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Caroline Lenette

Arts-Based
Methods
in Refugee
Research
Creating Sanctuary
Arts-Based Methods in Refugee Research
Caroline Lenette

Arts-Based Methods
in Refugee Research
Creating Sanctuary

123
Caroline Lenette
School of Social Sciences
University of New South Wales
Sydney, NSW, Australia

ISBN 978-981-13-8007-5 ISBN 978-981-13-8008-2 (eBook)

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-8008-2
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2019
This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part
of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations,
recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission
or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar
methodology now known or hereafter developed.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this
publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from
the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this
book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the
authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained
herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard
to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
The registered company address is: 152 Beach Road, #21-01/04 Gateway East, Singapore 189721,
Singapore
Pour mes parents Vincent et Marie-Claire
For Lucie, who teaches me to be brave,
every day
Foreword

It is a privilege to write the foreword for this book. Forced migration, as Caroline
Lenette tells us, is one of the global challenges facing the world. Framed by the
concept of sanctuary and the evocative image of the sanctuary knocker that one
meets on entering the main door into Durham Cathedral, the book tells a story of the
importance of arts-based research, the importance of working collaboratively with
‘knowledge holders,’ those who have experienced displacement, have sought
asylum, who are ‘refugees,’ using creative research methods. Arts-based research
methods can certainly tell richer and more complex stories of asylum, displacement
and belonging and, through the mediating function and relationship of art forms to
the social issues sedimented or represented in them, the arts can elicit holding
spaces or safe spaces for stories to be told. Creating the space for arts-based
methodologies, for people to tell their stories of exile, displacement and belonging
in collaborative, co-productive and genuinely participatory ways, is an ethical and a
political act. Participatory, collaborative arts-based methodologies help to challenge
dominant discourses, promote recognition and inclusion of the very people who are
the subject of much research and commentary and promote our collective
responsibility as a moral imperative.
What does it mean to be at the borders of humanity and who is listening to the
stories that unfold? Arts-based methods, as Caroline and others have said, evoke
new ways of knowing and understanding, but how is this translated into under-
standing and indeed action? I have argued that through participatory and arts-based
methods we are able to get in touch with our own and the lived experiences of
others in ways that demand critical reflection. The examples Caroline presents from
the Platforma Festival and from her own research are rich examples. The art forms
and dialogue that are produced using arts-based methods offer representational
challenges, can help us to think otherwise, can ‘attune’ us and indeed, the work that
arts-based methods engage us in is relational.
For example, Shierry Nicholsen (1993) tells us that the critical potential of art is
that it can ‘pierce us’ and ‘help to grasp reality in its otherness within the context of
an image society that attempts to tame and inhibit critical reflection.’ The
counter-hegemonic role of the work produced through arts-based methodologies

vii
viii Foreword

enables us to connect with micro-relational worlds, in a subjective-reflexive rela-

tionship; connecting our feeling worlds with the feeling worlds of the ‘other’, and in
doing so can pierce us and de-stabilise the relationship with the ‘other’ into a
‘subject–subject’ relationship. The greater task, as Caroline argues, is how this then
is translated into policy measures, into action. It is simply not sufficient to create
space for arts-based methods without policy-oriented strategies. In response,
Caroline advocates for knowledge and translation dissemination strategies to be
central to arts-based projects from the beginning, and that it is important to foster
‘political listening’ and ‘deliberative dialogue’. Though not a panacea, this strategy
and the attendant tactics will ‘maximise chances that policy change will result from
the application of arts-based research outcomes’.
This book is a major contribution to the field and provides an important con-
tribution to our discussions on ethics and ethical responsibility, promoting an ethic
of care, informed by principles of reciprocity and the principles of participatory
research. The need to include ‘knowledge holders’ views and experiences into the
dialogue we have with our research partners, departments and institutions is
paramount to the ethical and political responsibility researchers hold, as well as
managing the tensions and power differentials openly through deliberative dialogue.
The chapters on digital storytelling, photography, community music and par-
ticipatory video are based upon Caroline’s empirical research and are strongly
associated with what she calls the haunting quality of arts-based methods (espe-
cially the photographs), as ‘acts of resistance’, that may serve to shift ‘ideological
boundaries’ and importantly are involved in ‘decolonising research agendas in
refugee studies’ and research methods.
People come to understand the lived experiences of asylum and migration
through mainstream media images and narratives. This book challenges, disrupts
and offers new ways of doing, experiencing, sharing and understanding what it
means to seek asylum, to be a refugee, to live your life in the margins, to make a
new life in the new situation, and to seek sanctuary. The work discussed in this
book and the principles underpinning the arts-based methodologies advocated here
help to promote cultural citizenship for the migrants taking part and also create a
space for democratic contestation, for thinking against the grain. The combination
of storytelling and artmaking, the process of combining social research with art
making I have called ethno-mimesis, may foster a more radically democratic
imaginary that challenges exclusionary discourses and leads to a more relational
way of doing and promoting social justice through praxis (purposeful knowledge).
Of course, the relationship between arts-based research and praxis is fraught with
tensions, as Caroline makes clear. However, such creative, participatory method-
ologies can serve to enlighten and raise our awareness, but they also produce
critical, reflexive texts that may help to mobilise for social change. Speaking in
empathic ways with research participants can counter valorising discourses and the
reduction of the ‘other’ to a cipher of the oppressed/ marginalised/ victimised.
Caroline shows us, in this book, that it is vital to remember that the power to narrate
our stories and to have those stories listened to directly counters the power that
seeks to block narratives or to prevent them from coming into being. Roget
Foreword ix

Bromley (2001) describes the latter as a marker of cultural imperialism. Thus, the
sharing of collective responsibilities and the need for advances in arts-based
methodologies that also offer interventionary strategies, such as deliberative dia-
logue and an ethics of care, in our arts-based research practice, is such an important
response in these times. This book deserves to be widely read, shared and used.

November 2018 Professor Maggie O’Neill

Department of Sociology, University College Cork
National University of Ireland

References

Bromley, R. (2001). Narratives for a new belonging: Diasporic cultural fictions. Edinburgh, UK:
Edinburgh University Press.
Nicholsen, S. (1997). Exact Imagination, Late Work. Cambridge, USA: MIT Press.
Preface

In Durham County in England’s North East, a Sanctuary Knocker replica adorns

Durham Cathedral’s northern door. In medieval times, fugitives could rap the
knocker to receive 37 days of sanctuary in the Cathedral to make amends or plan
their escape. Sanctuary seekers were fed, clothed and given a safe place to stay until
such time they could depart freely.1
Although the right to sanctuary was abolished in 1624, the culture of providing
safe haven to those seeking protection is still very much present in this city. Today,
Durham is a City of Sanctuary for resettled humanitarian entrants, a United
Kingdom-wide initiative that aims to maintain a culture of welcome and hospitality
for newcomers. Despite the 2016 ‘Brexit’ outcome and the alarming rise in
anti-immigration sentiment in the UK and other countries, initiatives like City of
Sanctuary represents an active and much-needed expression of support towards
people who have experienced upheaval, exile and forced migration.
When I visited Durham on a senior research fellowship in 2017, I wrapped my
hand around this Sanctuary Knocker (Fig. 1) and reflected on its symbolism. I was
drawn to the concept of ‘sanctuary’ and what it symbolises in these troubled times.
The notion of sanctuary stayed with me long after I left Durham. It became a leitmotiv
in my writing about arts-based methods’ growing potential in refugee studies.
The more I read and wrote about arts-based research, the more I became con-
fident about this assertion: using arts-based methods collaboratively and ethically in
refugee studies can offer sanctuary from the complications and stresses of everyday
life. This sense of sanctuary can counter damaging impacts of immigration and
refugee policy across the world (like the indefinite detention of asylum seekers, a
markedly controversial policy that Australia has pursued).
Arts-based methods present a powerful way for people to speak back to
regressive and at times cruel policy measures via creative means through the
co-production of knowledge. The diverse methods used in arts-based inquiry are
not without their limitations. However, the impact of positioning people from
refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds as the holders, producers and co-creators of

1
See https://www.durhamworldheritagesite.com/.

xi
xii Preface

Fig. 1 Sanctuary Knocker at Durham Cathedral in the UK (author, Durham, 2017)

knowledge in research contexts via creative means can be significant, if not

transformative.
I decided to use the word ‘sanctuary’ in the book title:
As a call to arms, an exhortation for researchers to carve out a space for methods
and approaches that are collaborative, ethical and culturally safe for everyone
engaged in research endeavours—for the holders of knowledge, as well as
collaborators and scholars.
As a reminder of the importance of challenging disempowering research para-
digms and political and institutional discourses that divide and exclude.
Preface xiii

As a tribute to the commitment of the many individuals, groups, researchers,

students, advocates, practitioners and policymakers across the globe who
strengthen and extend the culture of hospitality towards people from refugee and
asylum seeker backgrounds. While this is often an uphill battle, it is one of the
most enriching experiences to be had.

