The Exclusion of (Failed) Asylum Seekers from Housing and Home: Towards an Oppositional Discourse

Fox O’Mahony, Lorna; Sweeney, James

doi:10.1111/j.1467-6478.2010.00505.x

The Exclusion of (Failed) Asylum Seekers from Housing and Home: Towards an Oppositional Discourse

Fox O’Mahony, Lorna; Sweeney, James

Authors

Lorna Fox O’Mahony

James Sweeney

Abstract

'Housing'– the practical provision of a roof over one's head – is experienced by users as 'home'– broadly described as housing plus the experiential elements of dwelling. Conversely, being without housing, commonly described as 'homelessness', is experienced not only as an absence of shelter but in the philosophical sense of 'ontological homelessness' and alienation from the conditions for well-being. For asylum seekers, these experiences are deliberately and explicitly excluded from official law and policy discourses. This article demonstrates how law and policy is propelled by an 'official discourse' based on the denial of housing and the avoidance of 'home' attachments, which effectively keeps the asylum seeker in a state of ontological homelessness and alienation. We reflect on this exclusion and consider how a new 'oppositional discourse' of housing and home – taking these considerations into account – might impact on the balancing exercise inherent to laws and policies concerning asylum seekers.

Citation

Fox O’Mahony, L., & Sweeney, J. (2010). The Exclusion of (Failed) Asylum Seekers from Housing and Home: Towards an Oppositional Discourse. Journal of Law and Society, 37(2), 285-314. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6478.2010.00505.x

Journal Article Type	Article
Publication Date	Jun 1, 2010
Deposit Date	Jul 13, 2011
Publicly Available Date	Aug 16, 2011
Journal	Journal of Law and Society
Print ISSN	0263-323X
Electronic ISSN	1467-6478
Publisher	Wiley
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	37
Issue	2
Pages	285-314
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6478.2010.00505.x
Keywords	Asylum seekers, Failed asylum seekers, Housing and home, Oppositional discourse.
Publisher URL	http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/fulltext/123429412/PDFSTART