Hybrid Connections: An Immigrant Researcher Maneuvering' Access to a Refugee Community

Abstract

Reflecting on the journey of a novice immigrant researcher trying to negotiate access to members of a refugee community, this essay proposes the undeniable value of exploratory stages in cross-cultural research. Drawing insights from the researcher's field notes, it describes snapshots of the multiple ethical and practical dilemmas, which shaped the route of the researcher's journey. It proposes that interactions in extra-research spaces provide fertile ground for identification through flexible forms of belonging, which in turn endorse intercultural understanding. Nonetheless, nothing is decisive. The novice international cross-cultural researcher juggles continually between the roles of a pirate and a fellow traveler. URN: urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs090277