Why Write This Book?

Refugee research has traditionally been a complex and sensitive area of inquiry, and
far too often, simplistic methods have been used to explore rich, textured and
complex phenomena. The field is still plagued by western definitions of what
‘knowledge’ constitutes and colonialist appropriation of research methodologies.
Substituting relatively narrow and damaging research approaches with creative ones
that are respectful and meaningful to collaborators is an important part of the
knowledge-decolonising agenda that is every researcher’s responsibility, irrespec-
tive of discipline and location.
This book shares insights from my arts-based research over the past 10 years.
My aim was not to write a ‘how-to’ text, but to explore what uses there might be for
arts-based research in refugee studies and what factors to be mindful of when using
arts-based methods. I synthesise some key possibilities afforded through examples
of rich research outcomes that can emerge when arts-based methodologies are
deployed successfully.
I build on the excellent work of colleagues around the world to document key
examples and best practices when using arts-based methods. I share my perspec-
tives on the highs and lows of arts-based projects—which are by no means immune
from the challenges associated with community-based, participatory research—and
offer some strategies to counter these issues.
I have experienced much joy as an arts-based researcher! I wish to share this joy
with readers who might engage more actively in participatory arts-based initiatives,
in refugee studies and other disciplines.

Sydney, Australia Caroline Lenette

Acknowledgements

Writing this book has been an enriching experience, only made possible thanks to
the following people:
The wonderful women and men from refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds I
have had the privilege to meet over the years, for their generosity in sharing their
stories and their time and enthusiasm when participating in arts-based research
projects.
My incredibly supportive parents who, despite the distance, have actively
encouraged me to pursue my career. I particularly want to thank them for
traveling to Australia in 2017 to parent my daughter so that I could take up a
senior research fellowship in England, and for offering sanctuary in their home
for my writing endeavours.
My brilliant friends and fellow academic mums whose constant encouragement,
listening ears and laughter provide much-needed respite: Pooja Sawrikar, Sonia
Graham, Mim Fox and Maree Higgins.
Colleagues and mentors in Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom who have
been sources of inspiration on arts-based methods: Naomi Sunderland, Katherine
Boydell, Isobel Blomfield, Stephanie Hemelryk Donald, Christy Newman,
Jessica Botfield, Josie Gardner, Marilys Guillemin, Caitlin Nunn, Nelli
Stavropoulou, and especially Susan Cox and Maggie O’Neill.
Many others for their support along the journey: Ann Ingamells, Mark Brough,
Brian Procopis, Jennifer Hyndman, Louise Chappell and Sarah Banks.
Colleagues from the School of Social Sciences and the Forced Migration
Research Network at the University of New South Wales Sydney (UNSW), for
their writing tips and words of encouragement; the Writing Oasis group that kept
me going during turbulent times; and Hazel Blunden for her insightful sug-
gestions on my drafts.

xv
xvi Acknowledgements

Special thanks to Donna McDonald whose excellent advice and fabulous sense
of humour continue to be real gems that sustain my writing aspirations.
Thanks to Joy Damousi for her advice and mentorship through the Australian
Research Council Kathleen Fitzpatrick Laureate Fellowship scheme for women
who are early career researchers in the humanities and social sciences.
I am indebted to Naomi Sunderland for her generosity over the years, for an
inspiring conversation before I started writing, and for reading, appreciating and
commenting on my full draft. This book just wouldn’t be what it is without you!
Sincere thanks to Susan Cox for her encouraging comments and thoughtful
suggestions.
I acknowledge the support of a Durham Senior Research Fellowship co-funded
between Durham University and the European Union in 2017, and Durham
University’s Centre for Social Justice and Community Action for providing the
intellectual environment I needed to get started on this book.
Finally, thank you to my 10-year-old daughter Lucie, my biggest fan.
Lucie, your love and strength, and your patience and enthusiasm for my ‘stories’
are truly wonderful.
Contents

Part I Context
1 Social Context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Refugee Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Gender Perspectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Words and Labels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Positionality and Key Approaches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Who Is This Book For? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Book Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
About Me . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Questions for Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
2 Why Arts-Based Research? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
How Are Arts-Based Methods Used? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Aims of Arts-Based Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
The Value of Arts-Based Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Key Tensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Relevance to Refugee Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Alternative Storytelling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Practice-Research Nexus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Collaborations with Arts Organisations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Visual Ethnography as Co-creative Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Questions for Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

xvii
xviii Contents

3 Policy Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Policy Change Through Arts-Based Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Arts and Health Policy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Arts-Based Research Outcomes and Policy Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Theatre and Drama . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Policy Change in Refugee Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Political Listening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Knowledge Translation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Deliberative Dialogue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
What Can We Do Differently? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Questions for Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
4 Ethics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Decolonising Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Ethical Issues in Refugee Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Reciprocity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
‘New’ Power Differentials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Assumptions of ‘Vulnerability’ and ‘Anonymity’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Ethics and Arts-Based Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Engagement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Data Collection and Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Interpretation and Dissemination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Ethics Approval Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Dominance of Positivist Paradigm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Impact on Arts-Based Researchers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
What Can Researchers Do to Address This Situation? . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
What of Ethics Boards? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
How Should Knowledge Holders Be Involved? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Questions for Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

Part II Methods
5 Digital Storytelling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Storytelling via Digital Means . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
The Value of Digital Storytelling . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Digital Storytelling as a Transformative Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Script Writing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ....... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Contents xix

Issues and Tensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132

Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Questions for Discussions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
6 Photography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Photographs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
The Value of Photo-Voice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Key Strengths of Photo-Voice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Photo-Voice and Refugee Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Photo-Elicitation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
Photo-Voice as a Transformative Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Challenging the ‘Chronic Voyeuristic Relation’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Issues and Tensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Questions for Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
7 Community Music . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
The Value of Community Music . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Relevance to Refugee Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Music and Wellbeing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Community Music as a Transformative Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Political Acts of Resistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Lyrics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Issues and Tensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Questions for Discussions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
8 Participatory Video . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
The Value of Participatory Video . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
Relevance to Refugee Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Participatory Video as a Transformative Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
Representation, Recognition and Response . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
Issues and Tensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
Questions for Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
xx Contents

9 Sanctuary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
Creating a Sense of Sanctuary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
The Danger of a Single Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
Reflection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
List of Figures

Fig. 1.1 Ms. Apuk Maror, a young South Sudanese woman living in
Western Sydney, speaks about her involvement in an arts-based
research project at a community event (author, Sydney, 2018,
with Ms. Apuk Maror’s permission) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 10
Fig. 1.2 Screenshot from digital story Threads of Life about the
significance of carpet weaving to a woman’s wellbeing
(author, Brisbane, 2015) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 12
Fig. 1.3 The mural Mandala of Peace in Parramatta (Sydney, Australia)
co-designed with people who experienced forced migration and
professional artivists as part of the Welcome Walls 2017
initiative (courtesy of Ms. Josie Gardner, Muralisto
(See https://www.muralisto.com/news/2017/4/20/mandala-of-
peace)) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 18
Fig. 2.1 Body maps of young people experiencing psychosis and their
testimonio (narrative about their maps) displayed at the National
Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), Sydney, Australia in 2016
(courtesy of Prof. Katherine Boydell) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 30
Fig. 2.2 Using photography to capture and share meaningful cultural
practices for young women living in Western Sydney, Australia,
in a research project on South Sudanese women’s wellbeing
(courtesy of Ms. Jennifer Leahy, Silversalt Photography) . . . . . .. 37
Fig. 2.3 Screenshot of Gresham’s Wooden Horse parade in
Middlesbrough on Who Are We? website (available
at https://whoareweproject.com/artists/isabellima) . . . . . . . . . . . .. 45
Fig. 2.4 A South Sudanese woman holds a decorative beaded object
during a photographic session for South Sudanese women at an
art gallery workshop in Sydney (courtesy of Ms. Jennifer Leahy,
Silversalt Photography) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 47

