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Refugees are considered one of the vulnerable groups of society. Generally, they face discrimination, isolation, marginalization, and rejection from residents and authorities of the host country. This paper is an attempt to understand lived experiences of Afghan refugee scavengers in reference to their relationship with authorities in Pakistan. The goal to explore the experiences of these refugee scavengers and explain it as it was experienced by them, was achieved through utilizing phenomenology research approach. The accounts of participants’ experiences were collected through semi-structured in-depth interviews by involving thirty-one full-time adult Afghan scavengers with at least five years’ work experience. The collected data revealed that Afghan refugees are subject to constant discrimination, harassment, extortion, and detention at the hand of police. Daily investigations and bribe demands were found to be an essential feature of their everyday life. The scavengers also reported being living in fear of being arrested and detained. The findings suggest the need for refugee-friendly policies.
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In-Text Citation: (Malik, Lyndon, Vivien, Selvadurai & Rahim (2018)
To Cite this Article: Malik, B., Lyndon, N., & Vivien, Y. W. C., Selvadurai, S. & Rahim, M.H.A. (2018). Accounts of Discrimination: A Phenomenological Study of Afghan Refugees in Pakistan. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 8(13) Special Issue: Community Development & Social Mobility, 113–121.
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