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THE NEW SPANISH COMMUNITY
IN EDINBURGH
SITUATION AND NEEDS
EL PUENTE
ELENA FERNÁNDEZ · IRENE CASADO · LISBOA OSANZ
THE NEW SPANISH COMMUNITY IN EDINBURGH: SITUATION AND NEEDS
I. NTRODUCTION .....................................................................................................................4
II. CONTEXTUALIZATION: ECONOMIC CRISIS, UNEMPLOYMENT AND SPANISH IMMIGRATION ..6
III. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ..................................................................................................20
1. New Migrations ..............................................................................................................20
2. The Process of Social Integration ...................................................................................21
3. The Psycho-Social Process of Immigrant Exclusion.........................................................25
IV. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES ..........................................................................................................28
1. Overall aim .....................................................................................................................28
2. Specific aims ...................................................................................................................28
V. METHODOLOGY .....................................................................................................................29
VI. MOTIVATIONS AND EXPECTATIONS OF SPANISH PEOPLE IN EDINBURGH ............................32
1. Motives for Leaving the Home Country: What makes Spanish people emigrate?..........32
2. Choosing a Destination: Why Edinburgh? ......................................................................34
3. Motivations for Staying: Expectations vs. reality when arriving in Edinburgh. ...............36
4. Expectations: What are the future prospects? ...............................................................38
VII. INTEGRATION EXPERIENCES AND BARRIERS ........................................................................41
1. The Concept of Integration. Definitions and Associations ..............................................41
2. The experience of integration ........................................................................................44
3. Limits and Barriers to Integration ...................................................................................50
VIII. IMAGE ASSOCIATED WITH THE SPANISH PEOPLE LIVING IN EDINBURGH ...........................57
1. Image the Spanish Community in Edinburgh has of the city and of Scottish people ......57
2. Self-Image of the Spanish Community Resident in Edinburgh........................................59
3. Approximation of the Image that Scottish People Have of the Spanish Community in
Edinburgh. ..............................................................................................................................71
IX. NEEDS ....................................................................................................................................74
X. CONCLUSIONS ........................................................................................................................79
XI. SUGGESTIONS FOR INTERVENTION .......................................................................................88
XII. ANNEXES ..............................................................................................................................94
Appendix 1. Typical Direction Model for the Focus Group .....................................................94
Appendix 2. Recruitment Questionnaire ................................................................................95
Appendix 3. Letter of invitation to the focus group ...............................................................97
XIII. BIBLIOGRAPHY.....................................................................................................................98
3
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We would like to thank the Adult Learning Project (ALP) Association for entrusting us with
this exciting project and for their interest and support throughout our research. We thank
John Player in particular for the enormous support, both logistic and moral, he brought to our
team.
Furthermore, we would like to point out Alessio Bertolini and Miriam Leighton’s expert and
generous work as they collaborated with us selflessly. In doing so, they showed how
dedicated they are to social science research and what capacities and potential this new
generation of European professionals possesses as they strive to come out successful in the
storm that is shaking our old continent. We would like to take this opportunity to offer them
all our support and respect.
We also thank the Spanish Consul in Edinburgh, Don Miguel Utray for his time and advice.
Finally, we acknowledge with affection our local friends who gave us their support day after
day, their corrections, calls and understanding.
Elena Fernández, Irene Casado and Lisboa Osanz
August 2014
4
I. NTRODUCTION This report will analyse how Spanish residents in the city of Edinburgh since 2011 are
integrating. The study was carried out by El Puente, which consists of Elena Fernández,
Irene Casado and Lisboa Osanz; it was promoted by the Adult Learning Project (ALP)
Association and financed by The Big Lottery Fund1. This document, produced by El Puente
with the contribution of Alessio Bertolini and Miriam Leighton2, aims to provide a systematic
analysis of the results obtained during the qualitative phase of the research in 2013, and to
synthesise the main conclusions derived from the focus groups and the desk study. There
will first be a section presenting the theoretical and methodological framework, which will be
followed by the objectives of the research and the detailed analysis of the data.
DEMAND AND PROJECT RATIONALE
As we shall see, the Spanish community residing in Edinburgh is one of the biggest broader
communities of immigrants and has been increasing in the last years, currently being an
important part of the population of the city.
Before the current economic situation, one of the main reasons for Spanish people to move
to Scotland was the opportunity to learn English and most of them were supposed to go back
to Spain after a few months.
Nowadays, as a result of the serious consequences the global crisis had in Spain, this
migration pattern seems to be changing. However, we have no records of information or
studies about this community, so there is a significant lack of information about their
economic, demographic and cultural impact on the Edinburgh society.
The Adult Learning Project (ALP) is an association settled in Tollcross from 1979, whose
main aim is to provide transformative dialogical educational opportunities based on the
methods of the Brazilian educator, Paulo Freire. The aim is to develop programs, learning
curriculums and educational opportunities in collaboration with the local community and
members.
The ALP association has known, through several social and educational projects that some
of the programs and activities are collapsed and the Spanish users are increasing very fast
in the last three years. The shortage of information about the Spanish people presented an
1 Through its system of grants Awards for All Scotland. 2 Alessio Bertolini is the co-author of the chapter “Economic Crisis, Unemployment and Spanish Immigration”. Miriam Leigh ton was the moderator and responsible for analysing the data from the focus group carried out with Scottish participants.
5
obstacle to obtaining support and claiming resources suitable for the particular circumstances
and problems encountered by the community under study. ALP Association wanted to find
out about the following questions involving the Spanish community in Edinburgh:
What are the Spanish people residing in Edinburgh like?
What are the reasons behind their decision to come to Edinburgh?
What are their employment and well-being status and what is their psycho-social
state?
What are their specific needs?
What types of relationships do they have with Scottish people?
How does the presence of Spanish people affect the city of Edinburgh, its inhabitants
and its institutions?
To address these questions, it was deemed necessary to include both quantitative and
qualitative aspects to this study, so as to encompass both factual data and experiences,
thereby obtaining a more comprehensive picture of the Spanish community and where they
stand. In the light of the kind of funding available and of the priorities of the project, it was
decided that a qualitative methodology would be most appropriate to study the motivations,
life experiences, and the needs of those that we have termed New Spanish in Edinburgh, i.e.
those that have moved to the city from 2011 onward.
Thus, the ALP, with the funding of the Big Lottery entrusted the present team with a research
project that would analyse the situation and needs of the New Spanish in Edinburgh. Then
“El Puente” was born, a social qualitative research about “Spanish Community living in
Edinburgh: motivations, expectations, processes and integration needs”, in order to
document a later planning and implementation of projects and activities whose aim is the
social integration of this community to improve the conviviality of all the citizens in Edinburgh.
6
II. CONTEXTUALIZATION: ECONOMIC CRISIS, UNEMPLOYMENT AND SPANISH IMMIGRATION
The European Union is experiencing a period of slow recovery after a long period of deep
economic crisis in the past few years. However, there is a growing divergence among EU
member states. In fact, whilst Northern and Central European countries are experiencing
moderate growth, Southern European countries, namely Italy, Portugal, Greece and Spain,
are affected by stagnation and crisis (see Figure 1).
Figure 1. Unemployment rates in Europe, 2013, ranked on the average of male and female (%)
Source: EUROSTAT 2014. Unemployment Statistics
In November 2013 the Euro area unemployment rate was 12.1% (EU28 at 10.9%), while in
Spain it was 26.7%, one of the lowest unemployment rates among the Member States.
(Eurostat Newsrelease Euroindicators, 2013). In 2014, Europe experienced a slight overall
decline in unemployment, but the differences between the countries of the European Union
are at the same level (See figure 2).
7
Figure 2. Unemployment rates, seasonally adjusted, April 2014
Source: EUROSTAT 2014. Unemployment statistics.
Men, young people and low-skilled workers are the groups most affected by the deterioration
in employment (European Commission, 2012). In November 2013, the lowest youth
unemployment rate was observed in Spain (57.7%) (Eurostat Newsrelease Euroindicators,
2013). In particular, young people are the group most exposed to precarious employment
conditions and to unemployment (See Figure 3).
Figure 3. Youth Unemployment rate in 2007 and 2011 (%)
8
Table 1. Youth Unemployment rate of 2010-2013 (%).
Source: EUROSTAT 2014. Unemployment Statistics
Within the European context, Spain is one of the countries most seriously affected by the
current economic downturn. Following the global economic crisis of 2008, Spain entered a
recession in mid-2008 and, despite a short recovery between 2010 and 2011, it has
experienced a constant deterioration of labour market conditions together with a strong
reduction in welfare expenses and a financial credit-crunch. The unemployment rate reached
an historical peak of 26.1% in 2013 (against an EU average of 12% and a 7.5% in the UK,
EUROSTAT) (see Table 2).
Among the young people, the unemployment rate has broken records by reaching 55.5% in
2013 (EU average of 24% and 20.5% in the UK) (See table 3). Moreover the long-term
unemployment rate in Spain is the second highest, just behind Greece (see Figure 5).
2010 2011 2012 2013
European Union (28 countries)
21,1 21,5 23,0 23,5
European Union (27 countries)
21,0 21,4 22,9 23,3
Greece 33,0 44,7 55,3 58,3
Spain 41,5 46,2 52,9 55,5
Croatia 32,6 36,1 43,0 50,0
Italy 27,8 29,1 35,3 40,0
Cyprus 16,6 22,4 27,7 38,9
Portugal 28,2 30,3 37,9 38,1
Slovakia 33,9 33,7 34,0 33,7
Bulgaria 21,8 25,0 28,1 28,4
Poland 23,7 25,8 26,5 27,3
Hungary 26,6 26,1 28,1 27,2
Ireland 27,6 29,1 30,4 26,8
France 23,3 22,6 24,4 24,8
Belgium 22,4 18,7 19,8 23,7
Romania 22,1 23,7 22,7 23,6
Sweden 24,8 22,8 23,7 23,6
Latvia 36,2 31,0 28,5 23,2
Lithuania 35,7 32,6 26,7 21,9
Slovenia 14,7 15,7 20,6 21,6
United Kingdom 19,6 21,1 21,0 20,5
Finland 21,4 20,1 19,0 19,9
Czech Republic 18,3 18,1 19,5 18,9
Estonia 32,9 22,4 20,9 18,7
Luxembourg 15,8 16,4 18,0 16,9
Denmark 13,9 14,2 14,1 13,0
Malta 13,2 13,3 14,1 13,0
Netherlands 8,7 7,6 9,5 11,0
Iceland 16,2 14,6 13,6 10,7
Norway 9,2 8,7 8,6 9,1
Germany 9,9 8,6 8,1 7,9
9
Table 2. Trends in total unemployment rates 2008-2013 (%)
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
EU average 7.6 9.5 10.1 10.1 11.3 12.0
Spain 11.3 17.9 19.9 21.4 24.8 26.1
UK 5.6 7.6 7.8 8.0 7.9 7.5
Source: EUROSTAT 2014. Unemployment rates.
Table 3. Trends in youth unemployment rates 2011-2014*3 (%)
2011 2012 2013 2014*
EU average 20.8 23.1 24.0 23.8
Spain 46.2 52.9 55.5 54.9
UK 21.1 21.0 20.5 19.7
Source: EUROSTAT 2014. Unemployment rates.
Figure 5. Unemployment rates by duration 2013 (%).
Source: EUROSTAT 2014. Unemployment rates.
3 * The quarterly youth unemployment rate is seasonally adjusted.
10
In the past three years, the economic crisis has pushed a lot of people, especially the youth,
to emigrate from Spain. Spain experienced net immigration in the first decade of the 21st
century thanks to the economic boom. However, since 2011, given the deteriorating
economic and employment situation, the trend has reversed and Spain has become a
country of net emigration (González-Ferrer, 2013).
The United Kingdom has historically been an important receiving country for Spanish
immigrants, at least since World War II. During the crisis, the UK has continued to remain a
privileged destination for Spanish immigrants (Figure 6). There has been a steep increase of
50% of Spanish immigrants’ arrivals in the 2012-2013 period compared to the previous period
2011-2012, making it the second largest foreign nationality in terms of NINo application, after
the Polish (NPS, 2013). In the 2013-2014 period this figure (NINo registrations [thousands])
remains stable (45.62) (NSO, 2014) in reference to the previous period (45.53) (NSO, 2013).
Just to have an idea of the dramatic increase in Spanish immigration, Spain was ranking 5th
in 2011-2012 and 14th in 2010-2011 in terms of NINo new applications (González-Ferrer,
2013). In the 2013-2014 period Spain is ranking 3rd after Poland and Romania (NSO, 2014).
Figure 6. NINo Registrations to adult overseas nationals entering the UK, top 20 countries
Source: National Statistics Office 2013
11
These data from the National Insurance Number Registration Office have to be taken with a
grain of salt. In fact, given that Spanish people enjoy free movement within the European
Union, National Insurance Number (NINo) registrations do not take into account how long
people stay in the country, how many people leave and especially how Spanish people move
within the country. For instance, a Spanish immigrant can register in London but after a while
they can move to Newcastle without being recorded in the NINo Register in Newcastle.
Therefore, it is very difficult to evaluate the exact number of Spanish people currently living
in different areas of the country, such as Scotland and Edinburgh.
However, the number of Spanish people residing in Edinburgh has dramatically increased in
the past few years according to the NINo Register. In that respect, Spanish nationality is the
most widely spread among foreign individual applications to the National Insurance Number
in 2011 and 2012. In 2013-2014, Spain has maintained these figures, staying behind the rise
experienced by Poland and Romania.
12
IMMIGRATION IN THE UNITED KINGDOM
The United Kingdom, as other former colonial powers, has a long tradition of immigration.
Foreign-born population in the UK has increased from 3.8 million in 1993 to 6.5 million in
2010, roughly 12% of the British population (Salt, 2010). In 2012, the United Kingdom
reported one of the largest number of immigrants in EU (498 000) just behind Germany
(EUROSTAT 2014. Migration and migrant population statistics). It is important to
acknowledge that in the past decade immigration flows have been larger compared to the
previous one. However, what is even more interesting is the change in patterns of
immigration. Immigration has become more temporary whilst immigrants’ countries of origin
have become more diverse (Jordan, et al. 2010). Whilst immigration before the 1990s was
mainly from Commonwealth countries, in recent years the UK has experienced large-scale
immigration from Eastern European countries due to EU enlargement and, more recently,
from Southern European ones because of the economic crisis (Figure 7).
Figure 7: NINo registration to adult overseas nationals entering the UK, by year of registration and
world area, 2002/03 to 2013/14
Source: National Statistcs Office 2014
Note: EU Accession countries are the 12 Eastern European countries (plus Malta and
Cyprus) that joined the EU in 2004 and 2007.
13
IMMIGRATION IN SCOTLAND
In June 2012, the estimated population Scotland was 5,313,600, an increase of 13,700 from
the previous year (Scotish Office Statistics). Although there has been a slight increase in
birth rate vis-à-vis death rate, most of the increase is due to net immigration. The long term
projection is that the population will slightly increase in future years.
Historically, Scotland has been a country of net emigration, though this situation started
changing in the 1960s and in recent years Scotland has experienced net immigration (Figure,
8). In fact, in-migration rates have constantly exceeded out-migration rates since 2004
(Figure 9).
Figure 8. Net migration, Scotland, 1951-2012
Source: National Health Service Central Register
14
Figure 9. Migration to and from overseas, 1991–2012
Source: Office for National Statistics
As for the age of the immigrants, it is mostly young population. The peak ages for migration
into Scotland from overseas are 22 and 23. There are also high numbers of migrants from
age 19 to 31. However not all areas in Scotland present net immigration rates, with some
areas in the Highlands presenting net emigration rates and the main urban areas presenting
very high immigration rates. Indeed, the highest rates are to be found in Aberdeen, Stirling
and Edinburgh.
IMMIGRATION IN EDINBURGH
The population of the City of Edinburgh in 2012 was 495.360; an increase of 1.0 per cent
from 477,940 in 2011 (General Register Office of Scotland, 2014). The population of
Edinburgh represents about 9.1% of the total population of Scotland and from 1986 it has
constantly increased.
More precisely, the city of Edinburgh currently presents the highest net population increase
due to immigration in Scotland. Furthermore, in the past few years there has been an
increase in net immigration (Table 4).
Table 4. Migration to Edinburgh, 2009-2012
2009/2010 2010/2011 2011/2012
Total Net Migration to Edinburgh 8,069 8,044 3,976
Total Out-Migration 23,212 21,856 24,880
Total In-Migration 31,281 29,900 28.856
Source: General Register of Scotland 2014. Population of Edinburgh Vital Statistics
15
INTEGRATION POLICIES IN EUROPE, UNITED KINGDOM, SCOTLAND AND
EDINBURGH
Integration Models in the European Union
Given different integration traditions and different collective social representations, we can
identify several models as regards the way integration is conceived. These different traditions
have influenced the policy design as well as the way legislation has been interpreted. In that
respect, we present 3 different integration models that have applied in the European context,
and have been part of the EU debate on integration since the early 1980s: the French, the
British and the German model. The French model mainly focuses on a republican tradition
and presents assimilationist immigration policies. The British model relies on a different
conception of citizenship and on a multi-cultural tradition. Instead, the German model
conceives nationality on ethnic-cultural basis (BERTOSSI AND DUYVENDAK, 2012). We
will discuss here the British model, given that it is the most relevant as regard the object of
our investigation, and the French one, to which we refer in order to make comparisons with
the British one.
On the one hand, the French model is based on a Republican ideal of equality, and provides
equal citizenship to all members of the society within a homogenous and unique public
space, in which minorities have little room for expression of their cultural identity. The French
model is regarded as ‘assimilationist’ in that all citizens are treated in a homogenous way,
whilst cultural/ethnic/linguistic differences are relegated in the private sphere. The French
model does not allow for the possibility to publicly recognize organizations of local minorities
(APARICIO GÓMEZ, R., 2000). This model has been criticised for its assimilationist goal,
given that it conceives the integration of immigrants as a process of full assimilation of the
cultural values and practices of the receiving country (GEDDES, 2003).
On the other hand, the British model has promoted integration through a dialogue with
organized minorities, which retain their cultural identity (LÓPEZ, J.M. Y GIOL, J., 2004). The
British model fosters a pluralistic and diversified society through a model of indirect
integration, in which immigrants become integrated in the society through the development
of ‘diverse’ groups, to which institutional rights are granted in public life. The British model is
thus regarded as ‘multicultural’ in that cultural differences are not regarded as a matter of the
public sphere, but they are shaped as a legitimate alternative way of living. The immigrants
would integrate through their ‘ethnic minority’, and it is through the organized minority that
they are represented. This model has been criticised in that it supposed to integrate
immigrants as ‘second-class’ citizens, in a context of growing differentiation of social classes.
However, this model allows for the existence of very diverse social classes, and immigrants
have more opportunities to publicly claim their rights by affiliating with their fellow countrymen
(APARICIO GÓMEZ, R., 2000).
16
On the one hand, it has to be highlighted that these dynamics and models were developed
in a context where European integration was limited and nation-states had complete
sovereignty over immigration matters. Nowadays European institutions play a more relevant
role in defining common guidelines for immigration and integration policies, although major
and minor differences can still be found according to the specific institutional and historical
setting of each country. On the other hand, the models presented are theoretical and, as a
consequence, offer an abstract and static representation of policies and institutions dealing
with integration at the national level, whilst at the same time ignoring the complexity, diversity
and inconsistencies of the actual social processes, as well as their long-term dynamic
changes. Therefore, these models have to be conceived as a theoretical reference for
empirical investigation, rather than accurate representations of reality.
Integration policies in the European Union
The European Council, the European Parliament and the European Commission have paved
the way to a common integration policy at the European level, by promoting the convergence
of policies in different fields between the EU member states. Since the 1970s there has been
a growing agreement and gradual implementation of common norms and policies as regards
immigration and integration of immigrants. Often, the actual policies promoted at the national
level have followed EU guidelines, whilst other times national policies have tended to follow
country-specific historical integration traditions.
Although the EU, following the subsidiarity principle, is formally not responsible for integration
or immigration policies in that they are managed at the national or sometimes sub-national
level, it has assumed increasingly more power in immigration matters, especially since the
Treaty of Amsterdam in 1997. In that respect, there has been an increasing ‘pooling of
sovereignty’ in immigration policies (SAGGAR AND SOMERVILLE, 2012).
In November 2004, the European Union adopted basic common principles for the
development of integration policies in the member states (COUNCIL OF EUROPEAN
UNION, 2004). These principles recognize that integration is a bi-directional and dynamic
process between immigrants and residents of each country, the importance of employment
as a core element of integration as well as a contribution that immigrants have to the hosting
country, and the necessity for interactions between natives and immigrants, intercultural
dialogue and education on immigration and foreign cultures. Moreover, the European Union
highlights the necessity for equal access to institutions, public and private goods and services
including education, the importance of knowledge about the language, history, institutions
and access to political participation.
As a matter of fact, immigrants who are citizens from other EU countries present a more
advantaged position in terms of access to a series of rights that facilitate mobility, integration,
17
employment and welfare protection. The Directive of free movement and residence of Union
citizens within the European Union (2004/38/EC) establishes that all EU citizens have the
same rights within the European Union, regardless of their country of origin, although with a
series of limitations and conditions. The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European
Union states that:
Any discrimination based on any ground such as sex, race, colour, ethnic or social origin,
genetic features, language, religion or belief, political or any other opinion, membership of a
national minority, property, birth, disability, age or sexual orientation shall be prohibited.
(Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. 2007: C 303/7, Art.21)
The fact that EU citizens present a more advantageous situation compared to extra-EU
citizens when they immigrate to EU countries does not mean that they do not experience
barriers and difficulties in the process of adaptation and integration in a new social context
and they do not need support. It has been found in several studies, that there is a gap
between formal legislation applicable to EU immigrants and reality (COLLETT, E., 2013).
Following the principles of equality and non-discrimination that the European Union has
established for EU citizens, it is necessary to pay attention to the already mentioned barriers,
in order to find strategies to overcome them and, at the same time, to foster integration
among immigrants from countries outside the EU.
Recently, the European Commission, aware of the abovementioned difficulties, has
proposed the creation of strategies to facilitate labour mobility of EU workers within the EU,
and to prevent discriminative and abusive behaviours. Among the proposals, there is the
creation of national organizations to offer information and help regarding immigrants’ rights,
the recognition of titles and professional qualifications from every EU country in order to
guarantee that all EU citizens who have been victim of discrimination on the basis of their
nationality can denounce it to the authorities. The goal, following the principle of free
movement, is that all EU workers can enjoy the same working conditions in every EU country,
regardless of their country of origin (GIVENS AND LEUEDTKE, 2004).
Integration policies in the United Kingdom
As already discussed in the theoretical part, the British model of integration has been mainly
characterized by its multi-cultural aim. British integration policies have historically focused on
exclusion factors such as ethnicity/race or skin colour, given that most immigrants were
coming from South Asia or the Caribbean (HATTON, 2003). In that respect, policies have
concentrated on antidiscrimination laws, starting in 1965, and later reinforced in 1968, 1976,
1998, 2000 and 2010 with subsequent legislative interventions.
18
More precisely, the 1998 Human Right Act has put into effect the European Convention on
Human Rights, thus integrating European decisions into UK law. The 2000 Race Relations
Act and 2010 Equality Act have been both meant to correct minorities’ inequalities in access
to employment, service delivery and in other areas where discrimination was still considered
a relevant issue. In that respect, ‘it is ethnic diversity rather than immigration that has driven
the UK integration agenda’ (SAGGAR AND SOMMERVILLE, 2012). The only official policy
for integration of immigrants pursued by the UK governments is the one towards recognized
refugees, which however constitute a tiny minority of the whole immigrant population.
The recent immigration waves from Eastern and Southern European countries have
rendered these policies partially outdated, in that they are perceived as distorting current
priorities (SAGGAR AND SOMMERVILLE, 2012). In particular, the ‘race-relation’ model of
integration is perceived to be not suitable for current immigrants, given that most of them
share a similar ethnic background to most British.
The Labour government (1997-2010) and the current Coalition government have tried to
move away from the traditional multi-cultural model, by introducing procedures to facilitate
minorities’ ‘assimilation’ in mainstream culture. Although the debate has attracted much
attention from public opinion besides political rhetoric, few policies have been implemented.
Among these the most relevant are citizenship and language tests in order to apply for
citizenship and long-term residence.
However, these measures have been piecemeal, and once again focused on extra-European
immigrants (who need a visa or a residence permit to live and work in the UK) whilst little
attention has been paid to immigrants from other European countries, who already formally
enjoy equal rights as regards employment and access to services given that they are
European citizens (SAGGAR AND SOMMERVILLE, 2012).
According to the Report ‘Migration, Employment and Labour Market. Integration Policies in
the European Union 2011’ (IOM, 2013), the United Kingdom does not have a general political
framework for integration, whilst at the local level, few initiatives and policies have been
implemented. Moreover, all these local policies have been affected by public budget
cutbacks.
Given the small number of integration policies implemented, and the piecemeal approach
adopted by the national government, it is not surprising that according to International
Organization for Migration (IOM) integration policies in the UK have had limited effect on
immigrants’ life.
19
Integration Policies in Scotland and Edinburgh
Immigration and integration policies are managed at the national level, with a subsidiary role
played by the EU. So, what is left to local government? As we have seen, immigration in
Scotland has historically been different from the rest of the UK, Scotland being a quite recent
immigration destination within the UK. Moreover, different areas of Scotland present different
migration rates, with the Lowlands attracting an increasing number of immigrants from
overseas and the Highlands still presenting a negative net migration rate. Furthermore
Scotland presents a quite different economic and labour market structure compared to the
rest of the UK. However, little power is in the hands of Holyrood and local administration to
deal with diverse migration flows at the local level. The UK Immigration and Integration
policies have been shaped by traditional immigrations flows as well as by historically
receiving areas, namely London and the South East of England and little attention has been
paid to the different immigration patterns within the country. However, integration policies
seem to remain mainly a national matter and little or no competence is left to lower levels of
government. Moreover, the debate about Scottish Independence has so far largely
overlooked immigration and integration matters, although it is likely that, as the referendum
approaches, more attention will be focused on policies that would become competence of
Holyrood should the referendum succeed.
Given the lack of public intervention in this regard, local integration initiatives are mainly run
by private and non-profit organizations. Although these associations are generally grounded
on the local community, and they do respond to local needs and sensitivities, the lack of a
clearly defined policy framework both at the local and at the national level prevents these
initiatives from pursuing common aims in a synergic way. This way initiatives remain sparse
and fragmented, hampering the achievement of objectives and cost-effectiveness.
Furthermore, the limited public funding opportunities for local private initiatives is a further
obstacle in the pursuit of social integration policies both for immigrants and for the local
community.
20
III. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
Due to the high numbers of Spanish people present in Edinburgh and the need to narrow
down our study, we decided to limit the object of our research to the people of Spanish
nationality residing in the municipality of Edinburgh. By resident, we have defined residents
as those people that have lived in the city for a minimum of three months or that claim to who
intend to do so, excluding those that are here for the purposes of recreation, holiday, visiting
friends or relatives, business, medical treatment or religious pilgrimage. We thereby conform
to the definition offered by the European Commission in its “Asylum and Migration Glossary
2.0” (European Commission. European Migration Network: 2012).
Our project proposal is mainly structured around two concepts: migration and integration.
1. New Migrations
The European Union, the more flexible labour market and the economic crisis have set a
context propitious to increased migratory flows. In Europe, migration has risen significantly
and has been described with diverging narratives by public authorities and the media. Is this
situation positive for European citizens? Is the mobility among countries a characteristic of
modernity that should be looked upon as an indicator of success? One example of political
discourse addressing the issue is the contentious statements of Marina del Corral, the
Spanish Secretary-General of Immigration and Emigration in November 20124, where she
associated the immigration of young skilled Spanish people with their spirit of adventure and
their ambition to project themselves onto the international scene. We consider it important to
reassess this phenomenon.
We consider that the mobility and free circulation within the labour market, as seen in Europe,
reflects the experiences related to migration with the consequences these it carries in terms
of prejudice and potential vulnerability. The status of immigrant, rather than worker in
movement, held by the subjects is central to this study and has a far-reaching impact on its
objectives.
Migrations are considered here as systems which do not limit themselves to individual
strategies, but rather that take place within a set of interrelated elements. On that basis, we
can look at migrations from a historic-structural point of view, where these appear as complex
4 News item published by El País on the 30th of November 2012.
http://politica.elpais.com/politica/2012/11/30/actualidad/1354286966_753467.html
21
and dynamic systems whose elements are inter-dependent and subject to specific structural
conditions.
The use of this perspective is crucial in the present case and is opposed to the neo-classical
idea that migrations arise from a situation of deficiency in the place of origin which compels
individuals to choose a destination where the deficiencies may be better satisfied, following
an economistic and deliberate strategy. This idea of immigration, which dominates the media,
not only contradicts the statistics and migratory dynamics, but it also projects an image that
portrays immigrants as a burden and caricature of socio-cultural differences among the
countries involved (Aparicio and Tornos, 2005).
In this respect, the motives and expectations of Spanish immigrants in Edinburgh respond,
as we shall see, to a set of specific conditions in which Europe, Spain and the United
Kingdom are tied together. These include the globalisation of the labour market and legal
characteristics, values, individual circumstances, power dynamics and emotional
relationships. These factors go beyond the cost-benefit analysis of opportunities which is
assumed in emigration and directly affect the image of the group in question and its ability to
assimilate.
2. The Process of Social Integration
In a normative sense, the concept of social integration has been applied to the process
(desired or proposed) of incorporating or including social ethnic minorities and immigrant
communities to conditions of equality of rights and duties with the majority, without
necessarily making them lose their own cultural identity. As we have seen, in the context of
the European Union, integration is defined as a “dynamic two-way process involving both the
immigrants and host society and where both must accommodate one another” (European
Commission. European Migration Network, 2012).
We refer to the concept of social integration as opposed to social marginalisation and
exclusion. It is a social process in which the group can develop whilst being considered and
considering itself as part of a society, in a position of equality in terms of work, economic,
political and cultural opportunities.
Integration and exclusion are in fact circumstances in which individuals or groups may find
themselves at a given time or throughout their lives. They correspond to positions held in the
social sphere, and achieved through various factors (structural as well as attitudinal) and
differ from behavioural and group or individual processes such as discrimination.
In this study, we aim to analyse this issue from two different angles. From the first one, the
experiences and sense of integration of the Spanish residents in Edinburgh will be examined.
22
The concept of integration will be defined following the questions “what do they expect from
it and what is their definition of integration?” The second angle will attempt to understand the
level of integration achieved by the Spanish community in Edinburgh, following the models
of Castel (Espíndola, F., 2010) and Subirats (Subirats et al., 2004).
Castel (Espíndola, 2012) suggests that the post-wage society in which we live is undergoing
deinstitutionalisation, or a process of decoupling of the objectives that structured life
experiences. According to this theory, life today unfolds between the search of a place where
one would be useful to society (through education and work) and the participation in social
networks (family and friends). This gives rise to three zones: disintegration, vulnerability and
integration; depending on three elements, namely occupation, social networks and
psychological state. The latter will be associated with the migration project in our study.
DIMENSIONS MARGINALISATION
ZONE
VULNERABILITY
ZONE
INTEGRATION
ZONE
Economic-employment
(axis employed/unemployed)
Exclusion from
employment Precarious work Steady work
Socio-relational
(axis relationships/isolation) Social isolation
Unstable
relationships
Solid
relationships
Psychological-individual
(axis meaning/insignificance) Lack of purpose in life Fragile conditions Life purpose
Source: Juárez and Renes, 1994
Subirats (2004) gives a three-pillar model of inclusion based on the participation in the
production and mechanisms of social utility; political and civil affiliation, which create
redistribution and recognition; and reciprocal relationships within social networks. This model
identifies political affiliation as one of the pillars for inclusion; however, in our opinion, this
factor is not as relevant in the specific case under study. Indeed, as the Spanish immigrants
benefit from judicial and legal equality, so the issue of legal citizenship would under no
circumstances constitute a barrier to integration. Nevertheless, this model puts forward the
significance of this dimension, which reminds us that being part of an immigrant community
does not necessarily exempt the immigrants from being vulnerable or subject to exclusion,
which we will see when we discuss the barriers and needs of immigrants.
In line with Subirats, we would like to point out the multidimensional nature of integration and
its flexibility. The integration factors we shall now mention are not discreet but rather
23
intimately inter-related (Subirats et al., 2004:16). Consequently, the working conditions will
inevitably affect the type of relationships, and both will influence the migration project, as the
inclusion-exclusion position of the individual will change accordingly. Thus, how can an
individual break free from a position of exclusion without changing all the factors that define
that particular position? We assume that firstly, there is a range of intermediate positions
between the two extremes; secondly, that institutional tools can operate change throughout
the various dimensions and, therefore, can create mobility among the social layers. We shall
also discuss how some structural characteristics of the population under study prevent
integration altogether.
In the present case, i.e. for a community that has emigrated and is attempting to integrate in
a host society, we have established a relationship between the psychological state of the
individual and the migration project, which, as we shall see, is of crucial importance for the
integration process.
The occupation5 of the migrant community plays a fundamental role in the integration
process. On this basis, we made two assumptions: the employment status of Spanish people
in Edinburgh is potentially precarious, and the job does not in itself generate integration.
These assumptions rely on the dual market theory (Piore, M., 1969 and Doeringer and Piore,
1971), which explains how two labour markets coexist in post-industrial societies. Following
this theory, the first labour market is reserved for local populations; whereas in the second,
immigrants are relegated to less skilled positions6. This position is one of the factors that
obstruct the integration process through employment, as promoted and defined by public
policies. Indeed, being employed is considered in the governance and political context and
in the capitalist economic sphere as an integration factor. However, when the employment is
unskilled, other processes intervene: for instance, the work environment will not reflect the
original social class from which the worker is issued, which affects him psychologically and
socially as an individual. This also creates an obstacle in the establishment of a feeling of
belonging to a group, and, thereby, in the process of identification. Similarly, being low-
income has repercussions on the individual’s situation in a whole range of dimensions.
5 Occupation: we use this term instead of the concept of work as it includes other activities than paid employment such as housework and studying. The concept of occupation therefore acknowledges the social position of the individuals under study beyond the strictly monetary element. 6 Qualification, skilled and unskilled occupation: we start with a dichotomous consideration of the qualification from which we derive two categories, the skilled and the unskilled occupation. We consider as skilled an occupation which requires training, abilities or experience specific for it to be carried out. The unskilled occupation does not depend on the abovementioned characteristics although these can be found.
24
The other basic pillar of integration according to Castel’s model is social networks7. These
fulfil three main functions: they bring support and company, they facilitate access to
information and common knowledge (cognitive guidance) and they provide social cohesion
through shared values. In the absence or fragility of community ties, a situation of relational
vulnerability may arise. This can be the case if the subject integrates in a marginalised sub-
network, which prevents the individual from making enough connections to be part of the
community. Belonging to sub-networks of social minorities, excluded and devalued is one of
the obstacles in accessing the resources available in a community.
Migrating is of course risky in terms of the relational vulnerability to which the migrants are
exposed, as the support nets in the place of origin are broken and a need to recompose new
social networks in the host society is created. Other obstacles include language barriers and
cultural prejudice with a potential degree of stigmatisation. For all these reasons, immigrants
tend to integrate in homogenous networks with a low degree of integration to the wider host
community, and to accentuate its homophilia. These conditions of vulnerability tend to be
aggravated in cases where the networks are stigmatised.
We qualify a state as relational vulnerability when the subject is part of small networks with
characteristically high density and weak connections with other networks operating in the
same territory. This is due to the absence of elements that normally act as bridges among
heterogeneous networks.
As a way of classifying social networks in which individuals perceive themselves as more or
less involved and the experiences they have, we use as basis the theory of social capital
(APARICIO, R. and TORNOS, A., 2005: 141) and identify three types of networks:
Bounding networks relate individuals who are similar to each other. In this
case, they would be formed by new Spanish residents in Edinburgh.
Bridging networks work horizontally by bringing together networks or
individuals with other individuals who are different but with a similar socio-
economic power. This refers to the networks formed by Spanish immigrants
and other foreigners in similar positions on the labour market.
Linking networks facilitate vertical communication where individuals and
networks of different types and with different levels power, such as for
example the networks formed by Spanish people in which local people with
better employment situations are also involved.
7 Social networks or networks of sociability: we refer to the structures made up of people connected through one or several types of relationships. These can be virtual or actual and function at several levels: political, utilitarian, emotional, etc.
25
The latter are the ones we will refer to as stable networks both when we discuss the sampling
design and later in the analysis, as they are, according to Castel’s model, integrative social
networks.
3. The Psycho-Social Process of Immigrant Exclusion
Migration is a complex phenomenon which affects not only the migrants but also the host
society. In this study we aim to analyse how these changes impact on the integration process,
the coexistence and adaptation on both ends.
Host societies may develop exclusion dynamics on the basis of the following three
dimensions: public safety, cultural identity and competition for resources or economic
competition (Institut de Govern i Polítiques Públiques. Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona,
2006). In turn, these create dynamics of economic, psychological and moral exclusion.
Exclusion dynamics may perpetuate and justify situations of social risk for immigrants such
as their concentration in precarious labour niches8 or their lack of integration within local
social networks as we mentioned in the previous section.
The psycho-social processes which contribute to social exclusion are as follow:
The Development of Prejudice: according to the study by Fernando Molero, Marisol
Navas and Francisco Morales (International Journal of Psychology and
Psychological Therapy, 2001), the so-called subtle prejudice is the most prevalent in
today’s societies. Rather than direct scorn towards immigrants, subtle prejudice is
characterised by indirect rejection through the exaggeration of cultural differences
and the defence of traditional values questioned or not shared by the immigrants. So
this form of prejudice is related to the fear of the loss of cultural identity discussed
previously. This unconsciously negates positive emotions towards the members of
the outsider group, without necessarily implying the existence or expression of
negative emotions. Subtle prejudice still results in masking and justifying the social
exclusion and discrimination of the groups involved. Prejudice results from
mechanisms related to psychology such as categorisation, emotions such as
negative feelings, of a shared or common nature, and social, i.e. they are influenced
by norms and laws as well as by historical relationships.
The lack of interaction and contact between the groups increases the feeling of
strangeness and the perception of difference between the groups. This type of
8 Precariousness: from a socio-economic point of view, precariousness responds to production and entrepreneurial dynamics which fragment the working process and the work relationships and affect the quality of the job. From a socio-structural point of view, precariousness involves questioning the basic pillars which contribute to social cohesion. Finally, from the point of view of experience, precariousness is equivalent to uncertainty, insecurity and lack of protection, not only in terms of working conditions but also when it comes to living conditions. (Santamaría López, Elsa 2009: 34-41)
26
prejudice will be found more commonly where there are no linking networks produced
either from the autochthonous group towards the foreign one or vice versa.
Negative Stereotypes: The lack of understanding between the groups and the
existence of prejudice give rise to the creation of negative stereotypes. These
simplified and generalising ideas about the outsider group are reinforced by
psychological phenomena such as biased correspondence or categorisation.
As Opotow (1990) pointed out, the categorisation process plays a significant role in the social
exclusion phenomenon. Categorising brings the people involved to consider their moral
standards as a universal category but not their moral categories, which exclude certain
groups that are perceived as “undeserving” or “non-entities”. This makes actions based on
prejudice towards these groups “acceptable, appropriate and fair”. This process is also
reinforced by the “belief in a fair world” (Lerner, 1980), a cognitive bias which makes some
people believe in the existence of universal justice, and perpetuates the idea that each
individual can have a predictable influence in the world and that we all get “what we deserve”.
The social exclusion of minorities makes them subject to ghettoization9 and to negative social
identity. It also has psychological consequences at the individual level, such as a
considerable loss of self-esteem, physical and psychic deterioration. It can also lead to an
increase in the level of frustration/aggressiveness as well as the breaking of the bond
between individual and society.
In addition to the psychological consequences of social exclusion; there are consequences
resulting from the mere action of emigrating. All migrants suffer to a greater or lesser extent
from the process of acculturation, i.e. from exchanging their traditional cultural references for
new ones based on unknown codes. This can generate psychosomatic disorders and a
process of mourning for one’s own culture as well as one’s family and beloved people,
language, land, social status and contact with the group to whom one belongs10 (Joseba
Achotegui, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004). This vision assumes stressful events resulting in a
situation of psychological vulnerability directly influenced by the way in which the immigrant
faces the process of integration in a host country.
There may be four types of processes of adaptation to the new culture (Berry, 1997): the
successful maintenance of both, the rejection of the culture of origin and acceptance of the
9 Ghetto: area, sector, neighbourhood, district of a city or of a local community which lives segregated in terms of place and at times also in terms of occupation. A population isolated from the rest of the inhabitants from the point of view religion, ethnicity, race, status or regional or national origin. (Galindo 1995) 10 These are the six out of the seven migratory bereavements identified by Joseba Achotegui. We discarded the mourning for physical integrity as we did not consider it relevant to our case study.
27
host culture, the rejection of the host culture and perpetuation of the culture of origin or finally,
the rejection of both.
In the present case, the high density of Spanish residents in Edinburgh increases the
chances of seeing closed groups that provide continuous contact with the culture of origin.
The natural tendency would be for these groups to be configured as the reference to the
identification process in which support networks are also formed. This phenomenon
increases the possibility that, when faced with acculturation, immigrants will opt for the
perpetuation of the culture of origin, thereby undermining the reorganisation involved when
integrating in a new culture. This could entail an ambivalent situation of “to be there and not
to be there” and, perhaps more importantly “wanting or not wanting to be there”. This situation
will affect the immigrants’ expectations and motivations, which in turn will guide behaviour
when looking for work, accommodation and a new social network, as well as when
elaborating a sense of belonging and reciprocity with the host country.
Once a group becomes marginalised, it is easy for self-stigmatisation to occur. According to
Goffman (2006), stigmatised people are those whose social identity or belonging to a minority
group makes them devalued and perceived as imperfect or flawed to the eyes of others. At
the same time, the universal trend towards ethnocentricity and favouring people from the
same ethnic group (Talfel and Turner, 1986; Mullen, Brown and Smith, 1992) makes us
perceive our own group in a more positive light by exacerbating and facilitating
marginalisation and the creation of stigma.
