The Refugee Status, but What Next? Aspirations and Frustrations of Refugees in Europe

The 2015-2016 migration flow of refugees towards Europe has led to a large new category of citizens in European countries. Refugees arrived full of hope for a better future, but have very fast become frustrated and disillusioned.  In this paper the problematic mismatch between aspirations and reality is studied with the help of theory on migration motives and based on interviews with refugees in Greece and in the Netherlands. We focus on the situation of Syrians and Eritreans, and show how Syrian refugees are stuck with trauma and their wish to help family in Syria, while Eritreans have such limited knowledge and unrealistic ideas about the West combined with high demands of the family back home, that they get stuck in frustrations.  We argue for policy solutions to help them with a realistic future and avoid a threatening increase of mental health problems.