection concerns in displacement areas. Programming and attention to SGBV maintains a traditional approach that focuses on women (Munoz Alonso, 2018). Similarly, ‘most gender analyses of conflict in Africa focus on how sexual violence is used against women and girls, or on the relatively small number of women and girls involved as combatants. Such reports generally conclude that those who use weapons are usually men, mostly young men, and those who suffer and survive the consequences of violence and conflict are women and girls’ (Barker & Ricardo, 2005, p. 1). When attention has been given to men, it usually assumes that all men are dominant, being compliant with traditional patriarchal societies (Muhanna-Matar, 2020). There is also comparatively little research on men who, when affected by the crisis, take on more gender-equitable practices and norms, and how and why they do this (Myrttinen, 2023). 1.3 Statement of the Problem Masculinities research has started to disentangle the gendered challenges men face after forced migration (Huizinga & van Hoven, 2021). Existing research has shown that family dynamics usually change in refugee camps threatening or affecting men’s sense of masculinity (Turner,1999; Kleist, 2010). It has also shown that refugee men go through negotiation processes with their states of being masculine adapting to their changing environment (Turner,1999, Muhanna-Matar, 2020). There is still little currently documented about how migrant men react to, negotiate with, and counter the demands imposed and changes required of them by the people and cultures they encounter during their migration and settlement (Fisher, 2021). 18 There is also a dearth of research on how masculinities affect the socio-economic status of refugee men in the Sub-Saharan region according to the literature reviewed. This comes in a context where there is a plurality of masculinities in the region, with no typical young man and “no single African version of manhood” (Barker & Ricardo, 2005). Malawi hosts thousands of refugees from different countries mostly from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, Somalia, Ethiopia, and other African countries. The refugees are culturally diverse, and their cultures are also different from those of the native Malawians. Some of the refugees have been in the country for over a decade or two. They have established and built a life in the country either at refugee camps where most of them are housed or outside the camps. Because of the social and cultural changes that refugees go through, it can be assumed there were changes in gender relations including masculinities. This research also comes in a context where much research around masculinities among refugee men has been conducted within refugee camps (Turner, 1999) or generally research among refugees (Anderson-Rose, 2023; Donald, 2014; Patience Iraguha, 2023; Wirsig, 2020) has been conducted within camp settings in the region. Realizing this gap, this paper explores masculinities among refugee men outside refugee camps as well. This research is coming in to add to the body of knowledge on men and masculinities in the region by recognizing that gender interacts with race and class, and in the globalized world, it interacts with nationality and/or position in the world order which has implications for a need in analyzing masculinities (Connell, 2005). By exploring how masculinities impact the socio-economic status of male refugees in Lilongwe, Malawi, this study seeks to add to the approach of understanding men by studying social and cultural phenomena affecting them which justifies that men should be the focus of necessary research referring to themselves (Munoz Alonso, 2018). 1.4 Research Questions The main aim of this thesis is to understand the impact of masculinities on the socio-economic status of refugee men in Lilongwe. To achieve this aim, the study will answer the following research questions: 19 • How do refugee men understand masculinities and their intersection with everyday life choices? • How do male refugees feel they are perceived and socially positioned within society? • What role do ethnic enclaves play in refugee men’s lives, if any? 1.5 Significance of the study This study is significant as it examines an aspect of refugee men’s lives that is usually ignored and is currently underexamined, especially within Southeastern Africa. Social life is a big aspect of human life. It influences life choices, life span, and agency as human beings are social beings. When it comes to men, this usually centers around masculinity, and how they are structured, acknowledged, and practiced. This has implications for the development of both individuals and communities in which these refugees are part of. However, there are fewer studies on refugees in Malawi as earlier stated. This makes the location and group a very good starting point for studies on masculinity and refugees in the region. Another reason to conduct this study is that ‘although it may be invisible in academia and policy, refugee masculinity is, nevertheless, at the very center of the so-called ‘refugee crisis’ discourse, framing specific gendered and racialized hierarchies of ‘deservingness’ and ‘risk’ at the interplay between humanitarianism and securitization’ (Palillo, 2019, p. 11). This is also significant in a country that is both a destination and transit route with more men using it to stage this planned migration. Yet ‘refugees in Malawi, both those inside the camp and outside, appear to be both cartographically invisible and discursively absent in many texts on refugee flows, containment, and populations in the region. The country and camp are either omitted completely or reduced to an ‘etc’ ’ (Donald, 2014, p. 15). 20 Chapter 2: Theoretical Framework and Literature Review 2.0 Chapter Overview This chapter aims to provide a solid background in which this study is grounded. This is achieved by discussing the conceptual framework within which the study will be evaluated. The chapter also discusses some literature related to refugees and masculinities. The chapter provides a context for the topic within the existing scholarship on masculinities and refugees. It also aims to critically provide links and interconnections within existing concepts and variables, highlight existing key findings and contradictions in the area, and identify gaps in the current knowledge and context. The study will use Max Weber’s Social Stratification theory and the concept of masculinities. 2.1 Social Stratification Theory Simply put, social stratification refers to a ranking of people or groups of people within a society (Kerbo, 2006). Max Weber (1922) viewed social stratification in three dimensions of economic class, social status, and political power. This paper is more interested in the first two dimensions of economic class and social status as they are distinct but related. According to Weber (1922), economic class is formed by market/production relations which condition various life choices they make or their life chances. Whereas social status is a structure of relations of perceived, and to some degree accepted, social superiority, equality, and inferiority among individuals. It reflects the degree of “social honor” attached out of positional or purely ascribed attributes like birth (Chan & Goldthorpe, 2007). This means that how much money one makes influences their lifestyle and how they are seen in society. In the modern world, the hierarchy of status relations has become less one of well-defined status groups than one of relatively loose social networks, and its expression is more implicit or covert (Chan & Goldthorpe, 2007). However, it remains that group dynamics are organized in such a way that some people have more resources, money, influence, and honor than others. Hence, every society, no matter how simple or complex, differentiates persons in terms of both prestige and esteem and therefore, possesses a certain amount of institutionalized inequality (Pyakuryal, 2001). Regarding refugees, they form both an 21 economic class and have a unique social status in society. This is reflected in the jobs that refugees hold in most societies. In the same regard, because they are ethnically an ‘other’ in society, they have a social status of their own, albeit lower than that of the citizens. The theory of social stratification by Weber (1992) shows how economic status influences one's lifestyle, the opportunities available to them, and how one is perceived in society by others. However, when it comes to men, this is not the only standard that they judge themselves and are judge by. Masculinities play a crucial role in gender relations and social structure especially in patriarchal societies as earlier stated (Ortner, 2022; Srivastava, 2018). This is why this study goes beyond the social stratification theory to use the concept of masculinities as advanced by Raewyn Connell (2005). Social stratification theory and the concept of masculinities both show that certain groups in society have more influence and power than others. For example, Weber (1992) explained that status groups try to gain a monopoly of certain privileges whereas the market is a great leveler that reduces everything to money (Allen, 2004). Similarly, the concept of masculinities as advanced by Connell (2005), states that at any point in time, there is one form of masculinity that is culturally exalted called hegemonic masculinity. This is the form of masculinity that has the monopoly and seeks to maintain it. Whereas social stratification theory discusses the issues of status and economic class in general in society, the concept of masculinities focuses on only men who are the focus of this study. The concept of masculinities goes further to not only highlight the issues of men in regard to the labor market but also to their private and personal life. The concept of Masculinities is further explained below. 2.2 Masculinities Gender relations are a major component of social structure, and gender politics are among the determinants of our collective fate (Connell, 2005). As earlier stated, there are two main binary genders, men and women. Masculinity is the way through which men conduct gender. This paper is focused on masculinities as advanced by Connell (2005). To Connell, masculinity is a relational concept that exists in relation to power and femininity (the way through which women conduct gender). According to Connell (2005), there are multiple masculinities which are hegemonic, subordinate, complicit, and marginalized masculinities. Connell stressed that at any 22 point in time, there is one form of masculinity that is culturally exalted called hegemonic masculinity. Hegemonic masculinity is understood as the pattern of practice that allows men’s dominance over women and fellow men to continue (Connell & Messerschmidt, 2005). Hegemonic masculinity is therefore the normative that all men position themselves in relation to. However, not all men can embody hegemonic masculinity hence there are subordinate masculinities, which denote the domination of some men over others. For instance, heterosexual men over homosexual men. There are also complicit masculinities which is the normative in which most men fall as only a handful of men embody hegemonic masculinity. Complicit masculinity allows all men to enjoy the patriarchal dividend. Marginalized masculinity corresponds to those men who cannot fit into the hegemonic because of certain characteristics like race, ethnicity, age, and class (Messerschmidt, 2019b) in this case, refugees would be among the marginalized masculinities. Masculinities are therefore related to the power, that men exercise over women and fellow men. Hegemonic masculinity is the prevalent category that has attracted much scholarly attention and criticism. For some scholars, this form of masculinity refers to constant traits of domination, control, and aggression in which marginalized and subordinate men are mostly complicit (Muhanna-Matar, 2020). (Messerschmidt, 2019), defined hegemonic masculinity as those masculinities constructed locally, regionally, and globally that legitimate an unequal relationship between men and women, masculinity and femininity, and among masculinities. This definition brings in the contextual nature of hegemony within different societies. For other scholars, the concept has been criticized ‘for being too structural, too abstract, for reifying normative masculinity positions, for a lack of conceptual cogency which has resulted in contradictory approaches to, and uses of, the concept’ (Christensen, 2014). Although some of the criticisms stand true, they can also be attributed to too much focus on ‘hegemonic forms of masculinity’ and a lesser focus on other forms of masculinity like dominant and complicit masculinities and even how men move between the different levels of masculinity. For instance, Messerschmidt (2019), argues that masculinity is fluid and the movement from dominant to hegemonic and back 23 to dominant masculinities can happen within a short period with one person embodying or performing both or even multiple forms of masculinity within a day and over their lifetime. In their later reformulation of the concept of hegemonic masculinity, Connell and Messerschmidt (2005) differentiate between hegemonic and dominant masculinities. They explain that while hegemonic masculinity is enforced by patriarchy and cultural persuasion, dominant masculinities prevail in social formation and are essentially authoritative (Christensen & Jensen, 2014). Hegemonic masculinity is the ideal that most men aspire to, even though only a few men live up to it. In other words, hegemonic masculinity is a ‘cultural norm.’At the same time, dominant masculinities may be exercised in different contexts and ways like politics and workplaces. In this sense, while refugee men may be marginalized, among themselves or even with some Malawian men, refugee men may perform or embody dominant masculinities. As Messerschmidt (2019), states, dominant masculinities are not always associated with and linked to gender hegemony but refer to the most celebrated, common, or current form of masculinity in a particular social setting. Connell’s theory recognizes that there are multiple masculinities, which are socially constructed based on time and space. Social constructionism here demonstrates how gender, rather than being an essentialized and static category, is instead something that we construct and ‘do’ (Fisher, 2021). Masculinities are therefore fluid with hegemonic and marginalized masculinities being two extreme ends of the pole. Each being influenced by expectations, norms, location, and stage in life. ‘A focus on social constructionism is important as it helps to go beyond men’s roles and behavior and consider how the expectations underpinning these roles and behaviors are formed by abstract, but immensely powerful, symbolic understandings of what is ‘masculine’ and ‘manly’, and what is not. These are often implicit notions that men and boys, and society around them, have internalized. It affects how men see and judge themselves, how they are perceived and judged by others, and what ways of acting are seen as commensurate with ‘being a man’ and which are not’ (Myrttinen, 2023, p. 12). However, this does not mean that men are passive in the creation of masculinities. In their reformulation of the theory of hegemonic 24 masculinity Connell and Messerschmidt (2005), acknowledge that a holistic understanding of masculinities should recognize the agency of subordinated groups as much as the power of hegemonic groups in shaping masculinities including intersectionality of gender with other social inequalities such as class, race, age, sexuality, and nationality (Messerschmidt, 2019b). As Bannon and Correia (2006) argue Connell’s theory of hegemonic masculinity helps us to understand that structural factors such as dynamics of poverty, exclusion, inequalities, or conflict – affect the possibility ‘to fulfill these external and internalized expectations of what it is to be a man at a certain time and place.’ Over their lifetime, men go through various positionalities concerning their masculinity. It was earlier stated that scholarly work on masculinities emerged from discussions in feminist studies. Feminism studies have evolved over the years and have been categorized in three waves, each focusing on different issues, and employing various strategies in analyzing and advocating women’s issues. The feminist waves also represent generational differences (Brown & Ismail, 2019; Krolokke & Sorensen, 2006). The formulation of multiple masculinities is especially in line with third-wave feminism which rejects universalist claims that all women share a set of common experiences, but they do not discard the concept of experience altogether. Women still look to personal experiences to provide knowledge about how the world operates and to trouble dominant narratives about how things should be (Snyder, 2008). Third-wave feminism embraces difference. Similarly, refugee men as a group have different experiences that are influenced by masculinity, and it is only when they have been critically studied that they can be understood. To simply assume that different forms of masculinity equally influence the lives of both refugees and citizens of a country would be problematic. Feminism can be traced as the root of masculinity studies. Although feminist theories are complex, ever-evolving, and not without limitations, they provide multiple approaches and perspectives to advancing gender equity and gender studies (Brown & Ismail, 2019). Unlike first and Second wave feminism, Third-wave feminism is not yet, a movement, and it may never be because it strives to be inclusive of all (Snyder, 2008). This means different groups 25 of women advocate for different issues based on their experiences and social positions. One such group are Third-wave black feminists, who in the US ‘acknowledge the interconnectedness of women’s oppression due to social location. Through centering race, Black feminists paved the way to complicating perspectives on men and patriarchal power as it revealed that some men are not socially powerful. That different masculinities stand in different relationships to power’ (Brown & Ismail, 2019, p. 22). In a similar line of argument, Bell Hooks (2000, p. 4) states that ‘There is much evidence substantiating the reality that race and class identity creates differences in quality of life, social status, and lifestyle that take precedence over the common experience women shared differences which are rarely transcended.’ This reality is also true and applicable to men. In relation to this study where race is not the factor, it takes a different form of ethnicity and legal status in a country (refugee or citizen). So, one of the questions here would be how does the ethnicity of the refugees influence their social status and their experiences in society: among refugees and in relation to Malawian men. This paper also acknowledges the contributions of other theories on masculinity like Critical Masculinities theory, African-Centered Masculinities Theories, and Inclusive Masculinities Theory (IMT). However, it is beyond the scope of this paper to discuss all relevant theories in detail. Noteworthy though are some contributions of these other theories like African-Centered Masculinities and IMT that are relevant to this study. For instance, Mfecane (2018) states that to account fully for the complex lives of African men, scholars need to develop theories of masculinity based on African conceptions of reality that treat masculinity as both socially constructed and as being influenced by unseen elements of personhood, as encapsulated in traditional African thoughts. This is critical for this study as it is studying African refugees in an African context. This thesis, therefore, contributes to how some African masculinities are created and performed by studying refugee men in Malawi. Similarly, issues central to IMT like the notion that changes evident in men’s gendered behaviors present a fundamental shift in the practices of masculinities while recognizing the fact that issues like class, location, ethnicity, religion, and other factors influence the dynamics of masculinities (Anderson & McCormack, 2018), are also relevant to this study and aspects that this study seeks to explore on . 26 In this paper, masculinities will be understood as the different gendered practices that refugee men embody and internalize, that influence their actions or how they position themselves in relation to other men and women in society. Issues of dominance or hegemony will be understood in relation to key social indicators of social status in society including financial independence and being a breadwinner. It is the aim of this thesis that through the data collected, there will be a better understanding of the traits of hegemonic and dominant masculinities regarding refugee men, and a new understanding of the different forms of masculinities that refugee men embody and practice in destination societies. ‘A focus on multiple masculinities among men is important to keep the analysis dynamic and to offer a gain in realism as the relational approach makes it easier to recognize the hard compulsions under which gender configurations are formed, the bitterness as well as the pleasure in gendered experience and not to risk taking them as consumer choices’ (Connell, 2005, p.76). This is because particular individual men are reflected to move between, a range of different subject positions in their everyday lives, positions that are inflected with and constituted by other dimensions of difference. They may be powerful in some interactions, and less powerful in others (Cornwall, 2000). For instance, when it comes to refugee men, as a category man, they may be powerful, but because of other difference markers like ethnicity and refugee status, they may be less powerful in other areas. This can affect how they conduct themselves. The concept of masculinities and Weber’s theory of social stratification show how people (in this regard men), operate within social structures that hinder, channel, guide, or determine their life chances. When it comes to refugee men, these interact to determine how they experience life and their choices in new societies. For instance, an individual refugee man may be in a superior position among other refugees but in a lower position when compared in relation to the native. However, if the economic class is examined, they may be in a higher class compared to natives because, maybe, they own a business. However, their status as refugees may still mean they have a lower overall honor within society regardless of their economic class. And this may even be in relation to female citizens of the host country. 27 The concept of masculinities and Weber’s theory of social stratification also show how men have intersecting identities. This brings up the issue of intersectionality, a term which has become a scholarly buzzword. Nash (2008) defines intersectionality as the notion that identity is formed by interlocking and mutually reinforcing vectors of race, gender, class, and sexuality. Similarly, Kucirkova (2023) uses intersectionality to refer to the connections and dependencies between various identity types. Although originally used concerning black and colored women, the term has evolved showing its applicability beyond time and space. It has also been used in masculinity studies (Christensen & Jensen, 2014; Munoz Alonso, 2018; Wojnicka & Nowicka, 2022). In this context, intersectionality is used as a basis to show the interaction between social categories and power structures that individual men belong to and can tap into to situate themselves in society (Christensen & Jensen, 2014). Indeed, men are often assumed to be the ones holding privileged positions and power over women in patriarchal societies. Yet masculine identities are equally an outcome of intersections of gender and national belonging (Wojnicka & Nowicka, 2022). In this sense, masculinities are both an identity and an ideology (Huizinga & van Hoven, 2021), socially constructed, shaped, and enforced. 28 Literature Review 2.3.0 Literature Review Overview This section discusses some existing literature on refugees, ethnic enclaves, work and employment, and social status. It serves as the foundation for the empirical research conducted in this thesis while placing the theme and main arguments of this study in the broader literature showing how the issues raised intersect in the lives of refugee men and the broader social context. The literature review aimed to contextualize the thesis within literature from the Sub-Saharan region, however, a lack of prevailing literature in the context on the issue implied that it is placed within the global discourse. The section is structured along the main research questions. 2.3.1 The Influence of Work and Employment on Refugee Men’s Lives Recent work on masculinities highlights how the gender identities of migrants are intertwined with unemployment and the gendered status that was lost in the event of migration (Huizinga & van Hoven, 2021). In relation to labor, scholars scrutinize in particular racialization processes and how they impact migrant male subjectivities (Wojnicka & Nowicka, 2022). However, integrating within the labor market may be harder for refugee men than other migrants like labor migrants. This is because people are granted refugee status in a country under humanitarian ethos (De Haas et al., 2019). However, refugees having special protection and attention through humanitarian programs makes it difficult for them to be included in development activities including the labor market (Long, 2013). This is especially true in a country like Malawi which does not have an integration policy unlike some countries in Europe like Norway. In addition, there is an encampment policy as stated earlier which restricts refugees’ movement ergo restricting participation in development projects. As the UNHCR (2023) states the encampment policy restricts access to employment and a favorable business environment. Recently, the government of Malawi recalled all refugees who had settled among the local population back to the camps (Singini, 2023). This implies that there are no plans for the refugees to be integrated within the local population. All this has implications for the types of financial activities that the refugees may engage in apart from waiting for handouts within camps. Refugees are usually relegated to work that the host population does not like, low-paying and menial jobs. Mallet (2018) found that immigrants are overrepresented in the approximately 40% 29 of workers worldwide who have precarious jobs (Fedrigo et al., 2023, p. 2). Because refugees are usually trying to survive they take any work. However, decent work is supposed to add status and fulfillment to an individual and this does not seem to be the case for refugees. The ILO (2013) defines decent work as work that gives access to full and productive employment, respects employees’ rights, guarantees social protection, and promotes social dialogue. Blustein (2013) defined decent work as work that meets three fundamental needs: survival and power, social connections, and self-determination (Fedrigo, 2023, P.2). He adds that decent work allows individuals to make material acquisitions and provides opportunities to obtain status and prestige, construct relationships with others, and engage in ideally meaningful activities. Due to the precarious nature of the work that refugees in most countries in the Sub-Saharan region take up, it can be stated that they are not involved in decent work. For instance, in their study on ethnic enclaves in South Africa, Thompson (2015) found that some employees withheld pay, and migrants were so desperate that they offered to work voluntarily until they found employment. Similarly, Jinnah (2020) found that domestic workers negotiate precarious situations of illegal status, abusive bosses, and harsh working conditions in order to survive and earn an income especially when they have family to assist in their home countries. This shows how migrants are exploited in the labor market despite work being a source of prestige and honor in society. Outside of legal and policy restrictions, refugees also face other barriers regarding job entry. These include language barriers, and failure to have their qualifications approved. This is made worse in economies where the labor market is already competitive with a high unemployment rate. In such an environment it would even be hard for refugees to gain access to the labor market. Despite this financial stability/security holds great value in all societies. In Africa, the key requirement to attaining manhood is gaining financial independence either through employment or having a regular income (Barker & Ricardo, 2005). There is even developing work on masculinities and the labor market for instance, McDowell’s research, emphasizes a resurgence of class-based masculinities due to economic and social change in the context of labor market restructuring (Huizinga & van Hoven, 2021). Most studies in Europe have revealed that migrants are relegated to blue-collar jobs, which for educated migrants results in brain waste and brain 30 drain. For instance, a study in Norway revealed that Polish men are usually in construction, however, they do not usually rise in rank to positions that require planning or administrative work (Fisher, 2021). Similarly, in a study of Syrian refugees in the Netherlands, the refugees expressed feelings of experiencing racialization and marginalization in the local labor market (Huizinga & van Hoven, 2021). However, Huizinga and van Hoven (2021) also found that younger respondents felt more empowered to engage with the local labor market, encouraged by a breadwinner mentality they developed in an effort to provide financial security during the hardships of war in Syria. Is this also the case in Malawi? The current study is focused on refugee men who settled outside the refugee camp. Of interest is how they navigate the labor market, the opportunities available to them, and if this is influenced by age as well. This is to have a picture of the situation for refugees in a third-world country like Malawi. Especially in a country where the labor market industry is precarious even for the citizens of the country as expressed by a Congolese respondent in a study in Dzaleka refugee camp conducted by Anderson-Rose (2023, p. 34) who explained that: “It is peaceful, but I can’t live here, there are no opportunities for self-development. Even Malawians are suffering in villages nearby, they come looking for work… to help people here” In camp settings, studies have shown that men experience a loss of status as providers since families depend on the welfare system of agencies that provide for the refugees as earlier stated. 2.3.2 Refugees Social Positioning and Social Status Social status reflects the degree of ‘social honor’ attached out of positional or purely ascribed attributes like birth or ethnicity (Chan & Goldthorpe, 2007) as earlier stated. This status changes over a person's lifetime and can be gained or lost depending on place and time. In patriarchal societies, masculinity has a higher status as compared to femininity (Ortner, 2022; Srivastava, 2018). However, as Connells’s theory of masculinities indicates, there are multiple masculinities, with hegemonic masculinity being the dominant and higher-status masculinity (Connell, 2005). On migrant men, Donaldson and Howson (2009, p. 210) notes that ‘there is very little evidence to indicate what happens to migrant men's sense of hegemonic masculinity and whether it is eroded and fortified by their active engagement in migration and resettlement’ (Huizinga & van 31 Hoven, 2021, p. 1153). This thesis is an attempt to shed more light on this issue concerning refugee men. This is due to the realization that refugee men experience a loss of privilege compared to their life before conflict or migration based on their different identity categories (Munoz Alonso, 2018). In addition, migration disrupts established constructions of masculinities developed in the country of origin (Huizinga & van Hoven, 2021). This means new status rankings or classes may emerge in transit or host countries. However, this has not been properly, explored regarding refugees in Malawi. In their study, Huizinga and van Hoven (2021) pointed out that there are different experiences with age by exploring how masculinities are re-defined in relation to gender, generational relations, and life course advancement. This is an important aspect as in Africa, older men act as gatekeepers to masculinity, and age plays a role in social status. Older men hold power over young men thus defining manhood in Africa (Barker & Ricardo, 2005). This is done through different rites of passage in different cultures. However, there is a dearth of information on how this plays out for refugee men in new contexts. What is known is that forced displacement tends to disrupt established constructions of masculinities developed in the country of origin (Kleist, 2010). It has also been established that new forms of masculinity are established although most of the documented evidence is within humanitarian settings (Myrttinen, 2023). However, how these new forms of masculinity are maintained, if they are maintained is yet to be documented. In addition, questions like who acts as the gatekeepers and if and how do they retain their rites of passage as refugees? These and other questions are yet to be answered in detail in different contexts. Social status is compared within local social settings with the local population known as a reference group. For migrants, this usually means they are compared to citizens of the host country. However, this does not provide the whole picture, especially for refugees who may be rebuilding their lives from scratch. Engzell and Ichou (2020, p. 5), reminds us that the issue of reference groups is especially relevant in the case of immigrants because their subjective social status might differ depending on whether their position is compared to the origin or destination societies. This is also because as status is derived from economic class, refugees are already in a 32 class of their own with their dependence on handouts and confined movement in countries like Malawi. Important to also consider are the social statuses within the refugees or migrant groups themselves. Since they have a social network of their own it means some members of the groups have higher resources and connections than others hence their status might also be different. For instance, in their study on migrants in Johannesburg, Thompson and Grant (2015) found that a deeper look at the immigrant township shop economy reveals the fields of power and forces of stratification at play among immigrant groups, with those with significant financial and/or cultural support being able to secure more legal business and hence have higher power over most illegal migrants. In this study, both will be examined to see which was more important to the refugees themselves and how they differ. When it comes to men, the issue of status relates not only to their position in society but also to their family, which in Africa usually extends to extended family. Studies have shown that refugee men in camps feel threatened or disempowered when their breadwinner status is threatened by handouts and programs that seek to empower women (Kleist, 2010; Muhanna-Matar, 2020; Palillo, 2019; Turner, 1999). Similarly, being relegated to menial work also reduces their status. Men as a group are generally always trying to maintain their patriarchal dividend and align as close as they can towards hegemonic masculinity. What this may mean for refugee men is therefore that they are battling on 2 fronts as men and as refugee men to maintain their status in society. 