xxi
xxii List of Figures

Fig. 2.5 Screenshot of online repository of stories about Ireland’s

detention system, Living in Direct Provision: 9 Stories
(available at http://www.darcyalexandra.com/practice/living-in-
direct-provision-9-stories) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 49
Fig. 3.1 Screenshot of policy briefs on APPGAHW website
(available at https://www.artshealthandwellbeing.org.uk/appg-
inquiry/) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 62
Fig. 3.2 Deborah Pollard in Version 1.0’s CMI (A Certain Maritime
Incident). Performance Space, Sydney, 2004 Photo by Heidrun
Löhr (courtesy of Dr. Paul Dwyer) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 66
Fig. 3.3 Nikki Heywood, David Williams, Danielle Antaki, Stephen
Klinder and Deborah Pollard in Version 1.0’s CMI (A Certain
Maritime Incident). Performance Space, Sydney, 2004 Photo by
Heidrun Löhr (courtesy of Dr. Paul Dwyer) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 72
Fig. 4.1 Anonymising research findings can decontextualise Knowledge
Holders’ perspectives and be depersonalising (author, Sydney,
2018) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 92
Fig. 4.2 Young people engaged as muralists to depict their experiences
of mental health through painting (courtesy of Prof. Katherine
Boydell) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 96
Fig. 4.3 Dance performance conveying experiences of psychosis, based
on collaborative analysis of interview narratives (courtesy of
Prof. Katherine Boydell; photo by Ms. Ashley Hutcheson,
Canada, 2007) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 99
Fig. 5.1 Screenshot of software used for digital movie-creation
(author, Sydney, 2018) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Fig. 5.2 Screenshot of New Life: the city streets looked foreign to Maha
(author, Brisbane, 2015) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Fig. 5.3 Screenshot of New Life: Maha enjoys making incenses and oils
at home (author, Brisbane, 2015) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Fig. 5.4 Screenshot of script writing for New Life (author, Brisbane,
2015) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Fig. 6.1 Rakma, Nasra, Asli and Zam Zam from the Somali community
in Brisbane, Australia, 2003; project conceived by Ms. Shannon
Ghannam (courtesy of Ms. Shannon Ghannam) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Fig. 6.2 Photograph of cooking as an important activity for this woman,
in the context of a photo-voice project (author, Brisbane,
2008) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Fig. 6.3 Egenie holding her father’s camera (author, Brisbane, 2015) . . . . 155
Fig. 6.4 East Timorese refugee in a bedroom, taken in October 1999
at East Hills Army Base, New South Wales, Australia
(courtesy of the National Library of Australia, PIC/8515;
photographer Mr. John Immig) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
List of Figures xxiii

Fig. 7.1 Photograph of Twic Mayardit performing (courtesy

of Ms. Apuk Maror) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Fig. 7.2 Screenshot of video of Scattered People performance at the 5th
International Music Council (IMC) World Forum on Music,
Australia, 2013 (available on YouTube https://www.youtube.
com/watch?v=GV_US5RyIgM, courtesy of A/Prof. Naomi
Sunderland) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Fig. 7.3 Photograph of cover of New Internationalist, August 2003
(courtesy of Mr. Keith Rowe) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Fig. 7.4 Free like Butterflies lyrics written phonetically and in English
(courtesy of Mr. Brian Procopis). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Fig. 7.5 Screenshot of GemArts website hosting Izzy Finch’s blog on her
collaboration with Syrian young people (available at
https://gemartsuk.wordpress.com/2018/12/18/gemarts-east-by-
north-east-youth-music-project) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
Fig. 8.1 Screenshot of Chauka Please Tell Us The Time trailer (available
on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
EwaVMPYEzrA, courtesy of Mr. Arash Kamali Sarvestani) . . . . 201
Fig. 8.2 Screenshot from InsightShare website (available at
https://insightshare.org/) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Fig. 8.3 Screenshot of Searching for Asylum (available on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjT5lENga_M, courtesy
of Prof. Maggie O’Neill). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
Fig. 8.4 Screening a short film from a participatory video project on
experiences of higher education for a decision-maker
(author, Sydney, 2018) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
Fig. 8.5 Screenshot of Ms. Anyier Yuol filming herself at work and
describing the challenges of studying while working full-time
(author, 2018, with Ms. Anyier Yuol’s permission) . . . . . . . . . . . 211
Fig. 8.6 Screenshot of Ms. Anyier Yuol’s film, when she was in the
university library at 10 pm to finish an assignment
(author, 2018, with Ms. Anyier Yuol’s permission) . . . . . . . . . . . 212
Fig. 8.7 Screenshot of Mr. Arash Bordbar’s film, where he describes
the challenges of studying at university (author, 2018, with
Mr. Arash Bordbar’s permission) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
Fig. 9.1 Coffee art entitled ‘The Scream’, which Mr. Alwy Fadhel
created while living in detention in Sydney, Australia
(courtesy of Mr. Alwy Fadhel) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
Fig. 9.2 Photograph of my first full draft (author, Sydney, 2018) . . . . . . . 238
About the Author

Caroline Lenette is Senior Lecturer in the School of Social Sciences, University of

New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. She is a member of the Forced Migration
Research Network, an interdisciplinary network of leading researchers in refugee and
migration studies. She is also a Senior Research Associate of the UNSW Australian
Human Rights Institute, and an Editor of Human Rights Defender. Caroline com-
pleted her Ph.D. in 2011 at the Queensland University of Technology, on the topic of
resilience and wellbeing among refugee women who were sole parents in Brisbane,
Australia.
Over the past 10 years, she has used arts-based methods including digital story-
telling, photography, participatory video and community music in social
justice-focussed research in collaboration with co-researchers with lived experiences
as refugees and asylum seekers. Together, they explored stories of wellbeing and
settlement, especially from women’s perspectives. She has published widely on these
topics. Her research focusses on how storytelling through creative means can influ-
ence decision-makers towards meaningful social and policy change, and the ethical
considerations of collaborative, arts-based research and participatory research more
broadly.
In 2014, she was a Visiting Scholar at York University’s Centre for Refugee
Studies, supported by an Australian Government Endeavour Executive Fellowship.
In 2017, she was a Senior Research Fellow at Durham University in the UK,
co-funded by the European Union and Durham University. She was based at the
Centre for Social Justice and Community Action. In 2019, Caroline spent her sab-
batical as an affiliate of Sydney Health Ethics (University of Sydney).

xxv
 Part I
Context
Chapter 1
Social Context

Abstract Forced migration is of urgent concern to researchers, practitioners and

policymakers across the globe. Given the range of intersecting issues for women,
men and children with lived experiences as refugees and asylum seekers, refugee
studies is a dynamic and complex field of research. In this context, ethical and
collaborative methodologies can play a key role in fostering research spaces that
offer sanctuary amid the complications of everyday life. In this chapter, I outline the
social context in which arts-based methods are used in refugee studies. I discuss
cultural safety, trauma-informed research, and community-engaged scholarship as
key concepts that inform my approach in this field. I set the framework for dis-
cussions on arts-based research and links to policy, ethics and methods in subse-
quent chapters.

Keywords Gender perspectives
Cultural continuity
Knowledge Holders

Intersectionality Positionality

Introduction

The field of refugee studies is conflicted: academics and researchers in this area—
who mostly have not experienced forced migration—build careers investigating,
theorising and publishing on refugee and asylum seeker issues. It is an area of study
that exists as a result of displacement of vast numbers of people who have expe-
rienced loss and trauma due to war, conflict or persecution, leaving everything
behind to seek asylum and a better life.1 Forced migration is a topic of considerable

1
The 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (or 1951 Refugee Convention) is a key
international legal document ratified by 145 nations, and defines a refugee as: A person who owing
to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of
a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his [or her] nationality and is
unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself [or herself] of the protection of that
country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of his [or her] former
habitual residence as a result of such events, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return
to it (http://www.unhcr.org/protect/PROTECTION/3b66c2aa10.pdf).

© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2019 3

C. Lenette, Arts-Based Methods in Refugee Research,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-8008-2_1
4 1 Social Context

interest internationally due to an array of legal, political, humanitarian and

socio-economic concerns.
Global forced migration is not new but has increased in scale in recent times. As
at June 2018, there were an estimated 68.5 million forcibly displaced people
worldwide, including 25 million refugees, three million people seeking asylum and
many in critical need of resettlement. The United Nations estimates that one person
is forcibly displaced every two seconds as a result of conflict or persecution (United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, 2018). Such numbers are unprece-
dented. Forced migration will continue in the foreseeable future, due to persistent
conflicts, human rights abuses and political instability in many parts of the world.2
Debates on refugee issues generate impassioned responses and political controversy
(see Hall et al., 2018; Wallace, 2018; White, 2017), and are likely to remain at the
forefront of public discussion, research and policymaking for decades to come.