Individuals that belong to stigmatised groups may also develop psychological mechanisms
that may perpetuate and reinforce the stigma. These include reinforcing the negative social
identity already in place through exclusion prior to the stigmatisation of the group, the threat
of stereotype which will affect the performance of the victims of stereotype in the tasks or
situations related to the nature stereotype (Steele and Aronson, 1995) such as, for example,
speaking English. Finally, the phenomenon of attributional ambiguity may also develop,
whereby it becomes difficult for stigmatised people to clearly attribute merit for a job even
when they obtain positive results. In addition, the lack of definite association between the
effort and the results may diminish the motivation of the people in question when it comes to
understanding other tasks as it assumes a threat to their self-esteem (Crocker and Mayor,
1989).
28
IV. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
1. Overall aim
To analyse the motivations, expectations, processes and the integration needs of the
Spanish immigrants who moved to Edinburgh from the year 2011 to August 2013.
2. Specific aims
1) Understanding the main motives and expectations of Spanish immigrants
moving to Edinburgh.
2) Analysing how the Spanish community living in Edinburgh perceives its
level of integration and which barriers they encounter.
3) Understanding the image associated with the Spanish people living in
Edinburgh.
a) The way Scottish people perceive them
b) The way they perceive themselves
4) Identifying the needs of Spanish people living in Edinburgh to achieve
social integration.
29
V. METHODOLOGY
The research methods were divided into two stages: first, a desk study on the issue was
carried out, and second, a qualitative ad-hoc field study was performed.
1. The desk study consisted in exploring secondary sources to reconstruct the economic,
political and migratory characteristics of Spain as a starting point for the research.
2. Qualitative Research.
TECHNIQUE: semi-structured focus groups.
ENVIRONMENT: individuals with Spanish nationality who have lived or expect to live
in Edinburgh for a minimum of three months and a maximum of three years.
SAMPLING: We shall now explain the sampling design and methods.
The sampling for the focus groups was designed as follows:
We defined the age of the participants as between 18 and 35, as the current profile of Spanish
emigrants is mostly young between 25 and 35 years old, with higher education qualifications
and without family obligations11 and as the majority of Spanish immigrants in Edinburgh range
between 16 and 29 years old12. Therefore, we chose this segment of the population for our
sample.
We defined the groups of Spanish residents in Edinburgh taking into account the following
variables:
Migration project
Occupation
Integration strategy
11 ADECCO reports on Spanish emigration: ADECCO, 2013. Based on CERA data (Data for the end of the year 2012) [Internet. Accessed on the 21/07/13]. Available on: http://www.adecco.es/_data/NotasPrensa/pdf/438.pdf ADECCO, 2012. Survey on international mobility. [Internet. Accessed on the 21/07/13]. Available on: http://www.adecco.es/_data/NotasPrensa/pdf/385.pdf 12 City of Edinburgh Council Area - Demographic Factsheet. National Records of Scotland.
20/12/2012. (2012) [Internet] Available on: http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/files2/stats/council-area-data-sheets/city-of-edinburgh-factsheet.pdf
30
We chose the variable “migration project” to define the first two groups as, according to our
hypothesis, the intention to remain or not considerably affects the integration process of the
migrants as well as their expectations and needs.
Another variable used for the sample design was the occupation. According to Castel,
occupation is one of the fundamental factors in the process of integration. The assumption
was made that the skilled or unskilled nature of the occupation had a direct influence on the
process and feeling of integration as well as on the construction of social networks. University
students were included in the “skilled occupation” category due to the importance of the
social networks and the migration plan.
The last group of Spanish residents in Edinburgh represents those that Berry qualifies as
having opted for the “separation” strategy to face acculturation or for those that are suffering
from discrimination and remain “marginalized”. Although the separation strategy is not among
the most common among immigrant groups and it is the one that assumes the highest level
of stress seems to prevail in the case of Spanish immigrants. This group is defined by the
quasi-exclusive setting of bounding networks (which relates individuals who are similar),
scarce or absent bridging networks (horizontal relation with networks of individuals of a
different type of with similar socio-economic or power status) and absence of linking networks
(vertical relationship with individuals or networks of different type and power status). This
group is referred to as “separation”.
Lastly, we aimed to analyse the image Scottish people hold of the newly established Spanish
community in Edinburgh. We carried out a focus group with Scottish citizens residing in
Edinburgh, the results of which will be used to document the analysis rather than as a
representative sample.
The remaining groups were defined as such:
FOCUS GROUP 1 MIGRATION PROJECT INVOLVING SETTLING
FOCUS GROUP 2 NON-SETTLING MIGRATION PROJECT
FOCUS GROUP 3 SKILLED OCCUPATION
FOCUS GROUP 4 UNSKILLED OCCUPATION
FOCUS GROUP 5 SEPARATION STRATEGY
FOCUS GROUP 6 SCOTTISH
31
Sample Obtained:
We were unable to find participants for the “settling” sampling category, which we assume to
be indicative of the reality studied rather than of our sampling abilities. It is a significant fact
in itself. We met very high interest in our study on the part of members of the “unskilled
occupation” group, so that we decided to make two groups for this category.
The groups obtained were as follows:
FOCUS GROUP 1 UNSKILLED OCCUPATION 1
FOCUS GROUP 2 UNSKILLED OCCUPATION 2
FOCUS GROUP 3 SKILLED OCCUPATION
FOCUS GROUP 4 NON-SETTLING MIGRATION
FOCUS GROUP 5 SEPARATION STRATEGY
FOCUS GROUP 6 SCOTTISH
DURATION: the focus groups lasted between one hour and a half and two hours.
DATES: the focus groups took place between the 29th of July and the 24th of August
2013.
32
VI. MOTIVATIONS AND EXPECTATIONS OF SPANISH PEOPLE IN EDINBURGH
This section aims to address the question of why the number of Spanish people in Edinburgh
is so high. In order to do so, we shall analyse the motivations and expectations that have
brought a large number of young Spanish to choose this city as destination for migrating, and
what their expectations or plans for the future are.
1. Motives for Leaving the Home Country: What makes
Spanish people emigrate?
A. Breaking the Social Contract: Being born in a rich country, migrating from a poor
country.
In order to understand the current migration phenomenon, and explain the motivations and
expectations that have encouraged part of the Spanish population to migrate to Edinburgh in
the past three years, it is essential to start by delving into the initial situation of the sample in
question. To this end, it is not enough to be aware of the economic crisis and high
unemployment rates in Spain (see Theoretical Framework), but we also need to consider the
underlying psychological and sociological processes that take an active part in the decision
to migrate.
When we talk about the Spanish community residing in Edinburgh, we refer to a group of
people which grew up in a prosperous social and economic context. This means that this
generation of immigrants possibly never thought they would one day have to leave their
country in search for “more opportunities [and] a better future13”. It is a population that had
high expectations in terms of social, economic and work prospects probably far from the ones
they faced when they decided to emigrate.
“Formerly, stability… what was it? It meant having a contract and knowing when you would
be able to go on holiday, and if you had a problem, you had insurance or whatever. Who has
that today? Here no one has it. And from our generation who were born here [in Edinburgh],
how many? Very few. Stability, as they say, belongs to the former generation. That is not for
us….“ Unskilled Occupation Group
13 Unskilled Occupation Group
33
This rupture in expectations is termed by Castel as deinstitutionalisation14; and generates
amongst the people that suffer from it, the necessity to increase their social utility and their
participation level in social networks to find a place in society.
The lack of opportunities creates in turn a sensation of relative deprivation. This concept
does not necessarily involve poverty (Izcara Palacios, 2007: 200), but instead refers to the
feeling that arises when an individual compares his economic situation to that of the people
that constitute his reference group and discover that his situation is worse (Stark and Wang,
2000: 131). In the present case, we mean that the reference group is the generation
preceding the one under study.
The Spanish youth is faced with the impossibility to access some of the resources that the
previous generation was able to enjoy, and which they consider their legitimate right to enjoy
as well. In this case, relative deprivation would not explain why migration is perpetuated
(Izcara Palacios, 2009a:B; Stark and Yitzhaki, 1988: 69), but it would act as a motivational
factor and incentive.
This disparity between the perception of training and working capacity (perceived work self-
efficiency) and the lack of opportunities to develop professionally (outcome expectations),
generates a feeling of apathy (Bandura, 1977)15 and frustration which fuels migration.
“I had a job there [in Spain]; it wasn’t what I was trained for but it was a job. But I felt
overwhelmed, blocked, like I was no longer moving forward“. Skilled Occupation Group
The desire to escape plays a major role when the decision to migrate is taken, also influenced
by the desire for a period of liminality. People migrate in search of a temporary stage which
breaks with the context of origin, so as to take some distance from the previous life history,
and the roles and expectations associated with it16. These are found not only in the people
themselves but also as corresponding social patterns.
Founding a migration project on the desire to escape – which, initially can be at least as
important as the intention to build an alternative present –, leads to the absence of clearly
defined migratory objective. So we find a poorly-developed migration project, where there
are no specific aims and that often seems to derive from the “plan for a trip” and which is
extended in time and ends up transformed into a migration project. This carries
consequences and confrontation with decisions much more complex than what the individual
was prepared for. We shall see throughout this paper that the uncertainty in terms of the
14 Decoupling of the objectives that structure the life experiences of a group or individual. (Gauchet cited in Castel, 1007:471-73). See Theoretical Framework. 15 BANDURA, 1977. Self-efficacy theory. Social Cognitive Theory. 16 Development on the basis of the concept of “liminality” from the theory of the ritualby V. Turner (1969), in the context of rites proper to tribal.
34
duration of the stay will be a decisive factor in understanding the psychological and social
state of the Spanish community.
B. The Trip as an End in Itself
Travelling and living in another country has become a new consumer good; it is presented
as an end in itself commonplace in the current patterns of migrations. With the emergence
of low-cost companies and the free movement policies within the European Union, moving
from one country to another is increasingly cheaper and requires fewer transfers, preparation
and effort, so that it gradually becomes a more accessible and everyday decision.
2. Choosing a Destination: Why Edinburgh?
Our study refers to a population that has decided to leave a country where they feel
disappointed and frustrated and which seems unable to develop and satisfy the work and life
expectations that they took for granted and for which they feel prepared.
As we mentioned previously, the ‘deinstitutionalisation’ gives rise – according to Castel– to
the search for social utility and participation in social networks which give back to the subject
a position in society. We shall now analyse how the preconceived image of Edinburgh can
potentially fully satisfy both necessities: that of social utility and that of taking part in social
networks.
A. Increasing Social Utility.
As regards the search for social utility, Scotland has the image of having a more accessible
labour market and it offers the possibility of learning a new language.
The image of the economy and society in the United Kingdom is better than that of Spain.
The idea of migrating to Edinburgh encourages an increase in the expectations of finding a
job, that is, the mere fact of living in that city raises situation-outcome expectations
(Heckhausen 1977).
As to the learning of a new language, it is to be stressed that English has acquired
unparallelled ‘hypercentrality’ as the unifier of Europe and occupies a central position in world
trade (Jesús Baigorri, 2010)17. On the other hand, it should also be noticed that Spanish
people have a negative opinion of themselves when it comes to their abilities in English (see
Objective 4). These two factors are useful to explain the relevance and value of migrating to
an English-speaking country for the population under study. Improving one’s knowledge of
17 The concept of ‘hypercentrality’ is used again by A. de Swaan (2001)
35
English can be useful in the Spanish labour market, so it adds merit and, in any case,
reinforces the subject’s perception of self-efficacy.
Nevertheless, raising situation-outcome expectations and social utility are not exclusive to
Edinburgh. Moreover, in larger cities such as London or more industrialized cities such as
Glasgow, the opportunities of finding a job without prejudice against to learning the new
language are presumably higher.
What Idiosyncratic Characteristics Does Edinburgh Offer?
B. The Perception of Edinburgh as an Easy City: The presence of social networks and
the high livability of the environment.
We agree with the theories that consider migration as a social phenomenon in which the
micro-structures formed by migration chains and networks act as fundamental factors in
determining population movement in time and space (Malganesini, 1998; Portes and Börocz,
1998). The presence of networks will have a determining effect on the destination choice.
The on-site presence of other Spanish immigrants is useful also when trying to take part in
social networks, which is described by Castel as a consequence of deinstitutionalisation.
In all the focus groups, the presence of these networks appears to be a key factor – and in
some cases the only factor – to determine the choice of Edinburgh as migration destination.
Migration networks function by providing help in different ways, thereby reducing the costs
and uncertainties that characterise the process (Massey et al., 1998:42:43) and considerably
facilitates the initial phase of both the arrival and stay in the host country.
“(…) I would never have come to live in Edinburgh. I mean, to live, to look for a job. I came
here because I had a contact here but it is not a city that would normally have drawn my
attention”. Unskilled Occupation Group
Another motive for choosing Edinburgh over other possible destinations mentioned by the
groups is the perception of the city as offering a “comfortable” lifestyle, i.e. with a high
livability. The characteristics highlighted by the groups in this respect were: the quick and
cheap aerial connection with the country of origin, the beauty and medium size of the city
and the image of Scottish people as being friendlier than other inhabitants of the United
Kingdom.
The presence of migration networks and the high livability of the environment result in
Edinburgh being perceived a priori as an ‘easy city’. If we take into account that, as
abovementioned, the population that migrates to this city lacks in general a well-defined
migration project and clear temporal markers, the idea of seeing Edinburgh as a ‘small’ or
‘manageable’ city in which they have contacts and which is connected to the country of origin,
36
becomes very important characteristic as they will help adjusting to the city within a short
period of time. These factors, when combined with an increase in one’s social utility make
Edinburgh a very attractive migration destination.
3. Motivations for Staying: Expectations vs. reality when
arriving in Edinburgh.
“No, no, here [in Edinburgh] you have to work a lot of hours to pay the two, three things
that you have to pay. Here you have to work so many more hours…! Yes there is no time to
live, you have to work …” Separation Strategy Group
The Spanish community is in a precarious situation when it comes to finding work, and not
very successful in terms of learning the language, which were the two main motivations
mentioned to justify the choice of city.
Nevertheless, we see that the downward social mobility and precariousness of employment
were part of the subjects’ expectations. High expectations are in fact perceived as an
indicator of the failure of the migration project and a cause for early return to the country of
origin. Precariousness and downward social mobility are perceived as a necessary step to
being able to aspire to better options. They are excused as a way of learning English or as a
price to pay to live in a foreign country.
The status of immigrants justifies a precarious situation which in Spain was considered as
unfair. Being in a country in which one does not dominate the language or the working culture
decreases one’s perception of self-efficacy at work where working in a position for which the
subject is over-qualified does not appear abnormal. Jobs that involve downgrading one’s
social class and which are not even considered as an option in Spain are seen as an
achievement when accessed in Edinburgh. This reduces the perception of rupture in the life
objectives of the subjects; it is a predictable situation that is expected.
“Seven hours washing dishes…I had never done that and I had never thought I would do it,
but I knew that if I came here, that would be the option. And I am thankful for it.” Unskilled
Occupation Group
Let us keep in mind that immigrants are subject to social class downgrading when compared
to the country of origin; however, the perception of this situation as temporary helps the
subjects accepting this new social role. The possibility to return to Spain remains open, and
so does the possibility of returning to the original social position.
37
A. The Presence of Opportunities.
Let us reiterate that, although prospects of self-efficacy decrease, the chances of getting
access to employment remain higher in Edinburgh than in Spain. This increase in situation-
outcome prospects is the main factor that encourages Spanish people to stay in Edinburgh,
and it is expressed within the groups as the perception of an increase in opportunities.
Nevertheless, these opportunities are – in many cases – described by the subjects
themselves as beyond their reach or difficult to access.
So we wonder why opportunities that are difficult to access can be the main reason for
remaining in Edinburgh.
The presence of opportunities, whether these are perceived or not by the subjects as
affordable, counteracts the learned helplessness, frustration and apathy experienced in
Spain, where they see themselves as fully competent but with no opportunities to develop.
The feeling that there are opportunities – although the status of immigrant reduces the
perception of the subjects’ abilities to reach these – opens up the possibility to act in order to
achieve things that bring the subjects closer to the desired outcome. This is to say that
whether the opportunities in question are within reach or not seems to lie in the hands of the
subjects, which grants them a higher degree of autonomy and new expectations.
“[People’s lives change when they get to Edinburgh because they have the] opportunity to
fight for something. In Spain, the work is precarious, you know that the situation is worse
each day, so that your expectations, your hopes and your motivation go down. But when you
get here, the fact that you can work, that you can fight… away from home… At home, it’s
very easy. But when you’re away from home, everything gets more complicated, but well!
at least you’re fighting for something! And I think that this can make people come back to
life” Unskilled Occupation Group
B. The Independence Factor.
Another motive for staying in Edinburgh which is brought up fiercely in all the groups is the
economic independence and the opportunity to move out of the family nucleus.
Independence places the subjects in a position that is closer to their idea of the future prior
to the economic crisis.
The possibility to be independent is perceived as one of the major incentives to stay, and is
even, in some cases, more important than social utility.
“It is difficult to be in a worse situation than in Spain, although it’s tough: the food, the
weather, the family, friends… But well, at least here we can survive, be independent, which
is not the case in Spain. If a friend comes, you tell him the truth: the price is high, if you’re
lucky you can survive, but I don’t know anyone that lives. But it’s all relative, it’s better than
38
in Spain because in Spain, either you live at home with your parents or nothing” Unskilled
Occupation Group
We would like to conclude this section by reiterating that, although the decision to migrate
and stay in the host country is a complex process influenced by many factors, gaining access
to employment is a strong motive to migrate and stay, and it is a choice that many do not
have in their own country.
“Yes of course, I am here and I like it. Well I am not very happy here. Let’s say that I would
love to go back to Spain, but here I have a job, which I don’t in Spain. Even if it's only for that
reason, I hold on. At least that’s my case. Other people are happy and are enjoying it.”
Unskilled Occupation Group
4. Expectations: What are the future prospects?
“I have been here for three years. Each year I meet new people, people come and go. You
study, you finish your Master’s and 60% of the people leave. Those that stay change city.
Jobs, people come and go. Of the friends I’ve made in the past months, in September, five
out of seven are leaving. You have to decide whether you’re staying or not. You see that
winter is coming and you think: I’ll stay for three months. But the rent is not for three
months, it’s for six or twelve, plus internet, you can’t get the internet for three months even
in your dreams. So yes, it is a decision to make, absolutely. Until two weeks ago, I was going
to leave. Now I have decided that I’m not and I have to decide whether I’m staying in this
flat. And if I change flat, I have to decide whether to stay for a year and if I don’t I’ll lose a lot
of money.” Unqualified Occupation Group
A. Staying or Leaving: The eternal doubt.
As we analyse the results from the various groups, we find that in the same way that we do
not find a well-defined migration project, there are no clear expectations or future plans when
it comes to the length of stay. Structuring the migration project on the basis of short periods
of time – which goes beyond the mere “myth of return” associated with migrations – turns out
to be one of the most significant aspects when analysing the state of the Spanish community
residing in Edinburgh.
In the following excerpt, we can see that – except in the case of the skilled occupation, which
we shall analyse later – the discourse around temporality refers to six months as being long-
term, which exemplifies the instability faced by the population in question.
“(…) of course when I arrived, I didn’t know I was going to stay, so I didn’t commit to a flat
with a long-term contract. Now, when I start looking for a new flat, I would commit to rent
for six months” Unskilled Occupation Group
39
The expectations of the skilled occupation group, although also unstable and changing, are
for a length of stay that is longer-term or even indefinite. Moreover, the members of this group
are more likely to migrate to other countries instead of returning to Spain, showing a feeling
of injustice towards the idea of going back to practice a professional activity that they had to
build for themselves outside their country.
“People think that we leave, we become hyper-qualified in awesome jobs and that we will
go back to Spain to share our knowledge, but it’s not the case. It’s a big fallacy...!” Skilled
Occupation Group
In this respect, we were interested in finding out whether the plans to stay for a longer period
for this group could be established as a causal factor or as a consequence of being in a
skilled profession.
On the other hand, we found that the ‘Separation Group’ was more reluctant to stay in
Edinburgh even as their employment status improved. The internal social networks and the
culture of origin acquire in this group more importance than in the others when it comes to
taking the decision of whether to stay in Edinburgh or leave.
This perception of time gives rise to a barrier to integration which affects the Spanish
community as well as the Scottish one, as the latter appears to perceive this in a negative
way (see Objective 2). The absence of timeframe appears to be one of the main factors that
determine the most the state of instability in the population studied, thereby affecting two of
the basic pillars in the development of human well-being: employment and social
relationships. This, in turn, paradoxically acts as a key factor with regards for the acceptance
of the precarious situation of the group as previously mentioned.
B. The Job and the Language.
It is interesting to note that in all the cases, the members of the group hope for an improved
employment status: either focusing on the return to Spain, on the stay in Edinburgh or when
migrating to yet another country. The expectations of improving their long term employment
status increases just by having lived in Edinburgh
These expectations for a better employment status perpetuate a relationship which is directly
proportional to the perception of increasing the employability18 by improving one’s skills in
18 Employability: we define employability as the capacity of a person to access a job, maintain it and show resilience in case of losing it. A person is employable when they possess and have accumulated the conditions at an individual level which make their participation useful and valuable in the production of goods or services and, on the contrary, losing their job or not they cannot contribute to the generation of wealth. (Alles, M. 1998)
40
English. Nevertheless, perfecting the language does not manifest itself as a condition with a
definite effect when deciding whether to stay or leave Edinburgh.
