Communication practices in asylum seekers reception centres: from information precarity to voluntary return

Abstract

This article focuses on the complex communication constructed between the Belgian Federal Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (Fedasil) and asylum seekers: what do they say to asylum seekers? Why and how? Beyond the message, it is the relation of communication (Wolton, 2018) between reception authorities and asylum seekers that is explored through the analysis of communication during the reception phase. Communication to asylum seekers is hardly visible (Van Neste-Gottignies & Mistiaen, 2018). As a consequence, asylum seekers are found to experience “information precarity” (Wall, Otis Campbell & Janbek, 2015). Although the “invisibility” of reception discourses seems to prevail, there is an exception: communication regarding voluntary return programmes. This article aims specifically to deeply understand this communicational practice to asylum seekers: what does it contain? Beyond the content: which different forms does it take? Why is Fedasil communication on voluntary return to asylums seekers predominant? The analysis takes into account the complexity and variety of medium of communication, from mediated forms of communication to face-to-face interactions. To study practices, a corpus linguistics analysis is combined with field survey methods in a Belgian asylum seekers reception centre.