The international community’s legal obligations and moral impetus to

respond to the complexities of displacement and seeking refuge means that
we constantly need to find new and innovative ways of understanding,
exploring and influencing how such issues are addressed. We have a shared
responsibility in our various roles as researchers, people with lived experi-
ences, advocates, concerned citizens, practitioners and decision-makers to
redress some of the appalling situations resulting from forced migration. As
O’Neill (2010, p. 22) has argued in relation to global refugee crises, ‘the
sharing of collective responsibilities is a moral imperative in current times’.

Significant international, high-level policy measures aim to provide a plan of

action in response to such unprecedented displacement levels due to ongoing
human rights violations worldwide. Following growing political tensions over the
increasingly visible mass movements of people seeking asylum since 2015, the
United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) issued the 2016 New York Declaration
Addressing Large Movements of Refugees and Migrants under the leadership of
former United States President Barack Obama. As well as reaffirming commitments
to the 1951 Refugee Convention and the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of
Refugees, Member States committed to providing increased and coordinated pro-
tection for people affected by forced migration across the globe, especially women
and girls.

2
The Global Conflict Tracker is an interactive guide to ongoing conflicts around the world,
covering nearly 30 conflicts with background information and resources on each conflict. See
https://www.cfr.org/interactives/global-conflict-tracker#!/. Displacements caused by more frequent
climate change-related extreme weather events push people within and across borders; however,
‘climate change refugees’ are not covered under the 1951 Refugee Convention definition.
Introduction 5

The New York Declaration tasked the UNHCR to present a non-binding inter-
national agreement, a Global Compact on Refugees (GCR), which the UNGA
adopted in November 2018 (a Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular
Migration (GCR) was also adopted in December 2018). Key stakeholders including
non-government organisations, advocates, members of civil society and academics3
participated in consultations in several locations to provide input towards the final
policy document, as this was the most significant international commitment to the
protection of displaced persons in decades.
While visiting Australia in 2016, the UNHCR Assistant High Commissioner for
Protection, Mr. Volker Türk, described this renewed global commitment as a
‘minor miracle’. Critiques of the GCR are already emerging (for instance, Chimni,
2019). But this overarching framework will likely influence the refugee research
agenda over the next few years with new possibilities to explore the links among
international policy, protection, advocacy, service delivery, and diverse lived
realities using innovative approaches.
In this chapter, I provide a brief overview of trends in refugee studies as social
context for the use of arts-based methods. I discuss the importance of privileging
gender perspectives to generate more contextual understandings of forced migration.
I state my rationale for using the term ‘Knowledge Holders’ to acknowledge the
unique expertise of co-researchers from refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds.
I discuss cultural safety, trauma-informed research, and community-engaged schol-
arship as key concepts that inform my approach in this field. I conclude with tracing
my trajectory leading up to writing this book.

Refugee Studies

I am frantically searching through a pile

of clothing and underwear. My brother
opens the door and yells at me:
I can’t find the dog and uncle D is waiting
outside. I am not leaving without the dog…
What are you doing?
I lift my head, my mind is blank. What do I take?
I don’t even have a bag. I grab a jumper and
a cashmere scarf that my granny gave me.
I start calling the dog and searching for her.

3
I had the opportunity of attending the final consultations in Geneva in July 2018, in the context of
a multi-year project entitled Refugee women and girls: Key to the Global Compact on Refugees,
funded by the Australian Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
6 1 Social Context

I can smell the fire and the gunpowder.

I want to go to the balcony, when I hear
my next-door neighbour shouting:
Don’t go out…They can see you, they can…
I run down the stairs, my brother holds the dog,
we lock the door.
Shall we stay? For a bit longer?
It might calm down?
You are children, I need to take you,
your parents called. If you want to come
back later…
We are sitting in the back of the car, my brother,
the dog, I…a black jumper, purple scarf, bag
of apples and a mobile with no batteries.
What do you take with you 2 minutes before
you leave your house?

‘What are you going to take 2 minutes

before you leave your home?’ by Elena Marchevska4
(2005, reproduced with permission)

The significant social impacts of forced migration inexorably attract scholarly

inquiries, especially with a social science focus. Refugee research is a dynamic and
interdisciplinary area of academic inquiry, given the nature of issues at stake, and
the challenges that lie ahead in responding to forced migration as a pressing global
concern. Like many political leaders, policymakers, advocates and practitioners,
researchers too are looking for ethical and innovative, but most importantly prac-
tical, ways to respond to the needs of people who are forcibly displaced (O’Neill,
2010), and refugee studies can contribute to this response. Issues pertaining to
women, men and children with lived experiences as refugees and asylum seekers,

4
The Displaced and Privilege: Live Art in the age of hostility was a creative art research publication
Elena Marchevska wrote as part of a research residency with Live Art Development Agency (LADA),
to explore Live Art practices and methodologies to work with displaced people (see http://www.
thisisliveart.co.uk/uploads/documents/ELENA_STUDY_GUIDE_WEB.pdf). The residency was
also part of LADA’s contribution to the Collaborative Arts Partnership Programme (CAPP), a
transnational programme funded by the European Union focusing on collaborative practices to
engage new participants and enhance mobility and exchange for artists. The theoretical and practical
research involved Elena working and listening to what artists, academics and organisers thought
about various issues of displacement, focusing on individuals who by force or by choice find
themselves dealing with issues of displacement. The works included in the publication reflect on both
physical and internal displacement. For those interviewed, the hardships of being displaced were both
an existential ordeal and an opportunity to exercise their creativity. All of them dealt very differently
with nostalgia, hospitality and loss of space/country.
Refugee Studies 7

such as human rights violations, health and wellbeing, immigration detention,

education or integration, have long been of concern to researchers. The past few
years have seen a renewed research focus on situations of mass exodus, precarious
border crossings and living in limbo in exile or in detention (Haaken & O’Neill,
2014; Lenette & Miskovic, 2018; Lenette, Weston, Wise, Sunderland, & Bristed,
2016; White, 2017).
Currently, researchers in this field tend to focus on two broad areas of inquiry.
The first is cross-border (and internal) displacement, statelessness and seeking
protection in other countries. The second explores how individuals, families and
communities fare as they rebuild and continue their lives in new contexts, such as
countries of first asylum and exile, refugee camps, detention centres, urban settings,
as well as in resettlement nations like Australia, the UK, Canada or Sweden. A scan
of the contents of the 700-page long Oxford Handbook of Refugee and Forced
Migration Studies (Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, Loescher, Long, & Sigona, 2016) indicates
the diversity of research topics including: living in situations of conflict and transit;
legal implications of crossing borders via illegal means; immigration detention;
mental health and wellbeing; ‘successful’ settlement, with a focus on integration in
new environments, and difficulties and opportunities at individual or community
levels. Critical intersecting aspects of identity such as gender, disability, age, or
religion are also highlighted in this volume.
Studies on mental health from a biomedical perspective are particularly prolific
in refugee studies due to experiences of trauma and loss, and the prevalence of
acute mental illnesses including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). For exam-
ple, Li, Liddell, and Nickerson (2016) researched the incidence of migration stress
and PTSD among people from refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds, while
Beiser and Hou (2017) explored the predictors of positive mental health through a
large-scale survey among refugee communities in Canada. The dominance of
biomedical approaches reflects concerns about the effects of trauma on the mental
health of people who have experienced displacement, and about their psychological
health. This major focus has at times overshadowed the equally important need to
understand sociocultural, ‘bottom-up’ perspectives, and the intersectionality of
issues linked to wellbeing.

The preponderance of biomedical research is partly due to competitive

grant-funding environments as funding bodies tend to favour proposals aimed
at addressing ‘problems’, ‘needs’, ‘deficits’ and ‘vulnerabilities’. While there
is certainly a need to highlight issues, detrimental impacts and gaps in
knowledge and practice to determine what to prioritise and how to allocate
research and service funding, this may result in eclipsing the strengths and
capabilities of people who have experienced arduous circumstances associ-
ated with forced migration.
The danger is that the dominance of biomedical perspectives and the over-
bearing focus on illnesses and trauma can overshadow narratives of creativity,
8 1 Social Context

hope, resilience and wellbeing—although this trend is slowly beginning to

shift through research using a sociocultural lens (for instance, Lenette,
Brough, & Cox, 2013; Nunn, 2010).

In this interdisciplinary landscape, there are novel pathways for collaborative

and creative research initiatives with diverse women and men on topics of critical
importance to produce ‘purposeful knowledge’ (O’Neill, 2010), guided by their
wisdom as co-researchers who can create counter-narratives to deficit-based
‘refugee stories’.

