Composing a Home Away from Home: A study of the role of music in the identity process of Afghan refugees in the Netherlands

Despite various efforts, there are no standardized, European-wide policies concerning an equal spread of refugees, resulting in imbalanced migratory flows throughout the continent. Consequent prolonged asylum procedures faced by individuals amplify the social stress that a loss or mismatch of (cultural) identity can cause, which – besides post-traumatic stress and economic instability – is a major stress-source experienced by refugees. One coping mechanism utilized by many involves listening to music, and while its relation to stress has been well-documented, further implications for identity and place have been scarcely studied. This research, then, aims to understand how Afghan refugees in the Netherlands use music to cope with the stress of seeking asylum, studying the role of music in the formation of an identity displaced from individuals’ home countries, and whether this may differ over the course of their asylum procedures. Research was conducted through a series of 15 unstructured interviews with Afghan Refugees – between the ages of 19 and 27 – based in Arnhem, the Netherlands. Through the consideration of four different levels – the social; the cultural; the political, and; the individual – this research paints a picture of the process of identity formation that the studied group go through as a result of their migration, focusing on a non-invasive topic (i.e. music). The primary stress experienced by participants stems from their prolonged asylum procedures, as well as their adaption to the Dutch language and culture more generally. Music, then, provides individuals with an avenue through which to distract themselves and do emotional work, and contributes to their integration. Musical consumption works as a supporting mechanism which assists in the adaption to a new culture and people – as well as maintaining a connection with those of their home-country – providing a framework which fosters an appropriative form of integration. The centrality of music to these processes diminishes over the course of individuals’ asylum procedures, with focus shifting from maintaining an Afghan social and cultural identity to incorporating an appropriated Dutch one into it. All in all, this study provides contextualized insights into the various factors involved in a complex and reflexive process that brings together social phenomena which have remained largely unrelated in previous research.