“I’m struggling, you can always learn more [English], imagine. I will leave when I am bored
here or when I find something in another place” Separation Strategy Group
The lack of prospects in the country of origin and the possibility of achieving economic
Independence and autonomous survival in Edinburgh are some of the reasons that
encourage immigrants to prolong their stays in the city. This, when coupled with the situation
of instability, the sense of time and the absence of clearly-defined plans and objectives which
all characterise the group under study, can generate a situation of conformity or stagnation
in the life that produces frustration in the long term.
“I think I’ve also experienced this feeling, as if you leave your profession aside and you work
first on the language, and then you say: I think I am wasting time, I’m not doing what I should
be doinGroup You are a bit down: No, it wasn’t what I was looking for… But I suppose it is
part of a process (…)” Skilled Occupation Group
This situation, combined with the vulnerability that is associated with migration (see
Theoretical Framework), places the group in a psychological position of risk, which is not to
be underestimated for being intra-European. Failing to realise the impact of migrating within
Europe has a direct negative effect on the immigrant population, as they have to deal with
an unexpected cultural shock and a degree of psychological stress that they do not relate
with the migration experience.
41
VII. INTEGRATION EXPERIENCES AND BARRIERS
1. The Concept of Integration. Definitions and Associations
During the process of integration, the community of new Spanish in Edinburgh sees itself as
a group different to the locals. Some of the participants feel they face integration from a
position of disadvantaged. The starting point is the lack of capabilities mostly related to the
language barrier and the cultural differences, which places the new Spanish community in
an inferior position.
“Whether you are a person with disabilities or from another country, wherever you’re from,
basically [integration] is the way you adapt to the context.” Non-Settling Group
However, being at a disadvantage does not exempt from the responsibility or duty to adapt.
On the contrary, as we shall see further on, it gives the new Spanish an active role with
responsibilities in the integration process, while exempting the locals and the authorities from
any responsibility.
As a migrant group, the Spanish people in Edinburgh associate integration with a dynamic in
which they are evaluated and subject to judgement and are exposed to the risk of
disapproval. In the face of the risk of prejudice or exclusion by the locals, an ‘other’ is
constructed to whom the responsibility and blame can be attributed.
“(…) I know people who live for six pounds a week and who get benefits and (…) they say
“why would I get a job? Why would I bother to look for work when they’re giving me
benefits?” And I know… well, I know several of those people and… well, it seems wrong..”
Separation Group
This discourse projects the situation of psychological and moral exclusion lived by the
community. The building of this group is a way of making a statement of their values and of
demonstrating the possibility of moral and cultural inclusion. Integration is thereby associated
with acquiring a right by not reproducing these types of behaviour, and through their explicit
rejection. This does not guarantee integration; however, it does offer the possibility to be
accepted by their own group, to remain part of it, and to be accepted by locals as possible
contributors to the common welfare.
The process of integration is perceived by the participants as involving two groups, and in
which the active element is the migrant population. This process is defined in two stages: the
first in which the entering group must adapt to the uses and customs, and the second where
the group is accepted by the locals.
42
“- I think that before there can be coexistence, there is adaptation.
- To be able to coexist, of course, you need to adapt first” Non-Settling Group
In the first stage, the adaptation to the habits, the know-how and the desire to adapt are
necessary. So the responsibility of knowledge and the will to adapt as conditions to the first
step lie with the immigrant.
Once this is achieved, the locals can offer the opportunity for them to be accepted. In this
second stage, the degree of adaptation achieved is evaluated through the knowledge and
will, although this stage does not appear to be experienced by the participants.
As a group of immigrants, the new Spanish in Edinburgh are confronted with the adaptation
to the habits and with taking a stance with respect to their own habits and to their adherence
to a group. This implies the following questions: to what degree are they willing to adopt local
customs? In which group do they feel that their needs are best met? Adapting to the customs
and the decisions involved in facing acculturation give rise, in Berry’s terms, to different
integration strategies which enable the immigrants to cope with the new situation.
The participants identified two strategies adopted by the Spanish community recently
established in Edinburgh:
Strategy 1: Separation. It consists in rejecting the host culture and maintaining the original
one intact. When explained, this rejection is attributed to the personal experience of
communication difficulties, of not speaking English. In other words, to the knowledge
element. This problem results in separating from the local community and seeking refuge in
the Spanish community.
Strategy 2: Interchange. Successful handling of both cultures. The will to adapt and the
knowledge of the surroundings establish passable routes for a relation of interchange with
the host community and the locals.
The concept of integration is defined in terms of coexistence, interchange of uses and
customs and feeling of belonging. More specifically, it is related to a process in which different
cultures, groups and communities exchange elements that are typical or representative and
achieve a multicultural coexistence where, the new immigrants bring elements that are
proper to a given cultural context. In this multicultural coexistence, ideally, the feeling of
belonging should manifest itself, which would epitomise the integration of the individuals.
The starting point is the idea that two different communities exist in a negotiation where
acceptance of the customs on the part of the host community is an element of potential
debate. Some noticeable requirements exist to protect from the threat of assimilation, in
favour of the multiculturalism and well-being of the group.
43
“It’s not just about you adapting to the local customs but it’s also about them, where you
settle, accepting your ways, so that you don’t have to adapt and lose the way you are, your
origins.” Unskilled Occupation Group
These definitions betray a certain tension between assimilation and multi-culturalism: who is
to adapt to whom? To what point is the newcomer supposed to assimilate the customs and
the culture of the place of destination?
The idea of integration as multicultural coexistence is seen as a bonus, an addition to the
adaptation and something dispensable in the life of the new Spanish in Edinburgh. It is
precisely the adaptation to the climate and the way of life that appears as a priority.
Integration does not refer to the rights or standards of living, but to the social life and the
social networks. Therefore, to what point is integration necessary or possible? It appears as
an ideal element for improvement, but not a necessary condition to the experience in
Edinburgh. The criteria taken into account in the adaptation process are different, such as
having a place to live, a job or friends.
“At the moment, a lot of people are coming here with an English that is not so good and an
average formation so they can’t think about integrating but they have to focus on working
and carrying on” Unskilled Occupation Group
Integration appears as the result of deliberate action to interact, get closer and exchange, in
a spirit of friendship and coexistence. It takes place in the domain of private life and is related
to personal disposition. Nevertheless, will goes hand in hand with knowledge: the knowledge
of the language is perceived as necessary to integrate. Given that this does not seem to
occur with the desired frequency, is the apparent language difficulty responsible for the
aspiration to integrate being less probable or important? This way, the ideal of integration
and the will and knowledge required to achieve it, would lose relevance; and staying in the
community, or the apparent impossibility to make friends with the natives would be justified
by the barrier, which is perceived as almost insuperable.
The summit of integration is, according to Castel, participation in the social networks, i.e.,
friendship with the locals. This reflects the break in the barrier between the prejudices on the
part of the locals, as wellas differentiation (I am not part of the Spanish that do not integrate),
and the re-classification (in the powerful group, I feel I am myself).
“I feel integrated but then I think… do I have Scottish friends? No. Well, I have one but we
don’t talk much, I know that I can trust him but… I’m very happy here but I don’t know if I’m
really integrated.” Skilled Occupation Group
44
To summarise, we find that there are two variables when it comes to defining the integration
of the new Spanish in Edinburgh and in relation to the negotiation between the groups:
responsibility and necessity/possibility.
As to the responsibility, the discourse revolves around two positions which are in conflict.
First, the responsibility to integrate is internal; it lies with the emigrants and stems from their
will and knowledge. And in contrast, the responsibility to integrate is external to the emigrants
and it stems from their being accepted and their luck.
PO
SS
IBIL
ITY
/NE
CE
SS
ITY
RESPONSABILITY
INETRNAL EXTERNAL
YES WILL ND KNWLEDGE LUCK AND ACCEPTATION
NO
The other variable used to define integration originates in the opposition when it comes to
identifying whether integrating is possible and necessary given that, as we said, there are
other criteria to define adaptation, and integration is experienced as a bonus and an ideal of
coexistence.
We shall now remember what the British model of integration involves, and what establishes
the European Union on the issue According to the former, the Spanish community should
claim their cultural roots collectively for the sake of their civic rights. However, we see that
the Spanish residents reject or do not envisage the collective participation in public and
political life, adopting an attitude much closer to assimilationism, and associating cultural
differences with the private domain, while dismissing its political potential to integrate.
2. The experience of integration
In order to understand the integration level of the new Spanish in Edinburgh, we shall now
turn to the analysis of their experiences in three fields: the construction of social networks,
the work experiences and the psychological experiences involved in the migration project.
45
A. Building Social Networks
Social networks19 not only facilitate the arrival but they are also a reason for emigrating. So
powerful networks of compatriots are built in Edinburgh which perpetuate the separation
strategy for those members that adopt this strategy in the first place.
This close relationship among fellow nationals within the Spanish community is widely
recognised in all the groups studied. The reasons behind the creation of these groups can
be found in the need for supporting networks and the ease of finding other Spanish people.
This allows them to address one of the necessities that an individual may face in this
migration project: the need for recognition.
Networks of fellow nationals are established through the activities and places the community
usually shares:
English language academies. Given that learning English is seen as a motivation for
Spanish people to move to Edinburgh, English academies are connecting points
among many others.
Hostels. Youth hostels are landing sites for many young immigrants; and in them
strong relationships offering support and companionship can be formed. Many
Spanish people live for weeks or months in exchange for helping with cleaning or at
the reception desk.
Free time. Going out at night is seen as being a cultural trait among Spanish people
and a way of spending free time together in the community. Going out is considered
as a common interest which is superior to other ways of spending one’s free time.
Work. Work is the other connecting point for the Spanish community, who tend to be
employed in accessible positions with low levels of English, mainly in the hospitality
sector.
“The hostel is where I met more Spanish people, most of them worked in catering and in the
kitchen.” Unskilled Occupation Group
All four environments are difficult to avoid and they are very closely related, thereby building
an informal microstructure which acts as a platform for adaptation. In fact, these spaces have
become popular as a way of life for the new Spanish in Edinburgh.
19 Social networks are a complex system of social relations which contribute effectively in maintaining the
migratory process. Several agents both individual and collective intervene in their creation and development: from the personal support based on parental help, friendship or nationality, to the associations and institutions that help immigrants inserting themselves into the host society. Concha Domingo Pérez and Rafael Viruela Martínez “Chains and network in the Spanish migration process”
46
“I lived in a hostel for 5 months and on the one hand, it’s really good but a bit like the military
service, full of Spanish and Italians. The months go by and the people are still in the hostel,
living with Spanish people and you say: you have been here for two years and…” Unskilled
Occupation Group
Although they are frequent, the networks formed by Spanish people are recognised as being
unstable due to the variability of the migration project, and also not very inclusive. The
Spanish community in Edinburgh sees itself as closed and at risk of ghettoisation. This
circumstance is observed in general as a threat to the group itself and a risk of stigmatisation.
“I think it’s a group, difficult to integrate. (…) I did my Erasmus in Italy, it’s not comparable,
but us Spanish, in general we tend to make ghettoes, we don’t care about the language, the
culture of other people. “There is no other place like Spain for a good life”. And we bring this
with us wherever we go.” Unskilled Occupation Group
The support and companionship are recognised by the participants as very necessary
elements. The Spanish community plays an important role in this sense through groups and
informal and loosely-structured relationships.
“I have been here a few months and… Taking into account the English language school, I tell
you, I have only had contact with Spanish people and have not been 100 percent comfortable
but at least I’ve been here, and well, I’ve survived.” Separation Strategy Group
The information and the practical help are given by the community, which highlights the
distance or low participation in other structures and organisations. This is how the
phenomenon of the Spanish community in Edinburgh appeared on Facebook. Through this
tool, virtual collective networks were built which are comparable with micro-structures of
support on the following areas: employment (the community informs, provides and advises),
accommodation (sharing within the community brings a certain semblance of solidarity which
helps consolidating the virtual community), practical information and tourism. The existence
of these microstructures provides a substitute, as we shall see, to other bigger and/or
inaccessible structures. The main ones are Amicusburgh (4.839 members as of 30th of
August 2014) and Españoles en Edimburgo (5.188 members on the same date).
“There is Amicusburgh which is the… which is, let’s say, the real Spanish Consulate, you
know, because I don’t think anyone goes to the other one to ask anything If you have a
question, you go to Amicusburgh, right? and… And with this, look, whatever you need, you
ask and there will always be three people to help you and that’s it” Separation Strategy
Group
The groups that took part can be categorised into various subgroups in relation to the
establishment of social networks and the integration process:
47
Integrated Spanish: they have had the will and knowledge to achieve the relative
integration they enjoy. The connections with linking-type networks20, the skilled
employment, and the seniority appear as the factors that make this situation possible.
The seniority is not measured in terms of time but it indicates a new status, resulting
from the success in adapting to local customs. These integrated Spanish define
themselves as a different group from those who do not want to or do not know how
to integrate. However, they are a rare exception. The difficulty to achieve integration
reveals the precarious nature of the social networks that are mentioned as the major
barrier.
Marginalised Spanish: those that do not have the knowledge and will to adapt to the
customs and to become related to the locals are considered as a group at risk of
marginalisation. The language barrier and the difficulties in accessing linking-type
networks are the main problems identified by them; whereas the rest see this as the
result of a lack of will. This situation is perceived as a failure by all groups except for
the separation strategy group, which has built its identity as a separate group without
prospects of integration.
Internationals, i.e., other immigrants, are not a way of integrating; however, they play
a role in the adaptation process and in the well-being. They consider themselves as
related groups more accessible and in some cases as similar. However, the groups
mentioned are mostly Polish, i.e. a group that holds a similar position in the labour
market and in terms of linking-type networks. This affinity is not found within the
skilled group, as they have reached a different condition through their employment
position.
The Scots. They are perceived as the main way of achieving integration. Although
they are considered overall as pleasant, patient, etc., personality-related differences
or other obstacles make interactions difficult or prevent them altogether, as we shall
see later.
Those who feel closest to integration, in our case, as a result of their seniority and skilled
occupation, manifest a certain degree of scepticism when it comes to the new or less
integrated, and demonstrate little affinity or support. Specifically the skilled occupation group
still sees itself as prone to taking part in the integration of other groups.
20 The linking-type networks establish relationships among individuals and networks of different levels of
power and different types, which encourages the Access to resources, equality and the feeling of belonging, i.e. integration. See Mani, D. Social Capital for Development; United Nations’ webpage for regional development (UNCRD). For foreign immigrants’ social networks in Spain, a field study by Rosa Aparicio Andrés Tornos
48
“It’s like a feeling of rejection from those who have been here for longer, I don’t know if
we’re integrated, but at least we don’t do certain things. And the people that are just
arriving, it’s like: “behave yourself!” Skilled Occupation Group
B. Work Experiences
Having a job is considered among the Spanish as a prize, a reward from the host society. So
we see the Spanish situation reflected in this gratitude for a job and how the current issue of
unemployment and youth unemployment affects the criteria around the notion of integration
in other societies.
“Seven hours washing dishes…I had never done that and I had never thought I would do it,
but I knew that if I came here, that would be the option. And I am thankful for it” Unskilled
Occupation Group
The criteria in the search for employment and in the way in which it is valued change during
the immigration process and when settling into a new cultural environment. Work is portrayed
as a necessity for integration, without conditions.
“- Just like the South Americans in Spain but with Spanish in Edinburgh (…) Just as South
Americans that go to Spain, which is full of South Americans, to do the jobs that we’re doing:
cleaning and other such things.
- Here you do it for money.” Non-Settling Group
The circumstances in which this opportunity is reached are, nevertheless, very hard. The
new Spanish in Edinburgh recognise that they experience very precarious working conditions
which are similar to the ones of foreign immigrants in Spain.
“In Spain we should open our eyes as well, to see how we treat immigrants. Now we are
seeing another side of the story. (…) Now we understand the other side of immigration.”
Unskilled Occupation Group 2.
We see in this a reflection of the group vulnerability, as they view their migration experience
similar to that of immigrants in Spain. Through this parallel made with the situation of
exclusion of the immigrants in Spain, the feeling of group vulnerability experienced by the
Spanish in the United Kingdom is highlighted.
Although there is some debate about this, the participants acknowledge a certain degree of
professional confinement. The jobs recognised by all the groups as typically Spanish are
kitchen porter, house keeper and waiter/waitress. There are more and better opportunities
but do not seem easy to obtain.
49
C. The Psychological State and the Migration Project
The adaptation and integration processes are perceived as problematic and difficult. Aside
from some exceptions, most experiences reveal a certain discomfort and dissatisfaction. And
in almost all the cases, a lack of medium to long-term plans or personal projects.
“In the end, coming here, dealing with the English language, facing new situations, because
my English is not bad but anyway…A new thing to do each day… It’s like “well, I’m already
sick of it, I want everything to run smoothly!” But even still, it’s a continuum…” Unskilled
Occupation Group
The migration project is ill-defined and indecisive. The experiences reveal a double mourning
in process which is manifested constantly and which prevents, as we shall see, the
reconstruction or re-initiation of a stable and committed project. This double mourning is
made up of:
The deterioration of the living conditions in Spain. As we saw in the chapter on motivations
and expectations, the lack of prospects in Spain is a motive for remaining in Edinburgh.
Moreover, it is a psychological burden which dwells and constitutes constant negotiation
between the loss of roots and the impulse to recover them.
The status of immigrant held by the new Spanish in Edinburgh. The new Spanish in
Edinburgh, as all immigrants, are exposed to a situation of stress with a number of physical
and psychological manifestations, known as migratory mourning.
The migration project with its characteristics, generally of temporality and instability,
constitutes a huge impact on the psychological state of the new Spanish in Edinburgh and
reveals certain fragility.
The experiences we have described would, according to Castel’s model, situate the new
Spanish in Edinburgh in the vulnerability zone.
DIMENSIONS MARGINALISATION
ZONE
VULNERABILITY
ZONE
INTEGRATION
ZONE
Economic-employment
(axis employed/unemployed)
Exclusion from
employment Precarious work Steady work
Socio-relational
(axis relationships/isolation) Social isolation
Unstable
relationships
Solid
relationships
Psychological-individual
(axis meaning/insignificance) Lack of purpose in life Fragile conditions Life purpose
Source: Juárez and Renes, 1994
50
From these experiences and the state of vulnerability revealed by the participants, we asked
the following questions: What is the relationship among the various dimensions? In which
situation would the Spanish find themselves if the dimensions were not those that
characterise the vulnerability zone? How can there be movement amongst the various
zones? What are the possibilities to experience a better and higher integration of the new
Spanish in Edinburgh?
According to Subirats’ model (2004:16), the situations of exclusion result from the
accumulation of vulnerability factors. Being vulnerable in one aspect does not necessarily
imply being marginalised; nor being integrated. Thence, when we talk about situations of
vulnerability, we refer to situations in which having a social network that is little or not at all
integrative puts at risk the migration project, the psychological state and the employment
situation, and thereupon makes the individual in question vulnerable to exclusion. These
would be factors of disadvantage or vulnerability. The intensification of the exclusion factors
or the appearance of more factors could lead to marginalisation.
As we have seen, the status of economic immigrant affects the opportunities and level of
integration in linking-type networks. We therefore question the existence of immigrants
integrated in linking-type networks.
The elements of integration are closely inter-related, as the employment status affects the
possibilities of leisure and companionship (and processes of class awareness) which are
both responsible for migration projects.
3. Limits and Barriers to Integration
We start at the status of immigrant which characterises the community and which is at the
centre of both the way it is perceived and its level of integration. Additionally, by virtue of their
young age, they are also affected by two of the conditions that lead to the marginalisation in
the post-industrial world: the knowledge society, which makes career paths more flexible and
uncertain and the precariousness of working conditions, mainly from the deregulation of the
labour market (Subirats et al., 2004).
The role of the State is, in our opinion, important in order to avoid a situation of exclusion and
to slow down its potential expansion. In order to address the vulnerability observed, some
specific issues which take the form of very concrete barriers need to be improved, as we
shall now discuss.
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A. Identities and Stereotypes: The barrier of discrimination
The immigrant’s identity is a barrier in itself to access employment. In spite
of the British integration model which is rooted in the acknowledgment of
ethnic differences, Spanish people feel judged on the basis of stereotypes
and, on some occasions, discriminated on the basis of their nationality.
“And here you’re an immigrant. Here, there are companies where, if you’re an immigrant, it
weighs on you… Although they have anti-discrimination policies and all the rest of it. I’ve
seen this.” Unskilled Occupation Group
Being a group, or representinga community can be negative and it carries the risk of
ghettoisation. The possibility of associating or converting into an ethnical community fighting
for their rights is not considered.
“These things are taking place because a lot of people are coming and the community is
becoming saturated. There are a lot of people and we find all these things… from solidarity,
for which I think it’s not a good time, precisely because there are a lot of people.” Skilled
Occupation Group
The new Spanish identify themselves as a group whose characteristics are known. Although
there are different responses to the group (approval or lack thereof, likings or dislike, etc.)
they consider themselves part of the community of new Spanish. This participation in the
group involves being part of a crowd which is seen as invading and competing for the
resources.
“The issue of integration in places such as Edinburgh is that we all come en masse. (…) We
are so many… this makes it difficult to integrate.” Skilled Occupation Group
Belonging to the crowd leads to a loss of individuality and to the association of characteristics
which are normally attributed to the group. The new Spanish in Edinburgh identify themselves
as migrants for economic reasons21 escaping from a country in deep crisis. Therefore,
belonging to this crowd reduces the group to the struggle for life characteristic, thus blocking
career advancement and integration into social networks.