Shukufa Tahiri,5 a talented young woman forced to flee from Afghanistan

because she belongs to the Hazara ethnic minority, is now a Policy Officer at
the Refugee Council of Australia. She shared her perspectives based on her
policy expertise, agency from lived experience, and passion for encouraging
broader recognition of community views in policy formulation and research,
with my class of graduating students in 2017. Shukufa described her journey
as ‘challenging’ but also one where her strengths were revealed through
hardships. Having lived most of her life in Australia, she urged us, especially
those who are not from refugee or asylum seeker backgrounds, to stop
defining individuals and communities solely by one life experience. In her
view, the time when she fled to Australia did not define her whole journey or
identity or conclude her life.
When I discussed Shukufa’s comments with her, she added that the
involvement of people from refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds as
partners in research and policy decision-making can result in findings or
policies that will actually work (see also O’Neill, 2010).

The risks of imposing western definitions of what constitutes legitimate

knowledge and applying colonialist-infused research methodologies are key con-
cerns in refugee studies. It has never been more important to engage in meaningful
research practices that value ‘using more than words to find meaning’ (Alexandra,
2017, p. 113) in ways that acknowledge unique cultural frames of reference.
Participatory approaches like arts-based research can honour the multiple facets
of lived experiences more holistically through intersubjective recognition (O’Neill,
2010). Such methods can reframe the discourse surrounding those who have

5
In September 2018, the Australian Financial Review named Shukufa Tahiri one of Australia’s
most influential women for her tireless work as a human rights advocate.
Refugee Studies 9

experienced forced migration as capable and thriving co-researchers, rather than

depicting them as purely ‘vulnerable’ and ‘needy’ (see Chap. 2 Why arts-based
methods?).

Gender Perspectives

Despite continual reminders and recommendations from emerging and established

scholars about the imperative to understand how women and men experience
refugee-hood differently (Haaken & O’Neill, 2014; Lenette et al., 2013; Pittaway &
Bartolomei, 2001, 2018), refugee research (and policy and practice) remains largely
gender-neutral, with a pervasive assumption of homogeneity in lived realities and
perspectives. Yet, there are clear instances where women and girls experience
situations of conflict, exile and settlement differently to men and boys (O’Neill,
2010). For example: the increased risks of humiliation, sexual assault and rape—
and bearing children of rape—when crossing borders, surviving in refugee camps,
or in resettlement countries; the lack of access to sanitary materials and their impact
on educational opportunities; and the stigma attached to women identifying as
lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender are all gender-specific concerns (Pittaway &
Bartolomei, 2018).

This persistent gender blindness is a major problem in refugee studies. When

the intersectional nature of the issues that women face are constantly over-
looked or conflated with men’s, this leads to a partial exploration and
understanding of forced migration concerns.
Importantly, the lack of attention to women’s perspectives means that their
strengths and capabilities, as well as their participation in decision-making
processes can also be ignored, perpetuating depictions of refugee women as
vulnerable and passive victims.

O’Neill (2010, p. 49), for instance, highlighted that women in precarious

environments like refugee camps demonstrate agency and survival skills:
Resistance emerges in their focus on the needs and wellbeing of their families, selling
merchandise (clothing, sugar, spices), and cultural resistance in the form of songs and
poems about their reality (…). Women represent themselves not as victims but as having
the strength to survive rape, violence and humiliation, and to make lives for themselves and
their families in the margins of the margins.

This lack of attention to women’s narratives and views in research stems from the
use of the term ‘refugee’ as an all-encompassing, homogenising label that over-
shadows gender-specific experiences and intersectional markers of identity and dif-
ference such as age, ethnicity, religion, language, disability and sexual orientation.
Another random document with
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But Luke still persisted in saying that his work was his life and that it was the
most interesting of all subjects to him. Happily there was a friend of his staying
at Rydal with whom he went long excursions, leaving Rachel to the luxury of
beauty and her happy thoughts. These excursions she felt were the only
things that interested Luke or turned his thoughts away from his parish, with
the exception of the many books he had brought with him making their
luggage over weight. Rachel had sighed as she had caught sight of him trying
to force them into his suitcase; but she knew he would not be happy without
them.

The anniversary of their wedding took place while at the Lakes. Rachel
wondered if the day meant anything special to her husband, and waited some
time before she reminded him of it. They were walking on their way to
Grassmere when she said:

"Luke do you remember what day this is?"

"To-day? No, what?"

"You mean to say you don't remember?" said Rachel incredulously.

Luke looked concerned.

"I have not forgotten anything important in the parish I hope."

"Important! Yes, indeed it is important; but nothing to do with the parish. In fact
you have forgotten the most important day of our life, anyhow, I count it so.
Don't you remember the fifteenth of August last year?"

"I'm afraid I don't. What happened? The School treat?"

"Something much more important than that. It was our wedding day."

Luke laughed.

"Our wedding day! Why I feel as if I had always had you. Is it really only a year
ago? I was afraid at first that I had forgotten some important engagement."

"So you have. It is the most important. It was my first waking thought."

"What creatures you women are, always making so much of anniversaries."

Rachel laughed.
"I am afraid after all you are a thoroughly prosaic man. I thought you were full
of romance and beautiful things when I married you. You must not grow
prosaic or we shall be just like all the other dull couples that we so often
meet."

"How can I think of anniversaries when I have 6,000 souls under my charge."

"You can think of them very well, that is to say if marriage is the sacred thing I
always thought it was. Don't you remember the words in Aurora Leigh?"

"'Beloved, let us work so well

Our work shall be the better for our love,
And still our love be sweeter for our work.'"

"Don't give up loving, Luke."

"Give up loving!" said Luke amazed. "Why, you are all the world to me."

"Then tell me so sometimes," said Rachel. "Wives need to be told. If not they,
the husband and wife I mean, drift into such commonplace, humdrum,
phlegmatic married couples."

Luke laughed. He had not noticed the slight tremor in her voice.

"By-the-bye," he said, "I hope I shall get a letter from West to-morrow about
the estimate of the new gas stove to be put in the chancel."

Rachel, who had been watching the changing shadows on the mountains,
now turned and looked at him. Was he really thinking about gas stoves! Then
she laughed, and he vaguely wondered what she found to amuse her in gas
stoves.

They were silent till they arrived at the end of the Lake.

Then Rachel said, "Just look at those lovely pink clouds and their reflection.
Isn't it perfectly heavenly?"

On getting no answer she looked again at Luke; but the expression of his face
convinced her that the beauty was quite lost upon him; his horizon was still
filled with gas stoves.
Rachel loved the quiet times she had when Luke and his friend went for
excursions. She would sit in the little garden belonging to the house in which
were their rooms, and try with her paint brush to produce the wonderful effects
of cloud and sunshine on the hills opposite to her. She had not touched her
paint brush since her marriage, and she revelled in sketching. While she
sketched, her thoughts were busy with the past and future. She looked back in
her year of married life and was conscious of the change it had wrought in her.
She found it almost difficult to believe that she was the same girl who had
lived such a happy uneventful life in her country home. In those days her time
had been taken up with riding, driving, gardening and tennis. She had had few
thoughts for anything outside her home. She had very little knowledge of the
world and its sorrows; and scarcely any suspicion of its sins and wickedness.
It seemed now to her as if she had been living in a happy dream.

But what she had learned from the little parish work that she had done, and
from the pained expression again and again on her husband's face, was
enough to make her realise something of the strain and stress of life and of its
misery and sin. She would gladly have been without the knowledge that she
had gathered since her marriage, had it not been, that she was able to realise
more what it all meant to Luke, and to sympathise with him. Life seemed a
different thing to her to what it had been at home, and it made her long to be
able to stretch out a helping hand to those who were tasting its bitterness. But
she was willing now to wait till the way was made plain for her to do all that
she longed to do; and till she was more ready for the work.

For she realised now how unfit she had been for the work in her early days of
married life. She had known very little of God, or of the help that came from
above. She had learnt so much from Luke of which she was ignorant before,
of the things which matter. Although he was by no means perfect in her eyes,
and thought too little, she felt, of the things which she ranked of importance,
yet, she knew he was very far above her in spiritual matters. She felt ashamed
of her poor prayers, when she knew he spent hours in his study in communion
with his God. His love of his people was more than she could understand; his
passion for souls and God's work absorbed him almost to the elimination of
everything else. He was more in earnest than any clergyman she had ever
met, and even when on a holiday, he never forgot that he was God's
ambassador and was on the look out to help travellers to the Radiant City. His
faults and weaknesses arose, after all, she said to herself, from mere
forgetfulness and absentness of mind. It was not that he was neglectful of her
or of the little things of life which to her made just all the difference, but he
simply did not see them or what was needed. But oh! He was good—good all
through! And she could not imagine any mean or small ignoble thought
entering his mind. Though she had been disappointed when she found the
anniversary of his wedding day counted as nothing to him, she knew all the
time that next to his God, he loved his wife. It was just because of his love for
her that he thought it so absolutely unnecessary to remind her of it.