2.3.3 The Role of Ethnic Enclaves in Refugee’s Lives. Ethnicity refers to a group of people associated with common ancestry and culture, including language, religion, traditions, and behavioral norms that can contribute to, and challenge, a receiving nation's worldview (Segal, 2019). The Encyclopedia of Sociology defines ethnicity as a group of people who live together and share a common way of life (Ritzer & Ryan, 2011, p. 197). Weber (1922) argued that this common ancestry is subjective based on common factors like similarities in customs or historical memories of colonization and nation-building (Ritzer & Ryan, 2011). Ethnic groups emerge from social structures, and they promote social structures. This common ancestry can be seen in culturally transmitted practices and characteristics like language, cuisine, traditions, and dressing style (Boyd & Richerson, 2005; Tucker et al., 2021). 33 Ethnic markers serve to identify or know who belongs to the ethnic group and who does not (Ritzer & Ryan, 2011). For instance, in Malawi, different ethnic groups like the Tumbuka, Yao, and Chewa have different cuisine, dialects and practices around weddings and funerals that are easily noticeable. The refugees also have their own language and cultural practices. Ethnic markers are essentially cultural markers as they include language, hairstyles, or food preferences which are cultural features. These ethnic markers serve as indicators of membership to an ethnic group. An ethnic enclave is not merely a concentration of a particular ethnic population; it also forms a dense social network based on ethnic membership (Zhang & Xie, 2016). Social networks from ethnic enclaves provide social capital which most members of the enclave benefit from. Social capital has been defined as ‘resources embedded in and acquired from social networks and interactions based on connecting ties, trust, and reciprocity, through which members of a collective can attain various ends or outcomes that are of benefit for the individual/collective’ (Kokab et al., 2020, p. 2). The benefits from these networks move beyond financial benefits like work. As Espinoza-Kulick et al. (2021) state enclaves are formed in the context of urban environments and influence aspects of social life beyond work. The bonds and bridges that members form influence even marriage, further migration, and health outcomes. The social networks that ethnic enclaves offer to their members are of great importance. They offer opportunities and information on work, and education, provide buffers in times of crisis, and shelter from discrimination from mainstream society (Chakraborty & Schüller, 2022; Espinoza-Kulick et al., 2021; Thompson & Grant, 2015; Zhang & Xie, 2016). For instance, members of ethnic enclaves may provide job recommendations and when possible, even offer jobs to other members within the enclave. However, research has also shown that the positive effects of the enclaves are not always the same. An in-depth analysis of these positive effects of enclaves has shown that the positive effects of enclaves depend on enclave quality in terms of education, income, and employment with the least skilled gaining the most (Åslund et al., 2000; Chakraborty & Schüller, 2022; Thompson & Grant, 2015). For instance, if an enclave has a lot of members who are highly educated or wealthy, the benefits from that enclave will be better than 34 those of an enclave with a lot of people who hold menial jobs. Although ethnic enclaves offer these benefits, there are also some negative effects of belonging to one. For instance, they may reduce the employment chances of highly skilled immigrants, limit the quality of jobs and education opportunities and they may also limit social mobility and acquisition of host societies' culture (Chakraborty & Schüller, 2022). Enclaves may also limit social mobility due to loyalty which may limit the opportunities available to a person. It should be noted that most of the studies reviewed on migrants and ethnic conclaves were conducted in Europe and America with 2 studies being from Africa and 1 from China. The studies were mostly on refugees and no study directly linked to masculinities. This may be due to the filtering of studies in English, or it may represent a gap in studies on ethnic enclaves in Africa and around masculinities. These studies have all focused on the ethnic enclave effect on the labor market. Espinoza-Kulick et al. (2021) argues that researchers using the concept of ethnic enclaves can benefit from considering the multilayered factors of immigration, ethnic differences, urban environments, economic systems, health, and power differentials between and among residents in ethnic enclave communities. It is this intersectional approach that has this study interested in studying how masculinities play a role in ethnic enclaves among refugee men. This is also because ethnic enclaves also contain intracommunity dynamics that at times generate contests and conflicts within areas ostensibly secured for migrants (Thompson & Grant, 2015). Within and between enclaves there are fields of power and stratification. The close-knit ties that ethnic enclaves provide also facilitated unique forms of exploitation within immigrant groups and stark differences in access to social and economic capital (Thompson & Grant, 2015). Therefore, like masculinities, ethnic enclaves are essentially spaces where men perform in accord with their multiple identity markers. 35 Chapter 3: Research Design and Methodology 3.0 Chapter Overview This chapter outlines in detail the methodological choices undertaken in the study and their justification. The chapter aims to provide the rationale for the methodical choices taken to ensure the validity and reliability of the study findings. To this end, the methodical choices are therefore explained and grounded in existing literature on qualitative research methods. Discussed in the chapter is the research design, research setting, and sampling procedure. Also discussed is the data collection procedure and data analysis tools used. The ethical considerations adhered to in the study are also outlined as well as the limitations and how they were tackled. The chapter concludes with the positioning of the researcher providing the researcher’s background. 3.1 Research Design The study was qualitative in nature. Qualitative researchers are concerned with the meanings that people attach to things in their lives by understanding how people see these things (Taylor et al., 2015). This study approach allows researchers to collect data that provides insight into cultural activities that might otherwise be missed in structured surveys or experiments, especially tacit, taken-for-granted, intuitive understandings of culture (Shaw & Gould, 2003; Tracy, 2013). This was very instrumental for the current study as masculinity is one of the cultural phenomena that is subjective and personal and hence cannot be studied in a rigidly structured way. Masculinities are also embedded in people’s daily routines and in social structures hence to study them would mean clearly exploring the meanings people attach to them in different contexts which can best be done through qualitative approaches. Qualitative research is also ideal for capturing experiences and perspectives. This is in recognition that people’s experiences and perspectives are diverse, complex, and interesting than is generally recognized; and documenting them is intrinsically worthwhile, especially for marginalized, ignored, or oppressed groups and issues in society (Hammersley, 2012). In addition to this, reality does not look the same for different people even among men themselves. With qualitative inquiry, researchers can ‘overcome what is viewed as misrepresentation of some groups in official accounts, established theories, popular stereotypes, and current ideologies in 36 detail which is essential if we are to understand people’s actions’ (Hammersley, 2012, p. 52). This was more relevant for the current study as it has been established that as migrants’ men have different experiences from women and these differences are also prevalent among men as a group. Hence documenting and understanding them is essential. Qualitative research design was also chosen because of the kind of knowledge gap that the study aimed to fill. Qualitative research allows a research question to be revised iteratively as the research is carried out to narrow the research aim or purpose (Denny & Weckesser, 2022). In this sense, qualitative research has a flexible design (Taylor et al., 2015). This was important for the study as the issue was sensitive and new information could emerge during data collection that could make it necessary to change some aspects of the study. 3.2 Study Context Most refugees in Malawi live in refugee camps since there is an encampment policy. However, even though there is an encampment policy, some refugees live outside the camp or have lived outside the camp before. This trend has existed since the 1980s with the Mozambican refugees (Sinoya, 2021). This is because some refugees gain entry illegally, and the large number of refugees puts a strain on resources making it hard for authorities to keep track of all the refugees in the country (UNHCR, 2023). In addition, some refugees have married within the local population and others have established businesses within the local population. This study was interested in studying refugee men’s lives outside the refugee camps. To be specific, the study examined the lives of refugee men in Lilongwe, Traditional Authority Chitukula; Areas 25 and 49. Lilongwe was chosen because Dzaleka refugee camp is located just about 50 kilometers outside it (Wirsig, 2020). Due to this proximity, there is a high number of refugees who settled in the two highly populated areas of Area 25 and Area 49. It should also be noted that earlier this year, refugees who had settled within the local population outside Dzaleka Refugee camp were called to the camp (Chimjeka, 2023). Although most have returned to the camp, some are still staying within the local communities or running their businesses in the local communities from Dzaleka refugee camp. The impact of this order on the current study is minimal since it is interested in the lives of the refugees outside the camp even if they have returned to the camp. 37 3.3 Data Collection Method Data was collected using in-depth interviews with refugee men from the DRC and Rwanda. In-depth interviews are extended discussions with study participants, hence they can draw more data from a few individuals (Starr, 2014). They allow the collection of rich, ground-level reality-driven data that is often multi-faceted. This data collection tool is important for under-researched areas such as this study topic (Kielmann, 2012). In-depth interviews also tap into both content and emotions and allow interviewees to tell stories (Tracy, 2013), making them ideal for a study on masculinities. A semi-structured interview guide was created to ensure that the main areas of interest were covered during the interviews. In-depth interviews were also chosen because they offer a looking glass into people's lives in situations where direct observation of people in their daily routines or lives is not possible. In-depth interviews provide the context necessary to understand many of the perspectives in which researchers are interested (Taylor et al., 2015). This was especially relevant in the current study where the interviews were conducted via phone calls. It has been established that despite the fact that telephone interviews lack the face-to-face nonverbal cues that researchers use to pace interviews, telephone interviews under certain circumstances may provide not only an effective means for gathering data but also in some instances—owing to geographic locations— the most viable method (Lune & Berg, 2017, p. 78; Moriarty, 2011). In this case, due to time and financial constraints, the researcher could not travel to Malawi to collect the data. However, the researcher took the necessary steps to ensure that the quality of the data was not compromised. For instance, by building rapport with the respondents and scheduling interviews at their convenience. It should be noted that phone interviews may have also worked out to the study’s advantage. For instance, through phone calls, interviewer and respondent bias may be avoided and respondents may be more open than during face-to-face interviews. As Farooq and De Villiers (2017) state that telephone interviews provide a more balanced distribution of power which potentially encourages respondents to speak freely and may give greater control to the interviewee to direct the conversation toward areas they perceive as important. This was more relevant for the study with a woman enquiring about masculinities which are a personal and sensitive thing for some men. 38 3.4 Sampling and Sample Size The study specifically used the snowball sampling technique. In snowball sampling, individuals who represent a population with particular characteristics are identified and used as informants to identify other study participants (Tracy, 2013). This was done to be able to find refugee men who meet the study criteria of having stayed in Malawi longer and having lived outside the refugee camp before. The respondents were refugee men from DRC and Rwanda, actively involved in income-generating activities, some were Christians whereas others were Muslims. Further details on the respondents are provided in the demographics section in the next chapter. Snowball was used as it works best for investigating organic social networks and marginalized populations (Tracy, 2013). In this case, refugee men who associate together through ethnic enclaves could recommend other refugee men who have also lived outside the refugee camp. In this study, the researcher approached two refugees who agreed to be engaged in the study, these men then each recommended a respondent after being interviewed. Those who were referred were also asked to recommend a person to be interviewed until data saturation was reached. The study did not encounter any respondents who after being referred refused to be engaged in the study. The study did not encounter any non-responses to the research questions during the data collection process. The study population, that is the people who are the focus of the study (Lapan et al., 2012) were refugee men between the ages of 21-55. The study involved men who have lived within and outside Dzaleka refugee camp in Malawi. The age differences among the respondents were used to see if the data collected from older men would be similar to that collected from younger men. The respondents were refugee men from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda, which are neighboring countries. This sample was also selected because it is individual refugee men who experience and shape masculinities at different points in their lives, hence this sample of men would provide an overview of men’s lives at different ages. The study was conducted with 8 refugee men. A small sample size was chosen because narratives were collected from these men through in-depth interviews. ‘Narratives require a more focused analysis of a smaller number of participant responses that provide a closer, more holistic attention to the narrator’s perspective and can provide extremely rich insights’ (Taylor et al., 2015, p. 21). In addition to this, as Tracy 39 (2013, p. 138) states, ‘a large sample size is important for researchers who need statistical power to generalize, but quality is more important than quantity for a qualitative study like this. Not enough interviews will result in shallow and stale contributions.’ Tracy (2015) continues that too many respondents will result in paralyzing the amount of data, which discourages transcription and penetrating interpretations. 3.5 Data Analysis Data analysis involves summarizing the data collected and presenting it in a way that communicates the most important features. Content analysis was used to analyze the data. Content analysis is a careful, detailed, systematic examination and interpretation of a particular body of material to identify patterns, themes, assumptions, and meanings (Lune & Berg, 2017, p. 182). Smith (1992), defined content analysis as a method of analysis for coding or scoring verbal materials to make inferences about characteristics and experiences of persons, social groups, or historical periods (Lapan et al., 2012, p. 129). This definition shows the applicability of the method to the current study. By critically questioning and categorizing the experiences of refugee men, meaning will emerge. Data was analyzed thematically based on the themes that emerged from the interview transcripts and themes that were of interest to the research topic. In this study, a codebook was developed which had codes and themes of interest to the study. The codes were also color-coded for ease of identification on the transcripts. Interviews were transcribed and the researcher went through the data line by line color coding the data based on the identified codes. Content analysis was also chosen because it is exploratory and hence, worked best with the study topic. This is because the study explored the experiences of people that were being narrated. It therefore involved exploring different experiences that the respondents have or have had and making meaning out of them. This method was also chosen because it provides a means by which to study processes that occur over long periods that may reflect trends in society (Lune & Berg, 2017). This is relevant to the study topic as there may have been changes in masculinity over time and this method of analysis can allow easy identification of those trends or changes. Cross-cultivation was also used to analyze the collected data. Cross-cultivation involves comparing events, experiences, activities, and processes. This involved comparing the 40 experiences of the older and younger refugee men who were interviewed and even timelines. It also involved comparing narratives of attributes between Malawian societies and the refugee’s origin country societies. 3.6 Study Limitations It was anticipated that due to the nature of the issue being discussed, the men would not feel free to express themselves or open up. However, the researcher had built rapport with the respondents before the interviews. In addition, by conducting the interviews over the phone, visual and behavioral biases were reduced which played to the advantage of the study as the men were open and engaging. Study participants were also informed about the issue to be discussed, and asked whether they were comfortable to engage in the study. This was done not only to adhere to research ethics but to also ensure that the respondents were as open as possible. None of the respondents refused to participate in the study. Some respondents even offered that if there were any follow-up questions, the researcher could reach out before the researcher could ask. Language was not a barrier as all of the refugee men who were engaged were fluent in the Malawian dialect Chichewa and English, and so was the researcher hence communication was not hard. The data collection tool was translated to Chichewa to ensure that the researcher was well versed in the terminology in both languages and could easily switch between the two languages to the advantage of the respondents. Ideally, the interviews should have been conducted face-to-face. However, due to time and financial issues, the interviews were conducted through phone calls. To ensure that the interviews were effective, the researcher ensured that the respondents were men who were comfortable with using phone calls for extended periods, as in-depth interviews are sometimes long. The only challenge that the researcher encountered was finding time that worked for both the respondents and the researcher as most of the respondents had busy schedules. 3.7 Ethical Considerations Research ethics were adhered to ensure that study participants were not harmed. This was done with the realization that while ethical issues are often unique to a specific context they should still be based on the principles of respect for people’s autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, 41 and justice in making and guiding ethical decisions in research (Wiles, 2012). In realization of this, no participants were forced to engage in the study. The participants were well informed about the nature and purpose of the study, and thereafter their consent was sought. Any information that could lead to the identification of the study participants was anonymized and kept out of the final report, ensuring their confidentiality (Wiles, 2012). Principles of beneficence and respect were also adhered to. Because the topic may be sensitive to some men, the researcher used fine judgment to balance the potential value of the research against the risk of causing distress in respondents (Moriarty, 2011) during data collection. 3.8 Positioning The debate on outsider versus insider perspectives influences the researcher's position in this paper. As a woman studying masculinities, the researcher is objective and open-minded learning and deciphering all the notions and conceptualizations of masculinities. The researchers background in gender studies adds to this by providing her with a background of intersectionality and multiple identities that can be applied when studying men in a context where masculinity studies have been ignored. It is also this background that helped the researcher to realize the gap in this study area and inspired this research paper, making her professionally an insider in the issue being studied. It is also worth noting that the researcher is an outsider to the group that is being studied. Being a citizen of Malawi and studying refugees in Malawi clearly marks this difference. However, having had regular interactions with refugees by living in the same neighborhood blurs this insider-outsider line a little. This is suitable as there is already rapport with the study participants which is ideal because in qualitative research establishing rapport and balancing proximity and distance are essential (Carling et al., 2014). 42 Chapter 4: Research Findings 4.0 Chapter Overview This chapter presents the findings of the study in line with the study objectives. First, the demographic characteristics of the sampled participants are briefly presented and discussed to provide a context and background for the results presentation and discussion that follows. Then, the study results from the participants are presented in line with the study objectives. These results are presented along with themes that emerged during data collection to provide a deeper and clearer understanding of the research topic. Where appropriate, themes and statistics were provided to present a comprehensive picture of the issue. 4.1 Demographic Characteristics of Respondents The study participants were refugee men who have lived outside Dzaleka refugee camp before. It should be noted that most of the refugees consider Dzaleka Refugee Camp as their home village. The study involved 8 refugee men. The study only involved men because it aimed at understanding the experiences of men and masculinities from their point of view as earlier stated. The study involved men from Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The ages of the respondents ranged from 24-54 years. 50% of the respondents belonged to Christian denominations and the other 50% were Muslim. 32% did not complete secondary education, 44% did not complete tertiary education, 12% had completed tertiary education and 12% went through vocational training in Malawi. 50% of the respondents were married men whereas only 38% were not married and 12% were divorced. Table 1 below presents the ages of the respondents and Table 2 presents the education qualifications of the respondents. Table 1. Ages of the respondents. Age Ranges Number of Respondents % of Respondents 20-29 3 38 30-39 2 25 40-49 2 25 43 50-59 1 12 Total 8 100 Table 2. Education qualification of the respondents. Education Level Number of Respondents % of Respondents Secondary 2 32 Did not Complete Tertiary 4 44 Completed Tertiary Level 1 12 Vocational Training 1 12 Total 8 100 88% of the respondents arrived in Malawi directly at Dzaleka Camp with only 12% having arrived through the Mwanza border in the Southern Region of Malawi hence they went to Luwani Camp in Neno district. One respondent said they had been moved through all 3 camps in the country before they had closed down to be settled at Dzaleka camp. The Duration of the refugee men’s stay in Malawi varied with the one who had stayed the most having arrived in Malawi in 1999 and the one who has stayed the least in Malawi having arrived in 2016. One sampling criterion for the respondents was to be a man who has lived outside the refugee camp before. This criterion was fulfilled by all of the respondents. However, the period that the respondents had lived outside the camp varied ranging from 2 to 23 years. The time between the arrival at the camp and in Malawi and moving out of the camp greatly varied. This time frame is presented in the table below. Table 3. Time frame between arrival in camp and moving out of the camp Time Frame in Months Number of Respondents % of respondents 0-6 4 50 7-12 1 12 44 13-18 1 12 19-24 2 26 Total 8 100 The study found that the reasons for moving back to the camp varied. 25% of the respondents moved back because of the government's recall, some had already moved back to the camp by then because of school (38%), cheaper living costs (63%) and it was easier to live within the camp (25%). 4.2 Refugee men’s understanding of masculinities and their intersection with everyday life. In line with the first research question which was ‘to explore refugee men’s understanding of masculinities and their intersection with everyday life.’ It was found that the refugee men’s understanding of masculinity centers around men who are biologically male, are married, and are breadwinners. It was also found that because of this ideal of a hegemonic man, the refugee men take up jobs to fulfill these roles. It was also found that this ideal of masculinity has implications on refugee men’s perception of gender equality and women’s role. To begin with, when asked to explain ‘what it means to be a man,’ the respondents provided characteristics of who is considered as a ‘real’ man in their communities. First, it was revealed that to be a man is a biological aspect. Regarding this, one respondent explained that: ‘The first thing is to be born a man. To have male sexual genitalia’ The second characteristic of being a man was found to be related to marital status. According to the respondents, a man is someone who is married and has children. The third characteristic which was related to the second one is that a man is a provider. According to the respondents, a man provides for his family’s needs and his own. One respondent explained that: ‘A real man makes sure that there is a roof over their family's head, there is food and clothes for the whole family. A real man also helps out the extended family. He works hard to provide for people who look up to them.’ 45 The study also found that there are cultural similarities between the host country, Malawi and the respondent's countries of origin (DRC and Rwanda) on what it means to be a man. Firstly, it was found that ‘what it means to be a man’ in Malawian culture is similar to what it means to be a man in the respondent's countries of origin (DRC and Rwanda). One respondent, took this further and explained that: ‘To be a man is the same in the world, whether you are white or black. In Malawi or somewhere else. The only thing that differs is how you run your household.’ Still on cultural similarities among the countries, it was also found that the similarities and differences that exist among Malawian ethnicities correspond to the respondent's origin countries ethnic differences and similarities. For example, it was found that in Malawi, just like the respondent's origin countries, different tribes have different cultural practices and norms that some of the respondents could relate to. To illustrate this, one respondent explained how the marriage process in some parts of Malawi and some parts of DRC is similar. The respondent explained that: ‘In DRC among the Lunda people, just as in Malawi among the Tumbuka people, when a man wants to get married, they approach the girl’s family through their uncles to ask for hand a in marriage. Afterwards, the relatives arrange for the bride price to be paid to the girl's family. When that process has been completed, traditionally the two are married.’ 12% of the respondents said that these similarities can be attributed to the fact that the people in the southern part of Africa are all Bantu hence, their traditions and cultures are almost the same. It was also explained that because of the similarities in the cultural practices, what it means to be a man does not differ. However, some respondents admitted that despite these similarities, there are still differences in the way men and women behave. This came up when respondents were asked ‘how social relations and interactions are like between men and women in the communities.’ To this, the respondents revealed that things are a bit different in Malawi from their origin countries, which 46 brings differences that are seen in their homes and even in the camp. One respondent explained that: ‘In Malawi, women have more authority and are favored by authorities than in DRC. When you go to apply for things like school, or jobs, they state that women are encouraged and that just means they are more favored. Because if a man is more qualified for it, they still give a chance to the women.’ Another respondent concurred with this by explaining that: ‘You see here when you beat a woman even just a little or tell her that she cannot work, some NGOs will come in. Now our women also want to act the same way because they say it’s how the Malawians do it and we are in Malawi so we should act like them.’ 25% of the respondents attributed these cultural differences to the history of the two countries implying the effects on the colonial systems of the two countries. Malawi was colonized by Britain whereas DRC was colonized by Belgium. Work and employment surfaced as another important theme related to being a man. This was mentioned in relation to men being breadwinners and providing for the family. Because of this, it was found that men are expected to be financially independent. It should be noted that all the respondents were businessmen. Only 12% had been working in their origin country before coming to Malawi. 88% revealed that they had not been working because they were students when they left their home countries. However, of the 88% who had been students, 43% revealed that they had been assisting in running businesses at home during the school holidays. When asked if the work they currently do, is what they thought they would be doing when they were coming to Malawi 30% of the respondents revealed that it was. One respondent explained that: ‘I always wanted to be a businessman, I went to school so that I would be an educated businessman so that the education would help me to run my business, and that people should not say that am an uneducated businessman.’ 47 Despite financial independence being an essential part to attaining manhood, the respondents revealed that they face different barriers to work and employment including language barrier. It was found that all of the respondents were not professionally proficient in English nor Chichewa when they arrived in Malawi. 12% of the respondents explained that they had not expected to encounter the language barrier that they faced when they arrived in Malawi. Other respondents revealed that they had not known what to expect, as one respondent explained that: ‘When I was coming, I just wanted peace, the rest would sort itself out and it has.’ Another barrier to work and employment that they face is that of accrediting their educational qualifications. It was found that this problem arises because the education systems between the refugee’s country of origin and Malawi are different. It was found that this problem also applies to refugees who would like to continue their education, not just those looking for employment. Since the school system and official languages are different, it was hard for some of them to complete their education. Another barrier that the refugees face is that of the encampment policy which reduces their chances of employment as it restricts them to seeking opportunities only within the camp. It was revealed that if you do not have relatives or people outside the camp, it is hard to get settled outside the camp. But this has even changed now with the recalling of all refugees to the camp. 4.3 Social Perception and Social Positioning In line with the second research question which was ‘to understand how male refugees feel they are perceived and socially positioned within society?’ It was found that the refugee men’s perception of themselves and how others perceive them aligns. They are seen as men and rarely perceive themselves as refugees. When the respondents were asked ‘how they primarily see themselves (either as a man, father, or refugee or if these roles interact and none stand out). It was found that the refugee men’s self-perception changes upon marriage. After marriage, the men view themselves as heads of households, fathers, and then as men. One respondent who was not married explained that: 48 ‘I am a man now, but I will become a real man when I get married and have children to show for it.’ The above quote shows that for the refugee men, being married and having children is a symbol of manhood, which all of the men aspire to. In patriarchal and heterosexual societies like this, this form of masculinity can be likened to dominant masculinity which a majority of the men embody and aspire to. When asked how they think they are perceived by the others around them, the respondents revealed that they are mainly seen as men, and heads of households. Those who are not married revealed that they are mainly seen as children. One unmarried respondent explained that: ‘When you are not married, you are treated like a child, they see you as a child even when you act like an adult. Sometimes people even hint that you should get married to start being respected and being treated like a man.’ The findings revealed that the idea of ‘being areal man’ puts pressure on refugee men and boys to get married and start earning money to take care of their families. Like the quote above, other respondents also revealed that ‘no one tells you outright’ that you should get married but there are signs and sayings that hint at it. Another respondent concurred with this and explained that: ‘Sometimes even before they start telling you to get married you feel it. And if you came here in Malawi while you were already grown up like I was, getting married and starting a family is also a way of moving on, and getting established here.’ The respondents also expressed that to them, how they see themselves is more important than how others see them. This was mentioned in relation to both Malawians and fellow refugees’ perceptions of them. The interviews revealed that the refugee men do not primarily see themselves as refugees and more like Malawians. This was attributed to the fact that the cultures are similar, they had a warm reception from Malawians, and they have been in Malawi for a long time now. One respondent explained that: 49 ‘I have lived most of my life here in Malawi, I don’t remember much about DRC, most of my friends and classmates are Malawian, and as far as I know, I am more Malawian than I am Congolese.’ In a similar line, another respondent explained that: ‘I have been in Malawi for too long, I have more Malawian friends, I conduct business with more Malawians and I am in contact mostly with Malawians than I am with people from Rwanda.’ It should be noted that all the respondents in the study have stayed in Malawi for over 7 years whether they came as children or not. It should also be noted that this was mostly from people who have lived outside the camp for over 5 years. Therefore, this can be attributed to the time to which they have been in contact with Malawians. On the issue of honor and respect, it was found that apart from marriage being one of the defining factors for receiving honor and respect, being educated and financially well-to-do or independent are also determining factors for receiving both honor and respect. One respondent explained that: ‘You know those who went to school act differently, they move differently and talk differently, that commands another kind of respect.’ Another respondent explained that: ‘Everybody respects the older people in our communities, they are wiser and know more. However, when you are rich and have money, the respect is beyond that. Family meetings can’t start before you arrive even if you are 2 hours late.’ The study also revealed the differences in the experiences of older and younger refugees. The older and younger respondents had different views on gender equality and the roles of men and women in their societies. Whereas the older respondents explained that a woman’s place is at home and a man’s place is to be the head of the family as one older respondent explained that 50 ‘….the man is the president of the home, and the wife is a minister.’ The younger respondents revealed that these days a woman should also be working and helping in the home financially as it is good. One younger respondent explained that: ‘I think women and men should be partners when married. ….I will always remember what my social studies teacher used to say that times are changing, where the world is going is not the same as where it is coming from.’ The younger respondents also seemed to have more Malawian friends than the older ones. Except for one man who explained that he has been in Malawi for over 20 years now and claimed to be is in contact with more Malawians than he is with people from his country of origin. 4.4 The Role of Ethnic Enclaves in Refugee Men’s Lives In line with the third research question which was to ‘explore the role that ethnic enclaves play in refugee men’s lives if any?’ It was found that there are ethnic enclaves within the camp and they are influential in the financial activities of their members and in maintaining and passing on cultural practices and traditions to the younger members of the enclaves and camp. When asked directly if ethnic enclaves exist within the camp, 75% of the respondents revealed that they do not exist. They explained that people from different nationalities work together and even do business together depending on the type of business, availability, and mutual understanding. One respondent explained that: ‘Here in the camp, we all work together, it just depends on having a mutual understanding with the person you are working with.’ Another respondent concurred that: ‘…in fact, working together is encouraged so that we can live in harmony here in the camp. For example, right now there is an organization that is putting us in groups to be conducting 51 business together, they are mixing people from DRC, Congo, Rwanda, Ethiopia, and other countries together in one group.’ However, almost all respondents agreed that when one has a business opportunity or work to give, they first look for partners or people to work for from their ethnic background then their nationality whether they are within the camp or outside the camp. One respondent explained that: ‘It is just how things work. If I want to expand my business and employ people, I’ll first look for people from my ethnic group, if I cannot find anyone fitting, I’ll look within my nationality. If I still can't find anyone, then I will look for any other person within the camp based on their behavior, ability and skills and our mutual understanding on issues.’ The study also found that when new members arrive at the camp, their relatives (if available), and people from their country of origin welcome them, showing them around, helping them to get settled, find work and business opportunities, and even schooling. It was also found that each nationality has a leader within the camps. The leaders are responsible for coordinating the refugees, settling disputes and liaising with government and sometimes NGO officials. One respondent put it simply that: ‘We take care of each other’ Cultural maintenance was another theme that came up on the issue of ethnic enclaves. Respondents explained that people from one country usually have meetings together, where they talk about their culture and way of life so that they do not forget it and teach their children. One man explained that: ‘We conduct meetings, and it is important, sometimes the women meet and teach the young girls how a real woman from DRC, Ethiopia, or Burundi behaves like. As men, we also meet, it is not always formal, but we make time for it because we need our children to understand where they come from and their way of life.’ 52 Chapter 5: Discussion 5.0 Chapter Overview This chapter discusses the main findings of the study in line with the theoretical framework and literature reviewed. The chapter serves to place the study findings along the broader literature to provide a comprehensive understanding of the situation and draw comparisons where possible. Through this discussion similarities and differences are found, explained, and understood. The discussion is presented in line with the main study questions. 5.1 Refugee men’s understanding of masculinities and their intersection with everyday life. The respondents' definition of who a man is centered around traditional patriarchal attributes of a man. This definition of a man is centered around the family and men’s role within the home. These findings align with prevailing norms of a patriarchal society like Malawi and the respondent's origin countries of DRC and Rwanda. In patriarchal societies, men are expected to provide, lead, and protect. As Bannon and Correia (2006) states in most socially traditional cultures, the first prerequisite for being a man is the ability to work and achieve financial independence. The second prerequisite is becoming a husband and father and exercising control over one’s family. These are also aspects that were mentioned and emphasized by the respondents. For instance, one of the respondents said that ‘…a man is the president of the home, whereas the woman is the minister…’ This shows how it is expected that men and women adhere to the patriarchal norms of their society where men lead, and women follow. These findings also show how masculinity is a relational concept to femininity and power as Connell (2005) expressed in her theory of masculinities. Characteristics of an ideal man were explained in relation to gendered roles and expectations of a woman within the home and community at large. Although the characteristics of man stated by the respondents presented a traditionally patriarchal man, the results also revealed that there are different ways of being a man in a patriarchal society. It was found from the respondents that men lead their families differently. One respondent explained that; 53 ‘…even though all men lead their households, how they do it varies. In some homes, some men discuss issues with their wives, in others, the women do more than the men, and still in some households, the men make the decisions alone.’ This aligns with Connell's (2005) conceptualization of masculinities which states that there are different forms of masculinity. The theory expresses four types of masculinity which can be identified from the explanations of the respondents. First, Connell stated that hegemonic masculinity is the pattern of practice that allows men’s dominance over women and fellow men to continue (Connell, 2005). In this study, this was expressed in the expectations of a woman within the home and society. It was explained by the respondents that men lead, women are men’s helpers, and that ‘a married woman cannot be expected to work outside the home without the husbands' approval’, showing how men as household heads have the final say. It was also explained that men are the heads of the household, and this even applies to how they interact within the community outside the home; they hold more positions and are respected more. Secondly, it was found that some men have higher status or authority than others hence some men have power and/or influence over other men. This was explained in relation to age, marital status, economic status, and authority among men within the refugee camp and outside it. These are aspects that all men aspire to have or hold but not all men have them because ‘hegemonic masculinity is the normative that all men position themselves in relation to, however, not all men can embody hegemonic masculinity’ (Connell, 2005). These findings together with the hegemonic masculinity conceptualization show that while some men are hegemonic over both women and men, other men are subordinate to other men. These findings confirm that hegemonic masculinity is always connected to patriarchal structures and a culture of male domination over women and men (Muhanna-Matar, 2020; Ortner, 2022). Connell (2005) also placed gay men within the subordinate masculinity category. According to the respondent's characteristics of a man, a man is someone who was born male and is married to a woman. This indeed places gay and transgender men within this category. The second type of masculinity is what Connell termed ‘complicit masculinities.’ Complicit masculinities is normative in which most men fall in and allow all men to enjoy the patriarchal 54 dividend without the tensions or risks of being the frontline troops of patriarchy (Connell, 2005, p. 79). While some men may not make big decisions without consulting their wives, they will still be considered as men and heads of households hence aligning with hegemonic masculinity. In the same way, by virtue of being married and having a steady income they enjoy the patriarchal dividend of being called ‘a man’ which is what most men aspire to. Connell categorized the last type of masculinity as ‘marginalized masculinity’ which corresponds to those men who do not fit into the hegemonic because of certain characteristics like race, ethnicity, age, and class (Connell, 2005; Messerschmidt, 2019b). In line with this, the study found that men who are not yet married are not considered real men. They are not respected like married men are and are treated like children. This shows how this group also falls within marginalized masculinity as Connell stated. However, it should be noted that when these men get married, they will no longer fall within the marginalized category hence reflecting the fluidity of masculinities. Masculinities are not fluid not only over lifetimes but even during the day in different situations. Connell (2005, p. 81) emphasized that 'hegemonic masculinity' ‘subordinate masculinity’ and 'marginalized masculinities' name not fixed character types but configurations of practice generated in particular situations in a changing structure of relationships. It should also be noted that the study had assumed that refugee men fall within the marginalized category in line with Connell’s theory. This remains true to some extent, however, according to the respondents, they do not feel like their refugee status affects how they exercise masculinity in general. In this case, this assumption was not correct. The respondents reported that there are a lot of cultural similarities between Malawi and their origin countries of DRC and Rwanda, which was one of the reasons that attracted them to Malawi. The respondents attributed this to the fact that they are all ‘Bantu’ people (in Sub-Saharan Africa region). This implied that it was easy for the refugees to maintain their patriarchal norms since the movement of people between neighboring countries means there are phenotypic similarities between migrants and host communities (Segal, 2019). Even though the countries in question are not neighboring countries, the formulation and expectations around masculinity and femininity are not so different since 55 both are social constructs. However, if the refugees were in a country where the cultural and social constructs are very different like a country in Europe or America, the assumption that they fall under marginalized masculinity might have been correct. This reflects how the construction of masculine identity and experience is also influenced by space and broader social settings. It should also be noted that there are still cultural differences between Malawians and the refugees. One such difference which was explained by the respondents was that Malawian men speak less than women whether in public or even in interactions among men. It was also stated that the way they conduct themselves especially those in authority is different from the way Congolese and Rwandan men act. These differences influence how men act towards women from their countries within and outside the refugee camp. The differences can be attributed to differing country histories, differing colonial systems as stated by the respondents, the harsh experiences that the respondents have from a war-torn country, and migration experiences on the part of respondents. This is by no means exhaustive but it goes to further show how gender practices are influenced by not only social expectations and norms but also how they are historically and socially shaped in time and space (Fisher, 2021). This further reflects how gender including masculinities are social constructs influenced by space and time. Important to note is the fact that hegemonic masculinity is not used to describe a specific group of men or specific actions, but rather hegemonic masculinity is understood as a set of ideals for men’s gendered practices that influence what they do (Fisher, 2021). For this reason, hegemonic masculinities are much more common, yet often are simultaneously hidden in plain sight, operating in a disguised way while securing an overwhelmingly legitimating influence; that is, hegemonic masculinities are so obvious that people do not actually ‘see’ them; because they are everywhere, they are nowhere (Messerschmidt, 2019a, p. 17). This understanding therefore aligns with the study's definition of masculinity as the different gendered practices that refugee men embody and internalize, that influence their actions or how they position themselves in relation to other men and women in society. It is for this reason that some of the study respondents ‘fit’ in the hegemonic masculinity category as they are involved in these practices of providing for their families and being financially independent among others. At the same time, 56 the respondents also move through other forms of masculinity. It is also for this reason that there are other men who at the same time exhibit both hegemonic masculinity and dominant masculinity traits like chiefs and rich men. This is because dominant masculinities are not always associated with and linked to gender hegemony but refer to the most celebrated, common, or current form of masculinity in a particular social setting as earlier stated (Christensen & Jensen, 2014; Messerschmidt, 2019a, 2019b). Messerschmidt (2019b, p. 90) explains it best that: ‘Although hegemonic masculinities today are diverse, the relational practices and discursive meanings are not—each in their unique way legitimate unequal gender relations between men and women, between masculinity and femininity, and among masculinities—they collectively constitute a social structure. These seemingly individual practices of hegemonic masculinity do not occur in a vacuum. Instead, they are situationally influenced by and in turn reproduce the gendered relational and discursive social structures in particular settings. Hegemonic masculinities are configurations of social practice that produce simultaneously particular social relations and social meanings, and they are culturally significant because they shape a sense of what is ‘acceptable’ and ‘unacceptable’ gendered behavior for co-present interactants in specific situations.’ The study findings align with the broader literature that within refugee camps, refugee women’s status changes as they are the recipients of more empowerment and development interventions by governments and NGOs (Kleist, 2010; Muhanna-Matar, 2020; Turner, 1999). In line with this, the study found that refugee women want to be treated like Malawian women who according to the respondents have more liberty, authority and autonomy than Congolese and Rwandan women. Respondents revealed that NGOs interfere with marital issues, usually taking women’s side. Similar to Huizinga and van Hoven (2021) findings that men find ways to reclaim their masculinity by engaging in the labor market to maintain the breadwinner status. The study found that men engage in different income-generating activities even if it is engaging in menial labor or by reminding women how they are supposed to behave according to their culture to maintain their position within the home. As Murdolo and Quiazon (2016) explains, this sense of 57 responsibility sometimes manifests itself in a heightened sense of needing to control women and girls. This shows that men find ways to gain back their masculinity, they have coping mechanisms and strategies to maintain masculinity. This is an important aspect to men as Bannon and Correia (2006, p. 39) explain that: ‘One of the most defining elements in men’s lives is the idea of owing themselves to work because working means being responsible, meritorious, and capable, attributes that characterize manhood in its full adult phase. Work gives men autonomy and allows them to form a family, become breadwinners, fulfill their duties toward the family, protect the family, and be the household head and authority.’ It should also be noted that the younger and older men had differing views on gender equality and women’s role in the labor market. The younger men seemed more open minded to the idea of women working outside the home and earning an income. This can be attributed to their socialization and education as explained by one of the respondents. Segal (2019) states that by the second generation, visible differences between migrants and hosts become negligible. This is because second-generation migrants are raised and socialized within the broader context of the host nation. In their study on youth in Dzaleka refugee camp, Anderson-Rose (2023), found that the youth see the camp as a site for possibilities and opportunities more than older respondents. The study explained that the youth do not know much about their home country, but what they know is enough to allow them to pay attention to the particular pathways, somewhat unique to camps and perhaps unavailable back home, like education opportunities, work opportunities, and opportunities for relocation to a third country like Canada, that Dzaleka provides them for moving forward with their lives. This applies in the current study since the younger respondents have had much of their socialization including education in Malawi. It can therefore be assumed that their openness especially on gender equality applies to possibilities for creating new forms of dominant masculinities. Similarly, some of the study respondents also revealed that they do not know much about their origin country as they have grown up and had their education in Malawi. These findings also align with what Connell and Messerschmidt (2005) states that there 58 is no unitary masculinity, patterns vary by class and generation even in the most homogeneous communities. Based on the study findings, some attributes of masculinity compounded with structural factors like the encampment policy and NGO interventions interact with masculinity to influence men’s behavior. For instance, as men, they are expected to provide for their families hence they take up any income-generating activities they can within and outside the camps which mostly involves business activities as explained below. This shows how as men, they engage with representations and embody masculinity in their everyday lives in complex and sometimes contradictory ways (Murdolo & Quiazon, 2016). Secondly, the implication of who a man is, pressures some men to be married so that they can be recognized as men and benefit from the patriarchal dividend. Third, in line with the literature on hegemonic masculinity, there is a basis through which men are judged and assess themselves. This shows how masculinity is largely a matter of public performance, at the same time, the sense of oneself as a man also has a highly intimate dimension (White, 1997). 5.2 Social Perception and Social Positioning Following the second research question on social perception and social position, the study found out how work and employment are important aspects to the perception of masculinity and social status in society. On the issue of work and employment, the study findings are similar to those of other existing studies in the subject area. The study found that refugee men face several factors in engaging in the labor market. The findings on social perception and social position align with Weber’s social stratification theory. The findings also show the relation between social stratification theory and the concept of masculinity in the study. Similar to findings from other existing studies (Fedrigo et al., 2023; Long, 2013), it was found that refugees face several barriers to entering in the labor market. To begin with, it was found that language was a barrier that some of the respondents faced when they had just arrived. One respondent explained that ‘they had not thought that language would be such a barrier as it was when they arrived.’ Most of the respondents had French as their official language whereas in Malawi, English is the official language. In addition, the respondents also had to learn Chichewa, 59 the Malawian mother tongue. Apart from that, education qualifications were also a barrier to gaining work and employment. Education presented problems in two ways; first, those who had completed their higher education before coming to Malawi faced the problem of accrediting their qualifications. This is an issue central to the debate on brain waste in migration scholarship. Other scholars like (Korzeniewska & Erdal, 2021; Straubhaar, 2000) have also found that accrediting credentials from another country is a problem, especially in the global North. Secondly, those who had not yet completed their higher education (44% of the respondents) in their origin country before coming to Malawi revealed that it was hard to complete their higher education because of differing school systems and financial constraints. However, this does not mean that the refugee's knowledge is completely wasted, one respondent explained that he had been studying to be an accountant before coming to Malawi, and now he uses his knowledge when working with NGOs that work in the camp and helping in other refugee activities. It should also be noted that these barriers are compounded by the fact that the host country Malawi does not allow refugees to take private or public employment even if they are qualified (Mchenga, 2015). Another factor that prevents the refugees from integrating into the job sector is the encampment policy. Because the refugees cannot leave the camp, they cannot take up work outside the camp. As stated by the UNHCR (2023), the encampment policy restricts access to employment and a favorable business environment for the refugees. These findings align with the broader literature on not just refugees but migrants in general regarding labor market integration. In Malawi like most countries, there is a need for a more holistic refugee integration policy so that it can also encompass the issue of labor market access and integration. The study found that all of the respondents are involved in businesses as an income-generating activity to provide for their households and themselves. When the respondents were asked if this is what they thought they would be doing when they arrived in Malawi, 38% expressed that it was not, 25% had never thought of the issue of work that way. Others explained that it is what they had always thought of doing. Even though it is what some of the respondents had always wanted to do, some respondents ventured into it because of the barriers to labor market access and integration explained above. It was also found that a majority of the camp members are engaged in various business activities and menial work to make ends meet. These results are 60 similar to those found by Mchenga (2015, p. 12) who found that ‘economically, the people in the camp community have various ways of surviving. Individuals run small-scale businesses, sell farm produce, groceries, beverages, and clothes among other items.’ Msowoya (2019) also found that refugees and asylum seekers illegally operate various successful business activities across the country. The finding that all of the respondents are engaged in business activities, including a majority of the camp community shows that they are in a similar position in the labor market which Max Weber termed ‘an economic class.’ Bendix (1966) and Lasswell (1965) define ‘class’ as any group of people who have the same typical chance for a supply of goods, external living conditions, and personal life experiences, insofar as this chance is determined by the power to dispose of goods or skills for the sake of income in a given economic order’ (Pyakuryal, 2001, p. 16). The refugees’ living conditions and personal life experiences are also similar by virtue of being refugees living in a camp. As refugee men, their experiences with masculinity and the pressures that come with it to provide for the family are also similar. It is these experiences that lead them to take up any income-generating activities that come up. Refugees as a group are also in similar economic class because they face similar barriers to entry into the labor market. For instance, because of the encampment policy, they are all forced to stay within the camp. The causes of their class situation are almost the same as shown above. This is in line with Weber(1992), who states that an economic class shares a similar specific causal component based on the possession of goods and opportunities for income (Allen, 2004). According to Weber (1922), economic classes influence consumption and social standing in the community, it differentiates employers and employees (Chan & Goldthorpe, 2007). Simply put, how much one earns determines how much someone spends and their social standing (social status) in society. This social standing influences how people perceive an individual and even how they perceive themselves. For instance, in economic classes, occupations that require working with symbols and perhaps people, and especially professional occupations, confer the highest status, while those that require working directly with material things confer the lowest status (Chan & Goldthorpe, 2007). In this regard, the respondents work directly with material 61 things selling and producing different products. In this sense, the respondents belong to a low-status category. Weber (1922) posited that although economic class is distinct from social status, the two are related. This was found to be the case among the respondents as well. It was found that when an individual has a lot of money, they receive more honor and respect despite their age. They also have more influence in the community. Social status is therefore ascribed based on one’s economic class. Social status is a structure of relations of perceived and to some degree accepted, social superiority, equality, and inferiority among individuals (Chan & Goldthorpe, 2007). Simply put, status refers to one’s place in the hierarchy of prestige or honor in society (Allen, 2004). ‘When it comes to refugees, social status nowadays largely depends on refugees’ positions in the labor market however, such positions, are not solely the consequence of enhanced language skills, formal and informal qualifications, and social skills to be attributed to refugees themselves. Rather, refugees need to act within (and/or against) certain environments that entail social, political, and economic contexts’ (Scheibelhofer, 2019, p. 300). This means other factors other than income factor in, to determine refugees' social status. For instance, the encampment policy as explained earlier. Cultural aspects of hegemonic masculinity may also be at play by influencing which jobs are more masculine than others. In addition, issues of ethnicity and racism may also play a factor in other contexts. However, as earlier shown, this is not a problem for the refugees of interest in this study. What might be relevant is the financial and political environment of the host country. For example, a bad fiscal year for Malawi might also impact its business environment. In addition, refugees may be used as pawns for politicians during campaigns which may influence policies like how well the encampment policy is enforced. The respondents revealed that in their communities, older men have higher status because of their age, however, this status is less influential than that of men (regardless of age) with more money. It was found that this situation remains the same even in interactions with Malawian men. Those who have money or are older have higher social status. This is because with social status relationships within groups are for the most part based on personal ties, religious, cultural, 62 or historical precedent, and as such are quite different from the relations or ‘situations’ found in the instrumental, ‘rational’ world of the market economy (Gane, 2005). Social status also determines one's immediate circle because in modern societies the status order takes on an increasingly conventional character, which is for the most part, is maintained only informally. The hierarchy of status relations becomes less one of well-defined status groups than one of relatively loose social networks, and its expression is more covert (Chan & Goldthorpe, 2007). ‘Social status applies to a typically effective claim to positive or negative privilege with respect to social prestige so far as it rests on one or more of the following bases: (I) mode of living, (2) a formal process of education which may consist of empirical or rational training and the acquisition of the corresponding modes of life, or (3) on the prestige of birth or of an occupation’ (Pyakuryal, 2001, p. 20). The meaning, experience and power relations of gender and masculinity thus vary for different ethnic groups, according to class, age, education (Christensen & Jensen, 2014). It should be noted that the study findings are contradictory to the popular opinion that refugee men experience status loss although some findings agree with it (Fisher, 2021; Kleist, 2010; Turner, 1999). Based on the findings, it can be argued that the refugee men do not experience status loss as assumed. This is because the culture is almost the same, hence they can act in accordance with