Racial Othering and Relational Wellbeing: African Refugee Youth in Australia

Reviewer 1

Comments

Response

Page No.

The article addresses an interesting and relevant topic for understanding the social construction and perpetuation of racial otherness and its impact on the well-being of refugees.

Thank you for your encouraging words.

Organization and structure of the article:
Reading the text would benefit from reorganizing the structure of the text, separating the theoretical framework, methodology and results into different sections.

Theoretical framework – it is suggested that definitions be presented regarding refugee and immigrant status; reception of refugees, resettlement (for example, the European Union has a resettlement program for refugees from the Middle East, is it similar to the Australian one?); the concept of race (in some countries the use of this concept is highly criticized, given that the human race is only one).
Still in this section, perhaps it would be worth revisiting some classic Sociology authors who help to substantiate the origin of these concepts of alterity and social construction of difference, based on relations of power and dominance of social institutions (for example, Norbert Elias and Georg Simmel).  The bibliography used to support the conceptualization of racial alterity is somewhat outdated.

It is suggested that section 3 be called presentation of results. Here there must be a clear distinction between the results arising from the interviews and the results resulting from the analysis of media news;
Next, the discussion section – discussing the results from the perspective of the bibliography on the topic; Along with the reference to multiculturalism, it would be useful to specify public policies for the integration of refugees (what is done to combat racism?)
Concluding the conclusion – the reflection made in conclusion is effectively a discussion of results.

The paper is informed by an interpretive approach to social research. As such, a theoretical redescription of the empirical data is a core future of the analysis. In other words, restructuring the organization of the paper in a way that separates the theory from the data would be unproductive.

Therefore, as discussed with the SI editors at the early stage of the process, I intend to keep the structure of the paper.

As to the definition associated with refugees, Australia uses the UN definition. 

I have clarified the definition of race. I agree there is only one human race, but the perception of racial difference persists.

I found Elias’ and Simmel’s argument on social differentiation and power relations interesting. Thanks for the suggestion. I have cited the two scholars.

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4

The abstract needs to be revised depending on the specificity of the content. The first sentence is too generic and refers to a designation that needs to be clarified: what does the “global North” consist of? Despite this reference, the text does not develop this expository line.
Another concept that deserves clarification is that of “young Africans”, amalgamating the various African countries as if they were a homogeneous mass. It is suggested that the origins of the countries on the African continent from which the study participants originate are indicated.

Thanks for the comment. I have deleted the vague section of the abstract.

As to the specific groups of the African refugees, Section 2.2 of the paper provides sufficient information

Introduction: this section will have to be revised, depending on the reorganization of section 2. In my point of view, there was some miscellany, in terms of the parts of the article.

As noted above, restructuring the paper will negatively affect its flow and arguments.

Methodology – the use of reports from 5 interviews seems frankly scarce to support an empirical investigation and respective attempt at generalization. Under no circumstances is it possible to advance to any generalization! What is the reason for using only 5 reports? Furthermore, it does not characterize who these participants in the study are.
In terms of content analysis: what analysis technique did you use? What categories and subcategories were created? Did you use content analysis software?
This section must be thoroughly revised and reorganized.

The paper does not intend to make a generalizable claim. The intent is rather to captures the experiences of refugee youth in light of wellbeing as a lens.

As stated under the methodology and Introduction sections, the accounts of the refugee youth are presented under two themes: Inability to Appear in Public without Fear or Shame

Barriers to Belonging and Participation

Presentation of results: (as previously mentioned, it is suggested that section 3 be Results, where you can include subtitles as you see fit). In this section, it is necessary to distinguish between data resulting from reports and data from the media.
When presenting the speeches, the age of the participants in the study must be included.

Thanks for the suggestion. Given the theoretical and methodological approaches underpinning the paper, I think the current structure works.

When it comes to the age of the participants, I think, it is a fair point. However, during the interviews, we only gathered the age range (18 to 30) not the exact age of the participants.

Discussion – make this section autonomous. In addition to reflecting on the results in light of the bibliography, it would be important to incorporate how the Australian state deals with this situation of racism and what public policies to combat racism are implemented.

I see the value of the reviewer’s point but, noted above, it is difficult to restructure the paper using the traditional/positivist format of lit review, analysis, result and discussion etc.

I have added a brief statement on anti-racism laws in Australia. Thanks for noting the omission.

Having said that, given the word count of the paper, I kept new texts brief.

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Conclusion – The last paragraph, in section 3 “Results”, can be included in the conclusions section. It is proposed that part of the text that is being concluded be mobilized for discussion (paragraphs in which triangulation of data with bibliography is carried out).

Thanks. That makes sense. I have moved the para to the Conclusion section.

Reviewer 2

Comments

Response

Page No.

The paper is well structured and clearly delivers its message. The paper touches upon an interesting topic which deserves attention: racial Othering discourse and the experience of African refugee youth in Australia. The results and the conclusions of the paper are clearly described and placed in relation to the state-of-the-art research. The research is based on a firm concept, theory basis and empirical research through which the author arrives at reasonable scientific outcomes and conclusions. The conclusions are clear and well structured.

Thank you so much for noting the strengths of the paper and your encouraging words.

Give more information about gender issues. It would be interesting to link gender differences in terms of wellbeing (the ability to move in public without fear or shame) and belonging. Although it is easy to understand the gender of the interviewers, it would be interesting to address gender issues and highlight the marginalized position of women refugees in relation to men.

This is such a critical point. The gender of the participants has been given under each direct quote. I acknowledge a gender-based discussion of racial Othering would have produced a more robust analysis. Given the word limit and time constraints at the moment, I will take up the challenge and address the issue in my future work.