Moreover, this mass population is the object of two main stereotypes: that of overusing
resources and that of not being hard-working, which justify the potential exclusion on the part
of the host society. The association the migrant society tries to escape becomes obvious in
21 We refer to the economic immigration as the population who migrates for employment reasons,
fundamentally for being unemployed or in a precarious work situation in their country of origin.
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the discourse in many cases, and highlights to what point it constitutes a barrier for the
Spanish community in Edinburgh:
“I have a friend, (…) who when you ask her if she’s Spanish, the first thing she says is “yes,
I’m Spanish but I study here” because otherwise it’s as if they associate you with the rest of
them, they assume that we just come here to hang out.” Non-Settling Group
B. Poverty and Occupation
The new Spanish in Edinburgh see in their group a situation of economic disadvantage. This
consists of:
Employment or occupation requiring a low level of qualifications.
Limited access to the labour market and difficulties in career advancement, which
limits the majority of employed members to positions such as kitchen porter,
waiter/waitress, and house keeper.
The social and class confinement: frustration related to work and to life projects and
the difficulty in accessing the social networks of interest.
“And here we have our engineers working as kitchen porters, which is funny. Doing the jobs
that the British don’t want to do, just like we didn’t want to” Unskilled Occupation Group
The jobs mentioned above are associated with potentially precarious conditions: part-time
contracts, “0-hour contracts” and minimum wage22.
“I don’t know anyone who gets more than the minimum, you know? And this, whatever you
do: the minimum. And it doesn’t matter what level of studies you have, you get the
minimum.” Separation Group
The type of employment the participants relate to the community has important
consequences on well-being and on the integration process. The unstable format of the jobs
prevents them from planning in time and, as a consequence, of taking part in other leisure or
learning activities. This is a feature of the precariousness of the job and is highly significant
for migrant groups.
“I, for example, wasn’t able to plan my life (…) I came here mostly to learn English and I have
to take one-to-one classes because I have to cancel. If they call me to work on Monday, I
can’t say that I can’t work. It’s difficult. Organising my life… Especially to learn English.”
Unskilled Occupation Group
22 Part-time employment: employment per half-day. The minimum salary per hour in the United Kingdom (National Minimum wage) has varied from £6,08 in 2011, £6,19 from October 2012 until reaching £6,31 from October 2013.
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“As I have some savings, I wanted to invest them to learn English, in an English language
school. But with the shifts it’s impossible; and taking a break seems unfeasible.” Unskilled
Occupation Group
Having a precarious work situation is common in emigrating populations, who work for the
salary and are therefore confined to occupations requiring lower levels of qualifications. The
consequences of these work positions are a large barrier which greatly affects the access to
social networks and to good living conditions.
C. The Challenging Access to Integrative Social Networks
The social networks are perceived by the new Spanish in Edinburgh as a critical element to
integration. The lack of relations with Scottish people or the difficulty in consolidating these
relations not only reveals a particular gap which obstructs and affects the well-being of the
participants, but it also points to one of the major challenges to integration: the possibility of
accessing linking-type networks, which are the ones that relate individuals and networks of
different levels of power and different types. These would favour the access to resources,
equality and a feeling of belonging, i.e. integration.
As Castel points out, social networks are a necessary element to integration, as the lack of
access to these linking-type social networks may create a significant barrier such as in the
case of the Spanish community.
There is disagreement when it comes to this dimension of the access to linking networks, but
there is a consensus in considering it difficult or almost impossible to achieve. Often, the new
Spanish in Edinburgh find themselves in bounding-type networks, which are mostly made up
of other Spanish, as well as bridging-type ones, in which other immigrants take part.
“Normally for a long time you can only integrate, I don’t know, 30% or something like that…
For almost everything, you can rely on the community, let’s say…” Skilled Occupation Group
So the way in which Spanish people in Edinburgh take part in social networks is seen as
precarious and not very integrative. According to the participants, the Spanish community
faces the situation described by Rosa Aparicio and Andrés Tornos in the case of the
immigrants in Spain:
“It is a whole social sector which is internally connected with intensity through its bounding-
type networks, but lacks (or almost lacks) in bridging and linking-type networks which would
expand the connections to other sectors, this social sector will to a greater or lesser extent
be marginalised from the possibilities that are offered beyond its internal relational life.” (p.
141)
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Participants identify luck as the reason for gaining access or not, to linking-type social
networks:
“- Well in my case, I joined a Japanese choir (laughter) and there I met two Scottish girls and
we became friends, and we would hang out…
- MODERATOR: SO BASICALLY… YOU HAD THE ABILITY.
-No, no, I was lucky…!” Non-Settling Group
D. The Language Barrier
The language barrier appears across all the other barriers or elements related to integration.
It is also a characteristic of the migration issue.
The language stands out as the greatest barrier when it comes to integrating. This problem
appears in the form of two main elements of integration: occupation and social networks.
The problems faced when interacting and attempting to integrate are associated to the
language and not to issues of discrimination on the basis of race or nationality. The
differences emphasised are not thought to be associated to any type of discrimination,
although they are associated to structural differences. So there seems to be an issue with
acknowledging the situation of disadvantage associated with nationality, this would leave the
subjects unarmed and confined to a situation with even fewer prospects.
The language becomes in the discourse the general justification of the disadvantage. The
issue of the language in the case of the Spanish immigrants in Edinburgh functions as an
objective cause or one that is made objective by the members of the community, which
justifies the existing distribution of the opportunities of power while at the same time
exonerating the established groups.
The concern over the language appears to be dependent on the amount of time in which the
participants have been established, that is, the amount of time dedicated to learning and
practising the language. However, in the experience of the participants, they do not seem to
notice any improvement: it is not easy to practice and learning appears as a challenge in
itself.
Furthermore, the seniority does not indicate any resolution of the problems caused by
language difficulties. On the contrary, many of the experiences and reflections reported by
the participants highlight the persistence of the mentioned barriers once the obstacle of the
language is overcome.
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“No, no, after that, once you are bilingual it happens as well! Once you speak a good English
and you’ve spent some time here, I think there is a limit with Scottish people which you can’t
go beyond. I don’t know what goes on, I don’t understand. I still haven’t found the reason.”
Unskilled Occupation Group
“I think it’s difficult to find a job that is in your field. Even if you have an Advanced level.”
Unskilled Occupation Group
Some have witnessed the opposite circumstance, that is, the lack of seniority and the level
of English as a language barrier have not been as significant when accessing a work position.
“I went to the interview without knowing any English, but well, I said “nod with your head
to whatever you can”. It’s what I thought before going (…) And to be honest I already knew
that they would realise that I didn’t know English well but they still hired me” Separation
Group
The language appears as a communication problem but it is also a problem in that it takes
time, management, money, etc. It is also a source of frustration and a way of getting to know
other Spanish people, which is an additional problem.
“(regarding differences in the new life) No, I haven’t experienced many, the only thing is to
adapt to a language but even that... In reality I haven’t had to do much, only to look for work,
to read webpages, to apply for work and things like that. It requires more effort, I take a lot
longer. But in reality sometimes I feel that I haven’t left Spain
P we are only Spanish in the flat but we speak English,
X. I’m so jealous. And are you managing?” Separation Group
“(…) to me, the most gratifying thing with my job is that I have to speak English, so I say:
Look, the pay might be low but I don’t have to spend money in the academy, you know? So
it’s good...” Separation Strategy Group
The challenge of the language appears as a personal problem, mainly due to a lack of will,
to not putting enough effort into it. Despite being Spanish-speaking, which could be an
advantage, of a generation that has studied English, etc., the situation of disadvantage due
to the subjects themselves seems undeniable.
“With Scottish people it’s very difficult because you don’t understand anything I only talk to
them when there’s no other way, it takes me a lot of effort. I don’t have a very strong will
for these things.” Separation Strategy Group
The responsibility of not knowing English and the consequences lie with the Spanish that
have not been able to or wanted to do it. However, the fact that they are treated with dignity
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by the locals deserves gratitude and is often praised. This reveals a low self-esteem on the
part of the group.
We take the greatest barrier in this respect to be, not the difficulty in speaking English but
the challenges in learning it. This leads to a multitude of consequences related to all the
facets of integration. It also situates the Spanish people in an apparently definitive position
in which the difficulty in integrating linking-type networks is combined with the impossibility
of practising the language, the necessity of coordinating work and English learning, the
frustration when facing the impossibility of meeting the goals, etc.
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VIII. IMAGE ASSOCIATED WITH THE SPANISH PEOPLE LIVING IN EDINBURGH
1. Image the Spanish Community in Edinburgh has of the
city and of Scottish people
When we ask about Edinburgh, the city is compared to London and specific advantages of
the Scottish city are put forward: it is less expensive, it is smaller (the use of public transports
can be avoided and the distances are shorter), the population density is lower and the people
are more open by nature. Moreover, the proximity to Spain is pointed out along with the
affordable price of the flights. On the other hand, the only group whose members have skilled
occupations, whom we assume to have better work conditions and better wages, highlight
the quality of life. What is seen as the major downside is the climate, the shortage of light in
the winter months as well as the lack of life in the street in comparison with Spain.
When asked about Scottish people, the following adjectives are used: pleasant, friendly,
good-mannered, quiet, welcoming, noble. They are seen as less reserved, distant or cold
than other British groups, but more so than Spanish people. Moreover, they are considered
as punctual, organised, rigid, formal and respectful. Situations are mentioned in which they
lose their formal behaviour, and these are normally linked to the working environment or to
the consumption of alcohol.
The consumption of alcohol is seen as holding a central role in social gatherings within the
Scottish culture, whereas Spanish people would add food to their use of alcohol. Generally,
the typical gastronomy and the food habits of Scottish people are not liked.
The skilled occupation group adds that Scottish people are understanding and patient, that
they have greater social conscience as much at the level of citizens as at the political level,
and that they are more respectful and tolerant than Spanish people when faced with different
ways of thinking (e.g.: in politics).
All the groups agree in recognising a barrier in getting to know and establishing a relationship
with the locals. It is not considered as occurring spontaneously, but rather as requiring will
and effort on the part of the foreigner, in addition to a factor of luck. The relationships that
are established are characterised as distant and formal, where it is difficult to reach intimacy.
“You already know that none of your English-speaking friends will save your life. You know
that the relationships are colder…” Skilled Occupation Group
“We don’t go much past than having a beer, because it’s the truth … we get along just fine,
sure, but that´s about it… nothing more…”
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“I’ve actually made Scottish friends, it’s been the result of… effort.” Non-Settling Group
Various factors are referred to as obstacles to this relationship between Spanish and the
locals, such as the language deficiencies in English or scarce intentions of the Scottish to
communicate. This is excused by the participants using their forms of relationships (colder,
more distant …) or by referring to a lack of interest.
“…quite open…but even so they are still more reserved than us, as a culture, as a way of
being… even among themselves! They are a bit more reserved. So if they are already
reserved among themselves, it´ll be the same with outsiders. So we can take that from them,
not because we are Spanish but because we are different in the way we act in a relationship…
it’s difficult to have a deep relationship, to share feelings…they don’t do that a lot among
themselves, we can be more open in that sense.” Unskilled Occupation Group
Moreover, different ways of communicating are observed between the two communities. For
instance, Scottish people are seen as having a distinctive sense of humour and as not being
very direct when expressing themselves. The latter is explained from two points of view: one
positive which qualifies it as formality and good manners and one negative where it is seen
as hypocrisy and desire to avoid conflict and confrontation.
“-…they make a lot of detours to say things. They’re not very direct. When they want to tell
you something, they start turning round, so that you realise but without them having to tell
you…”
“… what they call being “polite”, I call hypocrisy. Because they are sacking you and they tell
you with a smile from ear to ear.” Unskilled Occupation Group
“It takes them a lot of effort… when they have to tell you something… I mean, bad
things…they are people that make detours… They avoid confrontation from all sides. And
they´d rather write it to you in a message and not say it to your face” Non-Settling Group
In other instances, these difficulties in relationships are said not to necessarily derive from
problems with the language and this becomes more obvious as the level of English improves.
Many of the witnesses refer to a greater ease in creating relationships in English with people
of other nationalities than the Scottish.
“And… I know people from here. I’ve met people at work… but from there to making friends,
I don’t have friends yet. It takes effort here making friends.
D. There is a limit / I. It’s because there is a very strong barrier which is the language.
D. No, no, after that, once you’re bilingual it still happens! Once you speak good English, and
you’ve spent time here, I think there is a limit you can’t go beyond with Scottish people. … I
have friends… Slovakian and from other European countries. But none Scottish… And other
foreigners I know experience the same thing…” Unskilled Occupation Group
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“I have Scottish friends… one, a girl actually! but it’s like an exception… it’s easier to make
friends with people that are here but not from here.” Non-Settling Group
If we compare the opinion of each of the groups about Scottish people, we observe through
the discourse of the group with skilled occupation that its members are less prone to resorting
to stereotypes than the rest and that the images used to describe the Scots are more varied
and complex. We believe that these opinions result from a greater level of interaction, even
though that group also considers it difficult to establish relations with native people. On the
other hand, and especially in the case of the group that uses a separation strategy, Scottish
people are referred to with the uncertainty stemming from lack of experience.
“… although, I don’t actually know enough Scottish people to judge...” Separation Group
2. Self-Image of the Spanish Community Resident in
Edinburgh
The members of the groups describe the Spanish community in Edinburgh as large, visible
and closed, with a tendency to form small groups and ghettoes. They see it as being
integrated to the context but not so integrated socially.
“We integrate more or less, but at the end of the day, if you can rely on the community,
that’s all you need. You can stay with them, you speak a bit of English here and there but
you spend time with the members of your community… And integration will be similar: you
speak English more or less here and there but your community is the one it is…” Skilled
Occupation Group
“We Spanish really love to get together with other Spanish. We’re very closed” Non-Settling
Group
“- Moderator: Is the Spanish community well integrated?
- I don’t think so. Most of them at least. (…) I did an Erasmus exchange in France and the
same happened. Everyone on one side and the Spanish on the other. It seems like we Spanish
have a tendency for… staying among ourselves, I don’t know why. ….”
“We tend to make ghettoes, I don’t know why” Unskilled Occupation Group
They perceive their socio-demographic profile as being made up mainly of young skilled (with
medium or higher level of studies) and without dependents. They claim to be aged between
twenty-five and thirty-five years old.
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Some of them claim that the people that migrate rely on economic support from their families
and/or savings from a previous job and that it is the people that have the economic resources
that tend to emigrate.
“…the people that come and take a chance have support from their parents or savings…
Nobody comes here without a penny or any support. Skilled Occupation Group
“You should see who comes here. … it’s people with a first career, support from their
families, savings from a previous job… you know? You have a lot to lose but surely you
haven’t come with nothing. We definitely represent a different type of immigration, from
that of the sixties where people went to Germany to work in factories. It’s precisely for the
type of profile, there isn’t much desperation, it’s a different mentality.” Skilled Occupation
Group
It appears that the community has, generally, difficulties in speaking English, and that the
Spanish education system does not prepare the students to learn foreign languages
effectively.
“The issue of the English language. It takes us a lot of effort to speak English.”
“The level (of English) that is considered more or less good in Spain, is not a good level”
Non-Settling Group
From all the groups, we get the idea that the migration project tends to be temporary and
undefined. Some of the participants say that the project in question tends to expand in time,
while keeping alive the prospect of returning to Spain and carrying on the preceding life
project.
“I think that everyone is in both things. One day you say “I’m staying forever” and another
day “I’m leaving tomorrow”. Skilled Occupation Group
“Quite often your best pal leaves. So one day he leaves, and you make friendship with some
other guy and he leaves as well and… I haven’t been here long! But I’ve already seen quite a
high monthly staff turnover.” Separation Group
“I wouldn’t stay in the best of cases because my country is over there and I love it, my life
project is over there and not… here I came to progress, to do as much as possible for my life
project over there, not here, you know? No way… no, no.” Separation Group
A. Image of the Employment and Economic Situation of the Community.
In all the focus groups, the participants perceive that most of the Spanish people residing in
Edinburgh gain access to unskilled professions with precarious working conditions and
wages, regardless of their level of qualification. The employees who become part of the
Spanish community are waiters/waitresses, housekeepers and kitchen-porters. According to
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their discourse, these positions allow them to gain economic independence, i.e. to pay their
rent, often within shared flats, and the possibility to face everyday living expenses.
“Man, you’ll find everything! But most of us have an intermediate level of English and low
qualification levels. I’m not 100%, but most of us waiters, housekeepers, kitchen-porters.
Then you have people that have been lucky and who work here as engineers, or whatever…,
but they are a minority. The majority are waiters, kitchen-porters and housekeepers. That’s
the top three.” Unskilled Occupation Group
The access to skilled jobs, with good working conditions and wages and, if possible, related
to the professional career, is perceived as a goal that very few achieve and as a possible
future opportunity to which they could aspire after a long process of personal effort. This
process is seen by the participants as unavoidable, where they have to start from scratch
(least skilled job), whereas the English language difficulties need to be overcome.
“You’d think that… there are lots of opportunities but in reality, I don’t know any Spanish
person working as technical architect or something like that, that is related to their career…
In fact, all of us Spanish people work in hospitality. Some of us have a position that is a bit
better… But generally it’s not the case. They don’t give you the opportunity of working in a
bank or something like that, because our English is not very good” Non-Settling Group
“There are people who would like to skip the step of having to work anywhere in order to
learn English, when in fact… it’s a step you have to take” Non-Settling Group
The discourse used by the groups reveals the perception that in the type of occupations held
by local people are different from the migrants’ and that the latter are left with the jobs that
the first do not want, as these tend to be associated with less qualified positions with higher
degrees of precariousness both with regards to work and to wages.
“…they don´t get paid the minimum wage like the rest of us that came here to work, doesn´t
matter whether you’re a teacher, an engineer or whatever, they will pay you 6.19. I haven’t
come across any Spanish that gets 7.” Separation Group
“Moderator: Do you think that the jobs that we have are bad jobs which they don’t…?
- X. Yes, the ones they don’t want
- Me. The jobs we do are the lowest jobs and Scottish people don’t want them” Separation
Group
It was mentioned that the Spanish community in Edinburgh might be focusing their search in
unskilled jobs, because they think that is where the opportunities can be found.
“…I think that in this city, really, everyone is working as waiter, kitchen-porter and
housekeeper… But also because you think that you won’t be able to find work in your field
so you don’t even try.” Unskilled Occupation Group
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The image of the extent and expansion of the Spanish community is perceived by its
members as an increase in competition for the access to employment within the employment
niches available to them.
“… It’s not the same as 2 or 3 years ago, we were a lot less and we could more easily get a
job that required few qualifications. Today it’s quite a lot more difficult.” Unskilled
Occupation Group
The image of generalised deficiencies with respect to the English language amongst Spanish
people is the most recurrent argument used to justify this situation.
“So, we have qualifications, a lot of qualifications under our belt, but we always get to the
same point: the language. Unless we master the language, we can’t get these jobs, it makes
sense.” Separation Group
“I suppose that if you have a very good level of English, you can get the job you want. If you
can manage to work in English, I suppose you won’t have any problems, you’ll have the same
opportunities as anyone…” Unskilled Occupation Group
Whether it is blamed on the language difficulties (assuming that Spanish people are by
definition bad at communicating in English) or on the type of job they look for, the image we
get is that the responsibility for the situation is fundamentally attributed to the immigrants.
However, some participants claim that it is not easy to access the desired employment once
the requisites are met. We believe that the language handicap hides the perception of other
barriers to the access to skilled jobs.
“Once you have a good level of English and your degrees, it’s still not easy to find something
in your field…”
“I think it’s difficult to find a skilled job…They are a bit racist… ”
“There are two barriers. The first one is when you don’t speak English at all. …Then, once
you speak English very well, you have an ‘advanced’ level, etc., it’s the same. …we’ll never
be like native English speakers.” Unskilled occupation Group
“L2. I know people who came here, with contacts in the country and a very good level of
English and who left three months later because they couldn’t find work. Well, because they
couldn’t find a job in what they wanted.” Skilled Occupation Group
The members of the focus groups perceive the Spanish community in Edinburgh to be a
frequent victim of exploitation and infringement on workers’ rights, as they carry out tasks
that are physically demanding, during very long days (sometimes longer than what has been
agreed), which negatively affects their physical and mental well-being, They consider that
the community is exposed and misinformed about their rights and duties and that the salary
to which they have access only allows them to live modestly or, as some term it, to “survive”.
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“- X… I don’t know where labour rights are in this place, where are the unions, you know?
Here I haven’t heard anything about labour rights, nothing…” Separation Group
“- J. you have to work a lot of hours to pay the two, three things that need to get paid. Here
you have to work so many more hours…! Yes there is no time to live, you have to work …
- X Minimum. The salary is 600 pounds, you know?... to rent a social flat, for a cheap
rent…and for an average quality of life it’s ok you know, but you have to work all day.
- J. It’s true. The jobs that are available are badly-paid jobs. The jobs we tend to get are jobs
which, supposedly the people from here don’t want, so they are jobs in hospitality,
cleaning… the ones we all know about.
