Refugees challenge mortality and navigate ways away from terminal conditions which can make it easy to believe that their fortune greatly improves once they are in a safer and more economically stable place like the United States. Analyzing more deeply, however, reveals that there are forces that affect their economic viability and self-sufficiency. This mixed-methods research leveraged academic literature, stakeholder interviews, opinion articles, and government reports understanding the problem landscape. The public and policymakers’ actions and attitudes towards refugees stem from mental models of fear and misunderstanding towards this population. The report presents 4 lever points to move FROM a system that reinforces underemployment and misconceptions about refugees TO a system that empowers refugees to be self-sufficient and brings their stories to the public.
The project was presented at the University of Oxford global finals of Map The System competition.
