Suspended Lives: Navigating Everyday Violence in the US Asylum System

Suspended Lives is a book that explores the experiences of asylum seekers in the US, highlighting the emotional and social effects of the asylum regime. It shows how the system can be both a refuge and a source of suffering, and how asylum seekers respond to these harms to endure the process.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 264 pages
Publication date: 25 April 2023
Publisher: University of California Press

Suspended Lives delves into the intricate and often harrowing experiences of asylum seekers residing in the midwestern United States. Through extensive ethnographic fieldwork among Cameroonian and other African asylum seekers, Bridget M. Haas uncovers the profound emotional and social toll of being entangled in the US asylum regime. As they seek protection in the United States, these individuals find themselves ensnared in a complex and protracted bureaucratic system that increasingly treats them with suspicion. Haas vividly portrays how the US asylum system serves as both a potential haven from past violence and a catalyst for new forms of suffering. She takes readers on a journey into the private realms of asylum seekers' homes and communities, as well as into the often inaccessible legal and bureaucratic landscapes that shape their lives. Through a poignant focus on the lives and voices of asylum seekers, Suspended Lives exposes the asylum system as a site of multiple, yet often concealed and normalized, forms of violence. Haas also sheds light on how these individuals respond to these harms, employing resilience and active agency to navigate the treacherous asylum process. This book is a crucial contribution to our understanding of the human rights challenges faced by asylum seekers and the urgent need for reform in the US asylum system.

Weight: 370g
Dimension: 153 x 228 x 17 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780520385122