- Me. Yes, and they’re jobs that kill you as well. I don’t know about you but… I have worked
here until I was knackered… at the end of the month, my back was hurting, my wrist, my
fingers, my legs, everything was hurting and it’s like, fuck this!, I’m going to quit my job to…to
get well or something
- J. As much physically as mentally” Separation Group
As previously mentioned, some of the participants in the focus groups consider that most of
the Spanish migrants do not start with a precarious situation without any resources, despite
the difficulty in accessing employment in Spain, but that they can count on the economic
support of their families and/or on savings from a previous job.
By the same token, the discourse indicates that in Edinburgh, the same migrants can achieve
a situation of economic independence from their access to work, although the situation in
question is often socially and economically precarious and it often involves downgrading of
the social status.
It is not infrequent to see social downgrading in the host context, due to the fact that the
working environment does not correspond to that of the worker’s class of origin, which
obstructs the establishment in the group corresponding to his social class and therefore the
identification process.
The temporary aspect of the migration project is referred to as a factor that helps individuals
accepting the precariousness of this new situation and specific job types which would be
difficult to accept in the country of origin. The downgrading of the social status, accepting the
self-image related to the economic migration and the stigma associated with the reference
community in the host context, all act in this direction.
The migration experience is seen as a life experience that is reversible, as, in most of the
cases, those who have emigrated (mainly young people, without dependents, and benefiting
from support from their families in Spain) have the option of going back to their initial situation,
provided that they give up their independence.
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“- 2 Well, you always start from scratch, I think.
- 6 Of course. But in Spain, you’re not going to look for a job in “housekeeping” Non-Settling
Group
“You have to work in something” And here we have our engineers working as kitchen
porters, fantastic! Doing the jobs that the British don’t want to do, just like we wouldn’t want
to in Spain.” Unskilled Occupation Group
“- Me. The Spanish are ok with it because in a way, they take it as something temporary.
- X. Exactly, that’s the key. Because you know it’s temporary and listen!, if it’s for a year or
two I won’t die, but if you have to think about raising your children and…Well, no, man, you
get out of here” Separation Group
“.…the price is high, if you’re lucky you can survive, but I don’t know anyone that lives. But
it’s all relative, it’s better than in Spain because in Spain, either you live at home with your
parents or nothing” Unskilled Occupation Group
B. Image of Social Networks and the Support from the Spanish Community.
In all the groups, we find the ideal of avoiding or limiting the contact with other Spanish along
with the objective of intensifying the relationships with the locals or other English speakers.
This is accompanied by the perception that there is a clear tendency for Spanish people to
get together among themselves, which they consider difficult to avoid. In fact, the group
whose networks are basically Spanish, see it as impossible. This difficulty tends to be
explained by the mass presence of Spanish people in Edinburgh and their high density, their
shared relational spaces (work, language schools…), the support relationships which are
created by necessity and the sharing of the language.
“… It’s difficult. I admit that even if you want to, it’s difficult. Because the type of work we
want, in hospitality is full of Spanish.”
“At first, I tried to avoid it… but the thing is that they come to you, it’s like a magnet effect.
I don’t know why, but you end up meeting Spanish people and I suppose that they’re the
ones with whom you can best identify, so you end up making friends with them”. Unskilled
Occupation Group
“- X but if you go to a small village where there is no one, there you can avoid Spanish people.
Here, it’s for sure that you can’t avoid them.
- Me. No, it’s not impossible but… / - J almost. / - P. yes. / - J. Almost impossible”
“…we close up in a ghetto.” Separation Group
“I’ve given up with this subject (avoiding spending time with other Spanish). Well, if my
friends have to be Spanish, so what…” Non-Settling Group
Another image that is attributed to Spanish people is the lack of will or interest in getting to
know the other and their culture.
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“It’s a matter of will. If you want to… It may take some effort. The problem is that, the more
people there are…the easy way out is always to get together…the natural tendency is to stay
and look for the easiest and most comfortable but, if you have a clear idea and you want to
make the most of your time, you find a way. …It’s not easy! Of course. But it’s possible.”
Non-Settling Group
“E. I think that it’s a community which is struggling to integrate. … us Spanish we tend to
make ghettoes, we don’t care about the language, the culture of other people. “There is no
other place like Spain for a good life”. And we bring this with us wherever we go.” Unskilled
Occupation Group
“It also depends on you. If you come here with people you know, you live with Spanish
people and work with Spanish people… well you won’t learn English in a year, or two or
three. I know people who have lived here for many years and because of this situation they
don’t …” Unskilled Occupation Group
From the prevailing discourse, we understand that there is a huge interest in learning English
and getting to know English speakers. At the same time, the English language is perceived
as the main barrier to establishing relationships with the natives. This interest is crippled by
the communication challenges we have discussed. Some of the participants refer to a “lack
of connection” and claim that, when expressing themselves in English, they cannot behave
naturally, and feel judged as being clumsy or stupid.
“-… it changes a lot, when you speak in Spanish… You’re more yourself! Of course, because
when I speak English sometimes I feel like an idiot. … Or you can’t express yourself…”
- “I think it’s because you lose part of your personality” Non-Settling Group
“If I work for a day… if I do a whole day, at the end when I get home I need to have a
conversation in Spanish… feel at ease, … and you are yourself, … you’re a different person in
each language. In Basque I behave in a certain way, in Castilian I behave in a different way
and in English well… I feel stupid… like, it´s hard to convey things.” Separation Group
When we talk about the difficulty for Spanish and native people to establish social
relationships, the first group attribute it to factors that depend fundamentally on the
immigrants. These factors include gaps in the knowledge of the local language, lack of
interest or motivation (the same occur with the difficulties in accessing skilled employment).
In this sense, the image that arises is that of immigrants being responsible for their own
situation, whilst the locals have a more passive role. Nevertheless, some participants also
claim that once the initial barriers are overcome, the situation does not change radically,
which implies that there must be other factors obstructing the relationship (which were
developed in the section on the barriers experienced).
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“… at the beginning, when I arrived, I didn’t want to hang out with Spanish people so I went
towards other people… So now I almost don’t know anyone from here, I mean, I almost don’t
know any Spanish people but I actually know very few people who are from here.” Non-
Settling Group
The skilled occupation group, which incidentally is the only group that qualifies the Spanish
community as closed, mentions distance and formality, if not a certain degree of coldness, in
the relationships they tend to form with Scottish people. Other groups blame the difference
in mentality for the difficulty in forming relationships and the lack of interest on their part.
(These issues were developed in the section that deals with the image the Spanish
community holds of the local population).
“- Do you think that integration is directly linked to the language?
- I. I think so, yes. / - D. The first level is one thing and then…
- E And the mentality. / - S. Yes, the mentality.
-…D. Also, the people that are already working here, they speak English but their groups of
friends, from what I see, they only hang out with Spanish people! They have one or two
Scottish friends but the groups they rely on are Spanish.” Unskilled Occupation Group
“… Even among themselves! They are a bit more closed. If they are closed with each other,
they will of course be so with people from outside. So we can take this from them, it’s not
because we are Spanish, but because they are different in their relationships.” Unskilled
Occupation Group
It is a common notion that the level of contact with the locals determines the degree of
integration, rather than the relationship with other communities or groups which also form
part of the social life in the city.
“Integrated no. Integrated I don’t think so… You’re integrated when you open up as much
to other Spanish as to Scottish people and I think that this…doesn’t happen. …” Separation
Group
“Maybe this is not the real Scotland. There are people from all over the world… You have to
integrate in this, which is what there is. If you went towards the north, of course we would
integrate, come on! In two months we would be super integrated…!” Skilled Occupation
Group
There is a lack of opportunities for the development of relationships between Spanish and
local people as the current opportunities are mostly found in the work environment.
“- J.… I have seen cases where they try to avoid Spanish people at all costs, because
otherwise they don’t learn /
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- X. My brother that’s what he did, he went somewhere on his own and he didn’t want any
contact with Spanish speakers. … He wanted to live in English, but he sacrificed himself
socially, because he didn’t have…He had the social relationship that I now have with English
speakers, well a bit at work” Separation Group
“… People mostly hang out with other Spanish people and as an exception to the rule you
can find one person who hangs out with someone from work, with a friend they have…”
Separation Group
“…Young people…you see gangs of Scottish people and gangs of Spanish people. Sure, some
of them will interact at work, but generally…” Non-Settling Group
“Anyway, I don’t know if any of you have Scottish friends, I haven’t become friends with
them…More at work. Now I have a Scottish friend and it’s great.” Unskilled Occupation
Group
One of the groups claims that the gender could have an influence when it comes to forming
relationships with the locals, as it is easier for people of opposite sexes to do so. However,
this issue is not echoed in other groups, so no conclusions can be drawn on the subject.
C. The Stigmatised Image of the Spanish Community in Edinburgh.
The skilled occupation group claims that there is ignorance with regards to the image the
Scots hold of the Spanish community in Edinburgh. They attribute this phenomenon to the
lack of communication on the issue and they wonder whether the community is apparent to
them, and whether they see it as socially integrated and as an active community agent in the
social life of Edinburgh. Furthermore, they perceive the recurrent political discourses around
immigration as being mostly negative and populist, as they debate over the risks (rather than
the benefits) of immigration and over the possibility of adopting restrictive measures against
immigrants, such as in public services and social benefits.
Most of the groups believe that, in principle, Scottish people have a positive image of Spanish
people, which is closely related to the image of the Spanish culture promoted by the tourism
industry. In this sense, they think they are considered sociable and likeable. They claim that
the Scots like the Spanish climate, the more traditional cuisine, the artistic folklore and other
stereotypical customs such as the siesta.
This image is only transformed when the Spanish are associated with immigration. They then
feel they are linked to the use (and sometimes the abuse) of public services and social
benefits of the host country. The host society develops an exclusion attitude towards
immigrants based on the competition for resources of various types (e.g: economic).
Therefore, negative stereotypes are associated with the community that lead to its
stigmatisation (Goffman, E. 2006).
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“Lazy” and “sponger” are the negative stereotypes that emerge most often during the debate.
“- When they meet Spanish people the first thing they do is “Ole and siesta”…
- Yes that’s right. The thing about the siesta is really strong right?”
“These jokes… they tell them for fun but they say it right? It goes: “But how can you work so
hard? Are you not Spanish? Right” Don’t mess with me.”
“He said “Ah you’re Spanish?” And I said “Yes”. He told me in English word for word:
“Fucking Spanish, you’re thieves. You only come here to take the money and you don’t
work.” Non-Settling Group
All the groups believe that the Spanish community in Edinburgh is victim of this stigma,
although some of them consider that the reputation of Spanish people for abusing social
benefits is much more common within their own community than among the local population.
“- A. I often wonder if the bad reputation is not our own idea that we generate among
ourselves. because I don’t have any contacts here that tell me that we have a bad
reputation.…” Unskilled Occupation Group
“- Moderator: do you think that Scottish people think that the Spanish are a bit cheeky or
freeloaders? - X. I think it’s more us Spanish who think this of ourselves rather than the Scots”
Separation Group
The separation group highlights the fact that the abuse of social benefits is not the sole
domain of Spanish people, but rather that it is common among local people too. Curiously,
the rest of the groups do not mention this in relation to the natives or people from other
nationalities who find themselves in the same circumstances.
Other common attributes are that Spanish people speak too loud and that they are not very
punctual, that they are noisy, informal, bad-mannered and disrespectful.
When faced with the negative stigma attributed to the Spanish community, we see various
differentiation strategies emerge on the part of its members.
Some participants put forward the negative stereotypes attributed to the community, after
manifesting repulsion and emphasising the characteristics that distinguish them as
individuals (social utility, adoption of norms and customs…).
“-…it scares me to say I’m Spanish. As there are so many of us, I’m reluctant to say that I’m
Spanish. As if I don’t know what they’re going to think of me.
- I have a friend, (…) who when you ask her if she’s Spanish, the first thing she says is “yes,
I’m Spanish but I study here” because otherwise it’s as if they associate you with the rest of
them, they assume that we come here to hang out. I’ve not come here to hang out. To party.
Of course you find everything, some come for that and some don’t.” Non-settling Group
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All the groups, except the skilled occupation group, claim that their own Spanish community
criticises and suppresses the sector of Spanish people to whom the characteristics of lazy
and spongers (unemployed and those that get social benefits or intend to do so), and they
are blamed for the bad reputation which then affects the rest of the community.
“But just as I hate it when someone tells me “Fucking Spanish, who come here to get our
money, or whatever”, I hate it when we Spanish actually do that, it’s something
that…disgusts me of the Spanish… it makes me feel fucking ashamed!!” Non-Settling Group
“- Yes because someone will say “I’m going to Edinburgh in 3 weeks, can you tell me how it
works with the benefits? And some people will go mental about that and they will start an
argument”....
- In the end, here they are good and all, but they’re going to come to an end… the benefits.
If everyone starts asking for them…!” Non-settling Group
Another strategy is that of “social competition” (Crocker y Mayor, 1989; Mayor, 1994) in which
inter-group social comparisons are made including with stigmatised groups or for which the
stereotypes that characterise them are in their favour. For instance, Spanish people who
have lived longer in Edinburgh will reject the Spanish who have arrived more recently. The
former group say of the latter that they do not know how to behave, that they do not show
respect, that they create riots and that they always want to go out and party. When it comes
to the length of stay, they talk about different degrees of maturity, change of mentality and of
higher level of integration.
The skilled occupation group uses this strategy; whereas the separation group is aware of it.
“… the people who have just arrived and who don’t really know what to do or who are only
here for a short period of time, I’m not going to say that they make us reject one another
but well… For example we were in a supermarket and we were thinking “these have got to
be Spanish” because of the noise and the jokes they were making on the food… It’s like a
feeling of repulsion from those of us who have been here longer, I don’t know if we’re
integrated, but at least we don’t do certain things. And the people that are just arriving, it’s
like: “behave yourself!” Skilled Occupation Group
“X and then when you meet people who have been here for longer, I think they are a bit
reluctant towards the newly-arrived...” Separation Group
D. Perception of Situations of Inequality and Discrimination Processes and/or Social
Exclusion linked to the Spanish Community in Edinburgh.
All the groups, except the skilled occupation group (whose members also recognise the
difficulty for Spanish people in accessing skilled employment), discuss the idea of whether
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the Spanish community is living a situation of inequality when it comes to the access to
resources in addition to a situation of social discrimination and exclusion.
The separation strategy group, whose contact with Scottish people is minimal, talks about a
situation of widespread inequality between the living conditions of Spanish people and the
locals, but it denies discrimination and attributes these differences to the language difficulties.
In the unskilled qualification group, some participants find that several communities of
immigrants are victim of discrimination.
“…Some agencies just hang up on you. It happened to me a year ago and I couldn’t
understand, if you were Spanish they didn’t want to hear anything…”
“I don’t know if it’s true. I heard that in some places there are signs to say that they are
looking for staff but please, no Spanish. I haven’t seen it personally.”
“…I think it’s difficult to find a skilled job…They are a bit racist…”
“- I.… And here you’re an immigrant. Here, there are companies where, if you’re an
immigrant, it weighs on you… Although they have anti-discrimination policies and all the rest
of it. I’ve seen this.…” Unskilled Occupation Group
“… I haven’t noticed any rude gestures for being Spanish… So I assume that they don’t have
a lot of problems. For example I have noticed worse attitudes towards Polish people. I have
seen signs that they don´t like them much. I don’t know why, I have no idea. But with us
Spanish, I’ve seen nothing of the kind.” Unskilled occupation Group
The group with no intentions of settling offers similar accounts.
In some instances, these discriminatory acts are justified by the participants by claiming that
it is fair to apply them to Spanish people who get social benefits while being unemployed.
These are made responsible for the bad reputation which impacts the entire Spanish
community.
“-… He said “Ah you’re Spanish?” And I said “Yes”. He told me in English word for word:
“Fucking Spanish, you’re thieves. You only come here to take the money and you don’t work.
…I had already heard that some things had happened to other people but well, really?, I’d
never experienced anything that direct. And for me well… you’re saying this to me who’s
worked here from the first month… And I haven’t asked for any benefits or anything!
- But it’s normal! … There are loads of Spanish who do it! We have to accept it. …It makes
sense for them not to trust us, it’s like why do you come here, to be a leech?
- No, no, no! Of course! … I take it on …
- Of course. Believe me I understand, and a lot of people do it but shit!, there are also a lot
of people who are honest and are working hard in what they can and are sending money
back home.” Non-settling Group
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On other occasions, this discrimination is felt by the participants to originate merely from
them being immigrant.
“…if you’re Scottish, things are a lot easier. For the prejudice or… for the mistrust… they
don’t want to give you more responsibilities, because you’re a foreigner. Three managers
have overtaken me while I was the one who had been there the longest. Before I became
manager almost seven months had passed. So at the end it was like Ok then! You’ve earned
it! And useless people you know? I consider that I’ve worked well from the beginning. I could
have kept rising but no…other people from here have gone up, as it could be expected!”
Non-settling Group
“It happened to me with a lecturer in College. …telling us…. “you’re here stealing the taxes
that I’m paying and you should know that this won’t last forever. That you’ve been lucky to
arrive this year, that you’re studying for free…” And the fact that if you fail a class it’s not the
same as if a Scottish student fails. You’re not taking as much out of the class because he’s
paid it with his taxes. … And he doesn’t see it in the same way if a Scot does it in class. It’s a
shock realising that…” Non-settling Group
3. Approximation of the Image that Scottish People Have
of the Spanish Community in Edinburgh.
Although it is not a central aspect of this study, we wanted to add a brief analysis of the image
that the local population has of the Spanish community. Despite the fact that it is not part of
our objectives, it is an aspect to take into account in the two-directional process of social
integration. We therefore suggest that future research should delve deeper into this aspect.
It is to be noted that this analysis was derived from a single focus group with participants of
Scottish nationality and that the sample does not represent any particular segment of the
population but it cannot be considered random either. This should be remembered when
reading the analysis.
A. General Perception of Immigration:
The phenomenon of immigration is a complex process which has a considerable impact at
the social level not only for the migrants and within the emigrating society, but also in the
host society. In countries that are receiving immigrants, the host population may develop
logics of exclusion towards the immigrants on the basis of three dimensions (Solé. C; Perellá.
S; Alarcón. A; Bergalli, V; Francesc, G. 2000): citizen security, cultural identity and
competition for resources.
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The fear of identity loss consists in being afraid that the cultural difference cannot be
overcome and that one’s customs are under attack. Within the analysed group, the fear of
identity loss is felt particularly strongly due to the number of immigrants seen in the city in
the last two or three decades. We think that this characteristic can easily be extrapolated to
the population in general in the case of Edinburgh due to the historical importance of the
Scottish cultural identity and its current particular relevance as a consequence of the
referendum for the independence of Scotland on the 18th of September 2014. This fear
however is not directed at the Spanish community, but more generally at the immigrant
population although it is said that the Spanish community is less adapted to Scottish culture
than other immigrant groups.
The logic of exclusion refers to the economic dimension or the competition for resources and
manifests itself, in this case, in the fear of the appropriation of jobs by the immigrants and of
the loss of economic resources due to the investments in benefits and social programmes
used by the immigrant population, or in resources directed specifically to them:
[talking about immigrant integration programs] ‘I think in an economic climate like this, why
is that being privileged over something else? Things have to be prioritised’
It seems encouraging to note that in our analysis we did not identify any fear by the group
under study when it comes to citizen security.
B. Perception of the Spanish Community in Edinburgh
Lack of knowledge appears around the Spanish population in Edinburgh, along with a varied
and unequal perception when it comes to its size and idiosyncrasy. The Spanish population
is considered in general terms as another part of the immigrant community of Edinburgh.
‘I don’t really feel I know enough about the Spanish community as a distinct entity’
Although there is lack of knowledge of the Spanish community, in the focus group, a shared
image of the Spanish community residing in Edinburgh can be seen. The image of it is that
of a young population whose aims are to stay in Edinburgh for a short period of time in order
to learn English and/or to work, after which they will return to Spain to settle down.
‘The more recent ones are coming here to learn English and hopefully to get their jobs
wherever, and that’s a recent pattern’
The Spanish community in Edinburgh is perceived as working in the service sector, which is
considered as a professional area with low social status, as the jobs do not require high levels
of qualification, and the work and salary are precarious, and they are generally carried out
by young people.
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In addition to the association of the Spanish community with unskilled jobs, it is also
perceived as young which adds to the image of their being unstable. This reinforces the
image of a temporary immigrant group without plans to start a family; the latter being an
element which makes the community count less as part of the society.
‘A lot of Spanish people are working in bars and entertainment. Maybe we don’t value that
as much. It’s a transient job’
C. Perceived Barriers to Integration
The idea that emerges as strongest during the focus group is the perception that Spanish
people are a group of immigrants who came to Edinburgh without any intentions of settling
down.
‘if you hear a Spanish voice you tend to assume they are a tourist’
This fact is related to the difficulty of the group in finding work and establishing relationships
with the local community, which is one of the greatest barriers to integration.
Moreover, the short-term nature of the immigration project is a source of negative image for
the Spanish community, as it relates to the main fears expressed towards immigration:
competition for resources and the loss of social identity.
With regards to the fear of competition for resources, the shortness of Spanish people’s stay
is seen as confirming the image that they come to Edinburgh to benefit from the opportunities
offered: learning a language, benefitting from social support from the State and accessing
the labour market. This is perceived to be done without having – again due to the short-term
– any political or civic affiliation, which is one of the fundamental pillars of integration identified
by Subirats (2004) and developed in more detail in the theoretical framework of this study.