How much she owed to Luke she was beginning to realise more than ever.
The very fact of him being so terribly distressed at the meeting of his men the
other night, convinced her, if nothing else had done so, of his love and
adoration for his God and Saviour. That those for whom Christ had suffered
and died had begun to doubt His Word and His Divinity pained him beyond
expression. Luke might forget things which wore of lesser importance, but he
never forgot his God. Gwen might imagine that he was slow to think of the
little duties which would have been appreciated by his wife if they had been
fulfilled, but Rachel knew that it was not laziness, or selfishness that caused
them to be neglected, but simply that his mind was full of greater things and
spiritual needs.

It was in human nature to wish that he did not live quite so much up in the
clouds, as she expressed it, and being of a truthful nature Rachel did not hide
the fact from herself, that to have recognised these duties, and to have done
them, would have made her husband a finer man; but she had come to the
conclusion that he was one who found it difficult to think of more than one
thing at a time, and it was far more important for him to be occupied with
spiritual matters than with temporal.

Indeed she would not have had it otherwise.

Watching the changing shadows on the hills caused by clouds and the sudden
bursts of sunshine, it seemed to her that the view before her was a picture of
her life. Shadow and sunshine, and perhaps she would not have realised the
glory of the latter had it not been for the shadows that sometimes eclipsed it.
And after all, she thought to herself, the sunshine, representing love and
happiness, far outweighed the disappointments of life. She had everything to
make her happy; and a future, the hope of which flooded her soul with joy
whenever she thought of it. And January was not very far off! The
homesickness and the loneliness of which she had often been conscious
would be over then.

Both Luke and his wife were the better for their holiday, and returned home
with fresh vigour for their duties. And though Mrs. Greville shook her head
over the extravagance of going so far away, she could not but agree with
Rachel that her son looked another man.
It was a good thing for Luke that he had been refreshed and had returned
hungry for work; for he found himself in the midst of a fierce battle with the evil
one. Unbelief was spreading, and his congregation gradually diminishing. One
or two of his best workers were leaving the town, and two of the four men who
had left the Church Council on the night of the discussion on the amusement
question, had attached themselves, while he had been away, to a
neighbouring church, where they considered the young people were better
looked after. But Luke's faith had been renewed, and he determined not to
give way to depression or discouragement, knowing that that was the
atmosphere in which the devil did some of his worst work.

So the summer wore away, giving place to autumn and winter, and on January
the first, his little son was born, and they called him Patrick, after his maternal
grandfather.

CHAPTER XIX.
GWEN WRITES TO THE BISHOP.

"I don't know what is to be done about Rachel," said Gwen, as she stood
looking at her sister Sybil weeding in the garden.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that she won't live long at the rate that she is working."

"Don't be silly, Gwen."

"I am not silly; I am only thinking of what Rachel is doing in that horrible
Trowsby. No girl could do all that she is doing and not pay for it. There is Luke
in the first place who seems to require no end of her attention; then there's the
baby and the house; and now she is doing Mrs. Greville's work."

"Of course it's unfortunate about Mrs. Greville being ill; but there is no reason
why she should not get better. And after all Rachel likes parish work."

"But when she had the time for it they gave her none to do; and now that there
is that troublesome baby who is always needing her, she is called away from
him to do her mother-in-law's work. But you don't care Sybil, I get no
sympathy from you."

"I care very much, but I'm not going to worry over what can't be helped. And
after all it's nobody's fault but Rachel's. She chose to marry Luke and must
abide the consequences."

"I can't imagine what made her do it, when she could have had Archie. He is
worth a dozen Lukes."

"I don't agree with you. Luke is worth more than Archie."

"Archie of course has his weak points, but for all that he is a dear. But if he did
not suit her there was Sir Arthur, who was head over ears in love with her, and
asked her twice to marry him."

"Yes, he was a nice man, and yet she chose Luke. I thought it silly of her at
the time, but I am not sure that I have not changed my mind."

"But why?"

"Because he is such a thoroughly good man. Of course Rachel recognised

this about him. She could trust him; and after all that is what a woman wants
to be sure about before she marries."

"Oh, he is trustworthy I grant; but I don't like him. Rachel ought to have
someone quite out of the common."

"He may be a better parish priest than a husband; but it is not from want of
devotion to his wife; it is from a certain denseness—I don't know what to call
it. You don't understand him Gwen."

"I certainly don't."

"I am not sure however that he ought to have married. He is so wrapped up in
his parish. Or he ought perhaps to have married someone different to Rachel
—a real parish worker. I sometimes wonder if his parish does not stand for
more in his estimation than his wife. But for all that he is good."

"I don't call him good."

"Well you don't understand him, that's all. He would do anything in the world
for anyone who wants his help."

"Except for his wife."

"That is what I say; he is rather dense, and probably doesn't suppose she
needs his help. I remember when I was at Trowsby, he sat up all night with
one of the men of his Bible Class who was dying. No nurse could be got."

"Well of course that was nice of him," said Gwen grudgingly, "but I doubt if he
would think of sitting up for an hour with his own refractory baby to give
Rachel a night's rest."

"I own he is a little blind about those comparatively small matters, but for all
that he is a good man and Rachel knew it, and that was why she loved him
enough to marry him."

"He is so blind that he is killing her with his neglect," said Gwen warmly.
"Mother must not be told, but I shall write to the Bishop."

"Don't be silly Gwen."

"I love her much more than you do. You are evidently satisfied to leave
matters alone without trying to remedy them; and as both father and Uncle
Joe are dead there is no-one whose opinion I should care to take except the
Bishop's."

Sybil rose from her kneeling posture and rubbed the earth off her gloves.

"I wish you would be more sensible," she said, "and see things in their right
proportion. As for me I tell you that I envy Rachel."

"Envy her!"

"Yes, because she follows out our Lord's command so wonderfully. She
denies herself daily, takes up her cross, and follows Him."
"Yes," said Gwen slowly. "She is the one person I know who makes me feel
ashamed of myself."

"And it seems to me," said Sybil, making her way towards the house, "that
instead of commiserating her on her hardships, and pointing out to her, as you
do, her husband's imperfections, we ought to encourage her. She has to live
the life, why should we make it more difficult for her. Why try and rob her of
the 'Well done' that she will hear by-and-bye."

"That may be all true; but it does not mean that we are to stand still and see
her die. I shall certainly write to the Bishop."

The Bishop smiled as he read the letter that lay on his hall table next morning.
He knew Gwen, and had no doubt whatever that in her love for her sister she
had exaggerated matters. He sent her a kind answer reminding her that no life
was perfect. There was almost always some drawback or other.

"All our joy is touched with pain;

So that earth's bliss may be our guide,
And not our chain."

He owned that the trials that Rachel had apparently to meet, if Gwen had
reported their correctly, might not be very good for her bodily health, but they
were the means of strengthening her soul, of helping her to grow in grace,
evidence of which was not wanting. That after all it was worth enduring
hardness, if it resulted in becoming a better soldier of the Lord Jesus Christ.
He ended his letter by expressing the wish that his little friend Gwen knew
what it was to take up her cross and to follow Christ.

But the Bishop did not put the thought of Rachel and her husband away from
him. He determined to run over to Trowsby before long to see if Gwen's report
had the element of truth in it.

The first few months after the baby's birth had been supremely happy for
Rachel. Little Pat had supplied all that she had been conscious of lacking in
her life. Notwithstanding the fact of their increasing poverty, she was able to
fight successfully the anxiety which would have depressed her in earlier days.
She was so engrossed with the thought of her child that other cares were put
into the background. That the balance at the bank grew steadily less she
knew; but it was no use allowing this fact to weigh down her spirits, and when
she now and then had to face it, a glance at the lovely little flushed face lying
on the pillow in the cradle, filled her heart with such rapture that anxiety fled,
leaving her with a smile of happiness on her face.

She was astonished that even his baby son had not the power of engrossing
his father's attention for more than a minute. He would take a look at the child,
lay his finger on his cheek, and smiling at the little laugh that issued from his
lips would turn away and run up to his study. Even the baby fingers had no
power to keep him! How he could resist them Rachel could not imagine. "It is
perfectly shameful the little notice you take of your son," she said one day
laughingly. "It's a happy thing that he has a mother to look after him, poor little
man."

"I thought mothers always looked after them in the crying stage," he
answered. "Just wait and see how I shall fulfil my duties when he is older."

