Becoming integrated: pathways and navigation within a Swedish municipality. A case study about Bosnians integration processes in Värnamo

Abstract

Sweden has become one of the most targeted countries for refugees and asylum seekers. In order to meet the needs of a society, Sweden has introduced more friendly and inclusive policies that should be able to facilitate the integration process of immigrants. However, the integration appears to be a challenging process for many immigrant groups as they follow different integration strategies and mechanisms. The Swedish municipality Värnamo has a larger share of immigrants compared to the average on the national level. At the same time it notes the highest employment rate among foreign born workers in Sweden. The largest immigrant group has arrived from Bosnia due to the civil war during the nineties. Generally, this group through the time managed to cope with the challenges that their migration forced them to, which can be viewed as a successful integration into Swedish society. Therefore, the aim of this research study is to present immigrant group from Bosnia and to identify the strategies that have led to their successful integration. Likewise, this study was guided by the questions of which factors and agents appeared to be crucial in their integration process. This was a qualitative study with an explanatory case study design followed by descriptive elements. The research subjects were first generation of Bosnian refugees who have managed to integrate successfully. Semi structured interviews with standardized open ended questions were used. The results show that Värnamo is perceived among the participants as an open and friendly city toward everybody, including new comers, which is a good prerequisite for the integration process. The starting point in respondents’ process of integration was enhancing their cultural capital in terms of learning the language and also about Swedish culture and values. The participants were aware that education is a key factor for developing economic and social capital. Cultural capital can be seen as a mechanism generating other forms of capital. In the later stage of integration process, economic and social capital was crucial for maintaining or increasing their level of integration. The findings also revealed that different motivators and social support networks had important and guiding roles in particular phases of the integration process. Additionally, the respondents chose to combine two cultures in order to create more comfortable life in Sweden. As they stated, the respondents accepted Swedish culture but they also preserved some Bosnian values. As a final outcome of respondents’ integration strategy is a feeling about Värnamo and Sweden as their home where they feel secured and respected.