their view of hegemonic masculinity like being heads of households. These findings are similar to those by Boamah-Gyau (2008), who found that Liberian refugees in Buduburam camp in Ghana live in harmony with the locals, they have intermarriages and attend social activities together. Boamah-Gyau also found that refugees turned the camp into an urbanized center and ran different businesses, features that can also be observed with the refugees in Dzaleka. Financially, the respondents are also engaged in income-generating activities and therefore, they have some autonomy and control over their lives. However, it can also be explained that because some of the respondents left before they had settled into professional life, it is hard to compare the difference between origin and destination as that is the reference point. Secondly, the respondents explained that they do not feel that they have a low status. This is important because subjective social status is more important than perceived social status. Transnational status loss (downward social mobility) is associated with poorer self- 63 perceived status and economic standing, over and above current economic conditions (Engzell & Ichou, 2020). Subjective social status is an important outcome in its own right, but also a crucial predictor of other outcomes such as health (Engzell & Ichou, 2020). In addition, as refugees, they may have been compelled to leave their homes to avoid dangerous conditions, leaving, with little or no planning, and, on the spur of the moment (Segal, 2019) as some of the respondents explained that they had not thought about jobs when they were leaving. The study results align with existing literature regarding the type of work that refugees usually engage in as shown above. It was found that the refugees usually engage in small-scale businesses like shopkeeping, mobile money agents, farm produce traders, running errands for other refugees and Malawians and a a few also engage in small-scale farming alongside these businesses. As earlier stated, Mchenga (2015) and Msowoya (2019), also found the same results among refugees in Malawi. The same trend is observed among refugees in other countries like Norway as earlier stated. Blustein (2013) defined decent work as work that meets three fundamental needs: survival and power, social connections, and self-determination (Fedrigo, 2023). The work that the refugees engage in meets their survival needs as it is enough to support most of their daily needs, hence maintaining power and control over their families and spouses. It also involves social connection as it involves interacting with different people including Malawians. Furthermore, it also involves the ability to make decisions on their own, especially if they own the business. However, this analysis would simply be narrowing the situation because the scale of the businesses is usually small. As the ILO explains, decent work is work that encompasses four strategic areas including full and productive employment, rights at work, social protection, and promotes social dialogue (ILO,2013). The ILO also considers self-employment including businesses. However, the businesses that the respondents engage in do does not qualify as decent work. 5.3 The Role of Ethnic Enclaves in Refugee Men’s Lives Segal (2019) defined ethnicity as a group of people associated with common ancestry and culture, including language, religion, traditions, and behavioral norms that can contribute to, and challenge, a receiving nation's worldview. In the case of the study participants, their culture does not challenge that of Malawi as has been explained above. However, within Dzaleka, there are 64 different nationalities hence different cultural backgrounds. Some of the different cultural markers that can be seen within groups of refugees in Dzaleka are language, dress, dances, food, and traditions. Mchenga (2015) concurred that the cultural diversity among the refugees in Dzaleka is visible in languages, tribes, spiritual beliefs, food, dances, and etiquette. It is common for people with a similar cultural background to be located in one area, however, due to migration (both international and domestic), this is not always the case in modern societies. The refugees present a unique case in Malawi because there is an encampment policy that ensures that they are all together. Essentially, they form an ethnic group, different from Malawian ethnicities. And within the camp, ethnic enclaves exist among people from different nationalities. These are formed based on nationality bonds and not just similarities in culture and customs. In this case, the definition of ethnic enclaves by Espinoza-Kulick et al., (2021, p.21) applies, which refers to ethnic enclaves as; the geographic concentration of migrants and co-ethnics in a neighborhood, a place with social and economic structures that diverge from those in the surrounding area, or a concentration of economic activity, particularly businesses owned and staffed by members of a single ethnic group. Ethnic enclaves were seen in the way the refugees informally organized themselves. For instance, by having appointed leaders and/or representatives from people of each nationality. These act as spokespersons and gatekeepers for issues that may come up concerning people of their nationality. Secondly, according to the respondents, UNHCR and the Malawi government are responsible for arranging the arrival of new refugees into the camp. However, once they arrive, the people are put in contact with other people from their nationality within the camp if they don’t already know anyone in Malawi. This practice helps build and maintain ethnic groups. This practice provides a ‘warm embrace,’ especially for newly arrived refugees, with the ethnic network in an enclave providing valuable information on opportunities in the labor market, job contacts, or job-search channels (Chakraborty & Schüller, 2022, p. 2). Third, as mentioned by the respondents, through ethnic groups, they maintain their culture and way of life and pass it down to their children. As it was explained by one of the respondents: ‘It is through ethnic meetings that we teach our children and remind each other the right way to behave as people 65 from a certain nationality.’ This is in line with what Castles (2000, p. 277) observed that culturally distinct settler groups almost always maintain their languages and some elements of their homeland cultures, at least for a few generations. In addition, living in an enclave can be a ‘buffer,’ which reduces the cost of cultural or language assimilation by making these requirements less necessary for labor market success (Chakraborty & Schüller, 2022). This is true with the refugees in the camp as some of them do not have to leave the camp since it is already not allowed. Membership within an enclave also means that refugees' adjustment/settling time period is reduced as opposed to those who do not have it. For instance, some respondents explained that they had moved out of the camp just after 2 months of arriving in Malawi. These respondents also explained that they went to live with relatives who had settled outside the refugee camp. Having people they know allows them to explore which can also lead to other opportunities. Lastly, the ethnic enclaves provide emotional support as the members know that they are with people from their home countries. This also helps with their adjustment process when they first arrive in the camp. As Zhang and Xie (2016) explain, ethnic networks provide group identity and feelings of belonging and solidarity. Another aspect that was revealed was that within the refugee camp and outside, people help each other based on where they come from. As one respondent had explained that: ‘… it is how it works everywhere.’ This was mentioned in regard to helping people from one’s ethnic background first and others later. Being in an enclave therefore provides a sort of insurance of being prioritized when opportunities arise. It is when they cannot find members within their nationality that they look for other partners within the camp and even among Malawians. As explained earlier, this also helps to bypass other barriers like language that prevent entry into the labor market. Apart from this, other respondents revealed that they have been to different parts of Malawi, visiting relatives and exploring the country. It is argued that ethnic enclaves may create pathways for social mobility and opportunities for economic mobility that were inaccessible elsewhere (Espinoza-Kulick et al., 2021). This is seen with the respondents in this study as they are able to explore different areas even outside the camp with the help of ethnic enclave members. 66 In line with the literature reviewed, it was found that the social networks that ethnic enclaves provide to the members are indeed numerous and beneficial. One of the benefits was that of work. This study found that members of the enclaves provide each other with work and employment opportunities. For instance, one respondent explained that he works for his brother-in-law. It was also mentioned that the refugees first look for business partners and/ or employees among members of their nationality first as earlier stated. All this aligns with the literature on the benefits of ethnic enclaves on work. For instance, (Chakraborty & Schüller, 2022) states that it is also possible that enclaves directly provide jobs within the so-called ‘enclave economy,’ since ethnic business owners are likely to hire co-ethnic workers. Thompson and Grant (2015), in their study in South Africa among Somali migrants, found that ‘contrary to media and popular perceptions that many migrants in townships start their businesses most are shareholders in the shops, while two were employees, it was also found that most shops operate as joint ventures in which several investors rent a store and hire three to four co-ethnics to run it.’ Msowoya (2019) also stated that the various businesses that refugees operate within Malawi positively contribute to the economy through the creation of employment among other factors. The study results have revealed how different social and political factors interact to influence how men behave and exercise different forms of masculinity. The idea of hegemonic and dominant masculinity influences men to behave in a certain way based on their stage of life to align themselves with the dominant form of masculinity at that time. Based on the findings, men get married, take up jobs to fulfill the breadwinner role, and strive to accumulate wealth and status to be respected and influential members of their communities. This shows how men’s actions help to create ideals of masculinities, and also how those ideals influence men as well (Fisher, 2021). It also shows how men do different things in order to attain or align themselves with hegemonic masculinity. These findings also reveal how ‘the expectations underpinning men’s roles and behaviors are formed by abstract, but immensely powerful, symbolic understandings of what is ‘masculine’ and ‘manly’, and what is not. These are often implicit notions that men and boys, and society around them, have internalized. It affects how men see and judge themselves, how they are perceived and judged by others, and what ways of acting are seen as commensurate with ‘being a man’ and which are not’ (Myrttinen, 2023, p. 12). As 67 Connell and Messerschmidt (2005) put it; hegemonic masculinity is the pattern of practice that is, things done, not just a set of role expectations or an identity. Fisher (2021) concurs that hegemonic masculinity is a set of ideals for men’s gendered practices that influence what they do. Men in the study do these different activities to align with the most hegemonic form even though they do not fully attain it because of other structural factors as seen. There are also different levels of status and influence that different categories of men exercise within the community. Weber (1992), explained that status groups try to gain a monopoly of certain privileges whereas the market is a great leveler that reduces everything to money (Allen, 2004). The same can be said of masculinity. To maintain patriarchal power, hegemonic masculinity maintains dominance over women and other groups of men. In addition, the ideal form of hegemonic masculinity cannot be easily achieved by every man, only a handful of men enjoy the benefits of embodying hegemonic masculinity. With this, hegemonic masculinity is a high-status masculinity on its own that when compounded with benefits attained from the economic class maintains a higher level. It should be noted that even within the same economic class, some men still have higher status than others. For instance, even though most refugees are businessmen, some own bigger businesses that they can afford to employ other people where others cannot. Some refugees can even afford to employ Malawians or get in business with them whereas others cannot. These are the traits that differentiate and enforce different forms of masculinity and statuses in the community. Hegemonic masculinity and social stratification theory both show how social inequality is embedded within communities and/or among social groups. Group dynamics are organized in such a way that some people have more resources, money, influence, and honor than others. Hence, every society, no matter how simple or complex, differentiates persons in terms of both prestige and esteem and therefore, possesses a certain amount of institutionalized inequality (Pyakuryal, 2001). This is evident even within groups of men as the study has shown. Connell’s theory of Masculinities clearly shows this by categorizing groups of men showing how certain masculinities are more socially central, or more associated with authority and social power ergo social status, than others (Connell & Messerschmidt, 2005). Class interests are expressed in 68 gender-related ways, but the role that gender plays is equivocal: it at once helps structure the system of domination and is used by both actors to bargain over the terms of engagement (White, 1997, p. 19). For instance, refugee men may take up any job to provide for their family despite their status, at the same time, some men will employ others to maintain their status or pay their employees less bargaining with the same line to be able to make enough to support their family and/or maintain their status. Although one of the study’s areas of focus was men's experience outside the camp, it was noted that most of their explanations led back to Dzaleka refugee camp. Their experiences at Dzaleka were more important or relevant to them as the central point of their life and experiences in Malawi. This may be attributed to the fact that they consider Dzaleka as their home village within the country. This was reflected in the way they expressed all of their experiences leading back to the camp and the camp being the place where most of their relatives are, hence where they visit the most. It is also noted in the fact that even after leaving the camp to stay within the local communities, some refugees returned to the camp voluntarily as a rational choice. This is also because due to the encampment policy, they cannot fully settle outside the camp as it would be illegal. The study sought to explore refugee men’s lives outside the camp. For this, it was found that most of the respondents went to live outside the camp with the help of a relative who was already living outside the camp. This comes back to the influence of ethnic enclaves in providing members with opportunities both within and beyond the refugee camps. The respondents revealed how they interacted with Malawians both men and women almost in the same way they interacted with men from their home countries. 69 CHAPTER SIX: CONCLUSION 6.0 Chapter Overview This chapter provides a conclusion of the study findings and discussion. The chapter also explains how the study has contributed to the existing body of knowledge in the area of masculinities among refugee men by describing the experiences of refugee men and how masculinity influences their decisions and choices. The study has also shown how ethnic enclaves play a role in refugee men’s lives. The chapter also highlights gaps and areas requiring further research in the field. 