Trabalhar é pertencer? Um estudo sobre o processo de socialização e a inclusão social de refugiados venezuelanos no Rio de Janeiro

Abstract

Forced displacement presents a challenging scenario to be faced by contemporary societies, reaching unprecedented levels since the creation of UNHCR in 1950. According to UNHCR’s most recent report, it is estimated that by mid-2021, around 84 million people were forced to flee for reasons of persecution, conflicts, violations of Human Rights or events that harm public order. This scenario intensified with the serious humanitarian crisis in Venezuela and approximately 5.7 million people left the country looking for protection in other states, mainly in Brazil. Refugees are in a situation of extreme vulnerability, because leaving their country represents many losses, such as work, family, social identity. These transformations also generate changes in the individual identity of these refugees, because there is a change in the way they see themselves as integrated subjects, generating an instability in the idea of themselves. Upon arriving in a new country, they experience many difficulties to start their lives from scratch and insert themselves in this new social context. “Work”, as a facilitator of social inclusion and a constituent of the individual's social identity, appears in this scenario as a device that facilitates the socialization process. With this intense shift towards Brazil, questions arise regarding the welfare and social inclusion of these people. Thus, from a perspective of Social Psychology, through studies on identity and the relationship with the process of socialization of refugees, and Psychology of Work and Organizations, we propose to think about one of the issues that encompass the theme of refuge: work. Therefore, based at field research and with the application of a questionnaire, the objective of this study was to investigate if “work” (the act of working) operates as a facilitating device for the socialization process and for the social inclusion of Venezuelan’s refugees in the city of Rio de Janeiro. The analyzes suggest that, although this sample has been in Brazil for almost three years, it is still in a subsistence-related phase. The literature shows us that in fact, yes, work is a facilitator for the socialization process, but the complexity that the refugee phenomenon presents, together with the results presented, it is possible to assume these refugees still perceive work as just a device of survival.