In terms of the loss of social identity, the lack of long-term residence plans on the part of the
Spanish community is also perceived as a barrier to integration with double meaning; on the
one hand, there is an idea that the outsider population does not have enough interest in
learning about and sharing Scottish customs (which also denotes a lack of engagement as
a citizen). This in turn justifies that the Scottish community does not develop any interest in
getting closer to and establishing relationships with a community made up of people “in
transit”“ and that these revolve around precarious jobs:
‘It tends to be entry-level jobs that people get. The service industry. But now we see a LOT
of Polish names in different jobs, and different levels. People have stayed and settled’.
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IX. NEEDS
Within the European Union, European migrants occupy a privileged position compared to
non-EU migrants, as the European legislation gives them access to a degree of freedom and
a variety of rights which improves their mobility, ability to settle and to access employment
and public services in other European countries. In spite of that European citizens migrating
within the EU continue to face difficulties when adapting and integrating to the context of the
host country, which is translated into a series of concrete needs shared with non-EU
immigrants.
Detecting these needs enables the relevant authorities to promote actual equality amongst
European citizens in the city of Edinburgh, and to reinforce mobility following the true
rationale within the European Union. This, in turn, provides grounds to the claim of fair
coexistence and makes the situation consistent with the European intention to provide
equality in employment and mobility.
The needs we shall now describe refer to different agents of the integration process, from
the immigrants themselves to the local authorities and including the city residents. Moreover,
we assume the needs in question to remain unchanged, in spite of the uncertain status linked
to the short-term plans of the Spanish immigrants in Edinburgh, as the European policies
facilitate this type of mobility which could turn into a feature of European migration patterns.
By analysing the discourses used in the focus groups and the literature, we identified the
following needs of the group of the new Spanish in Edinburgh:
1) PUBLICITY AND GUARANTEE OF ACCESS TO INFORMATION AND
RESOURCES
The experience of the first contact with a new context requires information and logistic
support. The migrants may or may not rely on contacts who make them feel welcome; it is a
situation of major uncertainty as the new place, customs and norms as well as the
bureaucracy are unknown.
We identified a lack of basic information in terms of the elemental duties and obligations of
the Spanish community, and in terms of the available resources in essential topics such as
housing, employment, education, health and the tax system.
This gap of information is linked, especially upon arrival to language difficulties, which is why
we deem necessary to promote and guarantee an effective functioning of translation and
interpretation services within official institutions on the one hand, and information services
on the other.
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In spite of the presence in Edinburgh of translation, information and counselling services in
the fields of work and other basic topics, the state of ignorance in which a significant
proportion of the number of Spanish immigrants find themselves stresses the need to
restructure the channels for the access to the services in question or to build new institutional
structures, in order to ensure that the services in question reach the most vulnerable sectors
of the population.
Given that the lack of knowledge in the English language cannot account alone for the degree
of the sense of exclusion and of lack of opportunities, the visibility of interpretation and
translation services needs to be strengthened, and the services should be made available in
all the areas of public life and services.
The information offered should cover at least the following topics: healthcare, education,
labour rights, civil rights and the rights of tenants.
2) LEARNING ENGLISH
Learning the language used in the host environment is an important requirement to the
process of inclusion, and is one of the main pillars of the policies around European
integration.
The language is, as we have seen, a crucial element in the integration process and plays a
key role in various strategies used by the individuals to respond to acculturation, vulnerability
and the risk of exclusion along with other situations arising from migration.
Learning English has been identified as a central need in all aspects of the life of Spanish
people in Edinburgh. The main barriers observed are communication and learning.
The will of the new Spanish in Edinburgh to learn English is as obvious as the difficulty in
reconciling traditional systems with the rhythm and lifestyle that they experience. So the usual
channels used to learn the language (registration, language schools, the times of courses
and the timetables and costs) appear as irreconcilable with the daily life of the participants
(low-wage jobs, zero-hour contracts, instability and unpredictability of the work), which has
consequences on the work situation, social networks and the migration project, as well as on
the psychological state of the individuals.
There are many European examples23 of systems, funding schemes and models for
foreigners to learn the local language, which in some cases are compulsory (especially when
the country of origin falls outside of the European Union) and in others, they are simply
offered. For instance, in Denmark, foreigners can learn the language for free during the first
23 Detailed and comparative information can be found in the report published by the Migration
Policy Institute Europe. Collett, E. (2013)
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three years. Through these programmes, foreigners are equipped with the tools to respond
to their social and moral duties. However, the policies that support the learning of English in
the United Kingdom are based on discounts for low-income earners. For example, the
funding programme for courses and training Individual Learning Account (ILA), is awarded
on the condition that a certain level of income is not surpassed. The Edinburgh College, one
of the public institutions which provide English courses, does not offer any discount in its
English language courses for students that have recently arrived or share similar
circumstances. This creates a huge disadvantage for the students who go slightly over the
limit of income and favours speculation on the part of private schools.
For all these reasons, we believe that the Spanish community requires assistance in finding
the course format that is most suitable to their specific situations. This way, the need to learn
the language would be met with an accessible form of learning which enables breaking the
great language barrier that affects the immigrants as much as the locals and the entire
community of Edinburgh.
3) WORK ORIENTATION AND RECOGNISING EDUCATION QUALIFICATIONS
There is a profile, considered as a minority for whom a paid job is not a necessity, such as
for example, the Spanish people who migrate to Edinburgh to study and who can rely on
bursaries, savings or sufficient economic support. In the rest of cases, access to employment
is one of the major necessities.
The statistics highlight (González Ferrer, 2013) that the population moving to the United
Kingdom and to Edinburgh belongs to generations with high and diverse qualifications and
who studied English at school as a compulsory subject in primary and secondary school.
Edinburgh stands out in different sectors such as finance, renewable energy, biotechnology
and retailing. However, and in spite of the qualifications and job opportunities offered by the
city, as previously mentioned, the restriction of the Spanish community to sectors such as
hospitality or to precarious work niches which is one of the single most important factors for
the state of the community. As we pointed out, this imbalance is experienced in some cases
as individual matters, whereas we claim that it is a characteristic of immigration which reflects
a lack of adaptation of the profiles to the market and of the work context to the profiles.
Therefore, and for the benefit of both communities and of the employers, one of the emerging
necessities is that the Spanish community should be able to access other work sectors and
more highly-skilled occupations that lead to a higher quality of life.
Edinburgh offers many free resources to improve employability: from advice to design a
business plan, to accounting courses, including economic support for self-employed24.
24 We refer to the resources offered by entities such as Skills Development Scotland, Business
Gateway or the Job Centre.
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However, the challenges met by the collective of improving one’s work situation are obvious
and in many cases last over time. Moreover, the most used orientation services (i.e. that
offered by the Job Centre) do not encourage high-quality employment but rather a rapid
immersion in the labour market.
In order to improve the work situations of Spanish immigrants, we believe it is necessary to
recognise the Spanish education and academic qualification, getting to know the work culture
and professional profiles to local selection and recruitment criteria. Moreover, a revision of
the channels of access to the services required is also necessary along with the awareness
and recognition on the part of local employers, of the skills and training of the Spanish
community.
4) CREATION OF LINKING-TYPE SOCIAL NETWORKS AND SPACES FOR INTER-
COMMUNITY RELATIONSHIPS
Another aspect which obstructs the inclusion of the Spanish community in Edinburgh is the
shortage of links with social networks created by the local population. This entails various
consequences, amongst which the absence of a feeling of reciprocity, the sense of
strangeness between the groups and an increase in the perception of the differences, which
encourages the creation and/or the reinforcement of negative inter-cultural stereotypes. It is
necessary to support the establishment of bonds among the various social networks and
ensure their stability.
In order to promote the integration of the Spanish community residing in the city of Edinburgh,
it would be necessary to support or organise actions favouring intercultural exchanges and
coexistence. For example, promoting a greater variety of spaces for intercultural relations
and campaigns to fight the factors that generate discrimination, such as negative stereotypes
attributed to an ethnic or cultural group and the lack of information on what immigrant
communities contribute to the host societies or could contribute culturally, socially and
economically.
It would also be positive to support the self-organisation of the Spanish community residing
in Edinburgh and the creation of structures for self-representation which would facilitate a
dialogue with other social agents.
So, it is necessary to create activities directed at both communities and carried out in
common spaces, so as to foster the creation of these networks and the mutual knowledge of
the cultures. This closer relationship would minimise stereotypes and the perception of
cultural differences between groups, thus keeping the cultures involved from perceiving each
other as exclusionist or a threat to their identities. Both groups would thereby be enriched.
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5) IDENTIFYING THE COMMUNITY’S REPRESENTATION STRUCTURES.
The Spanish community should be recognised and structures should be created to facilitate
the dialogue with other social agents and local institutions. This relation would enable the
group to share their opinions, needs and suggestions. This would also develop the necessary
means to achieve these and spread awareness on activities that could help the community
to become socially integrated.
By supporting the new Spanish in Edinburgh in self-organising and creating stable structures,
their needs could be met, their living conditions improved and their social integration fostered.
Furthermore, it is necessary to acknowledge and sustain the already existing groups, both
the ones with wide content and objectives, such as El Punto, the Information Point in Spanish
or Vivir Edimburgo, and those with more specific topics or interests, such as Cinematicc or
Asociación Alba.
6) CREATING A NEW POSITIVE SOCIAL IDENTITY AND A FEELING OF
BELONGING
The experience of integration and the self-image of the Spanish which we have analysed
point towards a need to increase the feeling of belonging through psychological inclusion.
This includes the need to create a positive social identity, to fight against discrimination and
create a service of psychological support with a revision of its channels of access and
promotion.
A positive social identity and a feeling of belonging are necessary factors to achieve the
social integration of the community, which could enrich the coexistence of both communities.
This factor is crucial to prevent the potential frustration or exclusion from entrenching and
giving way to situations of disappointment with the subsequent risk of unleashing serious
social problems characteristic of a poor integration process of immigrant communities in the
host countries. A positive social identity is a first step towards the empowerment of the group.
Psychological support is, now offered marginally by some organisations such as Health in
Mind and, could help identifying, facing and overcoming the process of grieving which is often
endured by immigrants. This would thereby give an opportunity to increase the probabilities
for them to adapt and build a migration project which would help consolidate their feeling of
belonging.
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X. CONCLUSIONS
1) Motivations and Expectations
In the light of this analysis, we consider that Spanish people migrate to Edinburgh with the
intention to recover a feeling of control over their own lives. We will now describe the
decision-making process when choosing Edinburgh as the migration destination, and thereby
attempt to answer the question as to why so many Spanish residents are found in Edinburgh:
The Spanish youth is faced with an unexpected economic crisis which reduces its options
and frustrates its future expectations. This triggers a feeling of losing control over their lives,
and therefore a feeling of powerlessness and frustration which can, in the long run, give way
to learned helplessness. At this point, some make the decision of acting in consequence and
leaving the country in search for a constructive way of making use of their time and escaping
the lack of opportunities they face.
However, since this has been a sudden change, happening in a country which has not
witnessed significant emigration for generations, the action of leaving Spain produces in the
group a certain level of disorientation. This is reflected in the absence of a defined migration
project in terms of timeframes and of the lack of thought allocated to opportunities or
difficulties potentially involved in migrating.
Once the decision to migrate has been made, it is time to choose where to go.
The migration area is reduced to countries which are members of the European Union as
treaties of free circulation have made migration easier within Europe and as the
communication with Spain is easier financially and temporally, which fosters the feeling of
control over one’s decision to migrate and one’s possibility of return.
As previously pointed out, the possibility of occupying one’s time productively is one of the
yearnings of this generation of migrants. Mastering English is one of the skills which can be
assumed to make a significant difference in the Spanish labour market when it comes to
finding a job, and travelling to an English-speaking country means –a priori– guaranteed
success. By learning a new language, the migrants assume an increase in their employability
and –as we are referring to the universal language- in their options regarding a country of
residence.
We are therefore in the presence of a migrant group who decides to migrate for an indefinite
period of time to a country of the European Union in the hope of learning English which
provides them with a higher decision-making capacity to select the place of residence and
the labour market to which they have access. The United Kingdom becomes a destination of
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choice as it is the English-speaking country which offers the highest economic security within
the European Union.
Within the United Kingdom, it was noted that the competition arises mostly between London
and Edinburgh. This pre-selection takes place on the basis of the assumptions that, on the
one hand, it will be relatively easy to obtain work, and on the other hand – with a significant
weight – that networks of migrants between Spain and both cities already exist.
Edinburgh appears as a migration destination due to the perception of its being a city with a
higher quality of life than London thanks to its smaller size and to the character of Scottish
people, which is felt as being more closely related to the Spanish. This makes Edinburgh a
city that offers individuals a greater ability to control and adapt to it than London which is
seen as inhospitable and unmanageable.
The most significant factor in the final stage of the decision-making is the presence of
networks of migrants and contacts with people living in Edinburgh, which confers more
security and peace of mind in the critical moment of migrating.
As to the future prospects of the community, we noticed that the common denominator
amongst the groups is the hope for improvement in the workplace whether in Spain or in
another country, which would increase the feeling of taking control over their own lives and
recovering the opportunity of enable access to jobs that allow them to live the life they
expected.
When migrating to Edinburgh, a precarious and unstable situation is chosen in exchange for
an increase in the individual feeling of control over one’s life and independence. It is hoped
that as a result of migrating and through the acquisition of a new life and work experience
and the learning of a new language, the individuals will achieve the abilities required to take
the command over their lives and will get closer to a future that matches their previous
expectations.
2) Experience of the Integration Process and Barriers
The new Spanish in Edinburgh consider integration as a process of negotiation in which they
start with a disadvantage associated to linguistic and cultural differences. In this process, the
responsibility to assimilate is attributed entirely to the immigrant community, which is seen
as having the duty to open up and adapt to the local uses and customs.
The participants blame their own community for the negative stereotypes they endure, mainly
the lack of social utility, which poses risks to acceptance by the native and to the possibility
of integrating.
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Adaptation on the part of the community comes in two forms:
Informal gathering is useful for identification, support, company and practical tips.
The cohesion of the community is a barrier to its integration and its formal
organisation is not an option.
Integration appears as neither necessary, nor important or possible due to the language
barrier. From this point of view, the state of vulnerability at the integration level is justified as
a personal issue rather than a structural or societal problem.
In spite of the two-directional model of integration and between-group interaction advocated
by the European Union, we see that the Spanish assume that assimilation to the Scottish
culture should occur without any actions on the part of the locals and that the incomplete
knowledge of the language justifies various signs of exclusion: not feeling part of the
Edinburgh community, having to cope with precarious jobs, facing a lack of inclusive social
networks and personal medium to long-term projects.
Social networks play an important role in the integration process. Not only do they influence
the process of identification, the feeling of belonging and adaptation, but they also represent
an important capital for the migrant community and they exert a great influence on its position
in the social structure.
In the case of the new Spanish in Edinburgh, we see how strong compatriot networks are
established and felt simultaneously as necessary and harmful. These networks form in
places and activities where a lot of Spanish converge when arriving at the city: hostels,
English schools, leisure and work. The networks appear before them as unavoidable and
they feel that they are taking an active part in the risk of ghettoisation.
The lack of formal networks, associations or forms of participation in already existing group
is compensated by the powerful online group which has built up within the community. Virtual
social networks and more specifically Facebook create a feeling of community and belonging,
which is one of the needs fulfilled by social networks and more so in the context of
“acculturation” or “adaptation” experienced by the participants from their condition of
emigrants.
The work is experienced by the new Spanish in Edinburgh as hard, with precarious conditions
and limited to certain types of jobs: kitchen-porter, house keeper, waiter/waitress. However,
the participants feel grateful and consider that having a job is a success in itself. So the
problems from the Spanish labour market and the high youth unemployment continues to
affect the Spanish community through the criteria its member use when looking for work.
Moreover, situations of vulnerability are recognised as the Spanish immigrants see
themselves being identified with immigrants who, in Spain were being excluded.
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The work, as opposed to what is attested by the European Union, does not aid the integration
process, but rather leads to experiences of precariousness, and very specific positions which
are distinctive in the labour market and limitation to the access to linking-type social networks.
The migration experience appears, in general terms, as harsh and sometimes unsatisfactory.
The new Spanish in Edinburgh are afflicted with a double mourning: that related to the
situation in Spain, which is seen as impossible to remediate and that regarding their
immigrant status which provokes stress.
The lack of planning creates an undervaluated and unstructured idea of integration as much
for the group under study as for the wider society and the authorities. Being or feeling that
there is as a floating population gives them the impression that there is no need for
mobilization or institutional response.
According to the experiences of the participants and following Castel’s model, the group of
new Spanish in Edinburgh is perceived in situations of vulnerability, due to the instability of
its social networks, the precariousness of the jobs and the undefined nature of the migration
projects.
The various zones within Castel’s model are discrete; however, its elements feed back into
each other, which makes movement among the zones difficult. We have highlighted the
specific barriers to integration so as to address situations of vulnerability.
In spite of expressing the conditions for integration as knowledge and will, obstacles emerge
which are derived from prejudice or particular characteristics of the group. These prejudices
or discrimination factors are associated with the language and the nationality but are not
considered as the triggers or consequences of discrimination but rather as conditions
inherent to the phenomenon of immigration. So failed integration does not appear as a
position within the social structure but it is associated with not being mistreated.
- Stereotypes and discrimination: the format of the group as a mass and the stereotypes
around Spanish people constitute a barrier when it comes to accessing employment or rising
in the work ladder, along with integration in the social networks. The main stereotypes of
which the Spanish feel they are the victims are the abuse of resources and the low social
utility.
- Poverty and occupation: the type of employment which seems associated with the
community is also presented as precarious and all but inclusive. Not only does the work
merely allow them to survive due to low wages, but because of the working conditions, it
prevents individuals from carrying out other activities, including, and more importantly, the
migration project and learning English.
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- Social networks are perceived as fragile and not very helpful in the integration process. This
is one of the most difficult barriers to overcome as we have seen, as it also impacts the
employment status with skilled professions. This barrier affects the feeling of belonging and
the processes of identification and reciprocity.
- The language barrier. The language creates a challenge both as a tool for communication
and in terms of the time and financial needs for management and investment it requires. This
barrier appears as a justification for the discrimination experienced and is a source of
motivation to initiate the migration project and to stay in Edinburgh, as well as a source of
frustration for many. In a similar way as with communication, the difficulty in learning the
language is a barrier in itself: it appears that there is no place for learning channels in the
everyday life experiences of the new Spanish in Edinburgh.
3) Image of the Spanish Community in Edinburgh
The images both of the host context and the local community held by the different focus
groups are generally very positive. Scottish people are seen as well-mannered, pleasant,
noble, quiet, organised, respectful, etc. On the other hand, there is a strong agreement in
rejecting their gastronomy.
The groups are unanimous in recognising the difficulty to establish relationships with the
native population. When the issue is discussed in more depth, aspects emerge relative to
both the Spanish and the Scottish communities.
In some instances, the Spanish community itself is blamed for the difficult relationship
following the idea that the group in question is large and closed, with deficiencies in English
and with a tendency to form ghettoes and small groups with single nationality.
Contradictory images arise whereby the high level of interest of the Spanish people in coming
into contact with the local population is stressed, but, at the same time, the Spanish
immigrants are blamed for showing no interest in getting to know and coming into contact
with other cultures.
In other instances, the responsibility is given to the local population, with the argument that
it also forms a closed community, although Scottish people are said to be more open than
other British groups, which makes it difficult to achieve a close relationship with them. This
is said to be due to a simple lack of interest to establish these relationships or to a difference
in personality and in social behaviour (formal, cold, less direct), dictated by the respective
cultural differences.
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Other ideas emerge from the discourse on aspects that also obstruct this relationship, but
which do not result in either of the communities being at fault. These ideas highlight particular
circumstances in the host context around the spaces for these relational spaces.
For example, a lack of circumstances fostering relationships between the two communities
is mentioned, where formality tends to be the norm for relationships, and, additionally,
asymmetric power relationships are often in place.
It is said that the Spanish community in Edinburgh tends to be found in the same working,
training and leisure environments, and in the same types of accommodation. This fact
combined with the language difficulties and the need to rapidly rebuild the social and support
networks (arising from the relational vulnerability that results from the rupture of social
networks in the context of origin) would appear to magnify the subjects’ tendency to
exclusively form relationships with other Spanish immigrants and, therefore, to establish
networks within their own community.
As to the image that the groups have of their own Spanish community in Edinburgh, it can
be said that, in addition to “large” and “closed”, it is considered as poorly integrated within
the host context and as an unstable population group. This is due to the fact that its members
tend to have a temporary, poorly defined migration plan which generally lasts between a few
months and a few years. When it comes to the migration profile, it is seen as being mostly
made up of qualified young people without dependents and, as we mentioned, with
widespread language deficiencies.
The migration experience of the community seems to be perceived by the groups as
temporary, in which life is precarious and which is hoped to improve within a few months or
years, once the previous living conditions are recovered. This improvement is understood to
be dependent upon the return to Spain (and the recovery of the previous status and social
and support networks), the migration to a new context which would offer better professional
opportunities, or the access, in Edinburgh, to a skilled occupation which would open the door
to better living conditions. However, the access to skilled jobs in Edinburgh is perceived as
problematic and only achieved by few. The intention to establish permanently in Edinburgh
is seen as unlikely and closely related to the opportunity to obtain skilled jobs and establish
stable social networks.