6.1 Conclusion The study established that refugees are essentially migrants since sometimes refugees start as other groups of migrants. Even in situations where people start out fleeing or seeking asylum and not as regular migrants, they may take the same routes as regular migrants take. Their paths may cross, hence some concepts used for describing experiences of regular migrants also apply to refugees. The study also established that migrants' experiences vary even when they are in the same situation including the experiences of refugee men. However, documentation of the experiences of migrant refugee men is scarce especially their experiences around issues of masculinities. The literature reviewed revealed that most studies around migrant’s center on humanitarian issues that focus on women as a vulnerable group. In addition, most studies on men of Sub-Saharan African origin focus on the experiences of men who have migrated to the global North and from war-torn areas. This literature laid the foundation for this study by highlighting the gap that there is a lack of focus on migrant men from Sub-Saharan Africa who migrate to other Sub-Saharan African countries. The concept of hegemonic masculinity as advanced by Raewyn Connell explains that there are multiple forms of masculinities, however, only one form of masculinity is exalted at a time, and this is called hegemonic masculinity. Hegemonic masculinity maintains patriarchy, a system of organizing social life. Not all men embody hegemonic masculinity however, most men align themselves with it. Other forms of masculinity are complicit, subordinate, or marginalized when compared to hegemonic masculinity. The literature established that these forms of masculinity 70 are fluid and men can embody more than one form in a day ergo their lifetime. In addition, men also navigate issues of social status and social class in communities. Weber (1992) explained that social class and social status are related but distinct issues. Social class implies a person’s position within the labor market whereas social status implies consumption levels within the community based on the economic class. Social status is represented by honor and prestige. The literature reviewed also established that migrants face multiple barriers to gaining entry into the labor market. Some of these include language, lack of recognition of their education qualifications, and poor social networks that can translate into professional work and employment opportunities. Despite this, financial stability is a key indicator of manhood in most countries, especially in the Sub-Saharan region. Existing literature showed that ethnic enclaves are a good source of social networks that provide migrants access to different opportunities including work, education, and emotional support. The literature further provided a background of refugees in Malawi, the setting of the study. It was established that Malawi has been a host to refugees since the 1980’s with the first group of refugees being from the neighboring Mozambique. Since then, Malawi has been hosting refugees from different countries including Rwanda, DRC, Ethiopia, Somali, and Burundi among others. Malawi has an encampment policy for hosting refugees. The camp is run by the Malawi government and UNHCR. The refugees are housed at Dzaleka refugee camp in the central region. Over the years, other refugee camps have opened and closed in the Northern and Southern of Malawi respectively. Dzaleka refugee camp is a diverse community as it harbors people from different nationalities and backgrounds. Dzaleka is considered as the home community of refugees who sometimes settle outside the camp within the local communities in different areas of Malawi. The study employed qualitative research methodology. The study respondents were refugee men who had lived outside of the Dzaleka refugee camp before. The study used the snowball sampling technique to identify respondents. Each respondent recommended one respondent after being interviewed until data saturation was reached. An in-depth interview technique was used to collect data from the respondents. 8 respondents were interviewed. The data was coded and 71 analyzed using thematic analysis. Research ethics were adhered to protect the respondents and the credibility of the study. Study limitations like time and money were dealt with by conducting interviews over phone calls. Phone interviews proved to be efficient as data was collected within a short time and male respondents freely responded to questions about masculinity and their life, issues that are private and maybe uncomfortable in face-to-face interviews for other respondents. The findings have revealed the complex and multifaceted dynamics that men navigate influenced by cultural norms, expectations, and individual experiences. Cultural norms and expectations dictate what men should do to be called ‘real men.’ These norms and expectations influence what is considered as the hegemonic form of masculinity and all other forms of masculinity. However, it is the resources that men own or have at their disposal like education and connections that impact how they can embody the expectations and align themselves with the dominant form of masculinity. The family was found to be the central institution for the formation and exercise of masculinity. It was found that it is because of the family that men engage in different economic activities; to own one and/or be able to take care of one. It is also within the family that almost all men have a chance to exercise hegemonic masculinity over all members of the household. The family is also responsible for shaping how and when young men and boys embody hegemonic masculinity. This is done explicitly through socialization and implicitly through signs that convey the message to the young men. Apart from family, other social structures and institutions also shape how men experience masculinity through the restrictions and opportunities afforded to men. The encampment policy, NGOs working within and outside the camp, and poverty are some of the prevalent structures that affect how refugee men perform and navigate masculinity. The findings revealed that there are different forms of masculinity that men experience over their lifetime. The fluid nature of masculinity could be seen in refugee men’s daily life and throughout their lifetime. Different sectors of their life revealed how men experience sometimes contradictory forms of masculinity. For instance, while at work a man may be subordinate to the ones who employed them whereas the virtue of owning a job is a symbol of aligning with hegemonic masculinity as it signifies the ability to provide for their family and independence. It 72 was also found that most of the men interviewed fell within the ‘complicit masculinity category.’ This is because they enjoy the patriarchal dividend afforded to them through hegemonic masculinity, yet they are not at that state yet. For instance, most of the respondents were married and engaged in an income-generating activity implying their independence. It was also found that some forms of masculinity like marginalized masculinity are essentially a part of every man’s life during their lifetime. That is during the transition between being a boy and being a man. Cultural norms and practices were found to be of great importance in shaping and influencing masculinity. It was found that there are some cultural dimensions that are similar between Malawian and the refugee's origin countries which makes it easy for the refugees to express their cultural differences. The diversity of Malawi’s cultures (in the different ethnic groups) makes it easy for the refugees to maintain their culture especially where it already aligns with that of other ethnicities in Malawi. It was also found that the similarity of these cultures makes it easy for the refugee men to stay in Malawi and still maintain the traditional patriarchal cultural norms that they are used to. It should still be noted that it was also found that there are still cultural dimensions that are different that were attributed to the colonial history of the countries. These differences can also be attributed to the fact that because of the relative peace and stability in Malawi, the cultural norms and practices are evolving with globalization. These differences were also noted between the older and younger respondents. The younger respondents seemed to be adopting the flexible characteristics of the Malawian culture. The findings revealed that the refugees are part of one economic class. They are all involved in similar economic activities. This economic class is influenced by their very condition of being refugees and facing similar structural and institutional constraints. Just like Max Weber (1992) explained, this economic class influences their social status. Economic outcomes influence their lifestyle, colleagues, and influence in society. This was found to be the case even in interactions with Malawian men. Those men with better economic outcomes have a higher social status. However, social status is also influenced by other factors like age, education, and positions like being a chief. By being an older man, the refugees are respected regardless of their social status 73 as they are the gatekeepers of their culture. The social status ascribed because of wealth was found to be more dominant than that ascribed by cultural norms. Similar to other studies on changing gender relations among refugee men, it was found that women gain more status when they come to Malawi. This was found to be the case both within and outside the refugee camps. In the camps, the Malawi government and the NGOs that work within the camp focus on improving the social status of women than men since they are considered more vulnerable. In addition, when they move outside the camp, the refugee women want to act like Malawian women, enjoying the same privileges and liberty afforded to Malawian women which the refugee men do not like. The study found that most of the refugees did not directly acknowledge the existence of ethnic enclaves within the camp. However, further evidence revealed that ethnic enclaves exist among the respondents, and their impact and reach spans beyond the refugee camp and even country. This was found through the refugees’ informal organization and interaction which revealed characteristics similar to those found within ethnic enclaves. For instance, it was found that the respondent's social networks are mainly based on their nationality and ethnicities within nationalities. These social networks were found to be sources of great resources like job opportunities, education opportunities, and opportunities to live outside the camp. It was found that being a member of an enclave ideally placed one on a hypothetical priority list when opportunities arise for other members of the enclave. The enclaves are also responsible for helping refugee members maintain their culture and pass it on to their children. Based on these findings, it is evident that there is a need for more research on masculinities and femininity in Malawi especially among refugees and migrants. The issue of how the changing dynamics among women has not been fully explored. It was also beyond the scope of this paper to explore how the changing dynamics of masculinities among refugee men impact women and their role in the creation and maintenance of masculinity among refugee men. 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Has this always been the same or is it changing with time? (how) 8. How are relationships between men like? (Who is most respected, and has more authority, what influenced these dynamics?) 9. Are these interactions different among refugee men and in interactions with Malawian men? 10. Has this always been the same or is it changing with time? (how) 11. Given your experiences as a man, how did you feel about the idea of ‘Masculinity.’ (what is meant to be a man) in the Malawian culture? 12. Has your role as a man changed since you moved to Malawi? (If yes, in what ways? How did that make you feel?) 81 13. How do you see yourself primarily as? (is it as a man, father, or refugee, or do these roles interact and none stand out?) 14. How do you think you are seen in society (is it as a man, or father or refugee or do these roles interact and none stand out?) Work 1. What job did you do in your home country? 2. What do you do now? (Is that what you imagined doing when you came to Malawi? what influenced you to be doing this?) 3. Are there associations or networks of Refugees? (How are they organized: are they based on Nationality/ethnicity, location, or other factors, are there specific ones for men?) 4. What role do they play in your life? 5. How do these networks influence your thoughts about gender relationships? 82 Appendix 2 Consent Form Are you interested in taking part in a research project titled: “Masculinity Tales: The Impact of Masculinities on the Socio-Economic Status of Burundi Refugee Men in Lilongwe, Malawi?” Purpose You are invited to participate in a research project where the main purpose is to understand how masculinities impact the choices that refugee men make and how they influence their life, socioeconomic status, and standing within their communities and among other men. To achieve this aim, the study will answer the following research questions: How do refugee men understand masculinities and their intersection with everyday life choices? How do refugees feel they are perceived and socially positioned within society? What role do ethnic conclaves play in refugee men’s lives if any? This research partially fulfills the requirements of a master’s in Community Development and Social Innovation. The data collected will only be used for this purpose. Which institution is responsible for the research project? VID Specialized University in Stavanger, Norway is responsible for the project (data controller). Why are you being asked to participate? 83 You have been selected to participate in the study because you are a male refugee who resides in Lilongwe, Malawi, and is of Burundi origin. For this study, we have asked about 15 male refugees to participate. What does participation involve for you? Participation in this study will involve engaging in a phone interview that may take approximately 1 hour, at your convenience. During this interview, we will have a chat about masculinity and your experiences and perceptions. The phone call will not be recorded. The researcher will take notes during the interview. Participation is voluntary. Participation in the project is voluntary. If you choose to participate, you can withdraw your consent at any time without giving a reason. All information about you will then be made anonymous. There will be no negative consequences for you if you choose not to participate or later decide to withdraw. Your personal privacy – how we will store and use your personal data Your privacy will be respected. The researcher will not release any information to anybody else that could be used to identify you, unless required by the law. The researcher will only use your personal data for the purpose(s) specified here and will process your personal data in accordance with data protection legislation (the GDPR). Apart from the student researcher Daphne Langwe, only her supervisor will have access to the data should there be a need. To ensure that the data is kept safe and secure, the data will be kept in a locked cabinet, and the information with personal data will be kept separately from the other information. Pseudo names will be used if needed so that no one can link what was said to who said it. Only this pseudo name will be used on any project-related information collected about you for this project, so that your identity as part of the project will be kept completely private. 84 What will happen to your personal data at the end of the research project? The planned end date of the project is 15th May 2024. All the data will be destroyed after the project is completed. Your rights So long as you can be identified in the collected data, you have the right to: Access the personal data that is being processed about you. Request that your personal data is deleted. Request that incorrect personal data about you is corrected/rectified. Receive a copy of your personal data (data portability), and Send a complaint to the Norwegian Data Protection Authority regarding the processing of your personal data. What gives us the right to process your personal data? We will process your personal data because the research project is considered to be in the public interest, but you have the opportunity to object if you do not wish to be included in the project. Based on an agreement with VID Specialized University, The Data Protection Services of Sikt – Norwegian Agency for Shared Services in Education and Research has assessed that the processing of personal data in this project meets requirements in data protection legislation. Where can I find out more? If you have questions about the project, or want to exercise your rights, contact: VID Specialized University Via Daphne Langwe on daphnelangwe@gmail.com or +4746249839 or the project supervisor Frieder Ludwig on Frieder.ludwig.@vid.no or on +4692291995 Our Data Protection Officer: Nacy Yue Liu on personvernombud@vid.no 85 If you have questions about how data protection has been assessed in this project by Sikt, contact: email: (personverntjenester@sikt.no) or by telephone: +47 73 98 40 40. Yours sincerely, Project Leader Student (if applicable) (Researcher/supervisor) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Consent I have received and understood information about the project “Masculinity Tales: The Impact of Masculinities on the Socio-Economic Status of Burundi Refugee Men in Lilongwe, Malawi? And have been allowed to ask questions. By signing below, I give consent to participate in an interview. I give consent for my personal data to be processed until the end of the project. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (Signed by participant, date) |
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