"I doubt it. Did you see the account of the baby sea lion that was born in the
Zoo the other day? The mother undertook its education, teaching it to swim.
The father avoided all responsibility. There are hosts of fathers like that."

"Wait and see," answered Luke. And then the door bell was rung sharply and
Rachel little thought that a new chapter in her life's story was about to begin.

Luke had come in late after a heavy day's work in the parish, and the
conversation just related had taken place at the supper table. He, rose to
open the front door, and Rachel stood listening to a man's voice that she did
not recognize. What she heard made her run into the hall and clasp her hands
round her husband's arm, as if to shield him from the blow she knew the news
would be to him.

"When did it happen?" he was asking in a quiet tone of voice. His very
quietness made Rachel aware of what he was feeling. Under any strain he
was unnaturally still.

"She was took about half an hour ago, Sir," said the man. "And the doctor, he
say it would be as well for you to come round as soon as possible, and Mrs.
Luke too. It's difficult to get a nurse just at once. But he say, that it ain't a really
bad stroke. She can talk a bit, but is quite helpless on one side."

"We'll come at once," said Luke, reaching for his hat which hung on the peg.
"You'll follow directly, won't you?" he added.

Rachel's thoughts flew at once to the baby who was sleeping peacefully
upstairs, but who might wake any moment. She had never left him for more
than a few minutes before. How could she leave him for an indefinite time in
Polly's care! Polly was as good as gold, but had had no experience with
babies. She was devoted to Pat, but her very devotion was likely to take an
unwise form. She would probably give him anything he cried for, whether it
were advisable or no. Rachel's heart sank at the prospect of leaving her little
baby in her care.

"Is it quite necessary that we should both go?" she asked faintly.

Luke, forgetful of his little son, looked at her in surprise, and there was a tone
of reproach in his voice as he said:

"Surely we must not fail my mother at this time. I am quite sure that she would
feel it very unkind if you did not go to her."

"I will follow you," said Rachel.

She ran upstairs and looked at her boy. He was fast asleep in his crib. She
always loved to look at him asleep; her whole heart went out him now as she
leant down over him, giving him into God's keeping. She would have to trust
him to the One Who loved him better than she did, but it was difficult not to be
over anxious.

"Polly," she said, as after putting on her coat and hat, she went into the
kitchen to give parting directions; "if I don't get back in time to give baby his
bottle, be sure that you don't make it too hot, and that he doesn't take it too
quickly. And if he cries, mind you don't give him anything but pat him gently
and sing to him; then perhaps he won't notice that I am not with him."

"I'll be ever so careful of him, Ma'am," said Polly. "He shan't come to no harm
I'll promise you."

And Rachel left the house determined not to give way to her fears.

She found Luke kneeling by the side of his mother's bed smoothing her hand
and talking in a soft comforting tone of voice. His mother was lying with closed
eyes, occasionally murmuring a few words.

"I'm going to try and find a nurse," he said in a low voice, "now that you have
come. The doctor has given me several addresses. They have no-one at
liberty at the Nurses' Home. I shan't be long."
Left alone Rachel took his place by the bedside, and for many minutes she
knelt in silence. Then Mrs. Greville opened her eyes. When she saw who was
with her an added look of anxiety crossed her face.

"Baby?" she murmured.

Rachel smiled reassuringly at her.

"I've left him with Polly," she said. "Don't be anxious about him. Polly is very
fond of him and will take good care of him."

Mrs. Greville closed her eyes again. But though Rachel had spoken so
reassuringly to her mother-in-law, she had hard work not to let her mind dwell
on the occupant of the crib in the nursery at home.

She was touched at Mrs. Greville's anxiety for her boy, and that even in this
first hour of her illness she was thinking of him rather than of herself. That she
loved her grandson had been evident to Rachel from the very first. She was in
fact wrapped up in the child; and was in consequence creeping into a warm
place in her daughter-in-law's heart, the daughter-in-law who had never yet
been able to frame her lips to call her "mother." Mrs. Greville had noticed the
omission but had said nothing about it either to Luke or to his wife. It hurt her
too much to mention it. But as Rachel knelt by her bedside holding her hand
Mrs. Greville recognised the fact that the girl, who she had at times rather
despised, had a strength in her, after all, that, made her glad to have her at
this sad time, and when Luke returned with a nurse, he found her peacefully
sleeping.

Rachel was thankful to be able to slip out of the house, and ran all the way
home. After all, her fears had been unnecessary. Pat had had his bottle and
was asleep again with Polly sitting by his side.
 CHAPTER XX.

NO LADY HEAD OF THE PARISH.

And now began a very strenuous life for Rachel.

Mrs. Greville had been as good as a curate to Luke; and she was now laid
aside unable to do any work at all. She lay thinking and worrying over the fact
that she was no longer any good to her son. The worry did not help her to
recover from her illness. In fact the doctor told Rachel that so long as her
husband's mother allowed herself to be consumed with anxiety she could not
hope to get strong. Was there no-one, he asked, who could help in the
matter? Surely there were some ladies in the parish who could divide the work
between them?

Rachel knew that no more workers were to be had. In fact several had given
up their districts. They so entirely disagreed with the Vicar in his determination
not to allow the parish hall to be used for whist drives and dancing, that they
felt out of sympathy with him, and had left the Church.

Those who remained were already too full of work to undertake anything
further.

Luke came home from seeing his mother one day, in the depths of despair.

"She is worrying herself to death," he said, "over the Mother's Meeting and the
Sunday School." Then he looked across at his wife, who was playing "Dickory,
dickory dock!" with the baby. Her face had been full of love and happiness, but
at his words the smile faded. She knew what was coming.

"I suppose," he said, then he hesitated.

"Well?" asked Rachel.

"I suppose you couldn't manage to take my mother's place?"

"To superintend the Sunday School and the Mother's Meeting?"

"Yes. It would lift such a burden off her heart. You see she is one of those
people who worry unnecessarily, and I can't tell you what a relief it would be to
me to be able to tell her that her place has been supplied."
"I don't quite see how I can, with baby," said Rachel.

"But there is Polly. She likes looking after him."

"Dickory, dickory, dock," sang Rachel again, "the mouse ran up the clock." But
while playing she was not only thinking of the anxiety which would be hers if
she had to leave baby constantly under Polly's care; but she was wondering if
her own health would stand it. She must keep well for Luke's sake as well as
for baby's, and lately she had felt sometimes at the end of her tether. She had
already undertaken a district of her own and various other duties, and what
with the cooking and the house, not to mention all the work that little Pat
entailed, she had felt that if she did not soon have a rest she would break
down altogether. Yet here was Luke, looking at her with his anxious pleading
eyes; and she had never failed him yet, how could she fail him now?

"Dickory, dickory, dock," sang Rachel as she ran her fingers up Pat's little arm:

"The mouse ran up the clock,

The clock struck one,
Down the mouse ran,
Dickory, dickory, dock."

Baby crowed with merriment, and Rachel looked up gravely at her husband.

"I'll see what I can do," she said quietly.

Luke's face beamed.

"Thank you dearest," he said. "I'll go round at once and relieve mother's
mind."

Rachel sighed as she heard the front door close after him.

She looked down gravely at the child in her arms.

"I wonder if I have done right," she thought. "Anyhow my little baby I won't
neglect you for any number of Mothers' Meetings or Sunday Schools. You and
Daddie must come first."

Then she sang again—

"The mouse ran up the clock,
The clock struck one,
Down the mouse ran,
Dickory, dickory, dock."

"Ah! Me! The life of a clergyman's wife is difficult," she sighed.

And besides all the work and care, poverty stared her in the face. She could
not help fancying that Luke's great coat was turning green; and that he was
growing thin, notwithstanding all her efforts to provide him with nourishing
food. That he was unconscious of it himself she felt sure.

He was quite unconscious also of the necessity of not giving away money
unnecessarily. Generous by nature, people had soon found it out, and he
could not resist giving when asked. Now that his mother was no longer able to
give him advice in the matter, and to restrain the impulse which was so strong
in him, and which was a beautiful trait in his character so long as he did not
allow it to interfere with his duties as a husband and father, he had been freer
than usual with his money. He had no idea that such was their poverty that
Rachel who now had taken upon herself to keep the accounts, and to pay the
bills, went without nourishing food, in order that there might be enough for him
and his little son.

He never noticed that when he had meat for his dinner Rachel ate bread and
cheese, and that the various dishes that she invented to help to give him a
good appetite she did not share with him. Now and then she laughed to
herself to see how extraordinarily oblivious he was as to what was going on
around him. She was thankful that he never noticed that she looked tired, and
was growing thin. It would only have added to his anxiety. But she hoped she
would not break down, for his sake and the baby's.