The participants see the Spanish community as generally poorly informed on their rights and
duties, as well as on services to which they might be entitled to when looking for counselling.
They tend to resort to informal support networks amongst which virtual communities, with the
internet, are becoming increasingly important.
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The Spanish community in Edinburgh tends to be associated with specific unskilled jobs
within the hospitality profession (mainly waiter/waitress, housekeeper and kitchen-porter),
whose working conditions and salaries are precarious. Obtaining such employment enables
the access to the desired independence which was difficult to achieve in Spain.
The competition for jobs is not perceived as occurring with the local population, which is
thought to compete for resources in a different type of labour market. The types of jobs
associated with the local population and with immigrants are thought to differ and the latter
are believed to be left with the jobs that are not wanted by the former, which as previously
mentioned tend to correspond to less skilled positions with more precarious working and
wage conditions.
When looking at the discourse of the Spanish participants, we see that they believe the
Scottish population to have a positive idea of the Spanish community in Edinburgh based on
stereotypes and clichés on the Spanish culture and folklore promoted by the tourism sector.
This image becomes negative towards the community in question when migration is involved
with the fear of their competing for resources within the host context (e.g. costs related to the
use of social benefits and public services). The negative stereotypes around the Spanish
community which are most commonly referred to are “lazy” and “spongers”.
Some participants claim that the narrative used in the media promotes this negative image
of immigration without taking into account its positive aspects for the host society.
Attributing these negative stereotypes to the community leads to its stigmatisation. Goffman
(2006) claims that the people who are stigmatised are those whose social identity or
belonging devalues them and makes other people perceive them as imperfect or flawed.
These stereotypes act in opposition to one of the most important mechanisms of integration,
namely social utility.
There is a consensus across groups on the idea that the Spanish community in Edinburgh is
experiencing a situation of inequality when compared to the native population in terms of
living conditions. In spite of the presence of multiple factors to obstruct the integration process
of the community under study in the working, economic, social, etc. environments, and
others, as seen in the corresponding section, the analysis of the discourse shows that the
language handicap is perceived as the main limiting factor in this sense.
The image of the members of the Spanish community in Edinburgh about their own group is
greatly influenced by the way other social groups perceive them. This wat, the community
integrates the stereotypes and stigmas that are attributed to it from outside. This
phenomenon supposes the reinforces the negative social identity which in turn deepens the
stigma.
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As a result, some of the individuals who are part of the Spanish immigrant group develop
strategies to distinguish themselves from it, such as highlighting personal characteristics and
circumstances which are in opposition to the negative stereotype attributed to the community;
rejecting a group constructed by the collective imagination, to which these negative
characteristics and to which the responsibility for the negative image of the community is
attributed. Finally, they make comparisons with other stigmatized groups in aspects for which
the stereotypes around their own group favour them.
4) Needs
As the type of migration we are dealing with is within the EU and it can therefore count on
some advantages compared to other types of migrations, many needs of the Spanish
community residing in Edinburgh are occasionally undervalued. Despite the fact that, as
previously established, this form of migration is mainly short-term, we consider that a
migratory chain has been established which maintains a constant migration flow and thereby
the needs of the group.
Due to the absence of connection between the Spanish and Scottish communities as well as
the absence of institutional or collective channels and strategies, we are notice a shortage of
information and basic resources, which contributes to perpetuating the lack of recognition on
the part of the Scottish community and the failure of the Spanish community to create a
positive identity within the new context which goes beyond the Spanish nationality.
Furthermore, the absence of these information and basic resources encountered by the new
Spanish in Edinburgh obstructs or prevents at times the application of rights as European
citizens and implies the potential consolidation of vulnerable social positions at real risk of
exclusion. For all these reasons, we consider a requirement to promote and guarantee
information services with the possibility of using translators.
Another of the handicaps identified when trying to connect the communities is the need to
learn English which makes the bridging of the communities impossible. The challenges
regard both communication and the learning process. One of the causes for the failure to
learn the language is the inability to reconcile the individuals’ unstable and precarious
working life and undefined migration projects with the economic and structural conditions and
the standard timetables of the courses. Therefore, we believe there is a need to promote a
new form of learning more adequate to these conditions.
Opening up the work field in which the Spanish community operates and allowing it to access
positions in which they could carry out more qualified jobs is, stated throughout this report,
one of the basic needs associated with the community. This would contribute to the creation
of a more positive identity and the recognition of the Spanish community as being part of the
Scottish society as it would become more visible and approachable. Furthermore, our study
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rejects the assumed equivalence between being employed and being integrated, by stressing
the precariousness experienced by many of the participants and by pointing out the need for
improvement of working conditions. In order to promote the access to more skilled
employment and the improvement of working conditions, it is necessary to recognise, first of
all, the Spanish education and qualifications, as well as the creation of better channels to
access orientation services adapted to these new profiles.
The creation of linking-type social networks as well as of common spaces which allow for the
two cultures to come into contact and know each other is one of the necessary steps to allow
for the formation of a connection and for the mutual recognition of the communities, which
are essential in the integration process. To this end, we consider it necessary to create or
support activities directed at both communities and carried out in common spaces.
In order to connect both communities together, the Spanish community should develop a
positive social identity and a feeling of belonging which would enable them to go beyond their
circle without fear of their individual identities being diluted or of being met with discrimination.
In order for this to happen, the existing discrimination and prejudices should be actively
fought, and opportunities should be given to access psychological support services and
resources to strengthen the group and its potential to cooperate.
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XI. SUGGESTIONS FOR INTERVENTION
In order to cover the necessities described above, we recommend the direct participation of
the community to achieve these objectives.
1) Information Sessions in Spanish
The association “El Punto”, ALP and Support@Work (Edinburgh Trade Union Council),
organised in November 2012 an event to advise the Spanish-speaking population in
Edinburgh on work legislation. The event took place simultaneously in Spanish and English
and the participants of the event had the opportunity to voice their doubts and highlight the
lack of information and personalised advice on this field.
In the year 2013, the Tollcross Community Centre dedicated a day to the rights of the tenant,
which was organised by “El Punto”, the ALP and EHAP (Edinburgh Housing Advice
Partnership). The entire session was translated into Spanish to reach the Spanish-speaking
people who struggled to understand English. This event showed the large number of
situations in which the new Spanish in Edinburgh are victims of housing-related irregularities
occasioned by the owners of flats or estate agents along with the vulnerable and defenseless
situation in which they find themselves due to the lack of information on their rights and duties
as tenants.
We consider this type of information sessions, where interpretation into Spanish is
guaranteed and which are promoted by the group itself according to their particular interests
and needs, to be a useful tool in divulging information as well as to claim recognition and a
positive identity seeking coexistence under equal conditions and a mutual cultural
enrichment.
2) Managing and Diffusing Information from the Authorities
Similarly, we believe it is necessary for the local authorities to make this information available
to their citizens in a way that the language barrier or the lack of knowledge of the way
institutions function do not impede the access to this information. This way, ensuring and
promoting the access to basic information would not fall only on private and/or voluntary
groups.
As previously specified, the information guaranteed should cover at least the following
themes: health system, education system, labour rights, tenant’s rights and civil rights. These
can be systematised in the form of a guide or regulations for European mobility where the
rights and duties of intra-EU immigrants would be collected together.
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3) Re-Organising the Teaching and Access to the Learning of the English
Language
As previously mentioned, we consider that there are difficulties in learning English, despite
its being made a priority, due to social and working circumstances experienced by the new
Spanish in Edinburgh. The modules and costs offered by private schools and public
organizations do not fit within the lifestyles of many Spanish people with their irregular
working times, low salaries and challenges in planning their time ahead.
We believe that, given the relevance to everyday life of the learning of the language to
integration and the importance granted to it by the European Union, the authorities should
be involved in the teaching of the language by offering a system:
Free or semi-financed, based on the needs to learn the language and not only on the
low income.
With a flexible and adaptable timetable.
With curricular flexibility which enables the courses to be tailored to their particular
linguistic needs. For instance, it could be more focused on communication or in
English as a student, etc.; focused either on the oral or the written language, etc.
Adapted to the work or occupation environment (English in hospitality, English in
finance, etc.)
Which officially recognises levels and competences beyond the European titles A1
C2 or private ones such as TOEFL, Cambridge, etc.
The challenges can be summarised as three factors: costs, systems and recognition. In order
to fight against the issues of the costs that this could involve for public administration, we
suggest the strategic use of technology in teaching English. Given the profile of the group
under study, their proven use of technology and the United Kingdom’s technological
coverage, we see a great opportunity for all the agents in the process to make use of online
resources and smartphones as tools to help the learning process.
4) Improving the Services of Job-Hunting and Anti-Discrimination Campaign
The fair integration of Spanish people in the labour market requires participation from various
groups. On the one hand, the group itself, as previously discussed, suffers from a low self-
esteem and forms judgements on their situation based on criteria relating to current
conditions in Spain: high levels of youth unemployment, precarious wages and relaxation
and disintegration of career paths. On the other hand, the participants in our study highlighted
a certain feeling of exclusion or employment discrimination based on nationality.
Furthermore, public organisations dedicated to work orientation dismiss and undervalue the
competences and knowledge of the new Spanish in Edinburgh. The participation of
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employers is essential for the Spanish community and of considerable use to the employers’
interests.
In order to achieve a better work situation, we suggest:
Revision of the channels of access to services of job hunting and upgrading, resources
for employability and benefits to entrepreneurs.
A campaign to raise awareness and acknowledge the community, directed at local
employers, so as to break the possible stereotypes and encourage hiring under equal
conditions.
The creation, or improvement of an employment counselling service which:
Facilitates understanding of the work culture through workshops or courses.
Enables professional profiles to adapt to the local and sector-specific selection and
recruitment criteria. The experiences of people who have achieved this adaptation
coming from other countries could be a way of illustrating these repositioning
processes.
Recognises efficiently (in the timeframes and economic conditions) the education
background and qualifications.
Guides in an egalitarian way, diversifying the labour markets to which Spanish people
could aspire and tailor the guidance to their abilities, aptitudes, knowledge as well as
the demands of the market, and not only to their status as newcomers, foreigners or
less able to communicate.
5) Recognising and strengthening informal structures
The Spanish community relies on a significant informal network which provides it with support
both at a practical and emotional level. We believe that by officially recognising and
supporting these informal groups, which the community trusts and relates to, we can take
advantage of networks that are already in place and use them as connecting point between
the Scottish society and the Spanish community. This would favour self-organisation,
communication and circulation of information between the two communities.
6) Participating in and Supporting the Already- Established Associations and
Collectives
In November 2013, ELREC organised in partnership with Alba Spanish Association an event
in which several groups of different character (cultural, artistic and educational amongst
others) took the opportunity to explain their activities to some institutional representatives of
the city of Edinburgh, such as the police and the City Council, and create a dialogue with
them.
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This type of activity empowers these groups, giving them the opportunity to promote and
divulge a positive image and allows the groups of local citizens to become involved in the
existing activities.
By strengthening and acknowledging groups and associations such as El Punto, el PIE, Vivir
Edimburgo, Cinemmatic, etc., social inclusion would be fostered, in cooperation with public
services and informal networks to receive, guide and integrate newcomers.
This empowerment of the community, with the help of local institutions, encourages the
Spaniards themselves to offer and coordinate guidance services and organise activities,
English workshops or job-hunting orientation.
Delegating and letting the community itself mobilise to assimilate socially results in the
creation of a positive social identity as well as a feeling of participation and reciprocity with
the host society and a sense of belonging.
7) Creating Spaces for Inter-Cultural Exchanges
Participating in local social networks is very positive in the social integration process and
helps in the liberation from situations of vulnerability which affects immigrants and more
specifically, as we discussed, the new Spanish people in Edinburgh.
In order to achieve the necessary creation and inclusion of linking-type networks which both
fight against stereotypes and favour cultural exchanges and the learning of the language, we
suggest the following strategy:
Supporting the participation and diffusion of time banks or similar initiatives. This type of
activity is centred around the exchange of abilities, time and availability between all
inhabitants of a city or a neighbourhood. It encourages intercultural relations and the practice
of the language far from employment criteria and from the labour market, in addition to
promoting the learning of different cultures and the creation of personal relations outside of
competition and/or consumption-driven situations.
Streamlining and counselling in the participation of Spanish people in doing voluntary work.
The importance of the Spanish language and the particular capacities of each individual
make the community of great interest for many organizations. Volunteering can act as a
platform to include Spanish migrants at a local level, to get to know the environment, create
and/or strengthen ties amongst neighbours, etc. Moreover, Spanish people would have an
opportunity for personal development and to free themselves from feeling the dilution of their
identity which is due to their belonging to a large group. The Voluntary Centre currently offers
a counselling service in Spanish which we consider a great tool worthy of being developed
further. Furthermore, volunteering enables emancipation from processes of ghettoisation.
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Promotion, through the channels of the group itself, of training and leisure activities carried
out by the local public institutions. Amongst these we can point out those organized
by the City Council and by the University of Edinburgh.
Mentioned Organizations
Hispanic Arts Scotland (HAS) is an arts and cultural non-profit company whose main
objective is to promote collaborations between Spanish, Latin American and Scottish artists.
HAS works in partnership and reaches out to a diversity of venues, creative organisations
and individual artists nationally and internationally and is sponsored with public and private
funding. Our highly engaging and accessible creative programs reach out to the diversity of
the people of Scotland, Latin America and Spain exploring lineages between our cultures
and enriching our experiential journeys.
HAS founded Hispanic Festival in 2004 based on a collective belief in the transformational
power of the arts to change people and form diverse communities. Now, on our 10th
anniversary, we are confident that diversity and accessibility foster co-creation and builds
upon our social capital and are looking forward to engage the participation of all people!
CinemaAttic is the platform for Spanish, Iberian and Latin-American cinema in
Scotland. Our main purpose is to bridge the expressive quality of young filmmakers from
national cinemas such as Spanish, Latin-American or Portuguese with the wealth of British
organizations.
Furthermore, we offer audiovisual artists born in the UK the possibility to embrace projects
outside their main area of influence. Mainly through Film showcases -in every format and
style- and innovative happenings of every nature, not to mention conferences and photo
exhibitions.
At present, CinemaAttic is working towards becoming a keystone company in the distribution
of Spanish, Iberian and Latin-American cinema in Scotland and a platform for entertainment,
learning, cultural diffusion, networking and industry development through arts and cinema.
Vivir Edimburgo. One of the most popular destinations nowadays is Edinburgh. Many
are the reasons for which this city is a refuge of turism and immigration. "Vivir Edimburgo"
tries to gather in a useful and simple way the necessary information to begin this adventure.
This page created by Spanish people and written in Spanish, gathers information and
indications step by step on housing, work, English learning and cultural and leisure activities
in the city.
93
El Punto, settled in Tollcross Community Centre, is an organization started up by
Spanish speakers with the support of the ALP. It tries to construct a platform of reference
from which the Spanish-speaking group could know better the new environment, to look for
help, to face the possible problems and to defend their rights. Through work groups, , the
experiences of others, we try to build a centre of ideas and a place of support for the Spanish-
speakers in Edinburgh, where all the information and communication is both in English and
in Spanish.
IberoDocs is the first showcase for Ibero-American culture in Scotland, focused on
documentary films by Spanish, Portuguese and Latin-American filmmakers. IberoDocs
brought to Edinburgh and Scotland in April 1014 the most significant productions from Ibero-
American culture in a festival that will be as distinctive as it is unique.
Our mission is to celebrate the culture and history of Ibero-American countries through
documentary films, by establishing an annual event in Scotland that facilitates the
understanding of migration and stimulates cultural and social integration.
La Asociación española Alba was created in 2011 by a group of bilingual families of
Edinburgh to promote the use of the Spanish and to create links between the Spanish
speakers of Edinburgh and his families. The Association organises diverse activities thanks
to a small group of volunteers:
1) English classes for the bilingual children of the families who are nowadays members of
the Association (the numbers fluctuate every year, at present the families that go regularly to
class are approximately 75) and that take place weekly in two colleges of the city
2) Sporadic workshop and activities in order to make the children of the families take contact
between them and hear Spanish out of house
3) A playgroup for children and his parents, to speak only in Spanish that meets weekly.
The Association officially is registered as such in Spain but at the same time it is affiliated to
the organization LAYC (Lothian Association Of Youth Clubs).
94
XII. ANNEXES
Appendix 1. Typical Direction Model for the Focus Group
1) Why do you think that so many Spanish people come to Edinburgh?
2) How do you think the life of the people who come to live in Edinburgh changes?
3) What differences do you perceive between Spanish and Scottish people? What do you
think about these differences?
4) How would you describe your situation to someone who is thinking of coming to live in
Edinburgh?
5) When taking the decision to come, how did you think your life in Edinburgh would be?
6) How would you describe the Spanish community in Edinburgh?
7) What differences are there when compared with other immigrants such as Polish or
German people?
8) In terms of the English language, do you think some situations are more difficult than
others?
9) Do you think that Spanish people are integrated? Why?
10) How would you feel if all the Spanish people you knew left the city?
11) What would you change about your life in Edinburgh?
12) What would you need to change to make the decision of settling permanently in
Edinburgh? And to feel integrated?
95
Appendix 2. Recruitment Questionnaire
This questionnaire was handed out through social networks, edited and managed through the
Google forms platform with a link that could be followed under the initiative of the potential
participants. The questionnaire was also administrated face to face on the streets of Edinburgh
so as to create a database of potential participants.
Through the Adult Learning Project Association we are carrying out a study on the Spanish
residents in Edinburgh and we would be pleased to count on your collaboration. We are
organising a focus group to gather the thoughts of Spanish people in Edinburgh. At the end of
the meeting, you will receive a small present to thank you for your help.
Would you like to take part in this Project? If so, could you please answer a few questions to
help us determine whether you meet the criteria sought by our group?
These data will only be used to understand whether you correspond to the model of participant
we are looking for and will only be available by the research team. The results of the study will
be entirely anonymous.
1. Do you have Spanish nationality?
a) Yes b) No END OF THE QUESTIONNAIRE. THANK YOU.
2. Have you lived in Edinburgh for three months or more or are you planning to do so?
a) Yes b) No END OF THE QUESTIONNAIRE. THANK YOU.
3. Have you lived in Edinburgh for more than three years?
a) Yes END OF THE QUESTIONNAIRE. THANK YOU. b) No
4. What are your plans in relation to staying in Edinburgh?
a) Settling permanently b) Spending a short period of time c) I have not decided
5. What is your current occupation?
a) I work as (please be as precise as possible): _______________________________________________________________________
b) University student c) Unemployed looking for work d) Other__________________________________________________________________
6. Do you take part in activities directed at Spanish people (meals, parties, meetups, etc.) and/or
organised by other Spanish people? a) Yes, once a week or more b) Yes, once a month or more c) Yes, less than once a month d) No, never
96
7. If you do take part in this type of activities, please give us some examples. ___________________________________________________________________________
8. Do you take part in activities organised by Scottish groups or institutions (apart from English classes): Universities, Community Centres, sports teams etc…)?
a) Yes b) No
9. If you do take part in any of the abovementioned activities, could you specify which one(s)?
______________________________________________________________________ 10. In your free time:
a) You speak mostly in Spanish b) You always or most often speak in English
11. Out of your four closest friends in Edinburgh, is/are any of them not Spanish?
a) Yes b) No
12. If one or more of your four closest friends is not of Spanish nationality, please tell us where they
are from and how you met them. _____________________________________________________________________________
13. In which of the following age groups do you situate yourself? a) Under 18 years. b) Between 19 and 30 years. c) Between 31 and 35 years. d) Over 35 years.
14. Sex.
a) Man. b) Woman.
15. What is the highest level of qualification you have completed?
a) Below secondary level. b) Compulsory secondary school. c) Baccalaureate degree, COU or equivalent. d) FP1, FP2 or equivalent 25. e) Undergraduate, Master’s degree, PhD, Technical Engineering, or equivalent.
16. Do you currently work or have you ever worked in sociology, psychology, marketing,
advertising, social science or market research? a) Yes b) No
25 Vocational training following secondary education, possible alternative to Baccalaureate and University Degree.
97
Appendix 3. Letter of invitation to the focus group
Dear [Name]:
We invite you to take part in a focus group which aims to learn about your experiences and opinions related to the situation of the Spanish people living in Edinburgh. This meeting will take place in the Tollcross Community Centre (117 Fountainbridge EH3 9QG) on [date] at [hour]. It is thought that between 20,000 and 30,000 Spanish people are living in Edinburgh. However, there is little information about who they are and how they live. As ALP (Adult Learning Project Association) were aware of this situation, they decided to carry out a study to find out the social reality of this community, with the aim of developing adequate programmes to encourage its social integration and improve the coexistence of all citizens in Edinburgh. From this initiative, “El Puente” was born, a social science research group funded by Awards for All. El Puente aims to understand the situations in which the Spanish residents in Edinburgh find themselves. During this focus group, you will have the opportunity to share your experiences and opinions in complete confidence and in a pleasant environment. We will provide coffee and tea and we will refund your travel costs (remember to bring your bus ticket). Your contribution is highly important to us! If you require more details about the meeting or if you have any doubts, please contact us at [email protected]
Bear in mind that your participation is voluntary and that, at the end of the event you will be offered a small present to thank you for your help. We hope we can count on your collaboration. Thank you.
El Puente
98
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