And now this fresh work had come upon her. It was not even as if she had
been trained up to it. If only they had let her begin when she was stronger, it
would have been easier.

A few days after she had given the promise to Luke, Mrs. Stone called. Rachel
had rather begun to dread her calls, for though she was always loyal to Luke,
and had more than once proved herself to be a good friend, if there was any
complaint to be made by the parishioners, Mrs. Stone was always the one to
be asked to make it known to the Vicar and his wife. People knew that she
was on intimate terms with them, and felt that she was the best person to
plead their cause. By now Rachel had become conscious of this, and as Mrs.
Stone sat down and began to enquire about Mrs. Greville and to ask after the
baby, Luke's wife felt confident from the rather uneasy expression of her face,
that the real cause of her call was yet to be made known.

It was not long before she learnt what it was. "I want to know," said Mrs. Stone
as she rose to go, "if it would be possible for you to come more regularly to
the working party?"

"I am almost afraid I really can't manage that," said Rachel. "I have about as
much as I can do."

"Well you won't mind me having asked you, I know," said Mrs. Stone. "I
thought it was only kind to let you know that people are complaining a little."

"Complaining of what?" said Rachel rather sharply.

"I don't like to hurt you. But they say that now Mrs. Greville is laid aside there
seems no lady head of the parish. I think that it would do a lot of good if you
could just manage that monthly engagement. Even if you only came for an
hour."

"I wonder how many of those people realise what it is to have an incompetent
servant and a baby to look after," said Rachel. She felt indignant. "I was not
engaged to act the part of a curate. When I married I promised to love,
cherish, and obey my husband. I didn't promise to do all the parish work that
other women ought to be doing."

Mrs. Stone had never seen Rachel anything but calm and bright: and was
much distressed at the result of her advice.

"My dear, I am so sorry to have pained you," she said. "Of course we ought
not to expect the impossible from you."

Rachel, overwrought and very remorseful, burst into tears.

"I ought not to have said that. I'm so sorry," she sobbed. "Only just now I feel
as if I couldn't do a thing more. Please forget it. The fact is," she added, "I
have to say a dozen times a day, 'Lord I am oppressed. Undertake for me.'
But it was very very wrong of me. I will certainly come if I possibly can. Of
course for Luke's sake I ought not let it be said that there is no head of the
parish, and I really love that kind of work."
Mrs. Stone went home flushed and distressed. She saw that Rachel was just
on the verge of a breakdown, and blamed herself for not doing more to take
the heavy burden of the parish off her shoulders.

CHAPTER XXI.
THE BISHOP LOOKS INTO THE KITCHEN.

Mrs. Greville's illness not only gave Rachel more work to do in the parish, but
took up a certain amount of her time in visiting her and seeing that she was
well looked after. And her mother-in-law, being such an active woman was not
an easy patient to do with. Her incapacity to help her son was trying in the
extreme to her, and she was one of those people who look on illness as a
humiliation. The atmosphere of the sick room was not a happy one.

Moreover, Rachel found that visiting her meant various little extra duties to
perform, as there was someone or other always on Mrs. Greville's mind.
Would Rachel give Mrs. Jones a look as her heart was constantly giving her
trouble; and Mrs. Jacob was probably in great need of a grocery ticket. She
would like to know also if Mrs. Grayston's baby had arrived, and how she was.
And by-the-bye, she had promised to lend a book the day before she was
taken ill to that poor crippled man in Rainer Street. Then two or three women
ought to be looked up who had not lately been to the mothers' meeting. And
though Miss Sweet had not told her, she felt sure that her young man was
going to spend the week end with them soon, and that in all probability she
would not be likely to take her class at the school that Sunday. Someone
ought to be found to take her place.
What all these commissions meant to Rachel can be imagined; but she knew
that if her mother-in-law had the faintest idea of how tired she felt and how
terribly full her days were she not have asked her to do this extra work.

Curiously enough, Mrs. Greville, after that time of anxiety about Rachel
leaving the baby alone, had scarcely mentioned Pat; indeed Rachel wondered
at times if she had forgotten him. Anyhow, she had quite forgotten how difficult
it was to leave him so often with Polly, who indeed had other work to do.

What tried Rachel more than anything was that when her mother-in-law was
getting better, she suddenly relapsed into her old habit of thinking her
incapable. She would say "No, you had better not go and see Mrs. Guy. She
is a woman that needs careful handling. You'd probably offend her, ask Mrs.
Stone." Or when Rachel had taken pains to make some appetising little dish
for her, denying herself perhaps an egg for breakfast so as to be able to spare
one for her mother-in-law, Mrs. Greville would worry at her extravagance,
reminding her that she was the wife of a poor parson, and that if she were not
more careful she would land him in debt. Rachel put all these uncomfortable
moods down to illness, but it did not make her life easier.

One day after a specially trying time, she hurried home to find to her surprise
the Bishop sitting in the drawing-room.

The sight of his dear familiar face was almost too much for her. She clung to
his hand without speaking.

In a moment he saw that Rachel was overdone.

"Come and sit down my dear child," he said. His tone of voice was so full of
kindness and sympathy that Rachel nearly gave way to tears.

"You have come just at the wrong time," she said, with a faint laugh in which
the Bishop detected the tears that were not shed. "I am so tired that I can't feel
as glad as I know that I am to see you."

The Bishop looking at the girl, was shocked at the change in her. That she
was not only tired, but seriously ill, he saw at a glance.

"You have been working too hard," he said quietly. "What have you been
doing?"

"Oh don't let's talk of it. I want to forget it all now you have come. You will stay
to lunch of course, but I can only offer you pot luck."
"No, I can't stay to lunch," he said rising, "but I am going to tell that nice little
maid of yours to bring you some beef tea or milk. You need it."

"Beef tea!" exclaimed Rachel laughing. "Why, only invalids can go in for such
luxuries and I certainly am not one."

"I am not quite so sure of that. Anyhow you need something at this moment
and you must let me go and see what there is to have, while you sit still."

"Oh you mustn't pity me," cried Rachel. "I can go on quite well if no-one
notices me; but sympathy just weakens me. You really mustn't be too kind."
Rachel had risen looking distressed. Then she dropped into her chair again
and covered her face with her hands. "I wish you hadn't come," she sobbed.

"No, you don't. You are very pleased to see your father's greatest friend. You
mustn't talk nonsense," said the Bishop with a smile. "Don't you suppose I
understand? You needn't mind me finding this out. You must let me try and
help you, and get you something. Polly will help me."
 THE BISHOP STOOD IN THE TINY KITCHEN

FACING THE DIMINUTIVE POLLY.

Rachel sat still while the Bishop made his way into the kitchen. She was so
played out that she had not even the energy to wonder what he would find
there. She just lay still with a restful sense of being looked after.

The Bishop stood in the tiny kitchen facing the diminutive Polly.

"Your mistress isn't feeling well," he said, "and I want to know what there is in
the house that she would fancy. She must have something. Have you any
soup or bovril?"

Polly overwhelmed with the importance of the occasion turned red. That she
had never seen bovril or knew what it was the Bishop discovered before she
had answered, "That there ain't no such stuff anywheres in the house, Sir. We
don't eat bovril and there ain't no soup," she added.

The Bishop smiled.

"Well, what are you going to have for dinner?" he asked.

"Master, he is to have a chop," said Polly, "and Mistress she say she'll have
some bread and cheese to-day."

"And what are you going to have?"

Polly flushed crimson and hung her head.

"Mistress, she say that I'm to have the leg of the chicken that Mrs. Stone
brought us two days ago. There's just one leg left and the Mistress won't take
it herself. It ain't right that I should be eating chicken while she eats cheese."

The Bishop loved little Polly on the spot. He was thankful that there was
anyhow one person in the house who thought of Rachel. What had Greville
been about to let his wife get into such a weak state.

"You may enjoy the leg of the chicken with a clear conscience, my girl," said
the Bishop, "for I feel sure your Mistress would not be able to eat it to-day.
There's milk I suppose?"

"Yes Sir, there's baby's milk," said Polly doubtfully, "but I don't think Mistress
would like me to touch that. She's very particular about his milk."

"Well I want you to run round to the grocer's and buy for me a bottle of bovril.
Run as fast as you can and I'll tell you how to make it. Where is the Baby?"

Polly put her finger up and listened.

"I do believe he's just awake," she said. "I'll bring him down if you'd be so kind
as to look after him while I go to the Grocer's."

The Bishop carried the baby into the drawing-room and laid him on Rachel's
lap.

"That will do you good," he said smiling at her.

The sight of her baby in the Bishop's arms brought the happy colour into
Rachel's face.